Addressing Mukwonago Area School District School Board, Administration, and Superintendent

We, the students, family members of students, faculty, and alumni of the Mukwonago Area School District, as well as members of the broader Mukwonago community, are writing this petition to address the lack of racial diversity within the MASD curriculum, as well as actions from both students and staff that are considered racially insensitive and damaging to one's identity. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and numerous others sparked the most recent wave of protests against institutionalized racism within the criminal justice system in the United States. Additionally, it has been made clear that racism has roots in many other institutions, including that of our education system, beginning in elementary school. 

Our community thrives on the high-quality education provided by MASD Schools; however, at the same time, it is clear that until now, there has been inadequate action taken to address the issue of diversity within the schools and the curriculum presented to students. Furthermore, it has become apparent to former students of Mukwonago High School that the curriculum did not provide the necessary knowledge or resources to fully understand the United States’ history of oppression and discrimination of minority groups, specifically Black people. MASD promotes a curriculum of “Career Based Learning and K-12 Benchmarks” with the goal of graduating students that are “academically prepared and socially and emotionally competent” for further education or jobs. Students not taught the fundamentals of equity and diversity within the United States, both past and present, will lack an understanding of the hardships faced by different minority groups and, therefore, be ill-prepared to enter more diverse communities.

The following recommendations are imperative to fostering the education of students to become more informed and compassionate citizens and advocates in the fight for social and racial equity. Furthermore, it is crucial that race and diversity education begins in primary school and continues throughout a student’s education.

1) Include racial equity, diversity, and inclusion as part of the District’s mission and belief statements. Particular attention should be given to the District acknowledging Mukwonago’s foundation on unjustly ceded Kiikaapoi, Očeti Šakówiŋ, and Potawatomi territory and the sustained effects on indigenous groups living in Wisconsin today. (https://native-land.ca/) (https://wisconsinfirstnations.org/)

2) Release a detailed plan to recruit, hire, onboard, and retain educators of color.

3) Plan and implement professional development for all staff and faculty on implicit bias, racial equity, and inclusive curriculums. Prioritize learning from Black and people of color (POC) educators.

• Provide resources to and elevate voices of educators in the District who are already doing this work. Commit to working with school principals and department leads to survey District educators for their input on equity training and professional development opportunities.
• Engage further with the BARR method to match diversity & equity goals.
• Hold accountable the faculty who do not meet the requirements for equity and diversity teaching standards.
• Extensive curriculum training for educators can be found here.

4) Ban and make punishable all expressions of racism - including a ban of confederate flags on school property and at school events.

5) Hold diversity and equity training for students at the beginning of each school year which addresses topics such as overt racism, microaggressions, stereotypes, and how to celebrate diversity. Options for classroom resources can be found here.

6) Make meaningful changes to the English Literature, American Government, and United States History curriculums. Reforms should include but are not limited to:

• Including a minimum of one book written by a person of color every year in English Literature courses at all grade levels.
• Engaging with grade-appropriate texts that introduce students to topics of race-based slavery, discrimination, and institutionalized racism. A searchable database of grade-appropriate texts can be found here.
• Discussing institutionalized racism within the political structure in American Government classes. (Talking About Race in Mostly White Schools article) 
  Examples may include:
  - Voter Suppression
  - Lack of Diverse Political Representation
  - History of Universal Suffrage
• Spend sufficient time during all months of the school year (not just Black history month) discussing events in history that were predicated on racism and relate these events in history to the current reality. Such events could include:
  - American Colonization
  - American Indian Movement
  - Imperialism
  - Slavery within the United States
  - The School to Prison Pipeline
  - The business use of prison labor
  - The Prison Industrial Complex
  - Jim Crow Era & Segregation
  - Housing segregation topics of redlining
  - Predatory lending
  - The Fair Housing Act of 1968
  - The Tulsa Race Massacre
  - Gentrification
  - Japanese Internment
• Either dedicate four months to the history of Asia, Africa, and South America to one mandatory world history course or make mandatory an entire year of history dedicated to these three continents

7) Celebrate a Day of Diversity once a year, whereby every class, regardless of subject, takes the time to discuss the significant changes people of color have made to the field that is being taught and/or how people of color have otherwise shaped the field.

We fully recognize that these ideas are complex and will take time for the District to implement. We know that the effects of the current pandemic have stretched the capacity of teachers and staff thin and we thank everyone for what they are doing to serve students. We would not have the courage nor the aptitude to write this petition if it were not for the lessons you taught us.

To ensure that MASD is held accountable in its commitments to its students, faculty, staff, and community, we recommend that the District forms an independent advisory committee comprised of faculty, staff, and student representatives (where appropriate) from all levels of K-12 education that will release annual or bi-annual reports on plans and implementation progress of a curriculum rooted in diversity and equity.

According to the School Board’s bylaws in section 0122 on ‘Board Powers’:

The School Board adopts the belief of the National School Boards Association that the responsibilities of local school boards include:

• a legal responsibility for the control of public schools as the only agencies in their communities with this responsibility;
• a civic responsibility as the controlling agency providing an essential service to the life of the communities;
• a social responsibility toward all who look to the schools as centers of growth and development for children, youth, and adults;
• an economic responsibility since there is a relationship between good schools and the business community prosperity;
• a moral and ethical responsibility to function courageously and impartially to assure the greatest good to the greatest number at all times.

• Additionally, the bylaws state, “the Board shall concern itself primarily with broad questions of policy rather than with administrative details. The application of policies is an administrative task to be performed by the Superintendent and district staff, who shall be held responsible for the effective administration and supervision of the entire school system.” Therefore, forming an independent group tasked with detailing steps to implement these policies and reporting back to the School Board and community is paramount.

As educated members of society, it is our responsibility to make our community a safe place where people of all races can learn from one another and become more educated on social and racial injustices, both past and present. The recommendations above should serve as a starting point and call to action for the District and Mukwonago community rather than an end goal in the fight for racial equity and mutual understanding.

We look forward to seeing these recommendations discussed in full at the July 2020 Mukwonago School Board meeting.

Sincerely,

Carli Boyer (class of 2016)

Cody Butryn (class of 2015)

Taylor Hafemeister (class of 2014)

Shelby Koen (class of 2014)

Abigail Koshollek (class of 2014)

Steve Phillips (class of 2013)

Thank you to the following Black alumni and students for their support and input in creating this petition: Ceirra Sims (class of 2013), Maggie Gilman (class of 2010), Russell Phillips (class of 2015), Alex Kleinschmidt (class of 2012), Cora Smith (class of 2020), Liam Chones (class of 2016), Ashley Hoover (class of 2012), Cooper Davis (class of 2012), Steve Phillips (class of 2013).

We would also like to express our appreciation to fellow alumni of schools within Wisconsin who have created petitions of their own, from which we have drawn inspiration.

Other Petitions, from surrounding school districts, for Reference:

Pewaukee School District Petition

Elmbrook School District

Franklin School District

Cedarburg School District