Hello fellow Newburyport alumni and residents!

I drafted this letter to our Superintendent and would love to add names in support of these calls to action in our community. If you are in support of these initiatives, please sign your name to this petition and it will be attached to the letter. Remember it is a privilege to learn about racism instead of experience it. 

Dear Superintendent Sean Gallagher,

My name is Leah Petty and I am a graduate of Newburyport High School.

I am writing to you today to express distress and frustration with my Newburyport public school education. Within my four years at Newburyport High school, one year at the R.A. Nock Middle School, and five years at the Kelley School—students were not taught about systemic racism, the full extent of systemic racial violence, or the racial caste system that rules over our country today. The United States public school curriculum is designed to hide injustices and violence and I believe that perpetuates more violence and inequality. Anti-biased education for children of all grades is one of the many ways to begin creating a future of peaceful change.

As a citizen of Newburyport and an NHS alum, I urge Newburyport public schools to be accountable for teaching about systemic racism in this country.

I am calling on you to:

1.       Bring mandatory anti-racism training to Newburyport teachers and faculty using funds from the school budget or the Newburyport Education Foundation.
          a. One organization in our area that offers these trainings are Anti-Racism Coalition (ARC), but there are more. Take care to make sure these organizations are run by and facilitated by nonwhite people. Pay in full.

2.       Host regularly scheduled (bi-annually at minimum) assemblies or workshops for students with guest speakers to address issues of racism, whiteness, and systemic injustices.

3.       Call on state and local curriculum builders to fight for less racially biased history curriculum.

4.       As an act of solidarity, cut ties with and remove police officers from our schools and instead hire security guards that have gone through anti-racism training.

5.       Make a proactive commitment to stand on the side of the systemically marginalized in any future racially biased incident that occurs in our school or city.

In Solidarity,

Leah Petty, NHS class of 2015.

 

On the following page are names and graduating class years of other alumni who support these calls of action: