To the members of the Lakeland School District Administration, 

We, Lakeland alumni, students, staff, parents, and community members, are sharing this message in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Over the past few weeks, national protests against police brutality have erupted, as people across the country mourn and seek justice for the murders of Mr. George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and Breonna Taylor (to name a few). Our criminal justice system was founded on the depravity and senseless destruction of Black communities within this country, and we support all efforts to dismantle this system for the betterment of Black lives now and in the future. 

We commend the members of our community who are partaking in this national effort to confront systemic racism not only within the criminal justice system, but within their own lives and society at large. While this fight for justice and systemic change continues, we have created a list of demands that promote anti-racism within the Lakeland District. The demands shared in this letter are aimed to target the systemic inequities that disproportionately impact people of color, namely Black people. However, we recognize that our current education system fails to fully serve low income, LGBTQ+, English language learners, and other historically marginalized groups. 

First and foremost, we recognize that Superintendent Dr. George Stone has updated his statement on national events and the district’s responsibility to address racism. However, the experiences of Black students and other students of color do not align with his claims that “all acts of violence, racism, and discrimination” are not tolerated in the district. Though he outlines a series of measures that Lakeland has implemented to promote social justice and equality, he is brief, vague, and does not disclose important details such as how many teachers of color have been hired through “diverse” recruitment fairs; explicit progress and developments on the “Students Today, Teachers Tomorrow” program;  who will be included in the task force that is responsible for revising the curriculum; and whether minority students have reported feeling socially and emotionally supported by their teachers and school community. Furthermore, the measures that he outlines do not significantly promote systemic anti-racism and can greatly be improved. 

Dr. Stone fails to reflect on the district’s poor reputation of having meaningful conversations about racism, white supremacy, and other social issues. The videos that have surfaced recently hardly capture what students of color, especially Black students, experienced at Lakeland. Because race was never discussed in depth, students were unable to reflect on their problematic views and/or defend themselves from prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination. Though we have kind and competent teachers, these issues require action beyond kindness. In order for our district to be actively anti-racist, it must commit to addressing racism and white supremacy directly and confront prejudice through critical analysis and discussions about the economic, structural, and historical roots of inequality and oppression. 

We demand that these national events not be turned into a singular teaching moment about racism in our school community, but rather as a turning point for our district. While our community is not at the center of national conflict, it is not yet part of the solution. Racism pervades every facet of our society, and ignoring it does not make it disappear but instead enables unacceptable behavior. Only through deliberate and concrete actions can you adequately educate and support your students. As such, we demand the following list of items be incorporated into LCSD:

1. Establish an anti-racism district policy.

Currently, Lakeland exclusively upholds the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), whose goal is to “create a safe and supportive school climate where students can learn and focus.” On the district website, DASA is made up of generalized statements and does not mention inclusivity based on race, class, gender, sexuality, etc. Moreover, it is a reactive policy to the issue of harassment and discrimination, when a more proactive approach to racist behavior is necessary. Beyond DASA, Lakeland should develop an accessible anti-racism policy that explicitly condemns racism and includes anti-racism regulations. 

Please refer to this exemplary model of an anti-racism policy from Albemarle County Public Schools, which approaches anti-racism from all levels of the school environment, including leadership and administration, staff training, policy communication, policy enforcement, and curriculum and instruction. 

2. Prioritize the needs of marginalized communities in our schools.

Currently the district is predominantly white (70%), with Black students only making up approximately 6% of the school population. Whether or not any initiatives to include and uplift these students are currently in place is unclear from the Lakeland website. Additionally, the National Center for Education Statistics shows that Black students within certain schools of this district are statistically more likely to be suspended than white students are, and are statistically less likely to be placed into advanced courses. These disparities are concerning to us and thus, we would like to see the following initial changes: 

• Embrace inclusion of marginalized groups as part of your mission statement. Currently, inclusion is not mentioned in the mission statement, core beliefs statement, nor the vision statement. In these statements, the district claims to value “whole persons” and entire communities, but who makes up these communities? We cannot focus on the whole person academically, socially, and emotionally, without recognizing how systemic social issues affect certain identities. For Lakeland’s mission statement to be truly inclusive, it must explicitly affirm the power and value that marginalized members of the community possess. Furthermore, we do NOT want generalized statements about “diversity” because it implies tolerance rather than acceptance, and does not set any specific goals.  
• Recruit more teachers of color. It is evident that the diversity of faculty and administration is not reflective of the many identities held by the student body. A commitment to diversity, inclusion and an anti-racist school environment involves addressing this lack of diversity of staff and making changes to recruitment strategies as needed. Additionally, to the points listed below, we require a timeline for the implementation of these new practices prior to the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. 
  • The development and implementation of a multi-year plan to diversify the staff in a way that reflects the makeup of the student body. 
  • Data collected on the effectiveness of current recruiting methods, which includes but is not limited to: recruitment technique, applicant-facing recruiter, and racial identity of applicants.
  • An annual public analysis of the data gathered.
  • Annual implicit bias training for recruiters. 
  • Attendance at hiring fairs where it would be reasonable to assume the presence of many applicants of color.
  • The invitation for faculty and staff of color to participate in the hiring process. 
• Appoint a Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator. Though each school has a DASA Coordinator, they only serve to protect students from harassment and discrimination. A Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator would be present in each school and serve to:
  • Address issues of racial bias, prejudice or ignorance that would not fall under DASA. 
  • Launch the promotion and celebration of multiple identities within their respective schools, beyond that of Dr. Stone’s proposed measures.
  • Participate in annual trainings about implicit bias, microaggressions and/or restorative justice. 
  • Track the types of incidents, the frequency of incidents and the resolution of incidents. 
  • Students should be told about this resource at the beginning of each semester and the data collected by the Coordinator should be made available for analysis at the end of each school year. 

3. Develop and implement an anti-racism curriculum.

As Dr. Stone mentions, our curriculum is biased and needs to be revised due to the way it glosses over, and at times, ignores, topics of colonialism, imperialism, institutional racism, and white supremacy. As a result, Lakeland students do not learn about these systems of oppression in a deep and meaningful way. Incomplete and biased histories affect the way students understand contemporary issues of race, preventing them from developing well-rounded opinions and perspectives, and even potentially harming their peers with their stereotypes and prejudices. Therefore, we would like an action plan that includes:

• Student Collaboration in Curriculum Task Force. Black students and students of color need to be involved in this curriculum revision process. A curriculum revised for the students cannot possibly meet their needs without their input. 
• Include more Black literature, scholarship, and art in the curriculum. Along with addressing biases in the curriculum, works by Black authors, scholars, and artists should be incorporated into the curriculum, which is currently very Eurocentric.
• Provide resources on racism, white supremacy, etc. Currently, Lakeland does not provide resources on topics of race and social justice for all students to engage with. The resources and “helpful links” on the Pupil Personnel Services page, are only useful up to the age of 12. These resources should be easily accessible and should accommodate a range of perspectives and experiences. 
  Here is a sample of what a resource library should look like. It is useful for individuals of all backgrounds who are trying to learn more about anti-racism, social movements, and Black history. This document was originally made for LEAP, a Connecticut nonprofit, in light of the national events and protests, and thus includes relevant resources. 

Lakeland’s mission statement emphasizes responsibility, accountability, and critical thinking, but how exactly does the district institute these values? How are students prepared to carry these values into the future when the district is blatantly ignoring important systemic issues? If Lakeland refuses to implement these changes, it will send the message that respect, responsibility, accountability, critical thinking, and ethical behavior are not serious priorities of the district. We would like the district to share, in detail, their action plan moving forward. Transparency in the process is critical, and necessary for students and families to feel included.

Lastly, many of us have spent much of our childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood in this district, and these impressionable years influence our life outcomes. Therefore, please keep in mind that both your actions, and lack thereof, do affect your students. The purpose of this letter is to demonstrate to you all that there are many members of the school community that want to affect students’ lives in a positive way, by engaging them in important conversations that are long overdue. Through meaningful collaboration, we can build a district and school culture that we are all proud to be a part of.  

 Thank you. 

 

*Disclaimer. We would also like to acknowledge that we are not the only ones that hold opinions on the matters above. Others have been working on these issues independently, and we want to recognize and validate their voices as well.