It is the end of the first week of the 2017 – 2018 school year and I have said the phrase “welcome back” a few hundred times. Saying, “welcome back” is my way of expressing that I am truly happy to see everyone and an acknowledgment of our students’ return from summer break. However, it might be better if I simply said, “welcome!” The word “welcome,” means something slightly different than “welcome back” since it conveys a sense of what is truly in my heart – an expression of my desire for everyone who attends our school district to feel welcomed. The greeting of “welcome” is an assurance that we make to another person to make him/her/they feel emotionally and physically safe. It is a powerful word in that sense.
My heart soared recently when I read a Twitter comment by our Tappan Zee High School Student Organization (SO) that stated, “Let’s continue to create a culture within our community filled with respect, responsibility, empathy, and kindness!” This confirmed something that I thought I already knew – which is that students, overall, are extremely kind, empathetic, respectful, and act responsibly when left to their own devices. Of course, this does not apply to every student; but in general, I have great confidence in our youth and will do everything in my power to strengthen their voices when it comes to promoting the ideals of:
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Empathy
- Kindness
It is my understanding that these four ideals represent what our Tappan Zee High School students refer to as “the Zone” and the staff is committed to ensuring that the students are able to be successful towards their collective goal of “getting in the Zone.”
There is further great news on this front…it is not just the students who are working towards improving the social climate in our schools. In late August, I met with the PTA executives to discuss ways that we can improve the social climate in our schools and ultimately our nation. Joining me at this meeting were parent representatives; our Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Brian Culot; our Board of Education President, Mrs. Rosemary Pitruzzella; and our Human Resources Director, Mr. Jeremy Barker. What prompted our meeting was an awareness that some of the hate speech and associated physical violence, which have been symptomatic of recent demonstrations around the country, could potentially have an adverse impact on our school climate. The result of our meeting was a rededicated effort to promote an increased awareness of standards of behavior that promote justice for all. Our K-12 curriculum will reflect what we expect our students to know and be able to do towards eliminating bias against people on the basis of their race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, military service, or other protected status. Staff will be trained on the November 9 and December 8 during Superintendent Conference Days to ensure that each is able to identify potential violations of our prescribed laws and code of conduct pertaining to the fair and ethical treatment of all individuals in our community.
We must start with clear expectations from students and staff who stand united for social justice. Over the past several months, we have heard these voices loud and clear in our community. Voices that seek to promote anti-bias education at every stage of K–12 instruction. Thank you to our Student Organization for igniting the spark that will shed light in what would otherwise be occupied by the darkness of intolerance, hatred, ignorance, and fear. Welcome everyone!
Here are the standards that our staff is integrating into the K-12 curriculum as prescribed by the Teaching Tolerance Education Organization:
IDENTITY
Students will develop positive social identities based on their membership in multiple groups in society.
Students will develop language and historical and cultural knowledge that affirm and accurately describe their membership in multiple identity groups.
Students will recognize that people’s multiple identities interact and create unique and complex individuals.
Students will express pride, confidence and healthy self-esteem without denying the value and dignity of other people.
Students will recognize traits of the dominant culture, their home culture, and other cultures and understand how they negotiate their own identity in multiple spaces.
DIVERSITY
Students will express comfort with people who are both similar to and different from them and engage respectfully with all people.
Students will develop language and knowledge to accurately and respectfully describe how people (including themselves) are both similar to and different from each other and others in their identity groups.
Students will respectfully express curiosity about the history and lived experiences of others and will exchange ideas and beliefs in an open-minded way.
Students will respond to diversity by building empathy, respect, understanding, and connection.
Students will examine diversity in social, cultural, political and historical contexts rather than in ways that are superficial or oversimplified.
JUSTICE
Students will recognize stereotypes and relate to people as individuals rather than representatives of groups.
Students will recognize unfairness on the individual level (e.g., biased speech) and injustice at the institutional or systemic level (e.g., discrimination).
Students will analyze the harmful impact of bias and injustice on the world, historically and today.
Students will recognize that power and privilege influence relationships on interpersonal, intergroup and institutional levels and consider how they have been affected by those dynamics.
Students will identify figures, groups, events and a variety of strategies and philosophies relevant to the history of social justice around the world.
ACTION
Students will express empathy when people are excluded or mistreated because of their identities and concern when they themselves experience bias.
Students will recognize their own responsibility to stand up to exclusion, prejudice, and injustice.
Students will speak up with courage and respect when they or someone else has been hurt or wronged by bias.
Students will make principled decisions about when and how to take a stand against bias and injustice in their everyday lives and will do so despite negative peer or group pressure.
Students will plan and carry out collective action against bias and injustice in the world and will evaluate what strategies are most effective.