The anatomy of the WASD Anti-Racism Board Resolution – Part II of V
By: Todd Bartley
News@TalkWilliamsport.com
In what can only be characterized as a race to finish first in local wokeness; the following is the first in a series dedicated to uncovering the deliberations which occurred within the Williamsport Area School District school board members and administration in the days leading up to the release of the “Anti-Racism Resolution.”
The exclusive information contained in these reports was garnered through the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law from the Williamsport Area School District by TalkWilliamsport.com.
From the unredacted information obtained by Talkwilliamsport.com; WASD board member Jennifer Lake first broached the topic with fellow board members and WASD Superintendent Timothy Bowers on June 11, 2020.
What follows are the deliberations in chronological order and the parties noted in their own words.
Editor’s Note: “Greg” is Greg Hayes, Director of Public Relations/WASD Education Foundation
_________________Forwarded message _____________________
On June 15, 2020, 11:07 PM
From: <tbowers@wasd.org>
To: Nancy Somers <nsomers@wasd.org>, Jennifer lake <jlake@wasd.org>
Cc:
Subject: Statement
“Hi Nancy and Jenn,
The first statement is the one I shared during our facilities/finance meeting. The second statement in blue is after Greg made a few edit changes this evening. I also included the links below that can be included to help families have conversations with their kids. Please let me know what you think. Tim”
The safety of our schools and our community is rooted in a foundation of mutual respect and trust for all. Recent world and national events have highlighted many inequities, bias and views of racism throughout all society – our community included. Here at WASD, we believe the diversity of our school community is out greatest strength. We support all our students and families. We will continue to work with students and our schools to address areas where we can engage, educate and empower our students.
We recognize that the media coverage of recent rallies, events and protests have and will undoubtedly cause questions from children. We know there are no clear answers to many of them. However, we encourage our families to use the resources below to develop a meaningful dialogue.
We stand with our students and families of color. We are listening to their concerns, questions, and perspectives and we want to reassure the that we are committed to making changes in our system that ensure their safety and wellbeing. As a school district, we cannot ignore systemic racism and the injustices that continue to occur throughout our nation, and we will do our part to promote and advocate for institutional change in our schools.
Together, we can work toward creating a better tomorrow.
Revised:
The safety of our schools and our community is rooted in a foundation of mutual respect and trust for all. Recent world and national events have highlighted many inequities, bias and realities of racism throughout all society – our community included. Here at WASD, we believe the diversity of our school community is our greatest strength. We support all our students, faculty, staff and families. We will continue to work with students and our schools to address areas where we can engage, educate and empower our students.
We recognize that the media coverage of recent rallies, events and protests have and will undoubtedly cause questions from children. We know these questions and their answers can be difficult and we encourage our families to use the resources below to develop a meaningful dialogue.
We stand with our students, our faculty, our staff and our families of color. We are listening to their concerns, questions, and perspectives. We want to reassure our beloved students, faculty, staff and families of color, that we are committed to making changes in our system that ensure their safety and wellbeing. As a school district, we cannot and will not, ignore systemic racism and the injustices that continue to occur throughout our nation, and we will do our part to promote and advocate for institutional change in our schools.
Together, we can work toward creating a better tomorrow.
Editor’s Note: Multiple resource links were provided.
________________________________
On June 16, 2020, at 5:14 AM, Nancy Somers (REDACTED) wrote:
“Would like your input on this before I respond to Tim. N-“
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
On June 16, 2020, at 2:06 PM, Barbara Reeves (REDACTED) wrote:
“Hi Nancy. Sorry I’m just seeing this. I’m sure you’ve moved forward already. Barb”
Sent from my iPhone
On June 16, 2020, at 2:16 PM, Nancy Somers (REDACTED) wrote:
“No I haven’t. Would love your opinion.”
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
_________________Forwarded message _____________________
On June 16, 2020, 2:14 PM
From: Barbara Reeves (REDACTED)
To: N Somers (REDACTED)
Cc:
Subject: Statement
“Ok. I’m sure he’ll catch the typo in the first paragraph of using the word out and not our. I think the main thing is that the support needs to extend beyond the students and families. WASD needs to stand with it’s staff as well. Companies like H&M, Starbucks, Macy’s, etc. have unapologetically distinguished their support for the black community. I guess the safe way is to say people of color.
While other minorities have experienced racism, this is a black & white issue.
No other race has been looked at as less than a man.
The only way to gain that value back is to say what it is.
That’s all I have.
Thanks Nancy.
Sent from my iPhone”
On June 16, 2020, at 5:02 PM, Nancy Somers (REDACTED) wrote:
“I think Jenn’s edits improve the statement even further.
I agree it would be good to get this statement on the website sooner rather than later. Also agree it should not be in a format that invites comments.
It is a statement of fact.
I really appreciate your efforts on this (Tim and Jenn) as well as Greg’s help and Barb’s thoughts.
Nancy”
The anatomy of the WASD Anti-Racism Board Resolution – Part III of V is forthcoming.
Previous article links:
The anatomy of the WASD Anti-Racism Board Resolution – Part I
The anatomy of the WASD Anti-Racism Board Resolution – Part II
