The anatomy of the WASD Anti-Racism Board Resolution – Part III 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
________________________________
On June 16, 2020, 5:02 PM
From: Nancy Somers (REDACTED)
To: Timothy Bowers
Cc: Jennifer Lake, Nancy Somers
Subject: Statement
“Thank you Tim.
I like it with Greg’s edits. I hope you don’t mind but I forwarded it to barb for her input. I’ll forward her email of response.
I think we need to put out something.
Nancy”
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
On June 16, 2020, at 5:03:58 PM EDT, Nancy Somers (REDACTED) wrote:
“Barb’s input.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
Editor’s Note: In the email version provided from Jennifer Lake on June 16, 2020 sent at 9:34 p.m., the “Barb’s (Reeves) input” portion was REDACTED in its entirety.
On June 16, 2020, at 9:33 PM, Jennifer Lake (REDACTED) wrote:
“Thanks Tim. I have included barb in this also. I looked at the links of resources provided and while I did not read everything word for word in each article, they seem to be reputable and helpful sources. As for the statement, I think it’s a great start. I have copied/pasted Greg’s in the blue and provided my additions/edits in the black and highlighted any changes I suggest for easy viewing. Naturally we don’t have to use the edits I made. Just my thoughts and hope it’s helpful.
Tim, if possible, I feel we should get this on our website no later than Thursday.
Do you think that’s possible?
What do the rest of you think?”
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.
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.
Jennifer Lake, PCC
Dwell Orphan Care, Executive Director
(REDACTED)
________________________________
On June 16, 2020, at 10:19 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”
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
________________________________
On June 16, 2020, 10:25 PM Timothy Bowers <tbowers@wasd.org> wrote:
“Nancy I would like to run it by my team in the morning, then share it out to the full board. I would like to make sure everyone is supportive and comfortable with this before we post.
Sorry I am being so cautious but just want to make sure we get this right.
Tim
Sent from my iPhone”
________________________________
On June 16, 2020, at 10:29 PM, Nancy Somers (REDACTED) wrote:
“I certainly hope there is no objection. That might reflect a serious division.”
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
_________________Forwarded message _____________________
On June 16, 2020, 10:41 PM
From: Timothy Bowers <tbowers@wasd.org>
To: N Somers (REDACTED)
Cc:
“If there is no objections I don’t believe it will be on the content only the timing.
Tim
Sent from my iPhone”
Lake, Reeves, Somers and Bowers begin a separate e-mail thread:
On June 16, 2020, 10:42 PM
From: Nancy Somers
To: Jennifer Lake; Barbara Reeves
Fwd: Re: Statement
FYI
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
________________________________
On Wed, June 17, 2020, 3:01 PM Susan A. Neidig <sneidig@wasd.org> wrote:
“Over the last few days a few of our board members reached out to me about possibly putting out a statement regarding the recent racial tension that has been seen throughout our country in the days following the death of George Floyd. Below is what we think is the final edited version of a statement that both my admin team and two of our board members have crafted. Please let me know if you have nay concerns with releasing this statement to our webpage at this time.
Thanks,
Tim
Dear Community,
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 providing answers can be difficult. We encourage our families to use the resources below to hep develop and support a meaningful dialogue.
We stand with all all our students, faculty, staff and families of color. As a school district, we cannot – and will not – ignore systemic racism and the injustices that continue to occur throughout our nation.
Together, we can work toward creating a better tomorrow.
Resources:
- Talking to Children About Race
- How to Talk to Kids About Racism
- Talking to Children About Racial Bias
- Raising Race-Conscious Children
- Talking About Race”
________________________________
Responses began to trickle in from WASD board members
In response, Nancy Somers offered the following:
On June 17, 2020, 5:10 PM, Nancy Somers (REDACTED) wrote:
“I like it. Thanks.”
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
In response, Jennifer Lake offered the following to Nancy Somers and the group noted above:
On June 17, 2020, 5:10 PM EDT Jennifer Lake (REDACTED) wrote:
“Yes I am in agreement.
Jennifer Lake, PCC”
(REDACTED)
On June 17, 2020, 6:38 PM marc schefsky (REDACTED) wrote:
“Very well written. Gets my approval.
Marc”
On June 17, 2020, 8:53 PM
From: Star Poole (REDACTED)
To: mschefsky
Cc: Susan A. Neidig; Adam Welteroth; Barbara Reeves; Jane Penman; Jennifer Lake; Lori Baer; Marc Schefsky; Nancy Somers; Pat A. Dixon; Patrick Dixon; Star Poole; Timothy Bowers (WASD Superintendent)
Subject: Statement
“Great (followed by a pair of hearts)”
________________________________
On Thursday, June 18, 2020, 11:12:16 AM EDT Susan A. Neidig <sneidig@wasd.org> wrote:
After feedback received, below is the revised statement that we will be sharing on our district website at 2:00 p.m. today.
Tim
Dear Community,
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 providing answers can be difficult. We encourage our families to use the resources below to hep develop and support a meaningful dialogue.
We stand with all all our students, faculty, staff and families of color. As a school district, we cannot – and will not – ignore systemic racism and the injustices that continue to occur throughout our nation.
Together, we can work toward creating a better tomorrow.
Resources:
- Talking to Children About Race
- How to Talk to Kids About Racism
- Talking to Children About Racial Bias
- Raising Race-Conscious Children
- Talking About Race
________________________________
In response, Jennifer Lake offered the following:
On June 18, 2020, 11:45 AM EDT Jennifer Lake (REDACTED) wrote:
Thank you Tim
Tim and Board…
I do have a question…this is not the same statement that you emailed yesterday and was responded to with approval from myself and others. The last paragraph is different. Originally it read.
“We stand with all all our students, faculty, staff and families of color. We are listening to their concerns, questions and perspectives, and we are committed to making changes in our system to 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. We will do our part to promote and advocate for institutional change in our schools.”
Now it reads,
“We stand with all all our students, faculty, staff and families of color. As a school district, we cannot – and will not – ignore systemic racism and the injustices that continue to occur throughout our nation.”
So we have eliminated:
“We are listening to their concerns, questions and perspectives, and we are committed to making changes in our system to ensure their safety and wellbeing.”
and
“We will do our part to promote and advocate for institutional change in our schools.”
Why would we remove those truths? Are they not true of us? Are we not willing to listen and make systemic changes to ensure safety and wellbeing? Will we not do our part to promote and advocate for institutional change?
Of course I hope the answer to those questions are “of course we will listen, advocate, make changes, be willing to learn….. So if those statements are true of us as the WASD Board, why would we eliminate them?
Thank you for hearing me. I’m curious and open to hearing from you all as I want to learn and grow too.
Jennifer Lake, PCC
Dwell Orphan Care, Executive Director
(REDACTED)
________________________________
In response, to Jennifer Lake, Nancy Somers offered the following:
On June 18, 2020, 1:19 PM, Nancy Somers (REDACTED) wrote:
“I also noted those changes and wondered who had veto power over what a majority of board members approved. Nancy”
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
In response, to Jennifer Lake and Nancy Somers, Barbara Reeves offered the following:
June 18, 2020 1:48 PM
From: Barbara Reeves (REDACTED)
To: N Somers
Cc: Fred Holland, (WASD Solicitor); Star Poole; Timothy Bowers (WASD Superintendent); Jane Penman; Marc Schefsky; Jennifer Lake; Susan A. Neidig; Board Member; Barbara Reeves; Lori Baer; Adam Welteroth; Wanda Erb; Nancy Somers; Patrick Dixon; Susie Bigger
Subject: Revised Statement
“I was wondering the same as Nancy & Jenn). I have been a little quiet since my last long e-mail. I’m just confused as to why this is so confusing and seems to be such a big ordeal to figure out. Please help me to understand. Barb”
Sent from my iPhone
The anatomy of the WASD Anti-Racism Board Resolution – Part IV 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
The anatomy of the WASD Anti-Racism Board Resolution – Part III
