People were standing in the hall when I got to the school board meeting tonight, and there was no chance of sitting in the room itself; it was packed and had been for at least half an hour. (Several half rows of seats were reserved for kids, parents, and teachers from Templeton, who were the recipients of an award.) I counted later; there were at least twenty-five of us in the hall and probably another thirty to forty in the meeting room.
I had read in the Herald-Times today that the two assistant principals at Tri-North were finalists for the principal's job (vacated recently when Gale Hill retired). One is a black woman who has been an assistant principal at Tri-North since 1997, with 22 years in education. The other is a white man with 15 years in education who took the job of assistant principal at Tri-North in 2011. MCCSC selected the one with less seniority at the school, less time in MCCSC, and less education experience. The personnel recommendations were up for approval by the board tonight.
I wasn't able to hear the first ten or so people who gave public comment (there was some glitch and the lobby television was not carrying the board meeting), but then I moved close enough to the door to catch words if I strained to hear them. Those giving public comment were overwhelmingly African-American. School board guidelines prohibited them from saying anything personal about the candidates. Speakers expressed bafflement about the decision-making process; they expressed concern about implicit bias; they asked for explanations. Many spoke passionately about the need for diversity in the teaching and administrative staff and the lack of progress on that front since the 60's. One young woman said that after elementary school, she never had a teacher of color. The director of the office of diversity education at IU told the board, "Your decisions have larger implications in the community." He had led sessions years ago on multicultural competence with MCCSC educators, and they had looked at racial patterns in suspensions. The administration at the time did not want him to break down the numbers to discover if some teachers were more likely to suspend students of color.
The man in front of me said, "Consider diversity as a solution to segregation. Black children need to be around black people. White children need to be around black people. Children need to be in diverse situations."
Another man told the board, "Take a look at yourselves as a board. Take a look at your principal administration. I bet you everybody is white."
One woman said that when she came to Bloomington in 1969 and her daughter started school, she looked around the classroom and saw no representations of people who looked like her daughter. She asked the teacher if she could bring in pictures of people of color, and did so, cutting out pictures from Ebony magazine. Months later, her daughter asked her, "Mama, when will I have blue eyes and blonde hair?" That little girl is now the only black teacher at University school.
Another person who spoke said his parents had been in some of the last segregated classes in Bloomington; his father was in fifth grade at Banneker while it was the African-American school.
[Two people, including myself, voiced concerns about moves that may signal a lessening of investments in school libraries, but more about that, and about other agenda items, in another post.]
When public comment was finished, board president Keith Klein moved quickly to the next agenda item. After that was done, he interjected a "thank-you" to the public for their comments. Dr. DeMuth also proceeded through the superintendent's report and then thanked those who came. She said their input was well thought out and that MCCSC would put together a group to work on diversity recruiting and retention. She said, "We need to strengthen that piece."
Some people left after the comment period, but many stayed (and folks in the hall took the places of the Templeton group when they left). The room was still full, a sea of mainly black faces, as the meeting proceeded through a number of agenda items.
When Mrs. Chambers gave the Personnel Report, which included the hiring for the principal position, the board unanimously passed its recommendations. There was no comment, no question, no motion, and no abstention from any board member.
Then most of the audience left. They stayed in the hall, talking quietly, and several came back in and sat down again. An elderly man behind me said in a low voice that many years ago he had applied for a job in MCCSC and been turned down.
The rest of the meeting passed in a blur for me. Board members gave individual comments at the end, expressing support for the hiring decision and affirming Dr. DeMuth's proposal for a diversity committee.
I strongly recommend viewing the public comment portion of this meeting on CATS when it becomes available.
I had read in the Herald-Times today that the two assistant principals at Tri-North were finalists for the principal's job (vacated recently when Gale Hill retired). One is a black woman who has been an assistant principal at Tri-North since 1997, with 22 years in education. The other is a white man with 15 years in education who took the job of assistant principal at Tri-North in 2011. MCCSC selected the one with less seniority at the school, less time in MCCSC, and less education experience. The personnel recommendations were up for approval by the board tonight.
I wasn't able to hear the first ten or so people who gave public comment (there was some glitch and the lobby television was not carrying the board meeting), but then I moved close enough to the door to catch words if I strained to hear them. Those giving public comment were overwhelmingly African-American. School board guidelines prohibited them from saying anything personal about the candidates. Speakers expressed bafflement about the decision-making process; they expressed concern about implicit bias; they asked for explanations. Many spoke passionately about the need for diversity in the teaching and administrative staff and the lack of progress on that front since the 60's. One young woman said that after elementary school, she never had a teacher of color. The director of the office of diversity education at IU told the board, "Your decisions have larger implications in the community." He had led sessions years ago on multicultural competence with MCCSC educators, and they had looked at racial patterns in suspensions. The administration at the time did not want him to break down the numbers to discover if some teachers were more likely to suspend students of color.
The man in front of me said, "Consider diversity as a solution to segregation. Black children need to be around black people. White children need to be around black people. Children need to be in diverse situations."
Another man told the board, "Take a look at yourselves as a board. Take a look at your principal administration. I bet you everybody is white."
One woman said that when she came to Bloomington in 1969 and her daughter started school, she looked around the classroom and saw no representations of people who looked like her daughter. She asked the teacher if she could bring in pictures of people of color, and did so, cutting out pictures from Ebony magazine. Months later, her daughter asked her, "Mama, when will I have blue eyes and blonde hair?" That little girl is now the only black teacher at University school.
Another person who spoke said his parents had been in some of the last segregated classes in Bloomington; his father was in fifth grade at Banneker while it was the African-American school.
[Two people, including myself, voiced concerns about moves that may signal a lessening of investments in school libraries, but more about that, and about other agenda items, in another post.]
When public comment was finished, board president Keith Klein moved quickly to the next agenda item. After that was done, he interjected a "thank-you" to the public for their comments. Dr. DeMuth also proceeded through the superintendent's report and then thanked those who came. She said their input was well thought out and that MCCSC would put together a group to work on diversity recruiting and retention. She said, "We need to strengthen that piece."
Some people left after the comment period, but many stayed (and folks in the hall took the places of the Templeton group when they left). The room was still full, a sea of mainly black faces, as the meeting proceeded through a number of agenda items.
When Mrs. Chambers gave the Personnel Report, which included the hiring for the principal position, the board unanimously passed its recommendations. There was no comment, no question, no motion, and no abstention from any board member.
Then most of the audience left. They stayed in the hall, talking quietly, and several came back in and sat down again. An elderly man behind me said in a low voice that many years ago he had applied for a job in MCCSC and been turned down.
The rest of the meeting passed in a blur for me. Board members gave individual comments at the end, expressing support for the hiring decision and affirming Dr. DeMuth's proposal for a diversity committee.
I strongly recommend viewing the public comment portion of this meeting on CATS when it becomes available.