Dear Bates Community,
I hope this letter finds you well. It has been great to see many of our parents in the building for conferences this week. We are excited to finally be able to open our doors to parents again. The feedback I’ve heard from many parents suggests the feeling is mutual.
I am writing today to share with you my reflections and hope for the future for our Bates community with respect to conversation about race, bias and how we work to create a safe and welcoming community for all of our students and families.
Two weeks ago I held a Principal Coffee on Zoom to discuss bias in young children. Thank you to those who attended to engage on this topic. I shared with those in the meeting that unfortunately, we have had one bias incident this fall at Bates. Last year was the first year we began collecting data on bias incidents in the district. At Bates we had two bias incidents last year. All three of these incidents involved very young children using biased speech about race. Often young children don’t know the meaning of the words they use or the harm that their words can cause. However, biased speech hurts children and families. It directly impacts their sense of belonging at Bates, which should impact all of us.
As educators we respond to bias incidents by first and foremost offering support to those who have been hurt and then helping children to make amends. We intervene with teaching that helps children to learn from their mistakes. In addition, we reflect as a school community to evaluate how we as educators can better address bias with all children. We start by doing the self work of interrogating our own biases that may impact how we see and interpret our world. We look at our social skills curriculum, our instructional materials and lesson plans. We attend professional development and discuss ways to use teachable moments that arise in school. We continue to examine our school’s practices and traditions to determine whether all students and families feel safety and belonging at Bates.
I ask that families please speak to your children about the power of language and inform them about the harmful effects of words that communicate bias. This is hard but important work. There are numerous resources on our district D, E & I website, linked here. We know that in order to grow and refine our skills we will make mistakes, too, and we ask for your grace and partnership in helping us to always do better. The teachers and I are eager to have conversations with parents and caregivers, knowing you are important partners in this work. I am grateful for the conversations that began with a small group of Bates parents, Parent Partners in Diversity, in early 2020. Going forward, I will be working with our PTO leadership and the Bates School Council to invite more voices into this conversation as a community.
In closing, I’ll share a story that centers our students. Yesterday, I was listening to some students as they met with their Bates buddies. A fifth grader and his second grade buddy discussed a number of subjects in a get to know you activity. Finally, they asked one another the question: What do you like best about Bates? The fifth grader answered, “the community” and the second grader responded, “yeah, community meeting!”
We at Bates are so lucky to have this special community of parents, students and educators. We have so much to appreciate, including the opportunity to work together to support our children and one another.
Warmly,
Toni