Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Wellesley Public Schools

Our Mission

We believe it is our moral responsibility to welcome, celebrate and affirm the full spectrum and intersections of human differences in, and beyond our community. We will create a culture that celebrates advocacy and pursues justice for all, especially those from historically marginalized communities. We will practice risk-taking, and challenge one another to continuously examine systems of privilege and bias, and work collectively to disrupt and dismantle inequity in all its forms.

Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Dr. Charmie Curry
Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Dr. Curry joined the Wellesley Public Schools in September 2019 as the inaugural director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Dr. Curry has been an educator for more than 10 years, serving as an elementary teacher, elementary school leader, and teacher coach. Prior to joining WPS, Dr. Curry served in the Boston Public Schools’ Office of Human Capital on the Performance Management team. In that role, she supported principals with educator effectiveness in their buildings, and evaluated cohorts of district teachers.

Dr. Curry earned a B.A. in Journalism from Temple University, a Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) from Northeastern University, and a Doctor of Education in Pre-K-12 Educational Leadership from Endicott College.

Dr. Curry is a member of the second cohort of Influence 100, an initiative of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education began “to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of superintendents in Massachusetts, create more culturally responsive districts and leaders across the state, and promote better outcomes for students.”

Watch a Wellesley Public Media interview with Dr. Curry here, and a WellesleyWeston Magazine profile here.

Read Dr. Curry’s entry plan and summary report.

Ms. Carla Lumley, Secretary, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Phone: 781-446-6200

Email: dei@wellesleyps.org

Twitter: @WellesleyDEI

District at a Glance

The Wellesley Public Schools is a learning community that is invested in its path toward being a culturally sustaining institution. The below snapshot provides a look into some quantifiable aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our schools.

DE&I At at Glance Chart — Click for an accessible version

Equity Toolkit

The reality of the current national climate illustrates that there remains significant threats to the ability of schools to cultivate and sustain learning communities that are safe and supportive for all students. Prejudice, bias, hate and discrimination remain threats that require our vigilance and persistence to ensure that our core values are adhered to, and our mission is realized. This is our work. Stand with us.

View the District’s Equity Toolkit.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leadership Council

What is the Diversity,
Equity & Inclusion Leadership Council?
- Our ‘WHY’

Simon Sinek’s The Golden Circle model of leadership.

3/17/21 ALERT: Addressing violence toward Asian and Asian American community

1/6/21 ALERT: Statement on events of 1/6/21

Fall 2020 Panorama Survey Results

This fall, we administered an educator and staff experience survey to gather baseline data to inform our efforts at culturally responsive practices and diversifying our staffing. This work was made possible through a competitive grant from the Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education. Click below to view results.

SY20-21 Preview

DE&I Priorities Overview

Upcoming Dates & Events

June 22, 2021 @ 8:30 pm
Racial Socialization as Resistance to Racism
EmbraceRace presents: Join us for a conversation in which we explore racial socialization as a vital form of parent and caregiver involvement and discuss strategies that resist and disrupt racism when socializing young children, 0 to 8. Register to join.

View more dates in the full calendar…

NEW FEATURE ALERT!

Equity in Action Spotlight

Faculty/Staff: Natasha Padilla-Goddard, Head of the English Department

School: WMS

Short Bio: I was born in New Jersey, but, as a military brat, lived all over. I’ve settled in Newton with my husband Peter and 3 kids: Brian, Nia, and Miles. I started teaching in 1994 and haven’t looked back. I LOVE books, ice cream, and eating ice cream while reading books. Due to the ice cream, I also love circuit training, running, and my new Peloton.

Provide an example of how you teach with an equity lens. I try to put Black excellence at the center of my work with students. For example, our essential question for this term is “Does voting matter?” Instead of starting with voter suppression, I’ve started with the enfranchisement of Black American men during Reconstruction. It’s important for students to see that Black Americans have been engaged in the political process since the end of slavery. It did not start with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

How does your work advance equitable outcomes for all students? Even though I’ve started this term with the Reconstruction Era, the conversations about voting and voter suppression are relevant today? Voter ID laws, intimidation at the polls, and gerrymandering exist in a myriad of ways in 2020. At the end of the day, I’m hoping that students will make connections to their own lives and communities which, I hope, will give confidence in themselves and their voices. I want students to feel empowered.

What should other colleagues know about teaching with an equity lens? If one is going to teach with an equity lens, one has to look at their own educational experiences and teaching practices with a critical eye. Don’t trust that what you’ve always known is best for all students, particularly students of color. Integrating public schools did not take into account the ways in which Black students thrived in their all Black learning environment. We are still paying the price of this negligence.

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“Equity is more than a list of practical strategies. It is a lens and an ideological commitment. There are no practical strategies that will help us develop equitable institutions if we are unwilling to deepen our understandings of equity and inequity.” – Paul Gorski

This spotlight series wishes to highlight the equity work present in our learning communities. If you wish to be featured, or wish to nominate a colleague, please send an email to dei@wellesleyps.org.

If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.
Lilla Watson

Wellesley METCO

METCO’s mission is to provide, through professional leadership and voluntary citizen action, the development and promotion of quality integrated educational opportunities for urban and suburban students in the Greater Boston community, and to work toward the expansion of a collaborative education program with the Boston and suburban school systems.