Principals Tom Drake and Sarah Schoolcraft shared a report on the HUUSD Task Force on Anti-Racism (TFAR) and answered Board questions. This is ongoing work being done across the district at the staff level. The Board approved plans to develop a flag policy for the District and agreed to further explore ideas and policies related to the concept of equity in the coming months.
The Board also began discussion around a request to change the name of Thatcher Brook Primary School, given Partridge Thatcher’s known status as a slaveholder. This is expected to be a two-part decision. First, should the name be changed? And if so, how should the District move forward with this work? Discussion around the first question will be the focus of the Board’s February 10 meeting, and action on that question may be taken that evening. Information and additional resources about the life and work of Partridge Thatcher can be found HERE or at the Waterbury Area Anti-Racism Coalition’s (WAARC) website waterburyantiracism.com.
The Board has begun to receive feedback and opinions on these topics from students, parents, staff and community members. We encourage you to share your thoughts with the Board before February 10th, so that your voice can be added to the mix. There are a number of ways to do so. If you are comfortable contacting the full board, you can use the group email address [email protected]. Another way to be heard by the whole Board at once is to share a comment during the public comment portion of a Board meeting (these are limited in time to 3 minutes or less). Both of these are highly effective ways to be heard by the entirety of the Board. If public speaking or group email is not your preference, consider reaching out to any individual Board members (from your town, or from any of our towns) by phone or email -- contact information is available HERE.
While the Board must adhere to formal protocols and state laws in its operations, we encourage you to remember that it is made up of your neighbors -- people you would see on the sports sidelines, in the grocery, or at church -- regular folks who are interested in the issues at hand and welcome your thoughts, even when there are differences of opinion. We look forward to hearing from you.
Respectfully,
The HUUSD Board