Wanted: Public comment on BLM flag-raising, Thatcher school name
January 26, 2021 | The HUUSD BoardTo the community:
The Harwood Union Unified School District School Board has been engaging with anti-racism education and conversation over the past year, and would like to hear from more of our community members as we consider some important potential action steps. We invite you to share your thoughts, and please help us to spread the word.
At our Feb. 10 meeting, the board will be taking up the question of renaming Thatcher Brook Primary School given Partridge Thatcher's known identity as a slaveholder. The request to initiate this came from a group of Harwood Union students, staff, and community members that had worked to learn more about the history and facilitate community conversation on the topic. (More information about their work is available here: https://www.waterburyroundabout.org/.../xa6k9zdvf9etgr1p2)
Another topic of interest has been to raise Black Lives Matter flags at our seven campuses. This came up for discussion in the summer of 2020 and was tabled after several community members suggested that too few voices, particularly from Black, indigenous and people of color community members, had been involved in the consideration and recommendation of the matter. On Jan. 27, the board plans to revisit this topic in some form – perhaps as an action item, perhaps simply as a discussion of our role as a board and as individuals on the board.
We are eager to hear from you – our greater public, and in particular, our students and BIPOC members of our community – to share your thoughts about these topics. It is our hope to hear from a broad range of voices from our six towns and embark on a process that encourages collective learning. We welcome all viewpoints, both through email or public comment at an upcoming meeting.
The next regular Board meeting will be Jan. 27, at 6 p.m. Remote meeting requirements have made it easier than ever to participate in or view School Board meetings, and we hope you will consider joining us. You can also email the board with your thoughts at cen-huusdboard@huusd.org.
– To participate live through Zoom, simply click on this link at the meeting's start time: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/386460007#success
– To view either live or after-the-fact on YouTube, use this link: https://tinyurl.com/y57hs7jt
– To view on Mad River Television, use this link: www.mrvtv.com
Thank you for continued support,
The HUUSD Board