Editor,

As a parent advocating for change in the RSU 21 school district around issues of discrimination, tolerance and bigotry, I absolutely understand that children’s moral compasses are set at home, beginning at birth. Bigotry is learned and often, unfortunately, learned at home. Parents do have the ultimate responsibility for teaching tolerance, however many parents do not have the education, resources or desire to make that change. Schools should be places for critical thinking, thought experiments and pushing boundaries when it comes to individual experience, perspective and biases. Teaching tolerance at schools is logically a step in the right direction of breaking patterns that are learned at home and in the community.

However, the issue that I have with recent events at our schools, leading to at least two Black families feeling like they needed to leave the community due to bigotry and lack of support or change, is with the response, or lack thereof, by the administration. Sound leadership would recognize the need to support the victims and work hard towards change, shining a light on the issue and tackling it head on. Instead, it seems that it was swept under the rug and at least one of the victims felt, ultimately, further persecuted.

The fact that our schools perform well, academically, is irrelevant to the fact that we have apparently fostered a climate of hate. In fact, it may even be an indicator that we do have an issue, given the fact that we are predominantly white and privileged community, as research indicates that what zip code you live in directly translates into the success you will have in life and that Black families have intentionally been kept out of White neighborhoods for generations.

As a community member I am heartbroken to know that circumstances lead folks to leave the district, uprooting their families and their lives to escape a climate that was clearly uninhabitable for them. What further evidence do we need, other than knowing that at least two families have left the district as a direct result of racial discrimination and a lack of support? How difficult is it to apologize that they were made to feel that way, regardless of what policies and procedures were or were not followed? So, to Rosa Slack and anyone else who has been the victim of such harassment in our community, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you were treated poorly, I’m sorry that we didn’t do enough to rectify the situation and make you feel safe and I promise to do better and continue to fight for change that I know is needed if we are to progress as a community, as a school district and as human beings.

Emily Ingwersen

Arundel