Spring 2022

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Newsletter

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. LPS is excited to focus on the diversity of experience and identity that Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) bring to your community and our learning. We are committed to incorporating AAPI voices and perspectives throughout the school year, the month of May brings us an opportunity to focus more pointedly on the AAPI community's contributions to and influence on the history, culture, and achievements of the United States of America. While using this opportunity for focused celebration, we consciously avoid the dangerous detour of ignoring the AAPI community's presence and impact at other points during the year. With this in mind, we invite all students, staff, and community to join us in celebration of the many contributions and achievements Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have made throughout history and continue to make today. As with previous heritage months, we hope this focused reflection opens the door to more learning for those in our community just beginning to recognize these truths and pushes those who know it to be true to continue their next steps in the journey of lifelong learning.

Profile-A-Day

To increase your own learning about the integral role AAPI have played in the history of our country, click on a profile below every day in May!

As noted with other heritage months, we must also remember the many unsung heroes who worked to make change whose stories we will never know. We honor these individuals as well!

Did You Know?

The first documented Asians to visit the Americas were Fillipino sailors who arrived in what is now known as Mexico in 1587. Explore the specifics of this history and its implications on modern race relations in the United States in this article from The New Yorker.

Stop Asian Hate

As noted in the March 22 Superintendent's Report, the district took several steps in the aftermath of the murders in Atlanta, GA, that emphasized the growing number of anti-Asian attacks across our country. Dr. Hackett shared this letter, which included a list of resources that members of our community can use to care for themselves and others.

The LPS Employees of Color group offered several affinity spaces to process the events and provide support, and the AREA-L staff group provided a similar space for white staff. The LHS Counseling Department also facilitated opportunities for students to come together and discuss their feelings, questions, and ideas, and many educators throughout the district did the same within their classrooms.

As has been popularized by many on social media, we join the commitment to not only stop Asian hate, but also to celebrate Asian joy, to uplift Asian artists, to support Asian businesses, to protect Asian communities and to recognize Asian accomplishments.

On Saturday, March 20, the Lexington community attended a #StopAsianHate vigil at Hastings Park, organized by the Lexington Community Coalition

A Message from Our Staff Affinity Group

May is also Jewish American Heritage Month. The following is a message from our Jewish Staff Affinity Group:

Jews, like so many other minorities have been with our country since before its inception. The first Jewish person came to Virginia in 1621 and the first Jewish community was established in New Amsterdam in 1654. Since then, Jewish-Americans have grown with and fought for our country. The first Jews and the earliest Jewish communities were Sephardic, Jews from Spain, Portugal, and North Africa. In the middle of the 1800s Jews started coming first from Central Europe and then from Eastern Europe around the turn of the century.


Jewish-Americans helped shape the United States and in turn, the United States helped shape us. Two of the four major denominations of Judaism, Conservative and Reconstructionist were both founded in the United States. Jewish-Americans, like many other groups in our nation’s history suffered immense discrimination at various points in our history, and, partly in response to it, Jewish-American groups to this day work with others to fight for equal rights.


When we think of famous Jewish-Americans, we can consider modern Jews such as actress Rashida Jones or the current second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, or we can go back to some of the giants like Leonard Nimoy, Sandy Koufax, and the late, great, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. As we celebrate Jewish-American Heritage Month, let us think back on their legacies and the legacies of all of the other Jewish-Americans who have worked and fought to live in this country side-by-side with others, and may their memories be a blessing for us all.

Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month, more recently known as Autism Acceptance Month, a shift that the Autism Society suggests "aims to foster acceptance to ignite change through improved support and opportunities in education, employment, accessible housing, affordable health care and comprehensive long-term services." Read more about the change here. Below are additional resources to help promote awareness, understanding, and acceptance of the neurodiversity that exists in our schools--and our world!


NOTE: The original online publication of the Spring 2021 DEI Newsletter did not include this section. Inclusion and other equity efforts are lifelong journeys. Lexington Public Schools is committed to that journey, and we are thankful for our community partners who share their knowledge, identities, and experiences with us so that we may raise our own awareness and do better.

Day of Silence

Every April, students across the country, including in Lexington, observe the National Day of Silence. As described by GLSEN, the day "is a national student-led demonstration where LGBTQ students and allies all around the country—and the world—take a vow of silence to protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ people in schools."

LHS will observe the Day of Silence on Tuesday, April 27, this year. Check out this Instagram post for more information and ways to participate!

Spring Hiring Season

While we are typically hiring all yearlong, the spring hiring season tends to be a flurry of activity in public education. (Check out our Job Opportunities page!) As noted in our Strategic Plan, "We strive for staffing that is reflective of the diversity of our student community." Last year's efforts in recruitment and hiring resulted in one-third of our new teacher and administrator hires being educators who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and/or Latinx/Hispanic. See more in our January 2021 Update on LPS Efforts to Reduce Systemic Barriers.

There is ample evidence to suggest diverse staffing, especially racially diverse staffing, can have a significant impact on student outcomes. Check out these resources for more information:

District Support

We have updated our Guidelines for Promoting Diversity in Hiring and we are attending several diversity job fairs, including those hosted by MPDE, The Teachers' Lounge, and area colleges. Resumes and contact information for candidates LPS representatives meet at these sessions are forwarded directly to hiring managers, and those staff follow up with candidates directly, inviting them to apply for specific positions. The district is also participating in DESE's Diversity Network, looking at strategies and practices to improve retention rates for current staff.

Student Voice

LPS students playing an increasingly important role in the recruitment and hiring process. Several students from the DEI Student Advisory Council are attending several of the spring diversity job fairs, and the Educator Recruitment subcommittee, under the student leadership of Heath Fox ('23) and Nidhi Inamdar ('25), are creating original recruitment materials, including this flyer and the video below. Several students will be joining hiring committees to meet and provide feedback on candidates this spring as well.

Staff Affinity Groups

We are excited to continue providing virtual affinity spaces this spring. Community members interested in learning more about why we provide employee affinity spaces can read more here. We are already hard at work implementing systems and structures to facilitate these groups long-term.

Our district-wide sessions this season include affinity spaces for the following identities:

  • Employees of Color

  • Administrators of Color

  • White Educators for Antiracism

  • White Administrators for Antiracism

  • LGBTQIA+ Staff

  • Black/African-American Staff

  • Asian/Asian-American Staff

  • Hispanic/Latinx Staff

  • Middle Eastern/Northern African (MENA) Staff

  • Biracial/Multiracial Staff

  • Women in Leadership

  • Multilingual Staff

  • Jewish Staff

Staff can check out dates and times here! (LPS login required.)

I'm Not Racist...Am I?

Mark your calendars for May 18-20 for a second community screening of the documentary I'm Not Racist...Am I? The film follows a group of diverse high schoolers learning about race and racism and the direct impact on their lives. The opportunity is generously funded by the high school and middle school PTOs. A staff viewing on March 12, 2020, was canceled due to the COVID pandemic, and our plans for May's viewing will include all LHS students and staff. The LPS Director of Professional Learning and Special Projects is creating opportunities for PK-8 staff to participate, and community members are encouraged to view the film online during the 48-hour viewing window May 18-20.

Curriculum Notes

Our school staff continue to work hard to create an environment where all students feel they belong, are included and valued, and can learn in an environment free from harm. In March, two dozen members of the DEI Student Advisory Council me with the middle school English Department to discuss the impact of their inclusive curriculum efforts. After a brief welcome, the four student co-chairs of the SAC's curriculum subcommittee, Sophia Alcacer ('25), Madelyn Chu ('23), Suhanee Mitragotri (21), and Defne Olgun ('23), each led small group discussion with their peers focusing on strategies teachers can use to meaningfully incorporate historically marginalized and silenced groups into their curriculum without spotlighting students who hold those identities in class, as well as helping students who hold traditionally centered identities move safely through discomfort and treat others with dignity and respect. Teachers listened and will be turning what they heard into guidance for all staff on which the students will provide additional feedback. Several other curriculum leaders are eager to meet with the students for feedback on our work. Next, the students will meet with the district librarians to discuss their collections and how to make diverse media more readily available to students who need it.

On the Line: Where Sacrifice Begins

Check out the 2016 documentary On the Line: Where Sacrifice Begins, about the history fo the METCO program and directed by LHS graduate Mike Mascoll, Class of 1983. The film can be viewed for free with a Minuteman Library Network account via Kanopy here.

Dates to Consider

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) maintains a comprehensive list of cultural, ethnic and religious observances. Below are spring dates and hyperlinks to learn more. Check the ADL's complete list here.


Resources

The following are recent articles, videos, and educational news items to check out as we engage in the lifelong journey of bringing greater equity to our community!

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