TIGARD, Ore. — Students' stories of personal experiences demonstrating ongoing racism in Tigard-Tualatin School District schools, paired up with nationwide protests calling for an end to systemic racism prompted the school board to take action.
"We are not getting where we need to be given, the voices that we heard Monday night," said Board Chair, Maureen Wolf.
The school board approved a resolution condemning racism and committing to being an anti-racist district, during a virtual board work session Monday.
“Current policies address bullying and harassment and social media harassment but this is saying it’s not enough, it’s not working," Wolf said.
She says the heart of the resolution was to be specific in language and see action. Step one is creating a hate speech policy.
"This really pushes the envelope further to say no, what are you going to say to call it out, and then, the next step is how do you operationalize that in our schools so that students know that is defined in the policy and it’s going to be executed in our schools."
Work on the policy starts this summer, but how will it be executed in district schools? Wolf says they don't have an answer to that question but will work with students to figure it out.
A second piece of the resolution was around the curriculum. "Do I see all of our students as I turn the pages of that curriculum? Are we identifying pieces that really celebrate all cultures? I think those are the pieces that, yes we do that, but is it enough?"
Wolf says a lot of work lies ahead but she's ready to take on the challenges.
"These students are just ready to share their stories and be brutally honest with us and I’m ready to go.”