Marble Falls ISD outlines ways to address racism on campuses
During a Feb. 22 board meeting, Marble Falls Independent School District Superintendent Chris Allen outlined short-term and long-term actions being taken by the district to mitigate racist and discriminatory behavior within MFISD. Screen capture from MFISD YouTube
The Marble Falls Independent School District is pursuing actions to mitigate racist and discriminatory behavior taking place on campuses. Superintendent Chris Allen outlined short- and long-term strategies the district will pursue during the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, Feb. 22.
District administration has been working to address racial discrimination since a Jan. 18 board meeting, when three parents publicly shared their children’s experiences with racism as well as their own. The parents called on district leadership to find ways to mitigate racist and discriminatory behavior in the district as well as the community.
MFISD hosted a public listening session Feb. 10 to start a dialogue on how to remedy the problem. Although not advertised on the district’s social media outlets, a meeting agenda was on the district’s BroadBook page prior to the event.
About 25 people, including district staff, school board members, the three parents who spoke in January, and other residents attended the meeting, according to MFISD Board of Trustees President Kevin Naumann. Attendees divided into small groups for discussion, during which many shared personal experiences with board members and staff. They also discussed policies that outline protocols on how the district can teach about “controversial issues.”
“(The meeting) was eye opening,” Naumann said in an interview with DailyTrib.com. “What stood out to me is it is very clearly not a Black and white issue. It’s a hate issue. Some of the comments had to do with kids getting picked on because they were Hispanic or because they were Asian. My takeaway was there are some very short-term things we can do in terms of being more diligent in celebrating multicultural events throughout the year.”
Currently, administration is reviewing verbiage in both the Student Handbook and the Student Code of Conduct to determine if and where it should be strengthened regarding acceptable behavior, Allen said during the Feb. 22 meeting. Other short-term and mid-term actions being pursued include exploring cultural appreciation materials and programs to train staff and creating student groups dedicated to increasing respect on campuses.
Allen said MFISD also will re-emphasize celebrating “historical and cultural events of the United States and the world,” some of which are outlined in district policy. Additionally, the district will look at partnering with community leaders and organizers to promote cultural awareness, ensuring district personnel reflect the demographics of the district and other long-term goals.
Naumann said he hopes these actions will help pave the way toward a more respectful and united community.
“There’s still a lot to do, but this is a step forward,” he said.
7 thoughts on “Marble Falls ISD outlines ways to address racism on campuses”
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No child should be taught that they are better or worse because of the color of their skin. Racism is terrible and I despise it. Our Nation has witnessed a lot of racist behavior over the summer of 2020, etc with BLM, Antifa, etc movements destroying history, burning buildings, killing people, etc. That should never be allowed or condoned. Many school systems are being taught CRT and other forms of racist ideology and that must stop also. No gender identity should be discussed or taught in our school system. Teach our kids math, English, history, introduction to a skilled trade that they can use and let parents raise their own children. It seems more and more that schools lose the meaning of what their job is…kinda like our government.
So you’re going to codify opinion now? This is ‘progressive’ idiocy, not practical thinking. Teach kids the three R’s, and leave the rest to their parents. After all they’re THEIR kids, NOT the MFISDs……………..
children learn social skills more at school, church, and any playground more than at home. If they hear only prejudice and hate a home, they p0ractice it in public. We can’t change the home…but we can try to show cause and effect of hateful acts and words…at school.
I agree with you. In a previous article about this subject, one of the mothers who spoke about the racism her son had faced in school had a short term and long -term plan to address the problem. She sounded more like a political advocate and activist than any mother I know. American kids lag behind their counterparts in other countries in Math, Science. A little more of that and less of the activism.
History is also important, as are other social sciences. These are also core subjects. Given the way the world is going, these are relevant topics. Pull your head out of the sand and take a look around.
That said, I agree that math and science could use a boost. Perhaps we could spend more time and money on that than football?
That’s hysterical. Nowhere here is anything said about codifying opinion, apart from the view racism is undesirable. And are you unaware of the right-wing paranoia about ‘critical race theory’ resulting in rules that explicitly codify opinion? No, this is not the ‘progressives’.
You really don’t see much past your own views, do you?