New Berlin School District should form a committee to address race issues in schools, board member says – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The New Berlin School Board heard a follow-up presentation on diversity and inclusion March 22 at New Berlin Eisenhower Middle and High School. It also heard a suggestion of creating a community committee centered around diversity from board member Krislyn Holaday-Wondrachek as well as parent Allison Dietrich.(Photo: File)

A New Berlin School Board member suggested creating a community committee to tackle the issue of race in the district a month after a different board member's comments about Black History Month drew outrage from some residents.

Krislyn Holaday-Wondracheksuggested doing what the Elmbrook School District had done in creating a committee of administrators, educators, parents, community members and students to study the issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

"They have been meeting almost every month to talk about the climate of diversity regarding race in their district and how they want to proceed on it so that all students feel welcomed and valued in their buildings," Holaday-Wondrachek said.

Holaday-Wondrachek was referring toElmbrook's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Workgroup. It is led by Dr. Elise Frattura, a retired University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor and co-founder of Integrated Comprehensive Systems for Equity, and Elmbrook Director of Student Services Tanya Fredrich. The group's first meeting was Aug. 31, 2020, according to the Elmbrook School District website.

Holaday-Wondracheknoted that during the public comment sessions of the March 22 and Feb. 22 board meetings, almost 90% of the speakers had negative things to say about the racial climate in the New Berlin SchoolDistrict.

"When 90% of our speakers in the last month say we've got a problem, I think we need to listen," she said."I hope we do something about it."

At the March 22 meeting, residents, parents and students again called for the board to revise the curriculum.

Rachel Lautenbach, a senior at New Berlin West High School, said the school's curriculum is severely outdated.

"Our students are learning a very whitewashed version of American history," Lautenbach said.

Like Holaday-Wondrachek, parentAllison Dietrich also suggested forming a group of parents, students, staff and community members to address the issue.

"Frederick Douglass said 'if there is no struggle there is no progress.' Let's work together to get through the struggle and make some progress," Dietrich said.

Discussion around race in the district amplified when board member Jeffrey Kurth saidat the board's Feb. 22 meeting thathe "completely" disagreedwith Black History Month because it wasn't inclusive enough.

In its follow-up presentation, the district illustrated the disparity between the number of students of color and the number of staff members of corresponding races.

For example, the 94-slide presentation said that Asian and Hispanic, as well as male students, are the most underrepresented populations in terms of staffing demographics. Data shows that while 8.4%of the district's students are Asian and 7.3% are Hispanic/Latino, just 1.35% of staff are Asian and 1.5% of staff are Hispanic. Black students make up 1.5% of the district's student population and 1.2% of district staff. 95% of district staff are white and 79.1% of district students are white;51.9% of the district's students are male while 30% of district staff aremale and 69.3% of district staff are female.

The district is also planninga 2021-22 English/Language Arts program review that will include a diversity audit of classroom libraries, among other things.

Moving forward, the district plans to seek curricular resources and instructional strategies to meet all students' needs and bemore intentional about engaging with and celebrating diversity throughout the year.

ContactAlec Johnson at(262) 875-9469 oralec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.

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New Berlin School District should form a committee to address race issues in schools, board member says - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel