February 2024 marks one year since the appalling racist image was shown during the middle school announcements. At this event, a large gathering of students, parents, residents, and school and community leaders listened to stories of the experiences of black children in our schools. It was heartbreaking and the reason for our demands for URGENT change that is systemic and sustained.
Event Recap
Bexley City Schools students and parents shared their personal experiences with racism in our schools
ERiBS planning team shared the following priority work areas that align with the Bexley City Schools strategic plan. Each of these initiatives were reflected in the community feedback gathered in 2023.
Implementing No Place for Hate -- a national student-led school climate improvement program that is highly visible cultivates student leadership, provides tools to proactively address bias and bullying incidents, builds upon work that is already being done (Strategic Plan Alignment: Embrace Equity)
Engagement with School PTOs -- active collaboration with all school PTOs on DEI initiatives (Strategic Plan Alignment: Demonstrate Kindness)
Implement Multicultural Course for Students -- implementation of a multicultural education to foster understanding and acceptance of different races, beliefs and traditions, while also inspiring positive social interaction among students. (Strategic Plan Alignment: Learn with Curiosity)
Academic curriculum reviews and changes (Strategic Plan Alignment: Learn with Curiosity)
Upcoming Plans
April: meeting with ERiBS planning team and school district leadership to track progress and discuss obstacles
May: ERiBS will publish an end-of-school-year community report about the progress and challenges in our work
➡️ If you are motivated by this urgent mission, please join our planning team by sending us an email.
Discussion Agenda
Review of the September meeting with school leadership
Provide updates on the progress made
Hear and share personal stories of incidents of racism that have occurred in the schools since our last gathering
Discuss how this group can work most effectively to make and sustain changes in our schools
Given recent leadership changes, the planning team met with the newest members of the Bexley Schools Leadership team -- Laura Moore (Leader of Experiential Learning & Community Engagement) and Stephen Lewis (Leader of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) to bring them up-to-date on our community and cause, review the ideas submitted by the community, and discuss how we parter to move forward on the implementation of these ideas into school processes and policies going forward.
Discussion Agenda
Review of the April Meeting with School Leadership
Discuss District Leadership Presentation to Board of Education: “Confronting & Combating Racism”
IMPORTANT: Please watch the presentation (1 hour) and make notes of your thoughts and feedback. We do recognize that this is a time investment! We want to ensure we have an informed and productive exchange of perspectives at the May 10 dialogue event.
Discuss DEI Leadership Role at Bexley Schools
Discuss Holding the Schools Accountable for Actionable Change and Measurable Progress
The planning team met with the Bexley Schools Leadership team -- Dr. Fine, Marcelius Braxton, Steve Shapiro, and Casey Cosgray to begin discussions on the ideas submitted by the community and how we can partner together to organize, prioritize, and implement these ideas into school processes and policies going forward. Topics discussed in this initial meeting included:
The Equity Plan
Zero tolerance for racism and hate speech
Anti-racism curriculum for students and families
Anti-racism curriculum for teachers
Safety app to report racist incidents
Communication of racist incidents to students, parents, and the community
Reporting and tracking, dashboard, and audits
Thank you for participating in the idea generation process and sharing links to the survey and contact form with your network! The planning team is preparing to meet with Dr. Fine, Marcelius Braxton, Steve Shapiro, and Casey Cosgray to review the community ideas submitted and discuss a plan of action for organizing, prioritizing, and implementing these ideas into school processes and policies going forward. This will be the first meeting of many and we look forward to the continued and ongoing partnership from the school leadership team.
Mark your calendar to attend the next school board meeting on April 12 at 6:00 p.m. at Bexley City Hall or via Live Stream on YouTube.
We are also planning the next community meeting for late April. During our time together we will (1) share information on the progress made with our school leadership team and (2) facilitate collaborative discussions on ideas that require additional development, research, planning, leadership, etc.
Please continue to share the link to the community survey where we are collecting ideas to ensure Bexley Schools are an anti-racist environment. We will close the survey on Sunday, March 26 in preparation for a meeting with the school superintendent and leadership team, where we will provide a summary of the comments and work toward how to move these ideas into action. (SURVEY CLOSED)
At the March 8, 2023 school board meeting, we introduced ourselves and shared our group's purpose with the School Board and Superintendent. We asked for their partnership in prioritizing the ideas provided by the community and identifying how we turn these ideas into action.
A recording of the meeting and public comment section (at the end) is available to view on YouTube.
A group of concerned Bexley parents and residents came together for an evening collaborative session to generate ideas for how Bexley Schools must improve safety, communication, education and culture. More than 60 attendees generated ideas in small group discussions that will be summarized and published to the community. Contact information was gathered to support communications with the group about next steps and plans.
If you'd like to submit your ideas to be included in this initiative, please fill out this survey. (SURVEY CLOSED)
If you'd like to share your contact information, please fill out this form.
Parents of black students in Bexley Schools came together to share their families' experiences and concerns after the racist image posted during the Bexley Middle School student announcements on Friday, February 3 and subsequent acts of racism that have occurred in the schools. The group attending committed to working together to organize actions to hold the Bexley Schools accountable for improving the experience of all Black students.