Transparency key in discussion of school audit

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A push to better understand equity, diversity, and inclusion across all levels of society, including in the workplace and at schools, emerged in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 murder at the hands of the Minneapolis Police. After the wave of unrest that followed Floyd’s killing came a national call for a reckoning on race.

And it was out of that context that the Vineyard school system — under the direction of the superintendent and with help from a national nonprofit — set out last year to do an audit, to hear from students, parents, and faculty about the culture and environment at the schools, and whether students were seeing their needs met for equity, diversity, and inclusion.

The idea, as we understand it, was to make sure students of all races, ethnicities, genders, and faith backgrounds are getting equal access to education, and to ensure that the climate in the schools is welcoming. Hearing from parents, students and teachers is a significant part of that audit. 

The contents of the interviews with parents and students could be revealing, and could help make recommendations for changes across the district.

But, so far at least, the information has not been presented to the public, even though the administration has had the information from these surveys in its hands since June. The MV Times has been pushing to get hold of the report so we could be part of the process of sharing it with the whole Island, and now we have been told the school administration does plan to do so tonight. We are pleased to hear that, and we would politely ask, “What took so long?”

As to next steps and outlined by Superintendent Richie Smith earlier this year, the raw data from the surveys was to be completed and provided to the district at the beginning of the summer. The district would then pull together a report, before presenting the information to school committee members and the public in the fall. At the time of initial discussions, there were requests from school members that information from the audit would be released to the public. 

While the district received a final audit report this summer from the national educational nonprofit Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium, the school administration plans to present the data to the All-Island School Committee Thursday, Oct. 3, while also publicly releasing the information on a school website.

We find it problematic that the results weren’t shared before this presentation is made to the school committee. School committee members could ask more pointed questions, armed with the pertinent information or analyses by seeing the report first. 

Also, by presenting the information without releasing the information beforehand, the school administration may see a benefit in framing the discussion on its own terms, but they may also run into critics who see that as cooking the books.

Maybe more to the point, this is work done by a public school. These are public documents, and the public should dictate how they are circulated.

All that said, there is no indication that the administration has any malicious intent in trying to hide the information. Superintendent Smith has worked with a team with a deadline in mind, and they are so-far sticking to the plan. He has also stated that he intends to be transparent and release the results.

Equally important, equity and diversity work should be done with careful consideration, with sensitivity at the forefront of any decision. While maybe not the intent, those of us in the news media understand that we are prone to sharing complex findings out of context, and so a slow, steady process is understandable. We recognize the information contained in the report could, and likely does, include sensitive information that should be treated carefully.

For context, the audit made the news this spring at the same time as a contentious issue at Edgartown School, where parents told administrators that some higher-achieving students were not getting challenged while teachers were stretched thin, as resources were going to non-English or English-as-a-second-language students, or to students with special needs. 

Whether true or not, that was voiced by parents, and it’s no coincidence that the remarks were made with an increasing Brazilian population on the Island that does require resources for English-language-learning programs. Across the Island school system, close to one-third of the students are Brazilians speaking Portuguese in the home, and in the Tisbury schools that number rises to more than half. As detailed in our paper this week, we also heard from some students that there are concerns about a division between Portuguese- and English-speaking students, some even suggesting that there are distressing signs of racism within school halls. 

Ensuring that all students feel they belong in our schools is a serious and difficult topic that needs serious consideration and time from the school’s administration. Setting out to better understand the culture of the schools and student experiences is a bold and extremely important step to take, and the schools should be commended for undertaking it.

We are hopeful that the district and Superintendent Smith will be as transparent, and sensitive, when discussing these results — and that they will help guide an important conversation.