Previous letter incorrectly characterizes teacher training

Dear Editor:

The News Tribune published a letter on Oct. 1 discussing a training provided to selected JC Schools employees. The name of the training was “Unconscious Bias: Understanding Bias to Unleash Potential” designed by Franklin Covey, the same best-selling author of “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.”

The letter stated: “Some of the ‘demands’ for teachers following this guide are: antiracist therapy for white educators and support staff; remove all police and policing from schools: reparations for children of color; and an end to standardized testing.”

I attended the second of the two-day training. I was there. I heard what was said. I read the materials presented. I assure you, I did not hear nor did I read any of the rhetoric referenced in the letter to the editor.

What I did hear and read was information to help staff understand their own biases and how those might impact students in their classrooms. For example, holding some students to higher standards than others based on your own biases about that student’s abilities. The training is not a curriculum, it was training designed to train staff on equity in education and implicit biases. There is a need to understand the students who sit in our classrooms in order to meet their social, emotional and academic needs.

The training was paid for with a federal grant. It was paid for with taxpayer dollars but it was not paid for with local real estate tax dollars. The federal Title funds are available to address significant gaps with the underrepresented and marginalized populations. Data indicate these populations do not achieve at the same rate and receive a disproportionate amount of suspensions for behaviors.

The letter ended with the quote: “To permit ignorance is to empower it.” My letter is meant to provide information so we do not continue to empower ignorance.