SHS board understands need for diversity

This letter supports the United4Stevenson Board candidates — Terry Moons, Bruce Lubin, Merv Roberts and David Weisberg and their position on the “Culture of involvement, inclusion and collaboration and equity and access for all students.

At Stevenson, all students, regardless of background, diversity or personal characteristics, have access to a challenging curriculum. Equal access was addressed by Stevenson in 1991. Ten-percent quotas existed in both honors and basic level programs.

The board began to erase those “access” inequities. They eliminated the lowest-level classes and provided access into courses with higher expectations. Stevenson has never been a status quo place. The current board has created a culture that consistently asks, “how can we get better”? Academic results have soared in every academic indicator of performance. The State University of New York’s Center for Research cited Stevenson as a SMART school in 2006, and as a GOOD School, one of 24 high schools nationally, a school that helps students develop ethical character and who embrace its diversity. The board said, “We will identify progress toward equity in curriculum and school environment.” The board asked every department to address equity in classroom practices, curriculum, and culture for students and adults as suggested by the National Coalition for Equity and Education; Do students respect others and embrace diversity? Do they have friends across racial, class, religious and ethnic lines? Is there harassment of students of color, gender or sexual orientation? Are students from diverse backgrounds in positions of leadership? Is there safety to talk about sensitive issues of diversity? Are adults working to overcome their own biases?

Moons, Lubin, Roberts and Weisberg want Stevenson to have a diverse culture and have promoted practices for equal access to curriculum and a safe environment that allows personal growth.

Timothy D. Kanold, Former Stevenson HSD 125 Superintendent