Seven Oaks approves anti-racism policy

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This article was published 18/06/2021 (1039 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Seven Oaks School Division has solidified in policy its belief all staff should be accountable to principles of anti-racism — a first-of-its-kind move in Manitoba that will require teachers review course content for bias and stereotyping, among other action items.

The school board has approved its anti-racism policy, one year after trustee Greg McFarlane released a statement on his experience as a Black man and father in Seven Oaks, amidst a global reckoning of racism and police brutality.

“You can already see the culture change within the schools because everybody is aware of it and mindful of it. It’s slowly starting to change and the conversations about racism flow a lot better in the classroom,” said McFarlane, who has championed equity initiatives throughout his term as chairman of the board in 2020-21.

Anti-racism, per the definition in the new five-page document, is any act against racism and the oppression of marginalized groups, including acknowledging personal privileges, confronting discriminatory actions, and locating racism within institutions and policy.

“Being anti-racist is based on the conscious efforts and actions to provide equitable opportunities for all people on an individual and system level,” states the policy, which formally endorses the anti-racist education work many Seven Oaks teachers already do.

A series of goals around equitable teaching approaches, collaboration with parent councils and wider community, and annual data collection are included in the policy.

It is now in writing schools are expected to equip libraries with anti-racism literature, engage students in age-appropriate lessons about it, and create processes and supports to address incidents of racism.

Indifference, othering, lowered academic expectations, and racialized school cliques are among the race relation and intersectional issues school leaders are required to address in their buildings.

Per the policy, school administrators will be required to include anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion outcomes as part of their annual reports.

On a division-wide scale, administrators have committed to collecting, analyzing and reporting on student and staff diversity data, in addition to working towards having its staff roster better reflect its student population. Parent council demographic data will be collected as well, “to identify barriers to engagement for marginalized and underrepresented groups.”

Also in the policy is a goal to establish annual anti-racism training for all new and existing administrators, staff and parent council bodies. Funding and release time is to be provided to support these initiatives.

The document was informed by months of consultation with parents, community, students, staff and trustees, as part of a wider anti-racism strategy. The division hired Indigenous education expert Rebecca Chartrand to create it.

Reflecting on the last year of equity work, McFarlane said the policy is a prime example of the importance of having diverse voices on a board.

He added: “Our hope is that moving forward with this Bill 64, that whatever changes (the province makes to the public education system), they take this policy and they adapt it.”

 

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie