“Building and Sustaining Racially Progressive Schools” is a virtual panel discussion presented by Not in Our Town Princeton at 7 p.m. Oct. 1.
What does a racially-progressive school, in which all students, teachers, and staff feel that they are treated equitably, look like? And why is it so challenging to create and sustain such schools?
“So often, when we speak about educational equity, we focus on examples of inequity, but not examples of what we are aspiring for our schools to be,” said Raisa Rubin-Stankiewicz, a Not in Our Town Princeton board member and recent Princeton High School graduate, who is moderating the panel. “There are strides being made toward racial equity in the Princeton Public Schools, as evidenced by the expansion of racial literacy curriculum, the name change at the middle school, and the expansion of restorative justice at the high school. However, there are still barriers that prevent the district from being a place in which all students feel equally welcome. In order to truly have this conversation, we need to discuss what a racially progressive school looks like and what impedes schools from achieving true racial equity, both in Princeton and nationwide.”
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This panel is being hosted by Not in Our Town Princeton and co-sponsored by the Princeton Public Schools, Princeton Civil Rights Commission, Princeton Public Library, Princeton YWCA, Princeton Family YMCA, the Witherspoon Jackson Historical and Cultural Society and the Witherspoon Jackson Neighborhood Association.
Not in Our Town Princeton, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is a multiracial, multi-faith social action group united to advance the cause of racial justice.
The inspiration for this event came from the New York Times podcast series “Nice White Parents.”
The panelists include Princeton Public Schools Interim Superintendent Barry Galasso, Princeton High School Assistant principal and parent, Cecilia Birge; equity consultant and author of the 2018 Equity Audit report, Marceline DuBose; historian & former Princeton High School Guidance Counselor, Shirley Satterfield; Princeton High School Teacher, Dr. Joy Barnes-Johnson; Princeton Public School parents, Dr. Keith Wailoo and Dr. Lynda Dodd; Princeton Public Schools Alums, Juan Polanco (class of 2013), Brianna Silva (2018), and Geoffrey Allen (2019); and Princeton High School Students Mojisola Ayodele and Eli Edelman (2022).
Pre-registration for this event is required and is available through the Princeton Public Library’s website, https://princetonlibrary.libnet.info/event/4590338.
