Race-Related Issues In FPS Dominate Discussion At Equity Event

FAIRFIELD, CT — The challenges of navigating issues of race and racism in Fairfield schools dominated a recent roundtable discussion hosted by the town’s Racial Equity and Justice Task Force.

The event, which was attended by about 50 people via Webex, provided an opportunity for task force members to consider residents’ experiences with race as the body works to compile an equity blueprint for the Board of Selectmen.

“I did not expect the theme of tonight to be about education,” said John Whaley, an English teacher at Fairfield Warde High School and facilitator for Fairfield Warde Voices for Equity. “Almost every story that somebody told centered around what our kids, for some of them, have to endure, and, at the very least, experience in our public schools.”

Older students hear racial slurs on a daily basis in school, according to the parents in attendance Thursday. Their complaints follow several racist incidents in recent weeks within the school district, one of which resulted in charges being brought against a 16-year-old Warde student.

Parents also discussed experiences with teachers who were ill-equipped to effectively address the nuances of race and racism when teaching history or literature that touched on those topics, leaving students anxious, confused or marginalized.

“It is essential that our teachers are equipped to have these conversations,” parent Jennifer Ellwood said. “In my opinion, we need inclusive materials in our classrooms that represent people and children of all ethnicities as the positive protagonist.”

Additionally, parents were concerned about educators who showed biases in the classroom or were unresponsive to complaints.

“There is a lot of work to be done to make FPS a truly inclusive environment for all,” Superintendent Mike Cummings said in an email. “We are committed to that work.”

Cummings advised anyone who does not receive a response to a complaint to contact central office staff, or, should the central office be unresponsive, to contact the superintendent’s office. Community members are encouraged to report racial slurs and graffiti at the school level, he said, adding the district does not tolerate racist words or vandalism.

“We recognize that our staff may not be comfortable in addressing anti-racism and bias issues,” Cummings said. "We are scheduling professional learning for staff to support them in these discussions as well as the policy and procedure work we need to do as a school system. This work will begin in August.”

The Rev. D. Stanley Lord, president of the Greater Bridgeport NAACP, attended Thursday’s roundtable.

“It’s heart-wrenching to hear these stories,” he said, adding the NAACP has offered to train Fairfield school administrators on diversity and sensitivity, and that Fairfield students will have the opportunity to learn from college students affiliated with the NAACP about how to react to and report race-related issues.

Another topic residents touched on at the event was policing, with some in attendance recounting stories of people of color being singled out by law enforcement. Task force Co-Chair Gina Ludlow discussed an incident April 26, when a Black driver was stopped on High Street in connection with a report in which the suspect was a white man. Following the incident, the involved officers underwent implicit bias training. The police department also worked with the driver to address his concerns about the stop and consulted the task force.

“What we can do as a task force is really think more deeply about, when these things happen, is there a way they’re supported by existing structures?” Ludlow said.

Chief Robert Kalamaras did not respond to an email Friday, but previously told Fairfield Patch that the meeting with the task force was productive and that whenever there is an incident in which a resident feels aggrieved by police, the department will investigate.

The agency also recently invited the task force to be involved in the officer hiring process, creating an opportunity to discuss the composition of the force and how to improve diversity within the department.

“When we’re talking about racial equity, we’re talking about all of us,” Ludlow said. “This task force is about all of our stories, because if it is not fair for one of us, it is not fair for any of us.”

First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said in an email that she hopes to see the task force — which is expected to present its recommendations later this year — potentially find space for improvement in areas such as the town’s hiring practices, education system, police department and more.

“A task force can’t change every bias, but I believe it can look at and make recommendations how we change our town government, or school policies for the better,” she said.