Schools reaffirm commitment to combating racism after Floyd’s death

Richard Montgomery principal begins work group to identify, eliminate bias

June 9, 2020 11:22 p.m.

As protests continue across the country in response to the death of a black man in Minneapolis police custody, local educators have spent the past week talking to students about racism, police brutality and civic activism.

Teachers throughout Montgomery County have reworked lesson plans to include the discussions with their students, from kindergarten to high school-aged. They’ve read books, held virtual forums to give students a safe space to share their thoughts and have voiced their support on social media. The school board and Superintendent Jack Smith released a lengthy statement last weekend condemning acts of racism and renewing their commitment to combating bias.

For Richard Montgomery High School Principal Damon Monteleone, this work is not new.

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Monteleone led Richard Montgomery through “serious, intensive work” to enhance the school community’s cultural proficiency in 2016, and, in recent years, has participated in MCPS’ work to address implicit biases in the district.

Now, as the nation sees protests and riots erupt over George Floyd’s death, Monteleone has refocused his efforts on fighting racism in his school — work he plans to continue long past when people stop marching.

Floyd died on May 25 after a white police officer pressed his knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd was on the ground and saying he couldn’t breathe. The officer has been charged with murder, and three other officers have been charged in connection to his death. All four were fired.

“I used to entertain or consider this idea where some people thought, ‘It’s not my job to talk about race,’ or, ‘I’m not paid to talk about race with my kids,’ but, honestly, I’m kind of done with that,” Monteleone said in an interview on Thursday. “… For me now, with (Floyd’s death), frankly, my political filter was unleashed. I’m going to call it for what it is and I’m going to lead with more courage than maybe I did before. If you work at RM, this is part of the gig, is the message I’m sending.”

Richard Montgomery is considered one of the most diverse schools in Montgomery County. With about 2,500 students, about 30% are white, 23% are Hispanic, 17% are black and 26% are Asian, according to school system data.

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Since Floyd’s death, Monteleone has been vocal on social media about his support for minority children. On June 1, he posted photos on Twitter of Richard Montgomery’s building with messages written on the facade in chalk, among which was “#BLM,” a tribute to the “black lives matter” movement. In his post, Monteleone wrote: “It’s staying up as we welcome our seniors back for their caps and gowns.”

The next day, he pledged to attend a student-led protest in Rockville that week to show his support.

But his work has gone deeper than social media posts in solidarity.

He has sent strongly worded messages to both the staff and community members, pledging commitment to “destroying the institutional bias that exists in public schools.” On Thursday, he led a voluntary staff meeting to discuss a path to accomplish that goal.

About 50 staff members attended that meeting, Monteleone said, and will be part of a work group that meets throughout the summer to identify examples of explicit and implicit racism that occur in the school, and ways to address them.

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No longer will the school shroud racism in phrases like “bias” and “white privilege,” Monteleone said, because it’s time to “name it — it’s racism — and figure out a way to address it.”

The group will also include students and community members. The goal is to identify areas in which students might be targeted because of their skin color. Examples, Monteleone said, include if a teacher has lower expectations for black students’ performance, or if there are disparities in disciplinary offenses, especially for minor transgressions.

“We have a duty to tell our Black students, to tell our Latino students, to tell all of our students, that we are here for them,” Monteleone wrote in a message to community members last week, “that we know the world seems to be spinning out of control, that we care for them and we will ensure that RM continues to be a safe, welcoming haven; a place of tolerance and kindness.”

At Cabin John Middle School in Potomac, students read the first chapter of a book together each week. Last week, sixth-grade English teacher Sarah Shah spent “First Chapter Friday” reading “Stamped” with her students. The book explores race issues in the United States.

Shah said the school planned on reading a different book, but thought it was important and timely to swap in a book about racism.

“My students are 11 and 12 and are aware, thoughtful, and curious about the world around them, and to ignore or pretend like everything is ‘normal’ would be disrespectful to them,” Shah wrote in an email to Bethesda Beat.

MCPS has spent the past several years ramping up teachers’ cultural competency training, which district leaders say has prepared educators for sometimes difficult or uncomfortable conversations.

Troy Boddy, director of the MCPS Equity Initiatives Unit, said MCPS also recently released a resource guide for educators and parents that provides links to articles and information to guide discussions about race. Many principals have encouraged their staff members to broach topics of racism and equity with their students, as well.

Deputy Superintendent Monifa McKnight said, “This is the work we’ve been doing and will continue to do” to address issues of equity in education.”

“That has not changed this week, however, the importance of us doing that has been elevated this week. … Today is an extension of the conversation because we have yet another — and I’ll say it again — yet another incident that has called our attention to this nationally,” McKnight said. “That’s why the conversation has to continue beyond this hour, beyond today, beyond next week, so that we’re building on a system that acknowledges this every single day.”

Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media

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