Newton School Committee Rejects Petition To Overturn DEI In Schools

NEWTON, MA – Newton School Committee members unanimously voted to reject a controversial petition to overturn diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at Newton Public Schools in a public hearing Tuesday evening.

The Newton School Committee public hearing on March 28– which ran for almost five hours – took place in the cafeteria of Newton North High School, with parents, teachers, and students packed in almost all of the seats for the duration of the meeting.

Over 250 people signed up to speak at the hearing to voice their opinions on a petition to create an Academic Principles Advisory Committee that would “review and recommend revisions to the systemwide goals, Newton Public Schools (NPS) Mission Statement and any other documents guiding development and implementation of NPS curriculum, classroom instruction, and teacher professional development,” according to the petition.

The Petition

In a letter sent in November 2022, some petitioners sought to overturn NPS's Statement of Values & Commitment to Racial Equity, in favor of a “color blind” approach that does not see race.

The petition also calls into question NPS’ focus on academic excellence, which the petitioners believe is failing based on data from a November 2022 NPS survey that states only 31 percent of NPS parents/guardians believe that the district is heading in the right direction.

Newton School Committee member Rajeev Parlikar called the survey “a flawed survey,” and said the use of the 31 percent statistic is a willful misinterpretation of data used to back up what petitioners want to hear.

“The exact same survey says that 62% of parents who responded are either very happy, or extremely happy with the education that NPS provides,” Parlikar added “but somehow we never hear that statistic ever being raised.”

Several Newton teachers spoke against the petition and attempts by petitioners to overturn NPS’s diversity, equality, and inclusion goals.

Among them was David Bedar, a history teacher at Newton North High School for the last 16 years.

Bedar said he is proud “of the work we do to foster excellence in academics as well as critical thinking skills, empathetic citizenship and an anti racist mindset."

“We're here because we reject 1.) the implication that more equitable schools are less excellent, and 2.) the implicit lack of trust in educators' professional judgment," Bedar said.

Students also voiced their opinions on the proposed petition. Three fourth grade students from Franklin Elementary School took to the microphone to explain what they love about Newton Public Schools.

Simon Frankel, one of the fourth graders, is part of Franklin’s Rainbow Pride Group and spoke about how the group makes him feel – and feel better.

“Rainbow Pride really helps me express my feelings and interact with people. In Rainbow Pride, we make art, read books, and talk about ways that we can be inclusive to everyone no matter what gender or pronoun they use,” Frankel said.

Elle Stamper, another fourth grader, highlighted the importance and benefits of teaching about racism and diversity in schools.

“If our teachers did not allow us to talk about issues like racism, then we wouldn't be well educated and understand all different perspectives and our history. It is important that we have these discussions while learning,” Stamper said.

After the trio thanked the Committee for listening to their testimony, the audience broke out into a resounding applause for the young students.

"Academic Excellence"

A common thread running through the testimony of community members was the question of academic excellence, which was referred to in the January petition letter.

Committee member Parlikar said he spoke with the petitioners and that academic excellence was not raised in discussions with the group. On the contrary, he said it was being used as “a Trojan horse” for ulterior motives.

“The only point raised was around their unhappiness with the NPS statement of values and commitment to racial diversity. Not once was academic excellence ever brought up,” Parlikar said.

Parlikar said the petition is not really about academic excellence, but “is a petition about changing the NPS ethos and forcing a change through a small group of unelected people who may or may not have national support, but regardless, are trying to push this change through in an unelected and undemocratic way.”

The topic of academic excellence was brought up by parents and teachers alike, who spoke on both sides of the issue.

Laura Towvim, a parent of children at Newton Public Schools, said “Newton schools are excellent, not in spite of the extensive elective offerings and commitment to racial equity, but because of them.”

Brian McMan, who supports the petition, said there is a “stark difference” in the degree of academic excellence between Newton public schools and Virginia public schools, where he moved from with his family.

“There are a bunch of parents here who feel disenfranchised, they don’t feel like their voices are heard, and I reject the notion that we should squash the concerns of a small group of people,” McMan said.

Similarly, Carolyn Kraft, said she sees the petition as a “safe space for family people to connect with the school for feedback, and as a bridge to develop more trust and understanding and to be heard.”

“I know the diversity, the equity, critical race [theory], all those things, I rejoice people being their own individual selves, but I don't appreciate being like I can't speak and that people can't speak their truth,” Kraft said.

In response to several supporters of the petition calling themselves marginalized because they hold an unpopular opinion, Newton School Committee member and chair Tamika Olszewski said having an unpopular opinion does not make one marginalized, it simply means having an opinion not championed by a majority.

“To be marginalized, to be clear, is something vastly different. It's to be seen before you even walk into a space, it's to be judged before you open your mouth, it's to be evaluated and found lacking before you take a test, before you're recommended to move into an additional class or an advanced placement,” Olszewski said.

Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller attended the hearing and said she disagrees completely with almost every element of the petition.

“An unelected, unrepresented group getting an outsized, privileged voice in how we do our work feels very uncomfortable to me,” Mayor Fuller said.