Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) action plan to combat systematic antiracism includes teacher training and ensuring that all schools are treated equally. It includes a role for everyone involved in the schools and the school community.
“We have developed an antiracist system action plan that will be implemented, and we will get results,” said Anthony Alston, MCPS director of equity, during the Board of Education business meeting Thursday.
The first priority of the three-year plan is to “build in trust” both in school and throughout the community, he said, noting that includes transparency in all actions and decisions.
The plan is divided into three sections – system-level, domain-specific and school-level. Its goal is to make every student and every parent in every school feel welcome and a part of the school community.
Training for MCPS staff begins May 18.
“This is a critical piece to our success,” said BOE President Karla Silvestre. No longer will it be okay for outcomes in learning to continue to be predictable, with Black and brown students scoring at the bottom, she said.
In the plan, curriculum will be inclusive as will staff. Teachers will know not just how a student is doing educationally but also how they are faring as a whole person. This information will be shared with the student’s family.
The action plan is designed to fight hate, bias and racist bullying.
On May 26, MCPS will list on its website links for every school concerning what was learned during the antiracist study.
BOE member Brenda Wolff questioned why this plan would be effective. “We’ve been training forever,” she said, adding, “We’ve been training ever since I’ve been on this board about racism.” She added, “I think training is masking the issue.”
Board member Grace Rivera-Oven urged the administrative staff involved with the action plan to include everyone, from cafeteria workers to parents who don’t speak English.
The action plan is designed to fight hate, bias and racist bullying and was developed from results of MCPS’ antiracist audit.
