SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By SFPS
Santa Fe, NM: Our District and the Board of Education are mourning the death of George Floyd. In the wake of this national tragedy, we vigorously recommit to our values of unconditional regard and respect for ALL. Anyone with a shred of empathy has been shaken by the horror that we witnessed on television.
Some students and staff may need social and emotional support in this difficult time. We encourage parents and families to reach out to their principal or call 505-467-2000. And, employees may contact our HR Department.
In our District, we take pride in our diversity and affirm that regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or language ALL are to be safe, secure and valued. I recommit to empowering our long-standing Superintendent’s Equity and Diversity Council, which seeks to eliminate the structural and systemic “isms” made evident by opportunity gaps based on educational outcome data.
As we give witness to the civil unrest, I am reminded that now, more than ever, public education is central to the solution. We must continue to champion public education as foundational to our democracy. We must fight against the narrowing of what is taught in school; students must learn how to read AND they must learn how to read between the lines. We must ensure that our social studies and history curricula are comprehensive, that civics and government are not put on the back burner and that our students are savvy consumers of the media.
We must push for fully funding public education in our country and in our state, and we must ensure that faculty and staff are trained to be culturally competent. They must be able to support
the development of cultural competence, regard and respect for all people on the basis that ALL life is sacred. Only then will someone not think of holding a knee to someone’s neck as though he were holding down an inanimate object.
