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Health & Fitness

The Legitimacy of Petitioning the Equity and Excellence Review

Multiple limitations. For one, at least 7 of the signers of the web-based "petition" to support the Equity and Excellence Review are not Windsor Residents.

 

First and foremost, why is there a petition in support of the Equity and Excellence Review.  I don't think I have heard anyone say that they are AGAINST the Equity and Excellency Review.  What the "detractors" (as we have been degraded as such by President Doreen Richardson) are saying is that the BOE did not follow proper procedure and therefore the credibility of their decisions have been seriously limited. It is quite clear that individuals' have no idea why they are signing this petition since no one has ever said that it is a bad idea to close the achievement gap.  Ethnicity could be ONE, of many factors, that could be associated with this gap - the key word here is associated.  If anyone believes that being a minority is what CAUSES the achievement gap, then they are being misled.  Yes - there is an association; however, there are multiple variables that should be further explored to identify the unique individual differences that could be targeted for school-based interventions.  Going with the FIRST person, who has only looked at race as the cause of the achievement gap, is something that should be questioned because there might be other approaches available that would be more efficient and more closely mirror the unique characters that define our community.

There are serious limitations to the validity of the "petition" to support the Equity and Excellence Review.

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1) The individuals below are actual individuals who "electronically signed" the petition to support the Equity and Excellence Review; however they are not even Windsor Residents.  I'm sure there are MANY more.  

2) The signatures can be hidden by viewers, so whose to know who actually signed the petition.  The point of a petition is to provide your signature in support of a cause openly and with confidence.

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2) The individuals listed to have "signed" the petition could be made up.  Someone had the time to make this petition, and what is to stop them from making up e-mail addresses and names, or even taking other people's names who are Windsor Residents?  

3) The petition was created by the so-called P.R.E.S.S. (Parents Resource for Excellence and Student Success).  I can not find any track record of this group and they are not mentioned anywhere on the internet.  It is possible that PRESS could be an alias for one of the BOE members.

4) This is one reason why an individual "signed" the petition, "My 2 older daughters have graduated from WHS and have told me about their experiences and observations regarding racism, white priviledge(they have taken advantage of) and inequities that exist at WHS. Now I have an 8th grader going to WHS next year and feel these inequities have gone on long enough."

Is the Equity and Excellence Review being carried out to eliminate racism?  Is this what she was told? Is this parent saying that the teachers of Windsor High School are racist and that she has raised her children to take advantage of white privilege?  Is this an educational problem or a parent problem?

1) Tyler Champine

Amherst, MA

Recent Activity

    1. Tyler signed the petition
    2. about 21 hours ago
    Town of Windsor: Support the Equity and Excellence Review

2) Suzanne Metro

Amherst, MA

Recent Activity

    1. Suzanne signed the petition
    2.  
    3. about 22 hours ago
    Town of Windsor: Support the Equity and Excellence Review

 

3) Jamilah Prince-Stewart

Hamden, CT

Recent Activity

    1. Jamilah signed the petition
    2. 1 day ago
    Town of Windsor: Support the Equity and Excellence Review

 

4) Hope Baker

new briatin, CT

Recent Activity

    1. Hope signed the petition
    2.  
    3. about 21 hours ago
    Town of Windsor: Support the Equity and Excellence Review
5) Gail Heath

New Britain, CT

Recent Activity

    1. Gail signed the petition
    2.  
    3. 1 day ago
    Town of Windsor: Support the Equity and Excellence Review
6) A Barrett

hopewell junction, NY 

Recent Activity

    1. A signed the petition
    2. about 22 hours ago
    Town of Windsor: Support the Equity and Excellence Review
7) Lavern Gutzmer

Manchester, CT

Recent Activity

    1. Lavern signed the petition
    2.  
    3. 1 day ago
    Town of Windsor: Support the Equity and Excellence Review
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