Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
As the nation grapples with race and systematic problems baked into institutions, the president of the Pennsbury School Board released a letter saying the district plans to make “equity a key area of focus.”
School Board President T.R. Kannan, who was born in India and now lives in Lower Makefield, shared that he has “witnessed and experienced a series of microaggressions that occur in our community” relating to race.
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“The attention that racial injustice has garnered in recent weeks has given me renewed hope. I am happy to see the peaceful protests in our community, many times led by young people, and a series of actions taken by organizations, cities, states, and the federal government,” he stated.
Kannan said the district “well positioned to address equity issues” and the school board plans to present a plan to focus more on issue. Among the plans are creating a leadership position to oversee the effort.
Pennsbury students have made their voices heard on the issue by speaking at virtual school board meetings and holding a demonstration outside the high school in Falls Township recently.
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Superintendent Dr. William Gretzula said at last week’s school board meeting that he commended the students for making their voices heard.
The school district, Gretzula, and school board members are named in federal lawsuits that claim discrimination. The lawsuits are still active, and Kannan has said the claims were “baseless.”
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Below is Kannan’s full letter:
Dear Pennsbury Community,
Our community is still healing from the senseless killing of Mr. George Floyd, an unarmed black man. While certainly not an isolated occurrence, this incident suddenly brought a laser focus to the systemic discrimination, prejudice, and racial injustice that is prevalent in our nation.
I would first like to share my personal perspective on this, having been born and raised in India, where discrimination based on religion, caste, and gender was widely prevalent. I migrated to the United States over 20 years ago with hope and optimism about my new country. Since then, sadly, I have witnessed and experienced a series of microaggressions that occur in our community. Most minorities stay silent and accept this as a way of life. Sometimes the person on the other side is not even aware of exhibiting unconscious biases, let alone realizing how this makes others feel.
The attention that racial injustice has garnered in recent weeks has given me renewed hope. I am happy to see the peaceful protests in our community, many times led by young people, and a series of actions taken by organizations, cities, states, and the federal government.
Our District is well positioned to address equity issues related not just to race, but also to socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, family background, disability, and religious beliefs.
I am pleased to share with you that our School Board has directed the administration to present us with a plan to make equity a key area of focus. This plan will include a dedicated position to provide leadership and oversight in equity and excellence. We look forward to reviewing the proposal and act over the next few weeks.
This will build upon several behind-the-scenes efforts that are underway at Pennsbury in the areas of curriculum, recruiting, and professional development.
Our mission is to provide the best education, the best opportunities, and the best school environment for our student body of approximately 10,000 students. I hope you join me in feeling encouraged and proud of these focused efforts.
Sincerely,
T.R. Kannan
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