Happy with school board decision
To the editor,
I am so happy to see the school board has chosen a woman of color as our new superintendent. I am hoping we will hire more teachers of color and varying ethnicities in the near future as well. I am grateful that the school board adopted diversity as an important goal in the hiring process. It’s not enough for Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel to become racially diverse in spirit, we must be literally diverse.
I was disappointed, however, that the RSU 21 announcement made no mention of the recent racial incidents and community-wide efforts, such as Many Towns One Circle, that led to this decision. I am afraid this omission is yet another example of the RSU 21 administration putting a problem in the past, not talking about it anymore, in an effort to make everything appear OK. Dr. Terri Cooper has said she is eager to work with all students and teachers, of course. But we must not forget the students who have been harassed in the past, or the teacher of color who was threatened, treated unfairly, and felt it necessary to leave RSU 21 and Kennebunk.
Newspapers barely mentioned this background in their articles introducing Dr. Cooper. They should include paragraphs that remind readers of the background behind the articles they publish. Of course, we want our schools to support all students, but that can’t happen unless we continue to acknowledge our history and treat our wounds.
Vicki Adams
Kennebunk
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