2007_Human Rights Comm Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 .23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 .45 46 Roseville Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes - April 11, 2007 Page 3 of7 Ms. Eager noted that one of the goals of the district was to bring in teachers who were culturally competent no matter their race; and that even if there were no candidates of color applying for a position, the district was hiring a person to serve a diverse district. Additional discussion included teacher retention efforts of the district specific to candidates of color; development of networks to support teachers of color and seeking their input in the recruitment process for mutual benefit; comparable compensation rates in the district with other districts; and ongoing work in developing leadership teams in the district. Further discussion included recent media comments and articles regarding safety in the schools and perceived racial tensions. Dr. Thein offered to serve as host and invited commissioners to lunch to walk the halls of the school(s) during the day. Dr. Thein noted that schools are similar to a small community, both people and space, and noted that when that many people get together there will be incidents. Dr. Thein opined that while there would be issues and conflicts on any given day no matter what ethnic demographic was in place, they were minimal and often embellished by media to sell stories. Additional discussion included feelings of isolation expressed by students and/or teachers and whether those feelings had anything to do with race or ethnicity or were due to scheduling and comfort levels; with the district committed to providing an atmosphere for all staff and students to excel and reach their highest possible level of achievement. Specific incidents and/or experiences were shared with consensus shared that things were changing for the better; discussion regarding race-specific relations and tensions based on world happenings, home life tensions, and natural tendencies for segregating based on commonality and how to avoid stereotypes based on what the media teaches us. Ms. Eager noted that students had expressed interest in finding ways to mix more with other groups rather than segregating themselves. Further discussion brought concurrence that leadership and management set the example based on their tolerance level which allows children to respond to what they see from that leadership and those role models. Ideas for promoting community-building and inter-group harmony and specific ways the city could partner with the schools beyond the Essay Contest were considered along with ways to bring achievements on diversity goals evident in the elementary levels along to the Middle School and High School students, with classroom formats (Le., small learning communities in Middle School) and curriculum settings in High School as students focus on a specific track or discipline coming into the picture. Additional discussion included impacts of society, airwaves, and perceptions needing to be overcome in teaching everyone how to handle issues of respect (i.e., bullying) and methodology. Regarding a specific partnership opportunity, Ms. Eager noted that the district's time is taken up in serving students and staff, but there was a gap in expanding the circle into the community.