Thank you for keeping track of the work we are doing to ensure positive, transformative change regarding racial equity. Here is the link to the NTPS School Board Meeting in which we will be presenting about restorative practice at NTPS centered around recent incidents concerning the removal of district approved Black Lives Matter messages on school fences.
Please click the link below to join the webinar via web browser on Tuesday, July 14th at 6pm PST:
https://zoom.us/j/96955756506?pwd=Q3Y0MWJEOU1CVjFYS2FJSkc1T3VRUT09
We have been in communication with North Thurston Public Schools (NTPS) for the last few weeks. There is an attachment below of the statement made by key members of the River Ridge High School Black Student Union, NTPS Minoritized Educator Roundtable, the North Thurston Education Association (NTEA) Social Justice League, and the NTEA Executive Board to NTPS regarding the silence and inaction of NTPS in addressing the removal of two, district approved, Black Lives Matter messages by a district official from Lakes Elementary School and Nisqually Middle School on June 10th.
When confronted with questions and 3 restorative actions to build trust and community between NTPS and the groups mentioned above regarding the incident nearly 3 weeks after it happened, NTPS claimed it was a "mistake" by the "maintenance team." In the inquiry conducted by RRHS BSU, we acquired surveillance footage of the Director of Facilities, Maintenance, and Grounds singularly removing these signs and an email in which he described his actions to custodial staff and directed them to take a variety of actions to prevent political, social, and emotional messaging from being put up on school campuses. NTPS issued a recent statement on their website concerning the 2 aforementioned incidents as well as 2 additional incidents involving the Black Lives Matter messages. One involved an unidentified motorcyclist removing part of the message at Nisqually Middle School and the other an unidentified pedestrian that not only removed the sign but left behind White supremacist/hate group stickers (the police report is on Lacey Police Department's Instagram) on the fence at Lakes Elementary School.
The RRHS BSU, NTPS Minoritized Educator Roundtable, the NTEA Social Justice League, and the NTEA Executive Board are pressing NTPS to acknowledge their failure to respond with transparency in the initial incidents involving a district employee especially if it was indeed a "mistake." Following their inaction and silence, they responded to our inquiries with a limited account of the incident that contained misleading and unclear information. The lack of transparency, failure to address the harmful impact of the incident on the BIPOC community, and the mismanagement in answering to the BIPOC community led us to question the veracity of their statements, their allyship, and the leadership at NTPS.
We are asking those who support us to take 2 actions:
1. Email the people listed below with this or a similar message:
We are pressing NTPS to learn from their mistakes in mishandling the incidents surrounding the June 10th removal of district approved Black Lives Matter messages at Lakes Elementary School and Nisqually Middle School by the Director of Facilities, Maintenance, and Grounds and to use this opportunity to exercise restorative practices that are cited in 3.1.C in the NTPS Strategic Plan. Not only should there be restorative measures taken with all those involved in the series of events surrounding the June 10th incidents, there should also be district-wide professional development and education to students, family members, all employed by NTPS, and community members about restorative justice and about the civil rights movement of Black Lives Matter and the rationale behind district's support of it.
We, the key members of the River Ridge High School Black Student Union, NTPS Minoritized Educator Roundtable, the North Thurston Education Association (NTEA) Social Justice League, and the NTEA Executive Board, believe that through restorative practices with the NTPS leadership we can be stronger by problem-solving the racial inequity prevalent in our district together. We encourage all who support us to email and/or call:
Superintendent Clemens
[email protected]
NTPS School Board Members: Gretchen Maliska, Chuck Namit, Mel Hartley, Graeme Sackrison, and Dave Newkirk
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Other Elected Officials of Influence
Patty Murray, Tacoma office # (253) 572-3636
Maria Cantwell, Tacoma office # (253) 572-2281
Rep. Denny Heck 10th CD, Lacey office # 360-459-8514
Gov. Jay Inslee, 360-902-4111
State Senator Sam Hunt leg. # 360-786-7642
State Representative Beth Doglio: leg. # 360-786-7992
State Representative Laurie Dolan: leg. # 360-786-7940
State Representative Andrew Barkis: 360-786-7824
State Representative T.J. Wilcox : 360-786-7912
State Senator Randi Becker: 360-786-7602
2. Sign the Change.org petition for immediate implementation of a robust, district and community-wide restorative justice initiative at NTPS: http://chng.it/crxVFVkhch
Please click the link below to join the webinar via web browser on Tuesday, July 14th at 6pm PST:
https://zoom.us/j/96955756506?pwd=Q3Y0MWJEOU1CVjFYS2FJSkc1T3VRUT09
- Password: 504003
- Dial: +1 253 215 8782
- Webinar ID: 969 5575 6506
- Password: 504003
We have been in communication with North Thurston Public Schools (NTPS) for the last few weeks. There is an attachment below of the statement made by key members of the River Ridge High School Black Student Union, NTPS Minoritized Educator Roundtable, the North Thurston Education Association (NTEA) Social Justice League, and the NTEA Executive Board to NTPS regarding the silence and inaction of NTPS in addressing the removal of two, district approved, Black Lives Matter messages by a district official from Lakes Elementary School and Nisqually Middle School on June 10th.
When confronted with questions and 3 restorative actions to build trust and community between NTPS and the groups mentioned above regarding the incident nearly 3 weeks after it happened, NTPS claimed it was a "mistake" by the "maintenance team." In the inquiry conducted by RRHS BSU, we acquired surveillance footage of the Director of Facilities, Maintenance, and Grounds singularly removing these signs and an email in which he described his actions to custodial staff and directed them to take a variety of actions to prevent political, social, and emotional messaging from being put up on school campuses. NTPS issued a recent statement on their website concerning the 2 aforementioned incidents as well as 2 additional incidents involving the Black Lives Matter messages. One involved an unidentified motorcyclist removing part of the message at Nisqually Middle School and the other an unidentified pedestrian that not only removed the sign but left behind White supremacist/hate group stickers (the police report is on Lacey Police Department's Instagram) on the fence at Lakes Elementary School.
The RRHS BSU, NTPS Minoritized Educator Roundtable, the NTEA Social Justice League, and the NTEA Executive Board are pressing NTPS to acknowledge their failure to respond with transparency in the initial incidents involving a district employee especially if it was indeed a "mistake." Following their inaction and silence, they responded to our inquiries with a limited account of the incident that contained misleading and unclear information. The lack of transparency, failure to address the harmful impact of the incident on the BIPOC community, and the mismanagement in answering to the BIPOC community led us to question the veracity of their statements, their allyship, and the leadership at NTPS.
We are asking those who support us to take 2 actions:
1. Email the people listed below with this or a similar message:
We are pressing NTPS to learn from their mistakes in mishandling the incidents surrounding the June 10th removal of district approved Black Lives Matter messages at Lakes Elementary School and Nisqually Middle School by the Director of Facilities, Maintenance, and Grounds and to use this opportunity to exercise restorative practices that are cited in 3.1.C in the NTPS Strategic Plan. Not only should there be restorative measures taken with all those involved in the series of events surrounding the June 10th incidents, there should also be district-wide professional development and education to students, family members, all employed by NTPS, and community members about restorative justice and about the civil rights movement of Black Lives Matter and the rationale behind district's support of it.
We, the key members of the River Ridge High School Black Student Union, NTPS Minoritized Educator Roundtable, the North Thurston Education Association (NTEA) Social Justice League, and the NTEA Executive Board, believe that through restorative practices with the NTPS leadership we can be stronger by problem-solving the racial inequity prevalent in our district together. We encourage all who support us to email and/or call:
Superintendent Clemens
[email protected]
NTPS School Board Members: Gretchen Maliska, Chuck Namit, Mel Hartley, Graeme Sackrison, and Dave Newkirk
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Other Elected Officials of Influence
Patty Murray, Tacoma office # (253) 572-3636
Maria Cantwell, Tacoma office # (253) 572-2281
Rep. Denny Heck 10th CD, Lacey office # 360-459-8514
Gov. Jay Inslee, 360-902-4111
State Senator Sam Hunt leg. # 360-786-7642
State Representative Beth Doglio: leg. # 360-786-7992
State Representative Laurie Dolan: leg. # 360-786-7940
State Representative Andrew Barkis: 360-786-7824
State Representative T.J. Wilcox : 360-786-7912
State Senator Randi Becker: 360-786-7602
2. Sign the Change.org petition for immediate implementation of a robust, district and community-wide restorative justice initiative at NTPS: http://chng.it/crxVFVkhch
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