LYNNFIELD — Lynnfield United, a citizens’ group questioning the school district’s equity policies, is once again expressing its dissatisfaction with the district and demanding answers.
In its third letter to the School Committee in little more than a week, the group repeated its claims that the committee’s responses to Lynnfield United’s concerns and questions regarding district curriculum are inconsistent with past statements made by Superintendent of Schools Kristen Vogel. The June 17 letter also questioned the committee’s and Vogel’s understanding of the issue.
Despite Vogel’s unequivocal statement in a prior letter that the district has not implemented a Critical Race Theory curriculum, Lynnfield United continues to suggest otherwise, citing a lack of understanding on the part of district and town officials.
“The statement (by Vogel in a June 10 letter) ‘we do not have a Critical Race Theory curriculum’ has led parents to draw the conclusion that these terms, and the ideology that they represent, are not well understood by the elected officials of Lynnfield or by the staff at LPS,” Lynnfield United member Jason Kimball said.
“We do not believe that Critical Race Theory is a safe way to achieve this goal and would like further explanation as to how these ideologies are impacting the cultures and curriculums at (Lynnfield Public Schools),” he added, also claiming that the ideology behind Critical Race Theory “conflicts with both the personal and religious beliefs held by many Lynnfield residents.”
In a third letter, Kimball claims that the district has done nothing to alleviate those concerns, stating that: “We need to understand why the School Committee and Superintendent Vogel have made conflicting statements that don’t reassure Lynnfield residents that they understand the history and complexity of this ideology.
“Parents have expressed increased concern upon the receipt of the School Committee’s recent correspondence with Lynnfield United given the discrepancies that are evident between these recent letters and the statements which have been made by Superintendent Vogel. Taxpayers have been left feeling frustrated as many of the questions from our previous two letters remain unaddressed by our elected officials,” Kimball wrote.
The district, however, is standing its ground that it has no plans to make any changes in the schools until after the equity audit.
“Upon completion of the audit process, we will hear and consider the results and recommendations and share with the community,” Vogel said in a June 15 email.
Vogel went on to describe the events leading up to the district’s decision to consider conducting the audit, starting with the targeted racist attacks and vandalism that occurred during the summer of 2020. After two residents were arrested and charged with hate crimes, the district issued a statement condemning racist acts and adopted the Massachusetts Association of School Committee’s Anti-Racism Resolution.
“Before the beginning of the school year, many of our families reached out to the district with real concerns about their children’s safety,” Vogel wrote. “This was a result of the events of the summer as well as previous anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist incidents that had occurred and been addressed in our schools.”
In response, the district created an Equity and Diversity Committee composed of parents, teachers, students and administrators.
“Its focus (was) supporting and creating a safe and welcoming school environment for all students,” Vogel said. “The safety and well-being of all of our students is our first priority.”
Vogel went on to say the decision to conduct an equity audit was made after parents were informed.
“As with any focus group or survey conducted by the district, parents are notified, and when students are involved, permission is required,” Vogel said, inviting Lynnfield United to view a presentation by The Equity Process, an outside firm which will be conducting the audit, about the auditing process on the district’s website at www.lynnfield.k12.ma.us if it has any unanswered questions.
The School Committee has not responded to Lynnfield United’s latest letter. Kimball declined further comment.
