Burlington's Diversity Actions Expand

For submission to "It's My Turn"
From Burlington Superintendent Jeanné Collins
September 2007

The recent story and editorial about diversity was helpful in drawing attention to a community problem related to recruiting and retaining teachers who are African-American. I want to thank these area residents for recognizing the value of and investing their energy in Burlington's diversity.

Burlington's students are the most diverse in Vermont. If the goal is to represent our student diversity in the workforce, then the workforce must represent all kinds of diversity: color, national origin, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation and others. That diversity shouldn't be limited to teachers, which was a focus of the story and editorial or to African-Americans. It should include all the school employees and volunteers who work with our students.

The story and editorial overlook important facts about and achievements by the Burlington Schools as a result of its investment in and prioritization of diversity. Without fanfare, the District shared a report outlining its work, successes and initiatives with the Mayor and the community in May as well as with the Legacy Steering Committee in March. This report is posted on our Website at: www.bsdvt.org .

A December 2006 Equal Employment Opportunity report noted 22 of the 689 full-time staff members or 3.2% are non-white. This is a 69.2% increase since the 2000 EEO report, when only 13 staff members were non-white. Despite those advances, the racial diversity of our staff is still far less than that of our students.

This is only the beginning. The progress we have made to date should not be minimized, but neither should the task ahead. The proportion of non-white students in our schools is 23%, and we are committed to building a workforce that reflects that diversity. Highlights of this long term commitment include:

  • Administrators: Burlington has the first African-American principal in Vermont history. A second District administrator also is African-American. Professional staff include Asian, Bosnian and African members.

  • Full-time diversity staff: Burlington employs one of only two full-time diversity coordinators in K-12 education in Vermont.

  • National recruiting effort: Burlington led Vermont's first K-12 initiative to recruit teachers and other staff of color, beginning a decade ago. It spread to include other Chittenden County school districts and ultimately the Vermont Department of Education.

  • Commitment by staff: All Burlington teachers and staff take seriously the cultural, ethnic and racial differences of our students. Staff members participate in trainings, read and share information about how to serve diverse students.

  • Diversity education: Burlington provides diversity education to staff, students and administrators, committing time and resources annually.

  • New student curriculum and programs: Burlington has implemented new curricula and programs to teach students about diversity, including the volunteer-driven program Reading to End Racism, and A World of Difference, a student leadership program. Units of learning that go beyond Euro-centric curricula are shared among staff.

  • Study Circles on Racism: Beginning in 2003, District administrators and staff participated in the city's Study Circles on racism and continued an ongoing action group who helped update the District's anti-harassment policy, celebrate students in leadership roles in the district and educate the community about racism. Recruitment was identified as a priority and this spring the District administration completed trainings to identify what barriers exist in the recruiting and hiring of minorities.

    • My next step is to convene a work group focused on recruitment and retention to be comprised of District staff, representatives from partner organizations and community members. Anyone interested in participating should contact my office at 865-5332 or email superintendent@bsdvt.org. Please identify yourself, your relationship to the Burlington Schools and experience you would bring to the work.

    I look forward to continuing the important work on diversity. As a community, we need to make this difference.