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Study Circles School Action Team Report The Study School Action Team Workshop hosted a program on Monday evening, May 22, 2006 at the Imani Center in Burlington. The team invited members of the Burlington school community (parents, teachers, and students) to take part in a workshop led by Denise Dunbar on the topic of racism in classrooms and school curricula. Twenty-nine people attended the workshop. The workshop included a PowerPoint presentation addressing how systemic racism plays out in Vermont classrooms and affects students of color. A touchstone for the talk was the 1999 Report by the Vermont Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, "Racial Harassment in Vermont Public Schools"; the assumption behind the presentation was that racism still pervades Vermont Schools and students of color still feel its painful effects. The larger context of the presentation is Denise's work on revising history and social studies curricula to include diverse perspectives and to challenge "traditional" history and hegemonic norms passed on through textbooks, teachers' attitudes, and other curricular materials. This workshop was an excellent extension of the work of the School Action Team into the wider community. Most participants gave positive feedback, saying that the program was "thought-provoking," "challenged assumptions," and promoted "good discussion." Some participants felt the workshop did a good job describing the challenges but did not sufficiently address positive steps that can be taken to successfully work with sensitive texts. We hope this workshop leads to continued outreach, community dialogue, and conversations with the Burlington School District. |