Category: Leadership

The purpose of this protest is simply to address the violation of students’ civil rights in regards to receiving a rigorous public education from RUSD. Our intentions are not to shame anyone though some may feel that way based on the facts outlined throughout this protest. We know educated people across the whole round globe are more likely to fair better than those who lack any kind of post-secondary training. The African American Community has to be acknowledged. The inequities must be eradicated at once. Resources should not be distributed based on a “One Size” fit all model. All schools do not share the same concerns or challenges. The hardships many students and their families face, are more than not, grounded in the negative impact of the academic achievement gap. Education has been referred to as the “great equalizer.” It is said, education levels the playing field for all students despite their origin or street address. I would like to push back on that and say, education helps tremendously, but yet a habitual track record of colossal short comings in eliminating racist beliefs, systemic barriers, and unfair policies. Awful beliefs which lead to disgusting and unwarranted treatment toward too many people of color, and poor whites. The first section of our protest is to address the status of Racine and the public schools’ ongoing disappointment and failure in educating many of its citizens. Some districts are being sued by students of color, for failure to educate.
“A group of former students from five of Detroit’s worst-performing public schools is suing the Michigan Department of Education and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for their constitutional right to access literacy.” The students cannot read or write to a level needed to function throughout a lifetime. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/11/07/detroit-public-schools-literacy-lawsuit

Racine continues to lead the country as one of the Worse

“For the third year in a row, Milwaukee and Racine are among the worst cities in the United States for African Americans to live, according to a recent report from a financial news company. Black Americans in the two cities make half of the median income of white residents and are nearly 12 times more likely to be put in prison than their white counterparts, according to the report.
24/7 Wall St., a Delaware-based financial company that produces financial news, ranked Milwaukee the worst city and Racine the second worst city for black people to live. Last year, Milwaukee ranked second and Racine ranked third. In 2017, Milwaukee ranked third and Racine ranked fourth.
The company created an index of eight different measurements, including education, income, health, incarceration and achievement gaps between whites and blacks to assess the race-based gaps in the nation’s metropolitan cities. Pamela Oliver, a sociology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said she has studied incarceration rates across the state. “Segregation and discrimination are preventing the upper ward mobility of black folks who migrated here a generation or two ago. She told WPR that Wisconsin is traditionally a state where white people are more well off than their black neighbors.” The next section of concerns focuses on the achievement gap and how the achievement gap never disappears once school years are over and the negative impact on Racine’s local economy. Retrieved 6/18/2020 from: https://www.wpr.org/report-milwaukee-racine-rank-worst-cities-african-americans-live

What exactly is an achievement gap?
The term “achievement gap” refers to disparities in the academic achievement of specific groups of students (Coleman et al., 1966). The achievement gap now measures four years: by the end of high school, African American and Latino students have skills in literacy (reading) and numeracy (mathematics) that are virtually identical to those of White students at the end of middle school (Lyman & Villani, 2004; Scherer, 2002-2003).
What about the Achievement Gap once school years are over?
The achievement gap exists during school years, but when the school years are over the achievement gap becomes an opportunity gap. In other words, students become adults. In many cases, adults who will not be able to pay for everyday essentials such as food, purchase a home, have access to health, vision, or dental insurance. Again, all due to the everlasting achievement gap.  The achievement gap can impact one’s life time earnings and where they live. In addition, in recent months we have come to realize that COVID 19 has been severely devastating for most of these same Black & Brown communities ravished by high poverty, high crime, high police presence which sometimes results in black deaths, low wages and high rates of babies dying at birth. Lower life time earnings can have a direct impact on where people live and what kids are exposed to as they grow up. Lower life time earnings can very well impact one’s credit score and put up barriers that prevent home ownership and sometimes prevent the opportunity to rent. Consequently, most are forced to live in low credit score neighborhoods. Low credit score neighborhoods can breed a host of negative exposures such as violence and childhood stressors. Low score neighborhoods are inundated with liquor stores, cigarette ads, and corner stores that sell nothing but unhealthy processed food. All of these factors add to negative childhood experiences due to the incessant achievement gap. As a result, school districts across the country have created Social Emotional Learning programs. Now SEL is a billion dollars industry. It’s a cycle of milking poor Black, Brown, & White families. What if we closed the gap for one generation of students?
All school districts including Racine Unified School District have a direct impact on students’ outcomes, local economy, and if other companies are willing to move to relocate to, which ultimately create jobs as well as an improved economy. The first question usually raised by organizations deciding on which city to locate or relocate their business, is the status of the school system. “How great is the school system?” It’s extremely difficult for co-operations with educated employees who have school age children to move to a school system with severe concerns such as RUSD. Racine Unified or any other school district not closing the gap for at least 3 years consecutively have a significant impact on where students live as adults. The next section of this read, explains the possible negative impact of where a student ends up living once they drop out of high school or graduated from high school NOT college or career ready.

The Impact of Neighborhoods on Intergenerational Mobility: Childhood Exposure Effects (STEM CAREERS for Wealthy)
For the purpose of providing explicit clarity, it’s necessary to provide research study findings which clearly show that neighborhoods have an impact on people’s beginnings as a child and their outcomes as an adult (Chetty & Hendren, 2017). Where you live is strong predictor of who becomes scientists and inventors. “Neighborhoods in which children grow up shape their lifetime income, college attendance rates, and fertility and marriage patterns” (Chetty & Hendren, 2017). The researchers analyzed more than 7 million families by analyzing de-identified families with IRS records from 1980s. The results of the findings show “neighborhoods affect intergenerational mobility primarily through childhood exposure” (Chetty & Hendren, 2017).

These pictures of abandon streets, dire poverty, and diminished opportunities are barriers to reaching the American dream. Students who attend Horlick, Julian Thomas, Gilmore, Wadewitz, and Jerstad Middle and live on Memorial, Marquette, Douglas, and MLK neighborhoods have the most diminished opportunities due to Horlick’s poor academic outcomes. This is consistent with the other high schools of Racine such as Park and Case. Many of these students will not attend post-secondary schooling and will remain in these neighborhoods. Exposing another generation of children to adverse childhood experiences such as gun violence, child abuse, incarceration of love ones, and extensive exposure to drug abuse. However, the downtown portion of Douglas Street is well maintained and passable streets and yachts. Another picture below shows how poverty impacts living conditions for African American children on Racine’s north side of the city.

The findings also revealed, place matters. Children who grow up in poor environments tend to mimic the same income and outcomes in adulthood as the permanent residents in the community. The same can be said if a child is exposed to improved environments. Secondly, neighborhood matters largely because of differences in childhood exposure, rather than the differences in job market conditions. Third, each year of childhood exposure matters (Good or Bad environments) roughly equals that of a child born in the neighborhood. However, age of the child’s move to an improved environment does matter. For example, moving to an improved environment has less of an impact on adults who are 23 years old compared to a child who moves to an improved neighborhood by age 9 or 10 (Chetty & Hendren, 2017). Retrieved from: http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/assets/documents/movers_paper1.pdf

Consider two American children, one rich and one poor, both brilliant. The rich one is much more likely to become an inventor, creating products that help improve America’s quality of life. The poor child probably will not.
That’s the conclusion of a new study by the Equality of Opportunity project, a team of researchers led by the Stanford economist Raj Chetty. Chetty and his team look at who becomes inventors in the United States, a career path that can contribute to vast improvements in Americans’ standard of living. They find that children from families in the top 1 percent of income distribution are 10 times as likely to have filed for a patent as those from below-median-income families, and that white children are three times as likely to have filed a patent as black children. This means, they say, that there could be millions of “lost Einsteins”—individuals who might have become inventors and changed the course of American life, had they grown up in different neighborhoods. “There are very large gaps in innovation by income, race, and gender,” Chetty told me. “These gaps don’t seem to be about differences in ability to innovate—they seem directly related to environment” (Raj Chetty, 2017).”The discrepancy in who gets patents is not the result of innate abilities, Chetty and his team, Alex Bell of Harvard, Xavier Jaravel of the London School of Economics, Neviana Petkova of the U.S. Treasury Department, and John Van Reenen of MIT, conclude. Children from many different backgrounds excel in math and science tests in third grade, for instance. But it’s the wealthy children who do well in math and science that end up getting patents. Why? Because they have more exposure to innovation in their childhood.” Retrieved from: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/12/innovation-income-chetty/547202/

Student Achievement in RUSD: College & Career Readiness
RUSD’s Vision Statement: All students graduate Career and/or College Ready
DesJardins, Gaertner, Kim, and McClarity (2013), Preparing Students for College & Careers: The Causal Role of Algebra II looked at the impacts of taking Algebra II in high school.

ACT defines college and career readiness as “the acquisition of the knowledge and skills a student needs to enroll in and succeed in credit bearing first-year courses at a postsecondary institution (such as a two or four-year college, trade school, or technical school) without the need for remediation” (ACT, 2020). There are but two courses remedial courses such as English and Mathematics. There are no remedial sciences, social studies, or French courses. So, when observing the state of Wisconsin current data on African American Students’ academic performance in the 2 college ready courses English and Math, the scores are as follows with no change but academic regression. Completing Algebra II is the number one Academic Factor that predicts College and Career Readiness (ACT, 2016). When a student completes Algebra II, they are more likely to preform higher on their college admission assessments such as ACT or SAT, which improves students being admitted into college. “The mathematics courses students take in high school affect their academic achievement and their admission to competitive postsecondary schools and professional programs” (Schiller & Muller, 2003, p. 300). Adelman (2006) states, when students complete high-level mathematic courses such as Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, Trigonometry, and Calculus these are the most significant predictors of achieving in postsecondary systems.

Stein, Kaufman, Sherman, and Hillen (2011), research findings suggest there are inequities regarding those who take Algebra in 8th or 9thgrade. This is common for minority students, lower income students, and students whose parents have minimum education (Filer & Chang, 2008; Gamoran & Hannigan, 2000; McCoy, 2005; Shakrani, 1996; Walston & McCarroll, 2010). According to research by Stone (1998), these demographic inequities in Algebra have been evident since the early 1990s in large urban school districts.
Now that we know how American College Testing (ACT) defines college readiness, let’s see how African Americans, Hispanics, and Whites have been performing over the last 4 years in RUSD, based on FORWARD EXAM results retrieved from the Department of Public Instruction in Madison, Wisconsin (2019-20). State scores from the FORWARD exam are strong predictors of determining which students are ready to enter college ready to endure the rigor and expectations college present. In addition, students are not enrolled in any remedial course. For example, when we consider Park High School 2019 student achievement scores in math, 98.2% of African American students did not score at proficiency on the yearly Wisconsin’s State Assessment. This is severely YUCKY.

As it relates to RUSD’s ACT scores, 19.5% of students who took the ACT were proficient or advanced in ELA, a 0.3% increase from the previous year. The proportion of students scoring proficient or advanced on the ACT dropped about from 12% to 10.1% proficient. About 13% of Unified students didn’t take the test (Journal Times, 2019). Wisconsin Policy Forum on Wisconsin ACT data from the past few years, researchers found “areas of concern with declining and stagnant college readiness scores of high school juniors” (Badger Herald, 2020) Retrieved from:

The gaps in the college readiness benchmarks are most prominent among racial lines. This is especially the case for English Language Arts. According to Wisconsin’s ACT data, there was a 43% gap between white students with 57% at the benchmark level compared to 13.3% of African American students. These gaps were also consistent between economically disadvantaged students and other racial minorities across other courses (Badger Herald, 2020).

Park High School’s 3 years Report Card 2019 (DPI, 2019 State of Wisconsin)
English Scores for African American Students (Basic + Below Basic)

2017 94% Failed English 2018 94.4% Failed English 2019 94% Failed English
2017 98% Failed Math 2018 97% Failed Math 2019 98.2% Failed Math
Not College Ready Not College Ready Not College Ready

What’s even more alarming is the fact White students in RUSD are failing at an alarming rate too. 74% of White students failed English at Park High School and 85% of White students failed Math. RUSD has a direct impact of the City of Racine’s current and future economy. At this rate, we can predict the City of Racine’s outcomes for future constituents. Many times, we overlook poverty and poor academic outcomes for White students. It is mandatory to consider all students suffering from poverty.

Whites with the Least Education are Dying Early

“Middle-age white Americans with limited education are increasingly dying younger, on average, than other middle-age US adults, a trend driven by their dwindling economic opportunities, research by two Princeton University economists has found” (STAT, 2017). “Despite advances in health care and quality of life, white middle-aged Americans have seen overall mortality rates increase over the past 15 years, representing an overlooked “epidemic” with deaths comparable to the number of Americans who have died of AIDS, according to new Princeton University research.
The results are published in a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences from Anne Case, the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, and Angus Deaton, the 2015 Nobel laureate in economics and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of International Affairs and professor of economics and international affairs.

Although death rates related to drugs, alcohol and suicides have risen for middle-aged whites at all education levels, the largest increases are seen among those with the least education, the researchers found. For those with a high school degree or less, deaths caused by drug and alcohol poisoning rose fourfold; suicides rose by 81 percent; and deaths caused by liver disease and cirrhosis rose by 50 percent. All-cause mortality rose by 22 percent for this least-educated group. Those with some college education saw little change in overall death rates, and those with a bachelor’s degree or higher actually saw death rates decline” (Princeton University, 2015). Retrieved from: https://wws.princeton.edu/faculty-research/research/item/rising-morbidity-and-mortality-midlife-among-white-non-hispanic
https://www.statnews.com/2017/03/23/dying-whites-middle-age-less-education/

Case High School African American Scores over 3 years: State of Wisconsin Scores 2019 (Basic + Below Basic)

2017 90.2% Failed English 2018 87% Failed English 2019 88% Failed English
2017 95% Failed Math 2018 97% Failed Math 2019 95.2% Failed Math
Not College Ready Not College Ready Not College Ready

Horlick High School State of Wisconsin 2019 African American Students (Basic + Below)

2017 97% Failed English 2018 97% Failed English 2019 94% Failed English
2017 99% Failed Math 2018 99% Failed Math 2019 99% Failed Math
Not College Ready Not College Ready Not College Ready

There is a direct correlation between state assessment Forward and how a student will score on the college admission test such as ACT or SAT. Not MAP (NWEA). Though RUSD and other school districts speak a great deal on MAP Testing growth, MAP Testing scores are showcased more than not to the public for the purpose of appeasing the public. Again, MAP Scores have NO impact to very minimal for improvement on Wisconsin’s State Assessment (FORWARD) or ACT scores.

In RUSD, 19.5% of students who took the ACT were proficient or advanced in ELA, a 0.3% increase from the previous year. The proportion of students scoring proficient or advanced on the ACT dropped about 2% to 10.1% proficient. As a result of COVID 19 interrupting schools in March of 2020, academic performances for all students will suffer. However, students from more stable homes and educated parents are more likely to be exposed to educational opportunities. More than not, this will not be the case for Black and Brown students and RUSD is not providing students with efficient and rigorous learning opportunities. RUSD has failed the City of Racine and they continue to behave as if there is no academic plan tailored to students having unbreakable access to Remote Learning, despite students’ home address. This next section of this protest will focus on African Americans who attended college prior to COVID 19.

Attending College benefited African American Students during the era of COVID 19

For the purpose of providing clarity to RUSD and the community of Racine, I conducted a small investigation on LinkedIn in order to collect data from random African Americans who attended college at an HBCU or any college institution. I wanted to find out if there were benefits to having attended college and safety from COVID 19 pandemic. I also sought information about their jobs and steps their jobs took to protect them (African American) from contracting the many times fatal disease. The results are glaringly clear. African Americans who attended college were less likely to die or contract COVID 19. They were more likely to receive healthcare as well as get regular check-ups from their doctors. Nevertheless, over 63% of the survey participants know someone in their immediate surroundings who either died from COVID or negatively impacted from coronavirus. I now realize that social distancing is a privilege. Many students living in poverty cannot socially distance themselves from others due to living in small hotels, shelters or multiple family members living in one home. In other words, to sit on the other end of the sofa is a privilege we middle class people take for granted. Please view the research findings:

These data findings make it clear that being truly college and career ready matters. Students must be exposed to a highly qualified diverse staff which embraces variance. RUSD’s test scores are strong predictors for who will be successful and who will not. Many students may face plenty of challenges throughout their life. Finally, as you can see from question #13, no matter what part of the country one may decide to live, having a college education or post-secondary training are extremely beneficial coupled with various health care benefits for prolonging a healthy life.

As a result of RUSD supreme failure of educating students of color, we can predict the life expectancy and living conditions of African American Students, Hispanics, & Whites as a result of poor MATH scores. Why? Algebra II is the #1 academic factor associated with college readiness. More than not, these students will suffer from a possible shorten life span and possibly inundated with situations associated with poverty. If there are ever COVID 21, 22, or 23, many of these students who failed the State of Wisconsin Assessment or ACT have increased possibilities of contracting this horrible and sometimes fatal disease. These same students are more likely to live in high crime and violence infested neighborhoods as adults, thus exposing another generation of AA Students to Traumatic Childhood Experiences. RUSD has a direct impact on these awful childhood experiences and the stability of Racine’s economy.

RUSD Mission: Educate every student to succeed. (ESSA -every student succeed act, 2015).

The Core Values are as follows: “Core Values In RUSD, our Vision, along with our Core Values, form the basis of the work we do each day to ensure every student exceeds expectations. Our Core Values were collaboratively developed by teacher and District leaders in a process that gathered input from all employees and RUSD families. Our Core Values reflect the priorities of the District and establish the essential foundations for decision-making and collaborative work. Our Core Values ensure that the organization moves forward in ways that reflect the values and beliefs of everyone. The first Core Value places students at the center of all actions and decisions at the classroom, school, District and Board of Education levels” (RUSD, 2020).

EXCELLENCE. Leadership must value their employees and their contributions to making the organization strong and welcoming. To start living up to the established CORE VALUES, hire more teachers of color. Not just for special education classes or physical education. What about Mathematics, Science, English, and Social Studies?
The next section of this read makes it clear that hiring educators of color matters tremendously.

Research from John Hopkins University: Hire Black & Brown Educators

It is severely clear that RUSD is not living up to their established and documented Core Values as it relates to diversifying the district. Diversity and inclusion of others are the only ways any organization will reach and sustain Excellence.

Hiring Practices in RUSD: According to DPI of Madison, WI (2019), RUSD has 1515 certified and uncertified teachers.

When considering demographics of students in Racine Unified, Whites 38%, African Americans 27%, & Hispanics 28%. When considering the demographics of teachers, there are 86% White, 8.8% Hispanic, and 4.7% African American (3.5% or 53 black females and 19 black males or 1.2% in RUSD). This is amazingly awful and RUSD is not living up to their CORE VALUES. As a result, students are NOT at the core of RUSD’s values.

According to John Hopkins University (2017), “Low-income black students who have at least one black teacher in elementary school are significantly more likely to graduate high school and consider attending college, concludes a new study co-authored by a Johns Hopkins University economist. Having at least one black teacher in third through fifth grades reduced a black student’s probability of dropping out of school by 29 percent, the study found. For very low-income black boys, the results are even greater – their chance of dropping out fell 39 percent. The researchers initially studied about 100,000 black students who entered third grade in North Carolina Public Schools between 2001 and 2005. About 13 percent of the students ended up dropping out of high school, while about half graduated, but with no plans to pursue college.
However, low-income black students who were as good as randomly assigned to least one black teacher in third, fourth or fifth grade, were not only less likely to drop out of school, but 18 percent more likely to express interest in college when they graduated. And persistently low-income black boys — those who got free or reduced-price lunches throughout primary school — who had at least one black teacher in third, fourth or fifth grade, were 29 percent more likely to say they were considering college (John Hopkins, 2017).

Remote Learning and RUSD Intentions and Profound Failure to Educate

From March 17, 2020 to July21, 2020, there has been no real teaching and learning happening for RUSD’s students. It has been consistently fragmented at best. There is a colossal amount of concern in the African American Community, but the district of Racine did not adjust to accommodate the communities’ concerns, which is to educate their child(ren) with a guaranteed and viable curriculum. RUSD failed to effectively communicate their virtual plan as a result of having no plan and have no plan today. Doug Reeves a popular researcher of student achievement would call this “Mal-Practice” (2000). Please keep in mind, there are no vaccines or effective treatments for Coronavirus except to distance oneself from other humans. All districts across the country will have to establish a sound and clear safety plan which includes Remote Learning for Fall 2020 and beyond. It is here to stay. Access to public education in many cases will look different or should I say, tailored to 21st century learning.

While schools were being cancelled and the Black and Brown students had no consistent remote learning opportunities or other opportunities to learn, Rosalie Daca continued to provide possible falsehoods to Journal Times and the community about how they were working on Remote Learning for students or why the district is not going to provide devices because of the different levels of poverty as it relates to students. It never fully happened. Parents are still outraged at this major debacle. While Rosalie Daca was disclosing half of the story to parents, she was trying to leave RUSD for predominantly white school districts. These are the districts. Please see the dates of these interviews in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and Traverse City, Michigan and the days Rosalie spoke to Racine Journal Times. Here is Eau Claire:https://www.record-eagle.com/news/tcaps-superintendent-search-goes-ahead-virtually/article_08c7caf4-831a-11ea-9f69-f782d0e71a67.html

This evidence may possibly show Rosalie Daca, Chief Academic Officer had other priorities. When their first priority should have been dealing with how to educate students by creating Remote Learning opportunities for students. However, Ms. Daca can’t be blamed in isolation. There are others to blame. The citizens of Racine voted yes on the referendum. Student achievement tied to the $1 billion dollars must be priority #1. African American families are outraged at RUSDs lack of urgency and poor virtual plan. Minority families continue to report there are no teaching and learning opportunities happening. Parents are very afraid their children academic performance will decline more the coming Fall 2020, due to fragmented to no direct instruction along with no teacher modeling expectations. By no means am I criticizing teachers. The platform for teaching opportunities must be a priority for administration in central office.

RUSD & Journal Times Quotes in Racine Journal Times Newspaper
“Some one-to-one districts, such as Waterford High School, have a regimented schedule with specific remote classes scheduled for certain times each day, while others, such as Union Grove High School, assign work through applications like Google Classroom and allow students to finish it any time during a given day.”
Racine Journal Times April 26, 2020.

https://journaltimes.com/news/local/school-shutdown-could-widen-equity-gaps-racine-unified-reveals-high-school-grading-plan/article_8e397209-668f-5c5a-997b-5cc66ed1832e.html

Daca’s quote: “That brings up an equity check as well,” said Rosalie Daca, Racine Unified’s chief academic officer. “We don’t want to create really cool lessons that kids with (internet) access can participate in and then everyone else gets this silly worksheet that’s just not at the same level of quality. So, we try to make sure that’s not happening too, and that’s a lot to consider” (April 26, 2020).

“We are working hard to gather the resources needed to equip our families,” said Stacy Tapp, Unified’s chief of communications and community engagement. “We are also developing plans to ensure we can obtain enough hotspots for families who need them.”

Daca’s quote: “We could give every kid a device,” Daca said. “That doesn’t mean they know what to do with it. That doesn’t mean that they’re used to learning that way. We have to move the teachers and the students to a place where they are comfortable with that and they are used to that.”

Tapp: “We are developing a ‘Re-Entry Plan’ for next school year to address gaps,” Tapp said. “We are partnering with districts across the country to come up with a multifaceted plan which takes into account the extra supports that will be needed like tutoring, extra review, slower pace, etc.; but also preparing for a better transition to remote learning in case we find ourselves in this same situation in the future.”

Daca’s quote: “Racine Unified students will not be required to participate in e-learning days during the shutdown. Chief Academic Officer Rosalie Daca said this is because the district does not know if every student has access to a device and internet to complete their schoolwork” Racine Journal Times, March 17, 2020: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/rusd-not-requiring-online-work-virtual-learning-days-planned-for-west-end-schools/article_b82d28be-5d45-5a1b-87b3-9a30b6c255b2.html

How many black teachers are there in RUSD?
There are 53 AA females (3.5%) and 19 AA males a total of 72/1515 certified & uncertified teachers. 19 African American males equate to (1.2 %) of 1515
Demographics RUSD TEACHERS
Black: 4.8% Hispanic: 7.5% Two or more races: 1.5% White: 85.2% https://publicstaffreports.dpi.wi.gov/PubStaffReport/Public/PublicReport/StaffByEthnicityAndGenderReport

RUSD students Demographics
Black: 25.3% Hispanic: 28.4% Two or more races: 5.9% White: 38.9%
Racine teachers Demographics
Hispanics 7.5%, Black 4.7%, White 85.6%

What is the graduation rate for African American & Hispanic Students?

Why are African American employees fleeing RUSD in record Numbers?

Kevin Brown, Gabriel Lopez, Janet Colvin, Julie Landry, Chelsea Stallworth, Angela Davis, Keona Jones, Jackie Moga, Stacy Kimmins, Gretchen Stewart, Lindsey Blue, Demetri Beekman, Alyson Eisch, and Valencia Koker. This is not an exhaustive list. I named a few.

African American teachers and administrators constantly complain about the amount of unfairness they endure just to maintain their jobs. They complain they are severely needed but severely undervalued. Their voices are not heard. They state they lack professional developments which enhance their skill sets to improve academic success for all students. The same community of RUSD’s educators of color state there are absolutely no opportunities for career advancement due to not being part of the Miller Park (baseball) good ole boy group. The African American educators and the African American community continue to be concern about the inadequate to absolutely no equity training for such a diverse school district. Excellence will never be achieved until school districts operate through a cultural lens (National Equity Project, 2015). The organizational charts below speak volume. We have to ask, why does an awesome diverse city not have people in the organization reflective of the community?

RUSD Organizational Chart of Shame due to severely Lacking Diversity

Angela Apmann-Horlick High Jeff Miller-Park High & Cassie Kuranz-Case High

Board Member Mike Frontier’s son Dr. Tony Frontier’s Research on Opening new Schools

The passing of the $1billion dollar referendum was an awesome accomplishment. It’s exciting to know the City of Racine’s students will be moving into new buildings one day. All of the students and teachers deserve state of the art schools. However, the purpose of schooling cannot be overlooked for new windows and shining new door knobs. Student Achievement has to happen as well. Student Achievement should be at the core of schooling. New bricks and parking lots will have absolutely no impact on student achievement.

Vignette 1: “A New School Based on the premise that “smaller is better,” Willow Wood School District was awarded a significant grant to create a small high school, with funding provided for various structural changes that would be required. The grant application had described how the smaller environment would create a more connected, personalized learning experience for students. In the initial months the district addressed complex logistical details and brought in architects to plan for changes to a wing of an existing high school. The district’s IT team began to plan for a new computer network. A planning committee was formed to discuss the mission and vision of the new school. It was decided that teachers would be trained in a comprehensive instructional methodology emphasizing authentic problem solving and workplace readiness. The district brought in a consultant to assist with marketing to appeal to students with an interest in 21st century manufacturing and international business. A school principal was selected. A name, Global Prosperity Academy, was chosen because it aligned with the adopted mission of providing an international education that would prepare students to thrive in a global economy” (Frontier & Rickabaugh, 2014)

“Six months before the opening of the new school, staff members were hired from the existing high school, and they were empowered to make a number of decisions related to curriculum and school structure. The intent was to develop a curriculum whereby students could focus on one of three sets of courses emphasizing workplace-readiness skills, global awareness, or engineering. Each student would have a laptop. The staff chose to implement a block schedule, and rather than using a traditional report card, they decided to use a new standards-based report card. An online curriculum development tool was selected for teachers to develop and track their curricula. By the start of the school year, the building was ready and students were enrolled. Staff had attended two summer workshops to gain a better understanding of authentic problem-solving strategies and workplace-readiness skills. At a parent meeting a few days before school began, the new standards-based report card was distributed, along with a pamphlet explaining the philosophy of the school and its mission statement.

The facility looked great, and the community was energized by the concept of a new, small school with a global focus and lots of computers. On opening day, a crew from a local television station pulled in front of the school, and a reporter spoke with students and others about the opportunities offered by the Global Prosperity Academy. The story that aired that night featured a close-up of the school’s gleaming new sign; a few interviews with excited parents, the principal, and hopeful students; a shot of the impressive computer lab; and a closing scene showing a group of students heading inside as the first bell rang. The prospects of the Global Prosperity Academy had stirred tremendous excitement. Unfortunately, that excitement quickly waned. After a few months it was clear that student achievement was no better than it had been at the large high school—and attendance rates were actually worse. The curriculum was never fully developed around the identified mission and purpose, and factions formed between what students perceived to be the high-achieving engineering group and the low-achieving workplace-readiness group. Two years later, the school was moved to a new site and completely reorganized. The enthusiasm of the early days gave way to finger-pointing, blame, and frustration” (Frontier & Rickabaugh, 2014). Retrieved 6/21/2020: http://www.ascd.org/ascd/pdf/siteascd/publications/books/5levers-excerpts.pdf

Thomas Jefferson Lighthouse-Changing the name to Lloyd Jackson

References

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-dark-side-of-thomas-jefferson-35976004/

https://www.vox.com/2016/4/8/11389556/thomas-jefferson-sally-hemings-book

https://uwm.edu/sreed/wp-content/uploads/sites/502/2019/11/WEERP-Brief-Nov-2019-Race-Relational-Trust-and-Teacher-Retention.pdf

https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/wisedash/pdf/Act%2028%20Remedial%20Course%20Report_2017-11-16.pdf

Questions for RUSD Executive Leadership and Board of Education?

What forms of Equity professional development are available for the entire district? Are all students provided with a guaranteed and viable curriculum with access and without a break in their learning experiences? This must be coupled with certified and qualified teachers in their subject matter.

What types of trauma work are happening for the entire district of RUSD? What plan and action steps are available to address students’ traumatic experiences during COVID 19 & social distancing? Are there certified psychologist, social workers, and counselors available to address the severe trauma? Are there psychologists of color who understands Black and Brown culture because we know having employees of color, provide leverage and understanding? These attributes are necessary for improving concerns students maybe experiencing.

What steps are being introduced to parents and families so they may be able to better address their children academic concerns? How is RUSD working with internal and external stakeholders to improve academic outcomes for African American students and students who live in poverty, despite their race or ethnicity.

Who is responsible for addressing the RUSD’s old and new policies which may be considered discriminatory in 2020? Are parents and community members part of the policy analysis? If not, will you please include a true cross section of Racine’s communities in this process?

Do African American teachers feel supported? Are there several artifacts of evidence disclosing how teachers of color feel about the district’s culture and climate? Just as the Gifford Elementary School principal so eloquently stated, a positive culture and climate is essential, mandatory, necessary and imperative for any organization’s success. If so, please provide to Racine communities. What action steps are being taken to address this situation? Is the plan available for the public? If there are plans to address these pressing ills, how often are they progressed monitored with timely feedback to all teachers, faculty, and principals? Do you have a Culturally Relevant Curriculum for core subjects and more? If so, please provide opportunities for communities to see the Culturally Relevant Curriculum.

https://www.rusd.org/sites/default/files/uploads/Departments/Assessment_and_Accountability/2019-20%20RUSD%20Scorecard.pdf

https://www.rusd.org/district/raising-racine-progress-reports

Summary
The community would like for these concerns to be addressed as soon as possible. The community is paying attention and waiting for sound evidence of plans to address each and every question raised above in this protest for Equity, elimination of structural and systemic barriers, and improved Student Achievement, graduation rates for all students, and more African American, Hispanic, and other teachers of color. This is the only way to reach “Excellence” as a district.

Respectfully submitted,

Black Humanity Coalition
Scott Terry
Daryl Carter
Kimberly Rice
Zakee Darr
Preniece Love
Theres More
Cardell Gallagher
Carl Fields
Brenda Harris
James Ford
Dr. Kevin Wayne Brown
African American Community–We are NOT a hostile group. We seek improved opportunities for all students. This is especially true for African American and Latino students.

Voices of Urgent Concerns!

We are willing to work together! Students of Color must know there are people fighting for their future!