AUBURN – Call it a getting acquainted meeting. 

Now that Auburn schools have a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee, the group has to figure out a few things. Who they are. What their purpose is. Who they’re going to try to help and how they can do it. 

“It’s great to come up with all the problems that we have,” said Pam Hart, a member of the Auburn School and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion committees. “But we also have to come up with solutions.” 

The committee was created at the end of last year.

The idea was sparked in large part in response to work by Steven Wessler, founder of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence, as well as to a Boston Globe Magazine’s 4,000-word article last summer that detailed incidents of racism at Edward Little High School. 

Then there was the situation in November where high school Principal Scott Annear had to offer an emotional apology to students and parents after calling names of  students over the intercom to take part in focus groups concerning racism and bias. 

The fact that the group was created in reaction to those types of incidents is part of the problem, according to at least one member of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee. 

Dave Simpson, also a School Committee member, suggested the School Department reacts so hastily to the first whiff of criticism, that it fails to take a slower, more measured approach to problem solving. 

“It’s reaction, reaction, reaction,” Simpson said. “We’re trying to save face with everything.” 

Simpson, who works in the Maine Department of Corrections, is in favor of more proactive solutions. He’d like to see the group collecting more data about problems within the schools before floundering around for hasty responses. 

Others, however, stressed that data is unreliable or even unavailable – not all children will report the abuse they take over matters of race, sexual orientation, poverty or physical disabilities, they said. 

And so, with those kinds of conflicting opinions in mind, a dozen people sat around a table Thursday night at Edward Little High School looking to sort it out. 

The group that gathered consisted of school teachers, principals, parents and a high school senior. They were also joined by consultants Laura Liqouri and Virginia Dearani, a pair that has been part of the process since the school system began a four-phase project to study diversity and inclusion in Auburn schools. 

The matter of who got to sit at that table Thursday night was a large part of the discussion. The committee has faced criticism in recent days from people who suspect that they are being selective about who they allow in the group. It’s a matter the group wants to address at once. 

“I don’t want people to think, ‘oh, it’s a clique and no one’s invited,” Hart said. “We need to really let people know what we’re doing so there’s no confusion and nobody feels excluded.” 

The current plan involves a variety of focus groups, dialogues, workshops and training sessions to help reduce bias, harassment and bullying related to race, nationality, religion and other issues. 

The committee plans to post their agendas and meeting announcements on the School Department’s website and Facebook page in the future. 

“People want to know what they’re coming for,” said Sue Dorris, principal of East Auburn Community School. “We do have a lot of work to do in Auburn. It’s a whole community effort. We’re all here for the same reason.” 

 

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