We Stand United Against Racism and In Support of SUSD Students of All Races

"If you look at our Education 2020 plan, ... one of our core values is “equity, inclusion and

social justice” - Scott Menzel

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..."we’re going to hold ourselves accountable for the ways in which we’re disrupting and dismantling systems" - Scott Menzel

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"and the training we’re providing is causing many of our employees, especially our employees who identify as white, but also our staff of color, to really critically examine the ways in which our structures and systems advantage some and disadvantage others" - Scott Menzel

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"we’ve never righted the wrongs of the genocide of the indigenous population, and the enslavement of a population from Africa on which the wealth of this country was built..." - Scott Menzel

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"And so, in some respects, the 2016 election, and the things that surfaced around that, Charlottesville for example, created an opportunity for us to really expose how the systems operate, and once you can bring that into the light of day, it gives you the opportunity to dismantle, disrupt, and then recreate something that’s socially just and more equitable." - Scott Menzel

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"I’m a white male in a position of relative power and privilege within the organization. I didn’t grow up that way, but it doesn’t really matter, in this country I check the boxes that give me the greatest level of advantage." - Scott Menzel

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"And so, because I had that advantage in this country, I have an additional burden and obligation to dismantle." - Scott Menzel

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"I did have someone tell me as I was going on about dismantling and disrupting the systems, she said “Scott, be careful, there are still children in these school buildings”. If you dismantle the whole thing you don’t want unintended consequences that harm children in the process." - Scott Menzel

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"But white people have racial identity as well, and in fact problematic racial identity that we typically avoid. " - Scott Menzel

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"It is a, and pardon the pun, whitewashed history, that makes white people look good all the time" - Scott Menzel

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"And when you begin to do your own work as a person who identifies as white, and you really look honestly in the mirror in terms of white male privilege, ..." - Scott Menzel

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"To me it starts with school boards and policy, because everything flows from that." - Scott Menzel

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"And that means taking some risks related to the kinds of decisions we’re willing to make to disrupt the system that we know only works to benefit a few and not all,." - Scott Menzel

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"Let’s be clear, that the hardest place to do this work, is in high-performing, affluent districts." - Scott Menzel

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"So thinking about how hard can we push on the system without a collapse.." - Scott Menzel

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"white people need to feel comfortable, and quite frankly we shouldn’t feel comfortable, we should feel really, really uncomfortable,.." 

- Scott Menzel

 

"In this country it’s about meritocracy. “Pull up yourself by your bootstraps, everybody has the same opportunity”. And it’s a lie."

- Scott Menzel

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"But the funding shouldn’t be equal, the funding should be equitable based on the needs of the kids."

- Scott Menzel