Members of the clergy from around Orange County gathered with concerned congregants at the steps of the Orange County School office building near downtown Hillsborough during a Board of Education meeting on Monday night.
They came here because of concerns over the state of Orange County schools, and whether Board of Education members are adequately addressing equity issues and economic and racial disparities.
Reverend David Stanford commended the district for hiring Doctor Dena Keeling as a Chief Equity Officer earlier this month. But, he said, there was still much to do: like addressing the lack of diversity in school faculty and staff.
“There are no bilingual people in the front offices of any of our schools,” the reverend said. “And we would like to see that change so that Hispanic and Latino kids and their parents feel more comfortable.”
Increasing staff diversity is one of the main requests from this group of faith leaders. Reverend Stanford said that though 25 percent of Orange County public school students were from minority demographics, 93 percent of teachers and staff were white.
Namron Chapman saw this firsthand. She graduated from Orange High School just a few weeks ago and will be attending North Carolina A&T University in the fall.
Outside of the Board of Education offices, she said she only had one teacher of color during her time in the Orange County school district.
“I feel like if there are more people that look like me, or look like others in the school, then we feel more comfortable,” Chapman said.
The list of requests from these concerned clergymen covers a range of issues. They are also asking for county school administrators to create a safety plan where all staff know when to identify and evaluate a serious concern and when to notify parents.
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