By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — As school officials prepare to welcome a Harvard scholar to help adopt a futuristic approach for strategic planning, the public remains divided over how much focus should be on equity.

The Board of Education heard a continued debate during the public comment portion of its meeting Monday, as some residents demanded an apology from board members who suggest there is systemic racism in the community while others thanked the board for efforts to make all children feel welcome.

For his part, Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice, in the early stages of creating a strategic plan to carry the district through the next decade, said he is excited to welcome “futurist” Mitchell Wiess of Harvard Business School for a keynote address to be presented from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Bedford Middle School auditorium. (The location has been changed from Staples High School, originally announced by Scarice earlier this month.)

Although Weiss’s presentation and a question-and-answer session will be live-streamed, Scarice said he hopes for a sizable, in-person audience. The general public is welcome.

“He’ll be talking on ways the changing world impacts jobs and the economy,” said Scarice.

Billed as an educational summit, the program is the first of two that Scarice said will set the stage for strategic work underway to help the school district evolve and respond to a world that is rapidly changing.

The speaker for the Nov. 10 summit, Chris Bishop, is a former IBM employee who helps plan for jobs that don’t yet exist. That program will take place from 7-9 p.m. in the Bedford auditorium.

The long-term planning has gotten push back from members of the community critical of a parallel equity study looking into ways to make all students feel more included.

Scarice said the equity study, conducted with the help of the New York University Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of School, is a crucial part of the district’s larger strategic plans.

Since the start of the academic year, an anonymous group has sprung up, Westport Parents 06880 — with a website and lawn signs — claiming school officials are wrong to focus on assertions of racism in town schools.

The signs warn residents to “Wake Up!” The website urges parents to seek access to curriculum and demand that the schools focus on academics and not racism. It identifies Critical Race Theory (CRT) as “a Marxist-based ideology.” 

That college-level curriculum is not taught in local schools, officials insist.

Parents divided over schools’ approach to ‘equity’

Anne Alcyone, a parent who has spoken to the school board about the study at three recent meetings, told the panel Monday she still wants to see evidence of systemic or institutional racism in the district.

“I am not saying there is no racism,” Alcyone said. She questions, however, the use of student essays describing their experiences in the district as proof that racism is widespread in the community.

Others say they fear the exercise will lead to young children being exposed to only one viewpoint.

“I am not supportive of the equity study not because I don’t believe in diversity or inclusive environments, but because of its approach,” said David Kershner, another speaker. “How the ideas are being defined are very political.”

Kershner said he is concerned that opposing viewpoints might not be tolerated.

“I want my kids to have a great education. I want my kids to make whatever friends they want … Let’s allow our children to be children.”

Camilo Riano, another parent, called it dangerous to promote an ideology he said is contrary to American principles.

“Our children are watching,” Danielle Teplica responded when it was her turn to speak. “We can do better. “

Teplica said she felt compelled to come to the defense of students in town who wrote essays about experiencing personal micro-aggressions.

“They were speaking the truth,” she said.

Others who said they observed meetings of the equity committee said at no point did the NYU Metropolitan Center facilitator influence the conversation.

“The people talking were people from this district. These were Westport parents,” said one.

“Thank you for taking on the task,” Olga Roberts, another parent told the board.