Superintendent Jeff Porter recommends hiring Equity Consultant, Lawrence Alexander, to facilitate District's Phase II of equity plan. Alexander to join October 18 meeting virtually.
In the MSAD 51 October 7, 2021 District Newsletter, Superintendent Porter included an overview on the equity work being done in our schools. A brief review of what is now being coined, “Phase I” was given. According to Porter, Phase I began in 2019 after “a series of race-related issues surfaced in our schools.” To date, Phase I has involved “awareness and educational opportunities, along with seeking direction on how our schools become more equitable places for all students to learn and grown in an increasingly interdependent global society.” Porter announced that we are now entering Phase II and recommended “direct facilitated support for Equity Leadership and Steering Committee (ELSC) to support the strategic priority of equity and the Board’s annual goals.”
Additionally, Porter is recommending the hiring of Lawrence Alexander of Carney-Sandoe & Associates as the Search Consultant and Practice leader of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. According to Kyra Kellawan of The PilotEd Podcast, Carney-Sandoe & Associates (CS&A) is the largest educational consulting and staffing firm in the United States. CS&A works with over 1,800 independent, private, boarding, and charter schools in 48 states and 32 countries. He has also been hired by public schools including Yarmouth and Windham-Raymond, and RSU 21 (Kennebunk).
NYFV contacted Mr. Alexander with the following questions:
ELSC has been accused of lacking transparency with parents and community members, how would you specifically work to remedy this?
How would you involve teachers, students and parents who are not self-professing "anti-racists" in this discussion?
How do you plan to make MSAD51 schools and classrooms safe and welcoming for religious students who believe in God's creation and design for gender and sexuality?
How do you identify implicit biases and based upon your expertise, what measures are typically necessary to overcome such biases?
His reply: “These questions are best answered by your district and leadership. I am only doing the consultative work related to equity and inclusion. There seems, based on your questions, larger community issues that have nothing to do with my works so I will not opine on issues outside of my purview.” When given an opportunity “add any specific comments about what he typically does as a hired search consultant?” Mr. Alexander responded, “I think I'll be best positioned to answer those questions in the context of the meeting on Monday.”
CS&A writes on their blogpost, “In his work, Lawrence has helped K-12 schools and universities across the country examine and remove implicit bias from their hiring and admission practices. He also conducts workshops on anti-bias training and increasing cultural competence among faculty and administrators.”
On June 9, 2020, Kyra Kellawan of The PilotEd Podcast interviewed Alexander. They spoke for about 40 minutes on a variety of topics, including the Alexander’s past work experience, his current roles for CS&A, the “racial, inequitable history of standardized testing,” the dissonance between organizations and schools that virtual signal with anti-racial messages and signs, yet have entirely white leadership.
Alexanders explained his two main roles as Director of Equity and Inclusion for CS&A:
Helping schools that are looking to hire a head of school or principal or superintendent or looking to hire a director of equity and inclusion or a diversity, equity and inclusion leader. They come to me to help them find people.
Consulting work with 25 colleges/universities on interrupting implicit bias in admission process. I do training for inclusive hiring practices and cultural responsive curricula.
When asked what values would change education and bring lasting change in systems not fit for purpose any longer, Alexander replied, “white people represent in American leadership, not by gift and inequality, but by systemic racism, a large part of our leadership. They have a responsibility to take on racism. Why? Because racism is not an invention created by nonwhite people. It is created by white people. So, it is white people’s responsibility to fight racism. As a majority male culture is responsible for combatting patriarchy and sexism. It’s not the role of women and nonbinary folks and non-cis folks to do the work of sexism, patriarchy, and homophobia. It’s our job as men. We need to make the responsibility of building a healthier culture, the responsibility of the dominant group. And when it comes to racism, the base – literally the base – upon which America was founded, that work has not been effectively done yet because white people have made it the work of ethnic minorities, not theirs.”
When Kellawan asked him what he thought was the most pressing need that he would like to see changed, he responded “I empathize in this moment with white leaders who have not yet in their journey reckoned with their racial identity. This feels like you’re in the middle of a fight you didn’t start, yet it is your responsibility. Lean into this time. No one is an expert. Leaders are expected to lead by example. Be the example of cultural humility, of a collaborative leader.”
Alexander finished the interview by recommending a list of books as “a good place to start for white folks,” including Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility and Glen Singleton’s Courageous Conversations about Race. For his colleagues and “various people of color who may want to better articulate how they feel,” he recommends Austin Channing Brown’s I’m Still Here and Michael Eric Dyson's Tears We Cannot Stop.
Mr. Alexander will be sharing a virtual presentation at the Monday, October 18 Board meeting. He will also be answering questions that were submitted by Thursday, October 14. The Board will vote at this meeting on whether to hire Mr. Alexander as an equity consultant.