Include the entire Graham & Parks community when it comes to investigating leader at school
There are many of us at the school who do not support a unilateral, relentless campaign against principal Kathleen Smith’s leadership at the Graham & Parks School. While I have deep respect for the voices of the G&Parks Caregiver Coalition and have spent many hours listening to their perspective, I fundamentally disagree with their approach. It is particularly painful to write this letter, as I have shared playdates with their children and see them at our school every day.
The coalition – under the veil of anonymity – has spoken against Smith’s leadership (and that of superintendent Victoria Greer) continuously in the press (Cambridge Day, The Crimson, The Boston Globe, etc.) and are calling for an immediate removal. They speak on behalf of a community that for the most part does not know that they, or these conflicts, exist. This sets a dangerous precedent for our school and our district. We cannot allow a small, privileged group to direct the future of our school based on their perspectives alone. We need to come together in community – including all caregivers, teachers and staff who want to participate – to discuss what is best for our collective future, and it seems that a door to reconciliation grows smaller by the day.
Our community is extremely diverse – racially, ethnically, culturally and socioeconomically. The children of Graham and Parks reflect that tapestry and come together in the pursuit of learning. I am particularly concerned that the voices of brown and black families, especially those who do not enjoy socioeconomic privilege or English as their first language, are unheard.
I strongly believe that supporting an open, public process is the key to combating inequity, and I am deeply upset that caregivers, teachers and staff are being excluded from sharing their voices. Caregivers’ individual opinions on whether our principal meets the school’s needs should be taken into account as part of a comprehensive and holistic evaluation. Teachers and staff need to be able to share their opinions on the school’s climate without fear of losing their employment or jeopardizing relationships critical to the school’s success.
As of yesterday, the district finally released the name of the attorney leading the investigation into our school and invited our community to participate. The district needs to go further.
- An explanation of why the investigation was initiated needs to be shared. This has never been disclosed.
- A communication about what the investigation entails needs to be circulated, and the role of the investigator needs to be explained.
- The communication needs to be translated and passed out in flyer form, ensuring that those who do not have reliable access to or feel comfortable with technology (including Wi-Fi) have the opportunity to participate.
- Translators need to be provided to those families who want to share their experiences with the investigator.
- Like the school climate survey, online and written forms need to be supplied so that caregivers, teachers and staff can participate anonymously.
- Participants must be reassured that they will not be retaliated against – by teachers and administration or by other parents – for their honest feedback. This is the only way to ensure a fair outcome.
Our unique strengths at Graham & Parks are rooted in our differences. It feels wrong generally, but particularly in Cambridge, for us to exclude stakeholders from the conversation.
Thank you very much for taking the time to reach this letter and thank you again for your service to our community.
Isabella Ehrlich, Kirkland Road, Cambridge
This is ironic given that the author is a wealthy white lady who has just characterized the Coalition as all white when she knows full well that the Coalition is more diverse than her letter states.
Also ironic because the Coalition has been asking the district for more transparency around the investigation since it began in early January. And several members encouraged Isabella to help when she brought her concerns about transparency to us (that we share). She agreed to help, and then other members indicated they’d also help with flyers and translations.
And then she goes and publishes this letter. Is this what honest, open communication looks like? Is this how you build bridges? By burning a coalition of ~55 parents of diverse backgrounds with kids with diverse needs (IEPS, etc) who have never claimed to speak for the entire school community? But who have been asked by staff to speak out on their behalf because they are so scared of our principal? And who have had to operate very carefully in order to protect those staff because this district, like Principal Smith, routinely acts on retaliation and intimidation as methods of controlling and silencing dissent?
I agree that it is important for everyone’s voice to be heard on this. However, I don’t think you can blame the caregiver coalition for what has been a less than transparent process. As you note, the district waited until the 11th hour to release name of investigator. Initially, the district notified only coalition members, and not the entire school community, that they had opened an investigation. It was only after the caregiver coalition went to the media that the school informed all parents of the investigation. The caregiver coalition has not tried to operate as a secret cabal, rather the coalition were the entity that made the investigation public. I absolutely agree that this process should be more inclusive. I think your point about interpretation / translation is also a good one.
“We cannot allow a small, privileged group to direct the future of our school based on their perspectives alone.” This is a gross misrepresentation of our group and what is happening here. Further, several of us agreed earlier this week to donate even more time to handing out fliers, finding translators etc. to work with you to do exactly what you propose in this letter. You could have published this letter calling for more transparency and community building from the district (something the coalition has been calling for *all along*) without simultaneously impugning the G&P caregiver coalition. You say we need to come together in community – I agree. But by maligning the coalition, you add to the breakdown in our community with this letter. We chose to be anonymous because of a real fear of retaliation – born out in Principal Smith’s time in Newton as documented by NPS HR department, and here at G&P by some teachers. Still, many of us spoke publicly at the School Committee meeting Tuesday and were quoted in the papers. This is very uncomfortable and not what any of us wanted but we are fighting for the future of our school and a better way forward. I hope we can all work together on that project in the very near future. And I hope we can do so without implying that others do not care about equity and the well-being of all children in Cambridge. That insinuation, which is both false and deeply harmful to our community, plays into the hands of those who would like to see us divided further.
— Becca Lester, G&P caregiver coalition member
I commend this letter writer for being so open in her views and her sincere desire for a better, healthier school community. The fact that this letter is even necessary is heartbreaking.
Yes, we absolutely need the district to go further! Why was the name of the attorney only shared yesterday, when the investigation started months ago? Everything the writer is mentioning in the bulleted list is excellent. The sad thing is, many of those things were already asked of the district back in January and have gone unanswered because the district “does not comment on personnel matters.” Still, we are in 100% agreement regarding transparency.
Nevertheless, I found other parts of the letter rather unsettling.
The writer so clearly wants to have a healthy way for the community to come together, and expresses disappointment in the Coalition’s approach. We are disappointed, too, but in our school and district leaders. For a whole year now, many of us *have* asked for more transparency, more open communication, more integration (not just inclusion) of SEI families, more ways for all to engage in meaningful dialogue. Those requests have been ignored time and time again. The district itself has been coming to meetings attended by parents to help support Dr. Smith. When the principal ignores a chunk of the community, when the district ignores them too, and School Committee members stand by and watch, what else can one do other than leave the school (as several families already have because of Dr. Smith)? Even when we requested Dr. Greer to inform the community about the investigation back in January, for the sake of transparency, she refused. Going to the media was *absolutely* the last resort.
This line also seems odd: “They speak on behalf of a community that for the most part does not know that they, or these conflicts, exist.” No one is speaking on behalf of anyone. There are people, however, who noticed some seriously harmful things that echo findings from the Underwood report, and feel the need to sound the alarm. They are speaking for themselves.
Now, speaking as a person of color, I’ll borrow the house on fire analogy we heard at Tuesday’s School Committee meeting. If there are signs that a building is on fire and some people (not all) realize this, is it okay for a non-black/brown person to break the glass and hit the big red button? What if 127 people agree the signs are real enough to push the button (including people of color, economically disadvantaged families, immigrant families, non Coalition members)? Would that be okay or do we have to wait for *everyone* to be convinced that there’s a need? I’ll note that the building manager who’s ignoring the alarm is someone who’s known to have burned down the last building that they ran. The Coalition is making a lot of noise not because they’re “privileged” but because they must.
We, as a community, are hurting. We’re intentionally being divided and left in the dark, we’ve filled knowledge gaps with a lot of assumptions (all of us), and we’ve become resentful of each other. That wasn’t the case before, and it all started with one event: the hiring of Dr. Smith. That hiring process was flawed from the beginning, and what I’d love more than anything is a do-over. Let’s start a new search. Let Dr. Smith apply again if she still wants the job. But let’s do it right because G&P deserves it. Our kids and our beloved teachers and staff deserve it.
The GP Caregiver Coalition has never claimed to speak for the GP community as a whole. Nor does the petition signed but 130+ caregivers and parents. The school has a parent liaison, the district has a director of community engagement and yet they did not inform the community of the investigation until this week, in an English-only email. The district organized talking circles where the topic of Dr. Smith’s leadership was explicitly off limits. The coalition has discussed at length how to include the broader community in our conversations yet we have no avenue to do so. When one parent used the email list to contact other parents about these issues, the district warned sent an email stating that this is forbidden. The district has the capacity to email the entire school, the coalition does not. Coming together as a community to discuss sounds like a wonderful idea. Yet when caregivers show up to school meetings we are not allowed to speak and our questions go unanswered. Clearly the admin of the school and the district disagree with this notion. While you may or may not be correct that members of the CC are privileged you are definitely basing this on assumption which is a bit ugly. The CC has published our email and invited all to join the conversation many times. There is no exclusion taking place whatsoever. We have never excluded anyone. [email protected]
Shame on you Isabella. I personally offered to help you with any way you find fit to inform as many families as possible.
And you said you are working on it and that you will give us an update. And while we were waiting for your update, you went and wrote this letter and then left the group.
You complained about our methods but did nothing to change them. When many of us said we will support and help you with whatever you needed, you realized you need to put your money where your mouth is and instead stabbed us in the back.
You know full well that not all of us are white, or own the place we live in, or can afford private schools. But that doesn’t stop you for categorizing all of us as white and privileged.
Isabella, I agree with you that the strength of our community lies in our diversity. And I admire your bravery in writing this letter. I know you care deeply about our school community. However, the coalition isn’t making a decision on behalf of the school – that decision is out of its hands. And people are allowed to speak up for what they believe, like you did in this letter.
The climate at our school right now is heartbreaking. As noted above, we have tried many ways to share information with the whole G&P community – and made a plan just this week to work with you to try additional ways. But we have been repeatedly shut down by Principal Smith and the district. I believe that a leader who has the skills and interest to bring us together would be working to do that and create space for community dialog and would have taken steps to do so long ago. –Becca Lester, G&P coalition member
i am a parent/caregiver at G+P and i am not in this group. maybe because its named caregiver coalition it seems like it includes all the caregivers? also it would be pretty simple to respond to the “not white” part if you’re not anonymous. also it’s kinda weird to have an anonymous group at a public school IMO. why is it so secret? now i want to know who is in this group ha ha
I have experienced many events in Cambridge over many decades that cause deep division in our community . This community will not be healed or brought together by a report by an outside attorney. It will demand real work and leadership from School and City officials. I have listened enough to know that healing is possible but folks will have to have a real process to be listened to and then led to a path forward that most buy into and believe in. Leadership.
Hi AnotherG+PParent,
If you have an idea for how to reach all G&P parents, please let us know. Anything we tried was blocked by either the school or the district. Isabella had some ideas. Some of us (myself included) agreed to help out with whatever she proposed. But before she tried anything, she wrote this letter and left the coalition.
If you are truly interested in learning and/or joining, please email:
[email protected]
Also, we are no longer that anonymous. Many of us gave comments, with names, at the School Committee meeting. While we didn’t identify as members of the Coalition, I think it is pretty obvious. You are welcome to browse the recording of the meeting here:
https://reflect-video-ondemand-cpsd.cablecast.tv/CablecastPublicSite/show/10253?site=2
– Guy, G&P Caregiver Coalition member
I’m Isabella. I am not going to respond to everything here but I have read all the comments. I will say that I am white, and I am privileged (to own a house, to have a steady income, access to medical care and a support system). I have learned that my privileged background means that I cannot speak on behalf of others. I try to use that privilege to allow others – who might not have the opportunity – to speak. I do not always get it right but I am committed to continue trying.
Isabella, You’re not listening. You’re railroading. The Coalition has never claimed to speak on the behalf of anyone but its own members. To continue to suggest otherwise is further evidence of your lack of self-awareness and insistence that your way is the right way. The opposite of what you claim to be attempting to do with your letter. But truly, the most insulting part of the letter, as several have highlighted, is that we were trying to partner with you and encouraged you to make the flyers and do the outreach that we have been trying to do since long before you showed up, but in the face of district silencing (and the silencing efforts of Smith herself), have been stonewalled at every turn.
And to those who have asked, why all the secrecy and anonymity? Especially among teachers? Fear. Fear of retaliation. Our teachers and staff are rightfully afraid of retaliation from Principal Smith and the district. And the School Committee is ultimately to blame for allowing the culture of fear among our teachers and staff to flourish in this district.
Parents are also fearful of retaliation from Principal Smith. Also for good reason. I’m increasingly fearful that Principal Smith will try to retaliate through my own child. Which is why I am staying anonymous here. But the teachers/staff facing retaliation and working under duress are the #1 reason I’m here pushing for new leadership.
A leader who only knows how to lead by intimidation is no leader at all. Our teachers, staff, kids, and parents/caregivers deserve better.
This letter wrongly attacks a group of parents for lack of transparency who have been working tirelessly to get the word out about the crisis at G&P. “They speak on behalf of a community that for the most part does not know that they, or these conflicts, exist.”
Unlike CPS and G&P leadership, we have no way of speaking to the entire G&P community. Instead, we have connected with as many people as possibly through old-school, time-consuming means: one-on-one conversations, emails, phone calls, and gathering petition signatures. Ironically, the ~130 petition signatories (all G&P parents) asked Principal Smith to hold a public forum on the future of our school to increase communication and trust within our community. Smith refused.
When we did try to communicate with other parents through parent class lists, CPS – obviously threatened by our desire to share information – told us to stop. How is that for transparency and open communication?
Blaming a group of parents who have simply been trying to make the school better – with limited means of communication – is naive and misplaced.
CPS did sponsor some “talking circles” to build trust among parents/caregivers. But we are forbidden from discussing the actual problem that created distrust: the disregard of parents/caregivers from Smith and Greer, the retaliatory environment at G&P, and the divisiveness that is at the core of Smith’s leadership strategy.
Honest leadership is needed in a crisis. Here, we have none. Until CPS acts, this situation will only get worse.