High school begins all staff meetings with ‘commitment to dismantling whiteness’

Richfield High School Principal Stacy Theien-Collins revealed her school’s commitment at last Monday’s school board meeting, Alpha News.com reports.

“We’re going to start like we start all of our high school meetings, which is with our Richfield High School vision of equity,” Theien-Collins told the board. She noted “100% of her staff” added input on this “vision” last school year, and that every Richfield staff member created “a personal vision of equity.”

Richfield’s commitment states:

“At Richfield High School we believe in providing a rigorous and equitable education reflecting the strengths and experiences of our community. We believe students learn best when they feel safe and affirmed in who they are. Therefore, we commit to dismantling policies and processes that benefit whiteness and other systems of privilege.”

The Richfield Public Schools’ “equity” page states the district is “committed to viewing and analyzing all of [its] work through a racial and cultural equity lens so that each individual can learn, grow and excel.”

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Alpha News notes Richfield schools recently were embroiled in controversy over a sex education curriculum in which students were requested to “role play as gay and transgender characters navigating sex scenarios.”