HCPSS Hosts First meeting of Committee for Diversity and Inclusion

March 9th, 2016

The Howard County Public School System’s new Committee for Diversity and Inclusion will hold its first meeting today, March 9, 2016, from 5–7 p.m. in the Media Center at the Applications and Research Laboratory, 10920 Clarksville Pike in Ellicott City.

The committee was established to provide input on the expansion and development of programs that combat hate speech and leverage diversity to become an even stronger school community. This is the first of up to five committee meetings. The committee will provide a set of recommendations to the Superintendent.

“I look forward to following the committee’s work and receiving recommendations that can be implemented to strengthen our school communities,” said Dr. Renee A. Foose, HCPSS Superintendent of Schools. “We must work together, and with a sense of urgency, to ensure all students feel welcomed and valued in their schools. We have an opportunity to remove barriers and provide additional supports so every child can reach their potential and make important contributions to our county’s future.”

The committee’s work will focus on four areas: 1) Ensuring the HCPSS curriculum reflects the many cultures in Howard County, 2) Development of a comprehensive plan to address diversity in the system, 3) Staff development to strengthen the cultural proficiency of school leaders and employees and 4) Elevating student voice.

During the initial meeting, committee members will establish norms for engagement, discuss the current state of diversity and inclusion in the school system, and identify committee goals. The committee includes students, parents and community members who submitted statements of interest, as well as school system administrators. The committee is co-chaired by Frank Eastham, HCPSS Executive Director of School Improvement and Administration, and Ron Morris, HCPSS Administrative Director.

Student representatives include: Rachel Lin, Student Member of the Board of Education, and six other students representing five high schools.

Parent representatives include: Beth Benevides (Marriotts Ridge High School), Melissa Hulbert (Mt. Hebron High and Worthington Elementary schools), Tahira Hussain (Atholton High and Pointers Run Elementary schools), Steve Martin (Hammond High School), Shany Seawright (Bollman Bridge Elementary and Patuxent Valley Middle schools), Nathaniel Turner (Mt. Hebron Parents of African American Students), Alice Umugiraneza-LeFevre (Glenelg High School), and Jean Xu (Bonnie Branch Middle School, Chinese American Parent Association of Howard County).

The community is represented by the following volunteers: Sunki Choe, Hector Garcia (Foreign-Born Information and Referral Network), Valerie Harvey (Howard County Citizens Services), Opel Jones (Human Rights Campaign), Ken Katzen, Cheryl McLeod (Howard County Education Association), Michelle Ostroff (Jewish Federation), Barbara Sands (Howard County Office of Human Rights), David Steele (NAACP), and Jean Lewis West.

Central Office representatives include: William Barnes (Director, Secondary Curricular Programs), John Krownapple (Coordinator, Cultural Proficiency), and Jennifer Sifuentes (Manager, Human Resources). Teacher participants include Sholanda Holt (Centennial High School), April Motaung (Wilde Lake Middle School), and Jodi Zepp (Long Reach High School). Principal representatives include James LeMon (Wilde Lake High School) and Nancy Thompson (Talbott Springs Elementary School).

More than 100 statements of interest in serving on the committee were submitted. Members were selected among applicants who expressed interests that align with the goals of the Committee for Diversity and Inclusion; reflect the school system’s cultural, ethnic and geographic diversity; and evenly represent stakeholders among schools, offices and the community.