By Jack Krampitz

Prior to Wednesday night’s Board of Education meeting, a parents’ group posted an online plea for all the parents upset with the leadership of Bristol Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Catherine Carbone to come and speak against her and sign a no-confidence petition.

The Facebook group is titled “Bristol Parents Group–Unmask our Kids,” and as of today, it has 285 members. There are presently over 7,600 students in the Bristol school system, and probably at least 15,000 parents of those children. That would mean this group makes up about 2 percent of Bristol parents.

The group was promoting the petition by stating that the ”parents/families/taxpayers of Bristol DO NOT have confidence in (Carbone’s) abilities to continue leading our district.” It goes on to say, ”She does not speak for the children or families. She is very political in her way of operating. Not at all bipartisan.”

The post continued, “And there absolutely are components of CRT (critical race theory) going on in the schools. They are just called something different. DEI and SEL are components of CRT.”

The Bristol Parents Group was formed originally to protest mandatory mask wearing in schools, a practice that was mandated for all schools in the state. Now the group seems to have migrated to other grievances, specifically the practice of DEI and SEL in the school system.

The idea of the petition was not to fire Dr. Carbone immediately, but just to refuse to renew her contract when it expires.

The hoped-for showing of the anti-Carbone multitude never materialized. During the public comment section of the meeting, two people spoke in support of the superintendent, including Rippy Patton, Chairman of the Democratic Town Committee and a parent of a student in Bristol schools.

A Google search of DEI and SEL produced the following: All the information here is found at mindfulpractices.us . Visit the site to see the full discussion.

SEL stands for Social-Emotional Learning. SEL helps students “create space for self reflection and provides the tools to regulate our emotions and improve/encourage better decision making.”

DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. DEI “is a structure that prioritizes a higher standard and attention to diversity, equity, and inclusivity, how we practice it, and how we hold ourselves and our leadership accountable to it.”

“DEI brings awareness on who we are, where we come from, and what makes us who we are, from our families to the communities we live in and the history of these spaces. This has an impact on our and others socioeconomic statuses.”

It stresses “the importance of equity in the success of everyone (including ourselves). Using the skills taught in SEL to manage our emotions rather than react or shut down during tough conversations around DEI, we can make actual progress in equity and betterment for all.”

In his comments to the Board regarding the issue, Patton said this: ”SEL includes self-awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision making… what you get is a good kid, good student, what we’re all taught to be.”

The Board of Education issued a statement reiterating their policy for evaluating the superintendent and did not call for a vote on the petition.

In other decisions Wednesday:

The Board of Ed. Accepted Teacher Resignations

• Buzinsky, Roxanne – WB – Art Teacher – effective June 15, 2022
• Capozzi, Tracy – EDGE/NEMS – Speech and Language Pathologist – effective March 9, 2022
• Ende, Alexandria – WB – Grade 4 Teacher – effective June 15, 2022
• Felsky, Lainey – STAF – Speech and Language Pathologist – effective June 15, 2022
• Hasler, Kristen – BCHS – Chemistry/Biology Teacher – effective June 15, 2022
• Huntley, Loretta – BCHS – On-Track Coordinator – effective June 15, 2022
• Kearney, Katie – WB – Grade 8 Science Teacher – effective June 15, 2022
• Twiggs, Tina – BCHS – Family and Consumer Science – effective June 15, 2022
• Uraco, Rachel – ID – Grade 4 Teacher – effective June 15, 2022

The Board of Ed. Accepted New Hires

• Brewer, James – CHMS – 6-8 Science Teacher – effective August 23, 2022
• Coer, Jessica – EPH – Grade 3 Teacher – effective March 17, 2022
• Humerick, Jacob – BAIMS – Instrumental Teacher – effective August 23, 2022
• MacDonald, Scott – BAIMS – 6-8 ELA Teacher – effective August 23, 2022
• Mamuya, LaShay – BAIMS – Middle School Math Teacher – effective August 23, 2022

The Board of Ed. Recognized and Congratulated the following student teams and organizations:

• Bristol Central Boys Basketball- State Champions
• Bristol Central Boys Indoor Track
• Bristol Eastern- Model U.N. Organization
• Green Hills School- Odyssey of the Mind Teams

The Board also set the last day of school as Wednesday, June 15.

The Board also voted to accept a new logo for Bristol Public Schools.

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