There has been a devastating report about racism left unaddressed by officials within the Burlington, WI school system.
Burlington Area School District officials failed to report, investigate and respond to racist incidents for years, the state Department of Public Instruction has found, and ordered district officials to address its “racially hostile environment.”
An earlier report about racial hostilities in the Burlington school system had made national news, too, when a Racine elementary school teacher's lesson plan after the shooting of Jacob Blake in nearby Kenosha sparked an ugly reaction:
Melissa Statz developed a lesson for the next day that included a children's book, a worksheet and an educational video. She told CNN the students seemed interested in the lesson.
The lesson, which discussed systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter movement, sparked outrage in Burlington and the backlash was swift as first reported by NBC. Angry parents began calling for the teacher's resignation. They accused her of "indoctrinating" children and a Facebook group titled "Parents Against Rogue Teachers" was formed.
The anger eventually came to the fore at a fiery school board meeting. Days later, police investigated two acts of vandalism involving the N-word at two local schools, including Cooper Elementary.
So, basically, what's going on, Burlington, and in the wake of the DPI report, I'm wondering if there will be any reaction from Robin Vos -
- local Rochester business owner, Burlington High School graduate, former Racine County Board Supervisor, current WI Assembly Speaker and surely Burlington's highest profile resident, who, according to his campaign organization "strives to make life better for the residents of Racine County."
And because he said last fall people should re-elect him because, among other things:
...I will continue to fight for them by working for better health care, excellent schools, and a strong economy so that every family can make their dreams come true.