Muldrow and Castro both said the moment reflects a new commitment in the school district.
“Our community is coming together to prioritize Black children and to reconcile a history in which black children have been harmed by this district and this community and this country, and then denied education effectively,” she said. “It’s time to be honest about that. And I think that this community has selected people who could engage in that process of truth and reconciliation. I’m very proud of my board for coming together to elevate that work, because it’s part of the reason I ran for school board.”
“I think this means that we are being intentional about trying to correct the historical wrongs in terms of listening to communities that have been historically erased in our district,” Castro said. “And also try and be a model for the entire community in terms of listening to community, being bold in a vision, being bold about the issues we face in our district, whether it be racism or the way we speak, treat kids with special needs or English language learners. And being bold about dismantling those systems and trying to replace them with something better.”
In terms of policy specifics, Muldrow said her first priority is “to conduct a safe transition between virtual learning and in-person learning as we address the pandemic.” She also hopes to provide for support for arts education and opportunities for students to “express themselves artistically within their education.”
It’ll also be a top priority “to address the achievement gap, to make sure that the color of a child’s skin doesn’t determine whether or not they’re thought of as disruptive or intelligent in their classroom,” she said.