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On February 25, 2020, I attended the program “Addressing Institutional Bias in Suburban Schools” put on by the Monroe County Bar Center for Education. The event was for lawyers, educators, parents, and others interested in the topic of what Monroe County’s suburban schools can do to address bias for the benefit of not only minority students, but their counterparts in the majority. (See Panelist Biographies below.)

The panel of speakers – from education and educational law – discussed the importance of hiring teachers whose demographics match the minority population of students. For example, one school district has a 15% non-white student population, but the non-white faculty population is 4%. Why is this so important?

It can be hard for minority students to envision themselves in leadership roles if they don’t see people like them in leadership at their school (see Panelist Anselme’s Story below). It is also detrimental for majority students to not see minority people in leadership while growing up (see Panelist Beckford’s Story below). Minority students also benefit by having faculty that they related to more than others, and with whom they are comfortable speaking.

The Panelist all described a need for suburban schools to do better with hiring practices, discussing how most school districts hire teachers who were graduates of the same district. That cycle reinforces homogeneousness. Districts must actively recruit minority teachers, including explaining how they will impact the children in their schools for the better. Is there a lesson to be learned here for professional organizations like PMI?

Panelist Anselme’s Story

Anselme is the Assistence Superintendent for Rush-Henrietta. Early in her role, she visited one of the schools. On her way in, she saw a group of students of color, and said hello. The students asked if she was a school aide. They were surprised to see a woman of color in leadership in their school district.

Panelist Beckford’s Story

Beckford, who used to work in banking, once had a white subordinate who had never worked under a person of color (PoC). For the first few months, the employee’s behavior to Beckford range from disrespectful to WHATS THE WORD. Beckford queried the employee, who eventual said it was because having never seen a PoC in leadership in his life, he assumed Beckford was an unqualified token. The two eventually worked it out, with the employee apologizing. However, the impact of the employee’s educational experience on how he treated others is clear.

Panelist Biographies

Nerlande Anselme, Assistant Superintendent for Student and Family Services, Rush-Henrietta Central School District.

Kevin S. Beckford, Senior Human Resources Director for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the University of Rochester, and council member for the Town of Pittsford.

Jonathan Falk, Esq., Supervising Attorney of the Education Law Program at the Legal Aid Society of Rochester. Jonathan represents students in K-12 and their parents regarding their civil and due process rights in school, both in matters of general education and special education.

Terrance McCarthy, Ed.D, Director of Humanities and the Equity and Diversity Co-facilitator, Webster Central School District.