New ARPS School Equity Task Force

Letter to the ARPS Community from School Committee member Amilcar Shabazz, who is chairing the new School Equity Task Force (SETF). Nominations for SETF members are being sought & should be submitted to Debbie Westmoreland (westmorelandd@arps.org) no later than Fri, May 2nd.  



April 11, 2014

Dear Members of the ARPS Community:

On Tuesday, April 8, 2014, the Amherst Regional School Committee approved the establishment of a School Equity Task Force (SETF) that was given the following charge:

The ARPS will provide all students an innovative and academically exceptional education in an environment that embraces racial, cultural, and socio-economic diversity and where the educational workforce of our schools proportionately reflect, as closely as reasonably possible, the diversity of the school district as a whole. This educational experience and environment must include facilities and other human and capital resources that are equitable to support the district’s mission of Excellence in Teaching and Learning for All. The SETF will study and make recommendations for short- and long-range actions concerning but not limited to the following:

• Discipline issues, especially racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities;
• Developing a school climate founded upon mutual respect; 
• Dismantling unfair tracking and ensuring equitable access to all offerings;
• Curricular revision; and
• Other equity issues related to achieving the Amherst Regional High School’s Core Values and Beliefs of “High Achievement, Best Practices, and Social Justice.”

As chair of the SETF, I invite nominations of individuals willing to serve on a task force that aims to enact our district's stated mission "to provide all students with a high quality education that enables them to be contributing members of a multiethnic, multicultural, pluralistic society. We seek to create an environment that achieves equity for all students and ensures that each student is a successful learner, is fully respected, and learns to respect others" [Policy AD].

The deadline for nominations is Friday, May 2.  Review of nominations will begin on May 5, including confirmation of the willingness to serve of those selected. The first meeting of the SETF will be scheduled for no later than May 19.  I would like to have at least a quorum of SETF members available to meet periodically throughout the summer. Nominations should be submitted to Ms. Debbie Westmoreland at westmorelandd@arps.org and should include the name, address, phone number and email of the nominee.

Yours for the Best in Education for Our Community,



Amherst Regional School Committee member
School Equity Task Force Chair