SAU70

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committees have been meeting since at least the spring of 2019. They have done so without public notice, public involvement, minutes or proper governance and in violation of New Hampshire Right to Know (RTK) and open meetings laws

• On May 6, 2021, the Dresden School Board voted to make the SAU70 Equity committees accountable to the board
• At present, it is unclear how many committees there are, who the officers are, how many times they have met, what decisions they have made or how much impact they have made on the curriculum
• At a PTO meeting on March 18, 2021 parent Alison Kapedia gave an update regarding the transformation of the popular “Colonial Days” module into “Colonization Days” and that she and others were working on curriculum changes with Associate Principal Nan Parsons and others [link to recording]. When parsons was asked about the changes, she refused to answer and stated “decisions will be made.”

• An equity audit [add link to PDF] was performed in 2020 that was overwhelmingly positive.
• In an update dated August 2020, [add link to PDF] the equity committee rejected the findings stating the “report was seen as TOO POSITIVE.”
• They further stated:
  • “Curriculum needs to become less centered on logic and argument”
  • “Equity needs to be part of the fabric of everything”
  • “Equity should be on every agenda of every meeting”
  • “Curriculum – must be overhauled completely”
  • “Parents need education”
  • “Curriculum needs to talk about racism with students from an early age”
• Hanover High School’s website publicly states:
  • “The concentration of whiteness and wealth in our community is symptomatic of the systemic racism that has shaped our nation’s history and current reality.”
  • “We also must equip white students and staff to examine their own privilege.”
• At a PTO meeting on February 25, Hanover parent Dan Richards who was attending to discuss donating an entrepreneurship center was “interrupted” and silenced by a school administrator who repeatedly referenced her DEI “Upstander” training. She did this because she disagreed with his view of a bill in the NH legislature. His account is here [add link]