DIVERSITY CHAT
Diversity Chat Thank You
The First Ever Burr PTO Diversity Chat on Race WAS A RESOUNDING SUCCESS!!!
Thank you to everyone in the Burr community for showing up and supporting the first PTO Diversity Chat on Race that we held on Tuesday night. It was a wildly successful event! Can you believe we had over 90 attendees?! Additionally, we had numerous parents take advantage of the free babysitting that we offered. Thank you to Lilly and Isabelle Salgado for their Alumni Sitting Service! Thank you to the terrific team of Burr FORJ with a special thanks to Brenna Fisk, Katie Biello, Meg Salgado, Meredith Berg, and Joanna Burleson for assisting with planning and facilitating the event. Thank you to Janhavi Wadhwani for providing your amazingly thoughtful and delicious homemade Rice Kheer and treats. Thank you to Erica Streit-Kaplan of FORJ Newton for describing their mission and partnership with Newton Public Schools. Thank you to our Principal Mindy Johal for attending to show strong support on behalf of the Burr teachers and staff for this work.
Last, but certainly not least, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to former Burr Dad and Harvard University Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Roland Davis, PhD and Rabbi Allison Berry of Temple Shalom for leading us, brilliantly, through a conversation on race and racism and how it impacts students and communities. They offered concrete and practical advice for parents to talk to children about race. Notes and resources from the Chat will be shared on Burr Parents Facebook and on the Newton FORJ website.
This first Diversity Chat focused on racial diversity, but there are other Chats being planned. It’s our hope that intellectual curiosity and willingness to talk, frankly and honestly, about difficult subjects (race, ability, non-traditional family structures, religion, identity) will tighten our bonds as a community and will ultimately make us stronger.
Have an idea for our next Chat or know of a great presenter? Contact Tamika Olszewski, tamikaolszewski@yahoo.com, to learn how you can help plan our next Chat!
