Action team wins award for its efforts to diversify teaching staff

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June 25, 2009 | | Stratford, Connecticut

C.A.R.E.'s education action team proudly displays their 2009 Stratford Board of Education's "Friend of Education Award." The award recognized the team for "clearly demonstrating their commitment to the public school system in the Town of Stratford."

The Board of Education in Stratford, Conn., has awarded its 2009 "Friend of Education" award to an action team that grew out of the city's dialogue-to-change effort to address racism and racial equity. Over the last two years, the team focused its energy on diversifying the school district's teaching staff--and it succeeded.

This year, of the 39 new teachers hired in the school district, 15 were people of color. And, the action team has developed good working relationships with the school board and the school district's human relations director from which to keep working toward the broader goal of having the teaching staff match the diversity of the community.

Vera Rozarie, a C.A.R.E. education team member, speaks at the awards ceremony. After years of fighting her cause alone, Rozarie co-chaired C.A.R.E.'s education action team to help the school district attract and retain teachers of color.

The team formed out of community dialogues on race called in 2007 by the city mayor after a divisive racial incident in town. With support from area clergy, the city, the school district and police department, the conversations have spawned new citizen energy in a group called Citizens Addressing Racial Equity. C.A.R.E. teams are not only workng to diversify the teaching staff in the school district, but they're also working to diversify and strengthen town leadership, improve police-community relations, and ensure the world’s diversity is taught in the classroom.

Learn more: Diversity  | Education  | Racial Equity