Email From Prov Superintendent Raises Concerns About Racial Tone of Negotiations with Union
Monday, March 29, 2021
GoLocal has secured a copy of an email sent from Providence Superintendent Harrison Peters to Providence Teachers Union (PTU) officials on Monday raising concerns about the tone of the negotiations.
Peters made the allegation in the email sent to PTU head Maribeth Calabro and others that one of the issues being negotiated had a racist undertone.
“This past Thursday, the mediator came to the PPSD team with a stunning message: that union members preferred conducting interviews at a central location instead of at individual schools, because they felt unsafe in certain neighborhoods—despite that fact that these are the same neighborhoods where they are applying to teach and the same neighborhoods where our students spend the majority of their time,” wrote Peters.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThis is the latest salvo between the administrators of the schools and the PTU.
Peters added, “I understand that this racist comment came to me through a third party and not directly from the union. If the mediator accurately represented the union’s concerns, I am beyond disheartened. I am angry on behalf of Providence’s children and their families. This mindset is what Providence Public Schools must change if we have any hope of improving outcomes.”
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Last week, parent advocates raised questions about the makeup of the union. Ramona Santos Torres, head of Parents Leading for Educational Equity (PLEE), posted to social media a photo of the leadership of the union and raised questions about the diversity of the organization
Peters added in his email, "If the mediator did not accurately represent the union’s concerns, I am worried that the current format our teams are using to resolve our issues is inadvertently creating more tension between our two sides. I suggest a fundamental change to how we conduct contract negotiations moving forward: let’s open the doors and let the public in. I trust our families, and I believe they will serve as a collective ombudsman who will keep both our sides communicating plainly and clearly."
"On a related note, I plan to engage our Districtwide Advisory Council in a series of school-level equity audits to help us identify policies and practices, behaviors and cultures that support implicit bias and work against accelerated learning. I promise to keep you apprised of its findings and recommendations," Peters wrote.