Letter to D89 Families

June 2, 2020

Dear Maywood-Melrose Park-Broadview School District 89 Families,

It is with a heavy heart that we write to you regarding the recent events sparked by the death of George Floyd and the pain and suffering it has generated. While it is impossible to fully understand what each of you have experienced during this tragic time, we would be remiss to ignore this opportunity to recognize and acknowledge what is happening in our world and across our communities.

As school leaders, it is essential to call out bias and racist behavior in the hopes of promoting much needed change in our culture and society. District 89 will never condone hatred and injustice and will always strive for equality in our policies, practices, and service to our communities. We wish to stand together and continue to learn and grow to be part of the solution.

We are blessed to serve in a school community where our primary focus is to create a positive learning environment for all District 89 students that is equitable and inclusive. We truly strive to fulfill our mission to empower, educate and inspire students to achieve personal excellence in a multi-cultural society.
While our 2019-2020 school year may be coming to an end, it remains our focus to support the members of our community, especially our students, families, and staff that may experience the violence of racism. Our hope is that families and communities will engage in conversations about how we as a society can do better and must do better.
These are the foundational steps we can and will take to demonstrate to our District 89 family that we care and acknowledge the role we play in addressing injustice, ignorance, and racism. To this end, we will continue to work with Dr. Sharroky Hollie and his work on creating culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and learning in our classrooms in meeting the needs of our diverse student population.

We would like to end this letter with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Sincerely,

Maywood-Melrose Park-Broadview School District 89 Administrative Team