Revised May 19, 2020 in bold
May 15, 2020
Dear Durham District School Board Teaching Community,
I’m writing to thank you for reading and sharing my Open Letter to Durham DSB trustees. Nearly 10,000 people have read the Open Letter!
In the letter, I criticized the Durham DSB’s decision to accept Lisa Millar’s retirement for August 1, 2020 instead of demanding that Ms. Millar retire immediately. The trustees’ decision to allow Ms. Millar to remain in her role was a big fat institutional failure.
I also wrote to the Durham DSB trustees before writing the Open Letter, criticizing the trustees’ decision to not terminate Ms. Millar, period. Later that day, trustees voted to write to Minister Lecce to request the assistance of an external facilitator/advisor. Alexandra Adamo, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, said the matter was being reviewed "expeditiously.”
That was three months ago, and an external facilitator/advisor still hasn’t been assigned.
Major black community organizations in Peel are demanding the firing of the director of education and the chair and vice-chair of the Peel DSB. One of the demands came through an online petition by a Peel advocacy group. The other came in a letter to the board written by 18 different organizations. Minister Lecce hired Arleen Huggins to review the Peel DSB’s compliance with his binding directions in response.
But today, Minister Lecce participated in a “direct” live learning session and tweeted out a photo of the session with elementary students and their teacher without blocking out the students’ faces or names!
Anyone who works in education knows this is a major faux pas because it puts children at risk!
Charles Pascal, a former Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Education and professor of human development at U of T/OISE tweeted, “This is what happens when the real purpose is stage craft. ‘What can I do today that shows I am cool and smart?’”
Ministry Lecce isn’t concerned about Ontario’s children.
It’s now painfully obvious Ministry Lecce doesn’t know what he’s doing, either!
And Minister Lecce is running our education system!
To quote Shree Paradkar, Race and Gender Columnist for the Toronto Star, this is “a train wreck sliding on its own debris.” (To be fair, Ms. Paradkar was referring to the situation in the Peel DSB, but I think we can now safely attach the same label to the provincial situation.)
In their 2020 Review of the Peel DSB, the Reviewers called on teachers “to stand up for their students and their colleagues, and to relentlessly challenge anti-Black racism and other human rights violations.” The Reviewers also called on”educators and leaders – including elected leaders – who are aware of their own place in the world and who will bring a higher consciousness and personal commitment to the work of ensuring that every effort has been made to achieve success for all of the children for whom they are responsible. “
Thanks again for reading and sharing my letters, for standing up for your students and your colleagues, and for being a guiding source of calm and inspiration to our children. You are truly helping to bring a higher consciousness and personal commitment to the education system amidst incredible turmoil!
Keep doing what you are doing and stay safe!
Yours in education,
Debbie L. Kasman
M. Ed, Policy Studies, OISE/University of Toronto, Education Re-imagined, Analyst & Researcher, Author & Speaker
To read the Open Letter and related updates, click here.
CC: Premier Doug Ford
Minister of Education Stephen Lecce
MPP Merit Styles, Official Opposition Education Critic
MPP Mitzie Hunter, Scarborough – Guildwood
MPP Lorne Coe, Chief Government Whip
Nancy Naylor, Deputy Minister of Education
Patrick Case, Assistant Deputy Minister, Education Equity Secretariat
Durham DSB Trustees
Durham DSB Acting Director and Superintendents
Caroline Alphonso, Globe and Mail
Kristin Rushowy, Toronto Star
Jillian Follert, DurhamRegion.com
Shree Paradkar, Toronto Star