Beth Cobb (left) and Erin Maguire An equity policy proposed for the Essex Westford School District has galvanized members of the suburban community in recent weeks, drawing hundreds of people to both virtual and in-person meetings. Critics of the policy say it is divisive and difficult to parse, and supports teachings that might make white students feel shame and guilt. Supporters, meanwhile, argue that grappling with issues of race and equity will help kids become critical thinkers and improve education for all students. Essex Westford school leaders assert that there is nothing that should be controversial about the proposed policy, which likely will be put to a school board vote on June 15. Instead, they say, the district s commitment to equity is part of its overarching vision and aims to make school a place where all of its 4,500 students 14.6 percent of whom are nonwhite can succeed. This, they argue, is the fundamental c
A little after 6 p.m. last Friday, people began streaming into Essex Center Grange Hall #155, an austere white clapboard building that shares a parking.
Rep. Jill Krowinski The day after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election, outraged Vermont lawmakers weighed in on the historic moment. Rep. Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington), the new speaker of the House of Representatives, stood at the rostrum in the nearly empty chamber, a portrait of George Washington towering over her, and asked the clerk to read the hastily drafted declaration. It condemned the violence as a direct attack upon our democracy that was instigated by President Donald Trump to overturn the results of a fair and free election that he lost in order to keep himself in power. As Gov. Phil Scott had done the previous day, it called on Trump to resign or be removed from office.