Naugatuck Equity Alliance

Author: Jason Lee

When a handful of teachers at Naugatuck High School came together in the summer of 2020, George Floyd had just been murdered. Teresa Obedzinski and Keith Fowler, along with some of their colleagues, had noticed stark differences in representation and educational outcomes between their black and brown students and their white peers. Gathering other like-minded staff, they started talking with each other about ways they could help their students using their expertise and positions in the school. 

“We were thinking about joining together to read a book, in particular,” Teresa recounts. The group started with How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, written in 2019 about Kendi’s own experiences with racism, the nature of systemic racism, and his recommendations for anti-racist action for individuals.

“The effectiveness (of the book) for me,” Keith said, “was the concept of what an anti-racist actually was, the way it broke down concepts like that so that you knew and recognized things that you’d heard people say or said yourself in terms of ‘I’m not racist’ but if you’re not actually doing work to combat the situation and to increase equity then you’re no kind of ally, you’re not an anti-racist, and you’re still part of the problem.”

The murders of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery  and the racial justice protests that followed convinced the group that they had to take action. 

“It felt like a big awakening over racial justice in America and this urgency of, ‘We have to change this right now.’” Keith said. “We want to be anti-racist, we understand what it is, and at the heart of actually changing protest into progress, policy is that nexus point.’”

The teachers began taking steps to transition from a reading group into a teacher-run equity team. They sent out a survey across the school, introducing their plans and inviting staff to their first meeting. The equity team, now expanded from the original small group of teachers to a larger mix of educators, paraprofessionals, district staff members, and administration, were all at different points with respect to antiracism. The space became as much a place for faculty to explore their own internal biases and examine their own practices as it was a place to reform those of the school. 

“We just had a large discussion the first time we met together about the things we thought were important, what was bothering us, what was something we couldn’t stand that was happening to our black and brown students.” Teresa said. “‘What can we do and what do we see happening?’ So we just made a list.” From there, the teachers self-selected into the tasks and pursuits they felt the most comfortable working on.

After consulting district demographic data and conversing amongst each other, the team decided to focus on the overrepresentation of white teachers relative to the predominantly black and brown student body. Teachers and staff began looking into more equitable hiring policies and exploring programs that would encourage students of color to train as teachers and later return to work in the schools they had learned in.

While the literature served as a starting point, Teresa and Keith also reached out to their peers who had been involved in anti-racist work for longer than they to guide them through the initial organizing stages. 

“You might not know exactly what to do, but bring in the people who do, to help you.”  Teresa stressed. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. That was one thing we have a strength in, is asking people ‘Well how do I do this, where do I go from here, how do I approach the policy, how do I approach the board of education?’”

Keith reached out to a network of Colorado educators whose antiracist efforts in their district appeared in the news. The partnership provided both intellectual and organizing support and helped the Naugatuck team choose which policies on which to focus their energy. Another teacher, Ashley Kastelein, set up a virtual meeting with  the Angry Educators Podcast team, who discuss current events, policies, and trends that affect public education.

“What was great about it was, it gave us centered, actual action plans,” Teresa said of both interactions. “I think for a lot of the times when we form these groups it's great for us to look through the resources and say ‘Okay, I like this resource, I want to use this in my classroom.” But in order to actually make lasting changes, they helped us with formulating ‘What are those points that we want to start to hit?’”

The Naugatuck team received strong support from their principal, who provided steady attention, scheduled professional development sessions on white privilege, and directed teachers towards the equity team. However, the pair recognized that not every objective would receive enthusiastic administrative support, and that the goal of changing district policy to include set targets for the racial diversifying of staff would potentially be a heavy lift.  

However, the Superintendent of the district, Christopher Montini, has proven to be a supportive ally, and is currently forming a special committee of Naugatuck Board of Education members, students, and staff, to review and potentially revise district policy as part of a plan for minority staff recruitment. Montini is on board with working to recruit more diverse district staff, and has even asked to join future Equity Alliance meetings! 

Teresa and Keith reiterated the importance of establishing a shared organizational culture within the team to maintain motivation throughout difficult periods.

“Defining terms together as a group and understanding what those terms mean to everyone really puts all of you on the same page.” Teresa said.
Yet, in a lot of ways, the teachers and staff involved in anti-racist work already share the most integral commitments. 

“I think a lot of it is political,” Keith said. “Honestly, yes, we are progressive, and we’ve just had enough. We are history teachers, we know the history of the state, somewhat, and there are things you can clearly classify as wrong—absolutely racist and absolutely wrong.”

“Some of the stuff is very, very distressing and hard to deal with,” Keith continues. “If we can lend our shoulder to the wheel a little bit, for the right direction—I think a lot of the teachers share exactly that.”