Students and their parents continue to experience racism in Edmonton schools:
Students and their parents continue to experience racism in Edmonton schools: A Report from a group of Edmonton stakeholders proposes calls to action to address racism in Edmonton schools.
The Action Alberta - Edmonton group, faciliated by a team of community-based facilitators trained by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, held a series of dialogue to action sessions with Edmonton school stakeholders to discuss the state of racism and discrimination in Edmonton schools and propose actions to address them. As a result, a final report was created that is intended to be shared with community to call them into action to address racism in Edmonton schools.
Anti-racism work in schools needs to be framed within decolonial and anti-colonial processes. To this end, the Action Alberta Edmonton team rooted their meetings in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action and the National Inquiry for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls to Justice (about education). Conversations were grounded on the historical roots of Canadian colonialism and integrated the experiences of current parents and teachers of diverse backgrounds. Participants involved in the process shared how there are currently different levels of action and engagement of individual schools, school boards, and school divisions in Edmonton.
"As a parent advocating for my child, I can recognize that I was successful because of my privilege. Starting with the fact that I know the language, I can navigate the system and send many emails, phone calls, etc., but it is not everyone's case. I ensured I fight for my child and attend PTA." Action Alberta Edmonton team member.
During the sessions, areas of concern were identified. Some of them urgently required actions to effectively address racism in Edmonton schools. Here is the summary of some those areas:
Diversify the teacher workforce to create healthy role models and integrate culturally appropriate and anti-racist experiences within schools. Indigenous, Black and Students of Colour must see the teaching profession as an option. There should be intentional campaigns to attract them, mindful and anti-racism integration of their experiences in universities and schools, and continued professional development in schools to support teachers to integrate anti-racism in educational institutions. It is important to have individuals with the cultural understanding and lived experience sharing the correct history and passing on traditions and customs.
Design appropriate tools to ensure that students are adequately supported to engage in academic activities and that they are seen as wholesome human beings. If students have low socioeconomic status or are discriminated against by peers, that affects their learning and outcomes. Schools need to put more effort into having an institutional approach to understand the social and economic situations of students and identify the existing biases among staff and students
Boards and Divisions must design a budget line dedicated to data collection, analysis and sharing to capture and organize race, income, gender, and language-based data in schools. That will help comprehending the subtle ways in which discrimination might manifest in schools.
Evaluation and refinement of current Alberta curriculum and voicing of concerns with the proposed new curriculum. The current curriculum lacks cultural diversity and accuracy, provides inaccurate information and does not prepare students for real-life social and academic situations. The current proposed curriculum changes are further problematic. Issues have been pointed out by several organizations, teachers, school boards, and community members. Major curriculum changes must be widely discussed and community members must be involved in a transparent and inclusive process.
Parents require understanding of the school system and the steps to advocate within it. Parents do not feel welcome in schools and have difficulty finding translators and interpreters to support them. Parental exclusion in schools has resulted in parents backing off from addressing racism and discrimination for fear of repercussions on the ways their children are seen and treated. In other cases, the situation has pushed parents to either move schools or start homeschooling to protect their children from discrimination. If parents confront the teachers or administration, they have reported being reprimanded. Time flexibility to see parents and clear communication were brought up as key elements to address this issue
At the centre of JHC’s work is to build processes and tools to facilitate dialogue to action in the community. The desire is to affect positive and inclusive change through practical and relevant solution building among diverse participants. We encourage the media to bring a light to this important issue that is affecting our young and help us ignite change and create awareness about racism in Edmonton Schools.