Below is a statement from Riverside Brookfield Township High School District 208 Board of Education:
The Riverside Brookfield High School Board of Education stands in solidarity with our students, parents, faculty, staff, and community members of color. Building on the comments of our Superintendent and our Principal, we want to express our frustration, sadness, and anger with the killing of George Floyd and with the persistent racism and inequities that plague our nation. We stand with those who peacefully demand justice and equality, and we stand against systems and practices that obstruct the realization of those ideals.
As elected representatives of the entire RBHS community, it is our responsibility to ask hard questions and demand answers. Are we individually and collectively doing enough to become part of the solution? Is this District well enough prepared to keep up with the events of a rapidly changing world? Are all of us innovative and courageous and open enough to invite uncomfortable discussions and debates among all RB stakeholders?
Education is the best antidote to prejudice and discrimination. There is no better way to challenge our own assumptions and come to appreciate cultural differences than to live and learn together with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. At RB we strive to value character as well as intellect. It commits us to helping students develop their capacities to think freely, critically, and humanely, and to conduct themselves with honor, integrity, and civility.
We ask all members of the RB community to listen and seek to understand, to empathize and support, to speak up and suggest. On our path towards healing, we must start by encouraging dialogue within a culture of respect and courage. Whether you are a student, teacher, or parent, we ask that you make your voice heard. This Board’s commitment to you is to listen, to learn, and to demand fair and equitable answers from ourselves and the stakeholders in our District’s community.
We ask you to join us in the work ahead. Together we will rise to this occasion
View the full official statement below.