THE FRONT PAGE of the Addison Independent on Aug. 31, 2023

Student behavioral problems exposed and exacerbated during the pandemic softened somewhat in 2023, though county schools still wrestled with troubling student conduct. In particular, local schools grappled with racist incidents directed at both students and educators and considered ways to foster more welcoming and inclusive learning communities moving forward.

At the start of the year, members of the Middlebury Union High School girls’ basketball team announced they’d skip a Jan. 12 game at Enosburg Falls High School, citing a history of racist attacks directed at Tiger athletes at the Franklin County school. Students pointed to three separate incidents during the past three years in which Middlebury athletes had endured racist harassment from Enosburg spectators. 

The students’ decision followed lengthy discussions between Enosburg officials, team members and district officials, and was made in part due to dissatisfaction with Enosburg administrators’ proposals for dealing with Tiger athletes’ concerns. The two teams later met for a Feb. 7 match-up, during which members of the Tigers and Enosburg teams took turns reading a prepared statement condemning the racism that Vermont students have endured in recent years. The denouncement came just days after a member of the Milton boys’ basketball team allegedly directed a racial slur toward a Tiger player, causing that game in Milton to be suspended in the second half.

Along with students, local educators were also the target of racist harassment this year. In August, Middlebury Union Middle School’s first-ever dean of climate & culture resigned from the position after only one year. Esther Charlestin, who is Black, cited two racially-charged incidents, both involving students targeting her with use of the “N-word,” as well as what she claimed was an “underwhelming” response to those events from school administrators, as contributing to her departure.

Following Charlestin’s resignation, the Addison Central School District announced new and ongoing efforts to battle racism and intolerance. MUMS Principal Michaela Wisell and ACSD Interim Superintendent Tim Williams sent emails to public schools community, expressing their sorrow for the harassment Charlestin suffered, while and outlining short-term plans and broader efforts to address racism in the district.   

In Bristol, a dozen community members stood before the Mount Abraham Unified School Board in April, calling on school officials to take immediate and extensive action in addressing racism throughout the district after a student of color at Bristol Elementary School was twice called a racial slur. 

Residents at the meeting asked the board to consider adopting an anti-racism plan for the district, and other community members took to Front Porch Forum to express their sympathy for the BES student who was racially harassed and to encourage parents to speak with their children about acceptable behavior. Other posts called on district leadership to implement an anti-racist curriculum or take other actions following the incident.

Eight months later, community members once again packed an MAUSD board meeting after another incident in which a student at Bristol Elementary School was called a racial slur. This time, more than three dozen residents stood in front of the board, united in their plea for district officials to instate anti-racist education for teachers and staff, and curriculum for students. 

Board members at the Dec. 19 meeting took time to reflect on what they’d heard, discuss next steps and invite community members to be a part of continued conversations about anti-racism work in the district. 

In related news, Elias Urang, a nine-year-old fourth-grader at Mary Hogan Elementary School, in December convinced the ACSD board to allow the Middlebury school to fly a Black Lives Matter flag.