February 27, 2022

Statement by the Westford Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee

Recently Superintendent Chew placed a faculty member on administrative leave in response to a social media post the faculty member made that the Superintendent correctly noted was a racist comment and was insensitive, disrespectful, hurtful and unacceptable.

We commend the Superintendent for his quick and appropriate response coming as it does soon after the Wayland High School incident.  While we do not have data to help us understand the frequency or the nature of acts of intolerance and racism that have occurred in the past in Westford, we can observe now with appreciation that the town has adopted a de-facto policy that acts of intolerance and racism are absolutely unacceptable and will be met with swift action.

The DEI Committee’s charge is to “identify needs around fostering acceptance and valuing diversity and to discourage prejudice and discrimination against any person, group, or any other status protected by law on account of race, creed, color, income, religion, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, age or disability.” 

With this charge as inspiration, DEI Committee will continue to work with the Select Board and the School Committee to build on our tradition of tolerance that embraces diversity and fosters a sense of belonging by, among other things, decisively reacting to acts of racism and lifting and sharing the voices of victims ….but also by developing town-wide and community-based approaches that will have long term and lasting impact.

Mamatha Jagannathan and Eric Barber-Mingo, Co-Chairs

Westford Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee