Commission for Diversity, Inclusion, & Community Relations

Minutes for Commission for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Relations Town of Winthrop, room 2. In-person Meeting: Wednesday, September 22, 2021 Attendees: Andrea Baez (chair); Walter Connelly (secr); John Bentley; Suzanne Martucci-Gallo; John Morgan; Anthony Williams; Nas Patel; Phil Boncore (TC President); Meredith Hurley (Public Health). Newest member not contacted. (Laylanni Larson ???????); Anita Preble (schedule conflict; submitted update by email as Winthrop School liaison). 1. Roll call (6:05pm) 2. Flag Policy (proposed): On hold after acting town Manager Terry Delehanty decided to leave the issue to the incoming Town Manager. Commission will only advise on any flag requests or proposals. Proposed policy follows state guidelines. 3. DEI Website: Anita Preble updated the Commission via email due to school schedule conflict. As per my previous email, I will be unable to attend Wednesday's meeting as it happens to be the ATC curriculum night for families. However, I have met with the WPS Diversity Equity and Inclusion team to find out where things are at with the website and ongoing efforts. It is my understanding that the website will be up and running soon, but that some of the more political and controversial material has been removed. The WPS staff will have access to a separate website which includes references to curriculum materials and additional material not included in the public website. The DEI committees at each school will be convening soon to discuss next steps in training staff and looking at our current curriculum in terms of the NYU rubric which addresses what should be included to be inclusive and diverse. After every grade assesses the current materials, meetings will be held to discuss where we are at and what we need to do to improve. That's where we are right now. If you have any questions, please let me know. Sincerely, Anita Preble Facebook Page for Commission was paused when Town manager Austin Faison left. 4. Meredith Hurley updated Commission on “And Still We Rise” program. They are hoping for three sessions on Oct 7, 14, 21 with the first two being virtual and the third hopefully being in- person. No news on grant, but announcement is fast approaching. – Looking at community trauma with equity lens in response to double murder. 5. Issues and concerns raised 911 Reverse Call. Is there a possibility of expanding languages? Communication concerns as to meeting times and dates and locations. 6. Proposed October Meeting: Wed Oct 27 at 6pm; Oct 13 as back-up Meeting ended: 7:20pm