NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letters. Email editor@newcanaanite.com to publish your letter here.
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Dear Editor and The New Canaan Community –
Planet New Canaan’s second annual Green Gala was held at the Carriage Art Barn this year, amidst the exciting Annual Members Art Show. Kwame Henry Jones serenaded us with his lovely music as guests took in the sights, food and libations of the evening. We are truly grateful for the incredible support shown by members of the New Canaan community who joined us for the evening’s festivities via their generous purchase of tickets as well as placing bids on our silent auction.
Planet New Canaan would like to acknowledge our amazing sponsors: Karl Chevrolet, Walter Stewart’s Market, The New Canaanite and Weed & Duryea as well as an anonymous sponsor. It was thanks to the generous support from our sponsors which made the Green Gala possible, allowing Planet New Canaan to continue to build on our initiatives to better serve New Canaan.
We would like to thank our Sustainability Award recipients, Mary-Ellen and Bill McDonald for their work preserving fireflies and supporting pollinators. Also to Rose Bonura of Rosie Restaurant who worked with our Youth Board to create a food scrap recycling program at Rosie Restaurant and continues to work with Planet New Canaan on new initiatives.
Of course, our local celebrity bartenders added a special celebratory vibe to the event. Thank you to Reverend Elizabeth Garnsey, Tom Stadler, Selectman Nick Williams, Laura Ault and George Wright for being great sports and donating their time for the evening.
Last but not least, I would like to give a special shout out to Planet New Canaan’s FundRaising/Green Gala Committee, without whom the event could not have taken place: Margot Bright, Katie Owsley, Stephanie Koch, Beth Sanford,
Urlrika Veroude, John Kriz, Heather Boulanger, Katherine Grohsgal, Melissa Boyce and Robin Bates Mason.
With much appreciation for everyone involved,
Diane Maglaris
Fund Raising Committee Chair
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At ABC (A Better Chance) New Canaan, equity – celebrating each student as an individual with unique strengths and personalized needs and then providing each student with the specific tools required for success – is one of our guiding principles. Equity is not a political word. It is key to providing a best-in-class education.
Diversity and inclusion, along with the acronym DEI, also are not political words. In the school context, diversity is the presence of different demographics among students, teachers, and administrators. Inclusion is about how people within the school buildings interact, how they treat each other, their openness to each other, and their efforts to ensure that everyone feels supported intellectually and academically and can have an impact. It is the key to encouraging academic success for all students, regardless of learning preferences or backgrounds. It is engaging in civil discourse, valuing different perspectives, and working to understand the experiences of others. DEI training calls upon experts in difficult topics to help make diverse, equitable, and inclusive goals a reality.
Over a year ago, at the September 7, 2022 Board of Education meeting, we defined the meaning of the words diversity, equity, and inclusion. (See 9/7/22 recording, beginning at minute 17). We, along with many other students, alums, and parents, also begged the sitting Board of Education to seek expert consultation and do their homework to understand better the work needed to create a robust and fully participatory learning environment for all of our students.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion teach our children to be empathetic and kind, to think critically, and to strive toward a society that values the well-being of everyone, regardless of ability, background, or affiliation. They lead to better student experiences and better student outcomes. They make our children better members of the New Canaan community and better prepare them to leave New Canaan and enter the world of higher education and employment. We ask that all New Canaanites engage with these concepts on a deeper and more meaningful level and leave national partisan politics out of this meaningful work. We owe it to our children, our town, and each other to do so.
Respectfully,
Liz Tuff, Board President
Alicia C. Meyer, Past President & Board Member
Jamie Boris, Executive Director
From the ABC House website:
“Our mission is to provide transformative academic opportunities to talented young men of color…” Only talented men of color need apply.
What are you saying? What does it mean to you that this program receives applications from men of color?
I would ask that anyone responding here please keep in mind that the letter written by ABC House does not refer to elections, candidates or parties. It’s a statement on the organization’s position with respect to DEI. I’m reading it as an attempt to elevate the conversation around DEI, and I would ask anyone responding to respect that.
The full sentence from the ABC House mission reads, “Our mission is to provide transformative academic opportunities to talented young men of color, support them in becoming well-rounded and confident leaders, and prepare them for success in college and in life.”
I did not mention an election or even a candidate. The ABC letter did.
The letter from ABC house mentions giving all students opportunities to succeed, yet they only offer admission to the most gifted applicants. The letter mentions inclusion, yet they only accept men. The letter accepts diversity, yet they only accept people of color. Equity for the smartest, diversity that excludes races, and inclusion that excludes women: DEI.
“The ABC letter did.” Where? Eric, know that if you post demonstrably false assertions here, you will be called out for it. We’ll keep the thread open for now. Don’t do it again.
Attacking the mission of A Better Chance is not the way to persuade the hearts and minds of New Canaan residents. ABC has a long history of providing 6-8 students per year the opportunity to benefit from an outstanding high school that they would otherwise not have access to. It doesn’t take anything away from New Canaan students. It lifts up a group of outstanding young people, and they in turn lift up all who have the privilege to get to know them. Let’s not view the people around us as always out to take what is ours, because we all gain so much more from being open to learning from each other.
I’m proud to live in a town that offers our wonderful asset, our school system. Each of our NCHS students benefits from meeting a wide and diverse variety of people with lived experiences that vary from their own. This prepares them for their next steps in life, whether college, work, or the military.
Let’s not let the divisive and bitter partisan politics sweeping our nation degrade the amazing education and life experiences that an intentional focus on DEI driven by our school leadership can offer to our students. It was tragic to hear on a recent podcast this important work being mocked, belittled, but even worse, not understood, by a candidate for Town office. This is not who we should strive to be as a town – we ask our kids to push for excellence and we fail them when we don’t do the same by challenging the status quo. Let’s find approaches to all aspects of the educational experience that we can embrace as a town, including the hard conversations about what DEI means in our context.
As a 30+ year HR executive, I’ve seen leaders who use the strengths of their diverse teams to fuel amazing achievements by their companies. They show up with an open mind and heart, and what they are able to do as a result by building trust is meaningful. Let’s build a community of students who are ready to be those leaders in the future.
Well said, ABC House leaders. Thank you for the wonderful job you do.
We’re now seeing additional comments submitted by non-banned readers that contain misinformation and politicking, so this thread is closed, thanks.