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Resident praises Kent City Schools DEI efforts, shares family experience
Summary
A Kent resident and parent spoke during public comment to praise the district's diversity, equity and inclusion work, describing how DEI programs contributed to his daughter's sense of safety and success.
Sol Flanner, a Kent resident and parent, told the Kent City Schools board in public comment that the district's diversity, equity and inclusion programs have helped his daughter feel safe, supported and academically successful.
Flanner said his daughter is an immigrant of Chinese and Vietnamese descent and an out, proud member of the LGBTQ community. He described a family history of harassment in the community when he attended high school and said he was determined to shield his daughter from similar experiences. He credited teachers, administrators and the district's DEI efforts with creating a supportive school environment and said the family had experienced only one incident of negative racial comments during nine years in the district; that incident was, he said, handled promptly.
"When it comes to making every student feel valued and included, our teachers and administrators understand the assignment," Flanner said. "With the help of our DEI programs, they are working diligently to prepare all of our students to be good citizens and to compete and thrive in a diverse global economy." The board thanked him for sharing his perspective.
