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Board continues 'courageous conversations' series, isolates race in policy discussion
Summary
Asheville City Schools board members used a facilitated exercise to reflect on racialized imagery and the practice of 'isolating race' in policy work; staff linked the conversation to planned changes in Policy 3,000 and urged the board to keep race explicitly 'on the table' while drafting mission and vision statements.
Board members spent the early portion of the Dec. 1 meeting in a facilitated 'courageous conversations' session led by Maggie. Using a printed compass and three historically and culturally charged advertisements, the group worked through the session’s six conditions with a focus on Condition 2: isolating race.
Maggie asked participants to start from their personal, local and immediate experiences and to use "I" statements when sharing. Participants described how different reactions (thinking, feeling, believing, acting) shape responses to imagery and bias. Jesse and other board members described recurring feelings of isolation as people of color in meetings and at school enrollment events; others reflected on how familiar cultural images shaped their early assumptions.
Board members tied the exercise to policy work. Maggie presented educator-advisory feedback for Policy 3,000 and said she would draft revised language for the board’s January work session. Several board members urged the district to use the 'isolating race' tool as part of policy drafting, while others cautioned that the phrase 'we commit to equity' requires concrete implementation to avoid becoming hollow rhetoric.
The session concluded with a transition to policy work: staff said the learning would inform updates to Policy 3,000, mission and vision drafting, and public participation policies.
