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Human Relations Commission backs outreach to Wissahickon School District after board listening session
Summary
Vice Chair Larry Maltin reported on a Wissahickon School Board listening session and urged a joint, non-adversarial collaboration between local Human Relations Commissions and the Wissahickon School District to address student belonging, AP equity, representation of African-American students and staff, and school safety.
Vice Chair Larry Maltin said the Human Relations Commission summarized a recent Wissahickon School Board listening session and supported an initiative to build a collaborative relationship between local HRCs and the Wissahickon School District.
Maltin told commissioners that the listening session covered student belonging; equity in AP-class selection; representation of African-American students and staff; and school safety, and that "broader issues of systemic discrimination were not fully addressed." He said he supported an initiative, originally proposed by Chair Serianni, to create a constructive, non-adversarial partnership between the HRCs and the district and described the effort as long-term and joint among neighboring commissions.
Maltin reported outreach to neighboring commissions: Lower Gwynedd’s HRC is rebuilding and expected to consider the initiative at an upcoming meeting, while Ambler had not responded. Commissioners generally agreed that the summer would be an appropriate period for planning and relationship-building before further action later in the year.
Supervisor Liaison Scott Badami told the commission that Chair Serianni had presented the proposed collaboration to the Board of Supervisors and received a positive response. Badami said he would continue to help coordinate and that formal appointments and next steps would follow the board calendar.
The commission did not take a formal vote to adopt a final plan at the March meeting; members described this as a planning and outreach phase. The commission called for additional engagement with student representatives and for staff to continue coordinating with neighboring HRCs and the board.
