Back to the 1950s? Boston Suburb Divided Over Diversity Curriculum
One Westwood, a group of like-minded parents in Westwood, Massachusetts, have divided the Boston suburb over including diversity as part of the school curriculum, calling for an end to teaching topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). They describe themselves as a group of parents "calling for a non-political, non-ideological school district that resurrects the excellence Westwood schools have historically been known for."
The issue sparked last month when One Westwood published an op-ed on the local news site Westwood Minute, in which they criticize�"Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," terms they consider laudable, but "the real-life implications for our kids have been disastrous," they wrote.
But the reaction to the editorial piece has been strong from both parents and students of the posh, west Boston suburb. A group called Inclusive Westwood wrote they stand "firmly against racism and hate in any form and supports a society that promotes equality of opportunity for all of our students."
In their reporting, the Westwood Minute spoke with a sampling of students to learn their opinions and concluded: "It is evident that Westwood students are not all in�agreement and have a lot to say about the injustice, cruelty, and blatant racism and transphobia embedded within their beliefs."
The publication asked "students to describe their reaction to the article in three words. Above is a visual representation of the words that Westwood students use to describe their reaction to the article. Among the words that scored highest were: disgusting, disgusted, hateful, disappointed, shocked, racist, frustrated, homophobic, repulsive, hypocritical, ignorant, sad, harmful and conservative.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Westwood has a population of approximately 14,000. The racial makeup of the town was 95.98%�White, 0.50%�African American, 0.04%�Native American, 2.48%�Asian, 0.21% from�other races, and 0.79% from two or more races.�Hispanic�or�Latino�of any race were 0.94% of the population. Of its 5,122 households, 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The median income for a household in the town was $128,984, and the median income for a family was $157,656.
While the One Westwood piece is filled with anecdotal evidence of examples of where diversity policy hasn't worked, they offered no concrete examples in Westwood schools. Instead, they suggest a link to a memo from Emily Parks, superintendent, to Allison Borchers, assistant superintendent, in which they review the proposed changes to curriculum "that recognize and support the needs of students and families in an increasingly diverse community."
The memo also addressed criticism of the program, such as from One Westwood: "It is also important to note that an anti-racist approach that encourages critical thinking, supports classroom discussion of difficult issues and introduces diverse voices and perspectives is not an uncontroversial stance. Some parents have expressed concern about the introduction of difficult, politically charged or controversial topics (e.g., discussion of the Black Lives Matter movement in social studies classes)."
One Westwood says they stand "firmly against racism and hate in any form and supports a society that promotes equality of opportunity for all of our students. We believe these ideals are at the heart of western civilization." The group goes on to claim: "Anti-racism activists do not seek a colorblind future, and they do not seek equality of opportunity. They seek to redefine our schools and our society in a way that is unrecognizable to the world we grew up in."