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Connecticut Association of Boards of Education

About

Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Over the last two years, the CABE Board of Directors’ Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity, under the leadership of First Vice President Donald Harris and with the assistance of NSBA and CABE Past President and Superintendent Search Consultant Mary Broderick, has wrestled with the issue of how best to meet its charge:

A. Work to ensure that there is diversity (in particular, people of color) and sensitivity to diversity in all of CABE’s work.

B. Encourage boards of education, school and district leaders, as well as State Government to continue to consider the importance of diversity and multiculturalism in public education.

As part of its work, the Committee has discussed issues such as institutional racism, barriers to educational success faced by some students of color and the lack of diversity on boards of education. The latter is particularly concerning because studies show that almost half of our students are children representing diverse cultural groups. Research shows that when board members represent all segments of their communities, they are more likely to adopt policies more sensitive to all students’ needs.

Members of the Committee

Tyron Harris, East Hartford, Chair

Leonard Lockhart, Windsor

Elizabeth Brown, Waterbury

Ayesha Clarke, Hartford 

Bryan Hall, East Hartford

Ann Gruenberg, Hampton

Michelle Ku, Newtown

Ethel Grant, Naugatuck

Yesenia Rivera, New Haven

Sharon Thomas, Simsbury

Donald Harris, Past Chair, Bloomfield

Martha Brackeen Harris, Consultant, CABE

Patrice McCarthy, Executive Director and General Counsel, CABE

Lisa Steimer, Sr. Staff Assoc. for Professional Development and Communications, CABE