By Adam Swift
The school committee approved a resolution originally introduced by member Dr. Sarah Neville reaffirming to support and reaffirm the school district’s status as a Sanctuary District in the wake of the presidential election.
The resolution also calls for the district to show its commitment to welcome, affirm, support, and educate students with diverse gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations, including transgender and nonbinary students.
Chelsea Teachers’ Union President Kathryn Anderson spoke in favor of the resolution during the public speaking portion of last week’s school committee meeting. Several letters in support of the resolution were also read into the record.
“I’ve been impressed by all the different resources we have turned out in favor of our students and our families, and how quickly we have worked with community organizations to connect families to resources,” said Anderson. “I’m excited to see this resolution pass.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Almi Abeyta thanked Neville and those who worked on the resolution.
“I want everyone to know that we care deeply about our families and our students and that we will ensure the privacy of student information as stated by the attorney general’s office,” said Abeyta. “We will also ensure that if ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) should come to our schools, that we will follow the proper procedures as outlined by the attorney general.”
Abeyta encouraged parents to continue to send their students to school and said the schools are safe.
“We want our children in school and we believe that school is a safe haven, is a sanctuary for our students,” she said. “Many of our students need the services that our schools provide … the social aspect of school, we learned from the pandemic that school is important and we need our children in school.”
Neville also discussed the importance of making sure accurate information is getting out into the community.
“I’ve seen a lot on social media, and even some media outlets, being irresponsible in the way they are spreading information,” said Neville. “It is important to verify the information spreading before you share it and try to rely on factual things. If we are causing panic in the way we are spreading information, then it does more harm than good.
“People need to get to work, they need to get to school, and we can’t be making people afraid to go out.”