Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Published – June 26, 2023
According to Valley News, Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union (WSESU) has “agreed to pay former Windsor School Principal Tiffany Riley a total of $650,000 to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit she brought against her former employer.”
Valley News continued, “Riley alleged that she was improperly fired from her job in 2020 after social media posts about the Black Lives Matter movement.”
The Watchlist did not uncover the original Facebook post, but Riley reportedly wrote:
“I firmly believe Black Lives Matter, but I DO NOT agree with coercive measures taken to get this point across; some of which are falsified in an attempt to prove a point. While I want to get behind BLM, I do not think people should be made to feel they have to choose black race over the human race.”
Citing a copy of the settlement agreement, Valley News stated, “The terms of the settlement…also include a positive job recommendation for Riley from the Mt. Ascutney School Board that praises her having ‘worked diligently with staff to change the school’s culture’ and commending her ‘collaborative leadership style.’”
WSESU has since removed links to the district’s “Declaration of Inclusion.” However, internet archives show the school board once approved an initiative to have each town sign the statement below. The declaration’s stated goal was to achieve statewide adoption and implementation of more inclusive policies, procedures and training programs.
The district hired a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) coordinator, Traci Price, who “spent most of her career advocating for environmental, education and youth initiatives with a commitment to racial justice.” Price is also called a “seasoned facilitator” who uses “an equity lens” to lead discussions and organizational development.
In May 2023, WSESU published an “Equity Audit Report” detailing the results of focus group sessions. The report found “an absence of a uniform definition of equity [that] resulted in misunderstandings about the nature of equity in the Supervisory Union.”
Essentially, the district remains resolute in its efforts to continue developing and expanding DEI ideologies across school campuses.
Published September 26, 2022
Mount Ascutney School Board’s dedication to more inclusive student and staff experiences on campus led two towns to embrace community-wide diversity, equity and inclusion statements. VTDigger reported, “The Mount Ascutney School Board at its meeting on August 8, 2022, passed a motion to approve the Equity Declaration adopted this year by the Town of Windsor, Vermont. The Town of West Windsor, Vermont also adopted a Declaration of Inclusion earlier this year.”
The stated goals of the Declaration of Inclusion statement include:
- Highlighting the fact that Vermonters are not fully aware of the systemic racism that is president in a majority “white” society
- Raising consciousness about the importance of diversity and the positive effect that diversity can have on the economy, equity, and justice
- Emphasizing the importance of preparing our youth to live and prosper in a more diverse society of which “we will all be soon living”
According to VTDigger, “Mount Ascutney School Board Chair, Elizabeth Burrows, stated, ‘The Mount Ascutney School Board unanimously felt it was important to be unified with the two towns within its boundaries in its commitment to the dignity of all who reside and visit here. However, the board also acknowledges that an Equity Declaration is merely symbolic of the work being done to support this commitment.’”
After 25 years of service, a Windsor school principal was fired for allegedly taking an anti-black stance on a controversial anarchist organization in December 2021.
Valley News reported, “School officials in Windsor offered to settle a lawsuit with former Windsor School Principal Tiffany Riley, who was fired following Facebook comments she made criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement…But Riley, who contends the Mount Ascutney School District Board improperly fired her, rejected the offer…”
Valley News also said, “Riley filed her lawsuit in early summer of 2020, a few weeks after she was placed on paid administrative leave…The School Board had taken action after Riley made a Facebook post on her personal account in June 2020 that said,
‘I firmly believe Black Lives Matter, but I DO NOT agree with coercive measures taken to get this point across; some of which are falsified in an attempt to prove a point. While I want to get behind BLM, I do not think people should be made to feel they have to choose black race over the human race.’”
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Windsor Southeast Supervisor Union serves Weathersfield, Mount Ascutney, and Hartland school districts with students enrolled in grades Pre-K through 12 across six schools.
