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It’s Black History Month; how are our schools doing with anti-racism work?
BAR HARBOR Last year, protests led by high school students in response to the death of a Black man in police custody inspired educators here to take a look at racism and initiate work focused on anti-racism.
“After this summer, no educator can deny harm has been done to our Black and brown children,” said Annah Houston, an eighth-grade English teacher at Conners Emerson School, “because we’ve heard from them.”
Nearly a third of the staff at the Bar Harbor elementary and middle school is participating in the Educators Against Racism group that has met weekly since June 2020. Houston and first-grade teacher Rachel Singh facilitate the meetings.
Towns asked to consider climate collaboration
MOUNT DESERT ISLAND Bar Harbor Town Councilor Jill Goldthwait is asking officials of surrounding towns if they might be interested in working together on sustainability issues and, perhaps, jointly hiring a sustainability coordinator.
She made her pitch at Tuesday’s meeting of the Acadia-area League of Towns board, which is composed of municipal administrators and elected officials.
“Are there towns that would like to get together for a conversation, so we know who is doing what, and talk about the possibility of doing something jointly?” Goldthwait asked.
“Bar Harbor is interested in hiring a sustainability coordinator, but we are not sure we can fund that position by ourselves, and it’s hard to think of attracting somebody to the island for a part-time position. We’re trying to create a climate action plan, and we probably would be well advised to have some professional help doing that.”
Families rely on local childcare programs during remote-only learning
BAR HARBOR Without the childcare programs at the YMCA and Harbor House Community Service Center, families who can’t work remotely would be forced to choose between paying for housing and food or educating their kids, according to one parent whose child attends the Y for remote learning.
“As a single parent working full time, the YMCA has been vital to my ability to stay employed and provide life’s necessities for my daughter while also knowing she is in a safe, enriching environment where she is able to complete her remote learning work and keep up with her classmates,” said Kala Ward in an email to the Islander. Her daughter went to the YMCA during remote learning last spring, in September for the first three weeks of this school year and for the next two weeks.