Dear Families and Staff,

The Essex Westford School District recognizes the weight and importance of our current national circumstances. As a public school district, the EWSD is a nonpartisan entity that is dedicated to educating all students about past and current events and concepts through multiple lenses and perspectives. We do so to encourage an understanding of our community and of the world around us. This includes understanding historically underrepresented stories and perspectives.

Supporting students in understanding events happening in our country recently through multiple contexts does not constitute as personal political perspectives in the classroom, but instead is designed to address the idea that there are different lived experiences during these events and it is important to understand facts as well as ideologies through which they are seen.

The EWSD stands together against violence and hate symbols, wherever and whenever they occur. The insurrection of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, was an event that erupted into violence. In addition, many people participating in this event wore or carried forms of hate symbols recognized by the Anti-Defamation League.

We want any student, staff member, or visitor to feel safe in expressing their political perspectives, even when others may disagree, but we do not support violence against people as a political action nor do we allow hate symbols to become acceptable as political speech in our classrooms. Perspectives that are harmful to anyone due to their identity or a protected class identification are also statements that are not acceptable within the EWSD.

As a District, we encourage everyone to participate in “See Something, Say Something.” This means observing our environment and developing awareness of our surroundings. The District highly respects the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of our community by emphasizing behavior, rather than appearance, in identifying suspicious activity.

When we see suspicious activity, something that seems out of place, or hear someone make threats to harm another person, we say something. Even if we are not certain, we trust our instincts and report it.

The EWSD focuses daily on the many aspects of safety, which include:

A very close relationship and strong lines of communication with our local law enforcement and emergency first responders
Employing a full-time, professional, and highly trained Director of Safety & Emergency Preparedness
Having a District Liaison Police Officer assigned to the school district
An Emergency Response Plan and crisis response training in each of our schools
Entry into our schools is restricted using access control and secure entryways
Consistently upgrading emergency communications at each school
Staff members wear photo identification badges
All visitors coming to a school must check in through the main office

Safety is a top priority in the EWSD and we want both our students and employees to feel physically and psychologically safe and cared for in our schools. Along with standing by our values, it is critical that we continue to create an environment that is safe for everyone. As a school district, we promise to do everything reasonably possible to protect your children against any threat that may arise while they are in our care.

If you have any school-specific questions, please contact the building principal, otherwise please feel free to reach out to me at: bcobb@ewsd.org.

Sincerely,

Beth Cobb
EWSD Superintendent

Essex Westford School District

Updates & News

October 2022

October 28. 2022 Message to the EMS Community

2022 EWSD Equity Annual Report - Board Meeting Presentation

May 2022

"Step In and Come Together" Event Held on May 15, 2022

April 2022

ADL sixth graders fly kites as part of lesson on child slave labor

Vermont Inclusion Week - May 8-14

March 2022

Progress on LGBTQIA+ Affirming Education Practices & Environments

February 2022

Vermont PBS: February Resources to Celebrate Black History Month

January 2022

Essex Westford School District shares new plans for equitable learning, teacher evaluation

Spring 2022 Faculty Training with Dr. Rebecca Haslam, Seed the Way LLC

December 2021

Community Equity Update from Director of Equity & Inclusion, Erin Maguire

EWSD Equity Monitoring - Board Meeting Presentation

October 2021

Seeking Student Commentary: Black Lives Matter Flag in Our Schools

June 2021

EWSD News - Equity Education Session Recording/EWSD Equity & Inclusion Website

May 2021

EWSD News - Equity Policy

5/10/21 Equity Policy Development Message

April 2021

EWSD News - Outcomes for Equity in the EWSD

January 2021

1/27/21 EWSD Adds Tip Line to Each School Website

1/15/21 EWSD Statement on Safety and Recent Events

August 2020

8/3/20 Essex Westford School District to raise BLM Flag at all Schools