Superintendent Michael Lin
Board President Mary Helen Ybarra
Corona Norco Unified School District Board of Education Trustees

Thank you for your resolve and commitment to acknowledging the need to improve academic achievement, school climates, and learning environments for Black/ African American students. The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted our cultural norms and uprooted traditional learning environments for students and families overnight. Everyone is in the uncomfortable position of learning how to navigate the new normal with fewer resources, all while taking significant precautions to remain safe and healthy. We recognize and share the challenges and hardships that have been presented for all families, the district, administrators, and educators.

I am submitting this letter as a concerned parent of the Corona Norco Unified School District and also as a member of an Interdistrict Alliance of Black Parents in the Inland Empire. Now is the time to make significant investments to create equity and deepen our commitment to creating schools, communities, and a society that is safe and supports everyone.

Prior to COVID-19 and this national confrontation of racism, Black students were demonstrating lower academic achievement than other students, higher referrals to special education, and a disproportionate number of discipline referrals to law enforcement and for suspensions, thereby feeding the ‘School to Prison Pipeline’. Racism is necessarily being called out in many systems, including education, and we don’t want our children further impacted.

Leadership representing the breadth of our government are promptly addressing and prioritizing support to obliterate anti-Blackness and systemic racism. Our own State Superintendent Thurmond asserts, “And it is at this time we must accelerate the work of disrupting institutional racism with a sense of urgency.” Also, in our neighboring county, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has declared racism a public health crisis. Corona Norco Unified School District needs to be like-minded and make similar commitments to addressing inequities.

As parents, we are demanding that we lead and be included in all conversations preparing for the education of our children and that various types of support be put in place exclusively for the success of our Black students. We are requesting the district act upon the following priorities:

1. Tutoring and intervention earmarked in budgets and dedicated to Black students.

2. Technological assistance and training be offered for parents prior to navigating new distance learning environments, so parents can be equipped to navigate the new online systems.

3. African American studies to be included in all the curriculum for grades K-12.

4. Train educators in culturally responsive instruction and restorative justice practices.

5. Recruit and hire more Black/ African American educators.

6. Trauma-informed approaches are to be utilized when dealing with racism and social-emotional learning.

7. Allocate resources for Black/ African American parent engagement training that includes understanding educational systems and various types of advocacy that support Black/ African American student achievement and success.

Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to these requests and we look forward to updates by the next board meeting.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Parent