CHASKA – As parents described harrowing examples of racist incidents in the Eastern Carver County Schools during a meeting earlier this week, Chaska Mayor Mark Windschitl sat appalled in the audience.
“It was eye-opening,” Windschitl said. “I went to that meeting and I was like, ‘holy cow. This is ‘happening.’”
So the mayor decided to outline a plan of action.
On Wednesday, Windschitl announced the city would meet with the district next week, facilitate a listening session with leaders in the community and bring an implicit bias workshop to Chaska for diversity training.
“We’re making efforts,” Windschitl said, “to make this the community we believe it is.”
The implicit bias workshop, which Chaska is discussing with Twin Cities YMCA, would help train city employees. The city is also exploring whether the workshop could be extended to the general public and the community as a whole.
Many parents welcomed the city’s actions, including Amanda Flowers Peterson.
“I was happy,” she said, “to see that the mayor engaged.”
But Peterson would also like to see more – including more direct engagement with people who don’t speak English as a first language.
Peterson also said she’d like the city to create a better process for filing grievances over issues related to equity.
“I’m really hopeful that the training they’re going to, and engaging in, will include something of that nature,” Peterson said.
Still, as she described at the meeting earlier this week, Peterson’s son has been the victim of such incidents – and she cannot help but worry about her children.
“They do have a reason to be afraid,” she said. “And I’m not able to be with them every minute of the day.”
Mayor Windschitl assured students the city will work to fix the problem.
“We don’t want the racism in our community and the goal is to make them feel safe again. It’s going to take time,” the mayor said. “We need to take first steps. We can’t go anywhere until we take this first step.”