FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson is receiving criticism for an e-mail he sent out last Friday.
In the e-mail, sent out to staff, asks teachers to make sure that minorities aren’t falling behind early in the school year and reminds teachers to make sure they’re making children aware of opportunities available for them.
Early on in the e-mail, Hanson poses the question, “Are your black and brown students finding early success?” That sentence has sparked backlash among parents.
Hanson responded on Monday morning in a conference call with the media. “The language that I used is language that’s been used across the district and country in describing our groups of students by ethnicity for a long time,” said Hanson. “I will clearly be more careful going forward to say African-American and Hispanic students every time I speak about it. If someone needs an apology for it, I will absolutely apologize for using a language set that some people misunderstood the intent. And if anybody was hurt – you know, understood that to be less than what I was intending – I apologize for that as well.”
Hanson’s annual review process begins this Wednesday, which is earlier than typical.
The Fresno Teacher’s Association said on Facebook, they have “asked that it be removed from the agenda and are opposed to any positive evaluation of Superintendent Hanson, as he is under federal criminal investigation.”
Hanson says the district and the FTA are currently in open negotiations.
Fresno Unified also put out a written statement: Superintendent Hanson’s email message to staff on Friday was intended to shine light on the district’s ongoing effort in reducing the academic achievement gap among African-American and Hispanic students-a population that represents 77% of our total district. Despite the recent increases in graduation rates, a-g course completion and SBAC scores, Fresno Unified is still not where it needs to be. In order to achieve the District’s goal of 100% graduate rate, we need to remain focused on bridging those achievement gaps if we are to make dramatic and distinct improvements. Superintendent Hanson was using the same language used across the City and the Nation when discussing ethnicity. His intent was never to offend, but to make visible the population of our students who continue to need additional supports in becoming college and career ready adults.
Here’s the e-mail that Hanson sent to staff on Friday:
