Read the entire article here in The Hour.

…Administrators in Norwalk are trying to ensure the schools can safely reopen, but many educators and students are also asking: How do we respond to the Black Lives Matter movement? How can the schools better realize their goals of equality and opportunity for all students?

For six local alumni of color, the answers to those questions are complicated. More than anything, they wanted their lives to be present in the public schools: To learn from teachers who looked like them, their history taught in class, and their struggles understood. In short, they wanted their lives to matter.

“I did not see teachers who looked like me,” said Khanisha Denise Moore, 27, an applied behavior analyst. “It was not until middle school when I had two, and that was motivating for a little Black girl.”

“I didn’t have any African-American teachers in my schooling,” said Sarah St. Surin, a 2017 graduate of Norwalk High School. “I was close to my basketball coach and the social worker in the building. I felt more comfortable addressing the issues in my life with them.”

In the 2018-19 school year, 80 percent of Norwalk’s teachers were white. But white students only represent 28 percent of the student body. Norwalk’s staff is more diverse than other similar districts, like Stamford and Danbury, and exceeds the state average, but hiring a more diverse staff is a top priority for the school system.

St. Surin said some of her white teachers couldn’t relate to her issues because they didn’t share the same background.

“I just felt that teachers of color were more understanding of our lifestyle, our upbringing, and our culture,” she said. “The lack of representation affects a lot of students along the way, including me.”