Published April 21, 2021
WAKEFIELD — To help inform voters ahead of the April 27 Town Election, the Daily Item posed two questions to the candidates running for School Committee and two questions to those running for Town Council. We are running their responses in four installments this week.
Today, we present the responses to our first question to School Committee candidates.There are three separate School Committee races this year.
Dawn Millward and Kevin Piskadlo are vying for one two-year seat. Gregory Liakos and Ami Ruehrwein Wall are running for a single one-year seat on the School Committee. Stephen Ingalls and Amy Leeman are running unopposed to fill two three-year terms.
Question: The Warrior logo debate has divided the town. What role can the next School Committee play in restoring harmony to the community and making all citizens feel that their views are valued?
GREGORY LIAKOS (one year term): History demonstrates that advancing civil rights for marginalized peoples is difficult, especially when it runs up against established traditions. I have been moved by the number of Wakefield residents of all ages and backgrounds who have come to understand through this debate that racial stereotypes can do real damage to the education of children. I believe the testimony from the panel of Native American representatives that the School Committee gathered rightly changed the conversation on the Warrior logo and focused it where it should be: on education and the civil rights of students. Unfortunately, a small but vocal group has politicized this issue by forcing an unnecessary, non-binding question on the April 27 ballot. Nevertheless, I believe the School Committee’s resolution — unanimously approved at its April 13 meeting — can unite the town by, among other goals:
• Retiring the current logo and ending the use of Native American imagery in school communications.
• Establishing a school-wide process for creating a new logo and imagery we can all be proud of.
• Working to integrate deeper learning of Native Americans, their history and culture, and their ongoing contributions to American life, into our school curriculum.
• Creating public presentations that honor the contributions of the Bayrd Family to our understanding of Native American culture in Wakefield.
AMI RUEHRWEIN WALL (one year term): While the debate over the Warrior logo was the subject of intense scrutiny, the underlying issues were the members of the School Committee’s lack of transparency and their initial dedication to a process that was absent in collecting the thoughts and opinions of the entire community. Early on, it was clear that this was going to be a passion-fueled issue; however, there was little community engagement until the members were compelled to do so.
The district’s next School Committee needs to learn this important lesson and ensure that everyone’s voices are heard in an inclusive and inviting manner. Furthermore, the only way to fully restore harmony and regain the trust of the voters is to enact change within the committee’s membership. If I’m elected to School Committee, I will remain committed to a transparent, inclusive, and inviting process for the betterment of our students and the school district.
DAWN MILLWARD (two-year term): For the last several months the debate of the Warrior logo has divided our neighbors, friends, and students. It is easy to find a post on Facebook and watch the derailment and unbecoming comments toward people with different opinions. We have labeled people on the “right side” and people on the “wrong side.” What we have forgotten is that people have a right to their opinion, and as adults we are the role models for the youth. What our behavior has demonstrated in some cases, is that opinions do not matter if it is not the same as yours. Why and when did we lose the ability to converse with each other, not see eye to eye and politely and respectfully agree to disagree?
I think in order to ask how we can mend, we have to ask ourselves, how did the topic of retiring the logo turn into such a divisive issue that continues to riddle this town? I myself have spent a great deal of time trying to figure this out and spoke to many individuals regarding “how did we get here?” From my perspective and what I have been able to gather is lack of communication, transparency, honesty and confusion. While trying to figure the chain of events for my own personal reasons, I have seen The Student Youth Council negatively brought into this, rumors of an internal high school letter sent regarding the logo, uniforms and staff shirts being ordered…. depending on who you talk to, you may find out something different. The Warrior Logo turned into a very bad game of telephone.
If I am elected to the School Committee I will be a transparent leader. I will speak, listen, remain open-minded and make informed non-judgemental decisions. I have already demonstrated that I have the ability to do this and speak publicly about it. I believe it’s important taking into consideration the connections people have and where they’re coming from and figuring out where the commonalities lie and working with those because that is truly what it’s all about, having people’s views be heard and respected.
As a School Committee member I plan on bridging and strengthening the relationship between Wakefield and our Boston families, and if not elected this is a topic I will still pursue. If one thing can be taken away from this topic it’s how some of our citizens feel given the attacks on social media. As a School Committee member I want to strengthen our relations with all town members and have open forums and discussions about tough and uncomfortable topics. Silence and ignoring is not an option, it’s time we embrace all.
If lucky enough to be elected a member to the School Committee, I promise to bring open, honest, transparent leadership that can begin to mend the divide.
KEVIN PISKADLO (two-year term): The WMHS logo debate has certainly divided the town and while I am disappointed in the vitriol and name calling that has ensued from supporters on both sides, I am optimistic that we can move beyond this one issue to address other matters confronting our schools and town.
For context, I have attended or worked at two different institutions that have gone through this same process. As I was preparing to attend graduate school at Miami University in Ohio back in 1997, the institution, who had always been tightly connected with the Miami tribe in Oklahoma, decided that they were going to eliminate Native American Imagery and change their name to the Redhawks. Likewise, at Stonehill College, where I have worked for the last 9 years, we changed our name and images from The Chieftans to the Skyhawks. Both of these were painful processes and the sentiments being shared in our town mirror those that took place on each of these campuses. Both, I am happy to report, made it past this hurt and have thriving communities. I have no doubt that with the right leadership, Wakefield will as well.
To do this, though, it is incumbent upon all of our elected leaders to come together after the election to stand as one unified group. Despite campaign rhetoric used, what an individual’s view of the logo was, or how they personally voted in the referendum, this unity is critical to start the healing that does need to take place. We can do this by collaboratively working together on a number of town issues, including how we can honor the Native American past in Wakefield through the curriculum, land acknowledgements, public markers and art, exhibits, etc.
As a School Committee, the logo issue has highlighted how challenging communication can be and the impact it can have on how individuals come to understand an issue. Though the public can always provide feedback and/or share their views at the start of every SC meeting or privately through phone call and emails, I do think we need to explore other ways to provide meaningful opportunities for anyone in Wakefield to engage with their School Committee leaders.
Social media, which all too often contributes to misinformation, can be successfully leveraged when done right. I utilize various social media platforms in my work to frequently communicate with the campus community, families, friends of the College, and to meet students literally and figuratively where they are. I have students at Stonehill following and/or engaging with me there, commenting on post or liking a picture, that would potentially never interact with me otherwise. I think it is something that the School Committee can better utilize either individually or as a group. There are some great examples of this with several Town Councilors, but few, if any, with the School Committee. Office hours too have been utilized by members of the TC and I will implement this practice as well. I have been surprised at how many voters have engaged with me throughout the campaign via my Zoom lunch meetings and this is something that can easily continue if I am elected.
STEPHEN THOMAS INGALLS (three-year term): Throughout the discussion of changing the logo and retiring the use of Native imagery from the district’s organizations, there was one unifying theme: All stakeholders agree that we need enhanced education on the history and culture of the Native peoples from this region. The School Committee can and should work closely with the District Administration to support developing a curriculum, at all levels, that incorporates Native voices and honors the history that we share. Learning more about the rich history and cultural traditions of Native peoples in our community and region is a way to honor them and is critical. I look forward to the ideas of community members and partnerships to invigorate the content in this curriculum going forward.
Secondly, I hear the concerns of members of our community that they feel left out of the communication processes from the School Committee. I have been able to participate in many School Committee meetings over the past several months and appreciate the communication by the District and our Schools during this challenging time. I will continually explore if there are additional methods of communication to continually engage our community. Increasing or different methods of communication would help to inform those community members who may not be accustomed to attending School Committee, and sub-committee, meetings. Means of communication could be through current methods such as an WPSK12 email, or an article posted to the Item, as well as engaging digital news sources, such as the Patch.
AMY LEEMAN (three year term): If elected to the School Committee I look forward to hearing from and working with all members of our Town on the many reasons that really motivated me to run for School Committee: school funding (a/k/a Chapter 70), equitable support for special education students, resource allocation among the District’s elementary schools, and curriculum delivery. I would also look forward to working with my colleagues on the Wakefield Warriors logo.
On April 13, 2021 the Wakefield School Committee’s Policy and Communications subcommittee presented their mascot and logo policy “framework”. This inclusive and comprehensive framework, which aligns with the Wakefield Public Schools core values, can, and should be used as a guide for the next School Committee.
While Wakefield Public Schools will retain the title “Wakefield Warriors” we now have an opportunity to collaborate, as one community, on a new logo. The collaboration will be a working group of Wakefield Public Schools faculty, students and parents and others as necessary. As part of the framework, it’s important to note that all proudly displayed championship banners, trophies, plaques and certificates will be unaltered. And, the School Committee will continue to follow the normal schedule of repair and replacement, in other words there will be no budget increase to accelerate the retirement of the logo. As always Wakefield citizens are encouraged to share their views as the next School Committee thoughtfully retires the Native American logo.
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[Tomorrow we return to the Town Council candidates.]
