Dear MTCS Community,
It is with grave concern that this communication is being written. As we continue to advocate for all students, families, staff and community throughout these trying times, we are confronted, yet again, with the systemic injustices running rampant in the world we live in. The death of Daunte Wright is an unacceptable tragedy that serves to highlight, again, the sense of urgency for us all to contribute to the societal changes needed to bring about a more just and equitable society.
Humanity is suffering and the injustices will only continue to destroy us if we are not committed to taking action, today, as well as each and every day we walk upon our very planet. Minnesota Transitions Charter School (MTCS) does not tolerate the systemic injustices we continue to see so very prevalent in our communities. Our GLBTQ+, Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Communities of Color are valued, welcomed, and each and every individual matters.
For far too long oppression has gripped the very people we live amongst, love, and seek to educate as a means of bringing about a better future. There is no doubt that we all have a long and challenging road ahead of us. Such a road will push us to embrace discomfort, challenge our thinking, reconsider what we know, and dig deeper than ever before.
As the MTCS community, we must commit ourselves to the daily work needed to provide and ensure safety, educational reform, social justice, and an equitable approach to humanity. To say that all individuals are valued, welcomed and matter is one thing. To demonstrate both through our professional as well as personal work is a call to action that will not be ignored.
MTCS stands with our communities and will not tolerate acts of injustice whether implied and/or explicit. Oppression, fear, intolerance, positional power, and the marginalization of others will not continue to persevere if we all take collective action. Humanity is depending on us and needs us, now, more so than ever.
The pain our community continues to live with must cease to be fueled by systemic racism. Individually and collectively, we must persist in our efforts to heal, establish and sustain a far more just society because our very lives are dependent upon doing so. Please reach out to others, listen, hear perspectives, be empowered and empower others as a means of shifting the very injustices that continue to destroy us. Together, we can, and we will, lift up our communities and push for a more just and equitable world. A world in which all of humanity thrives and whether an individual matters or not is no longer in question.
Sincerely,
Brian Erlandson
Superintendent – Minnesota Transitions Charter Schools (MTCS)
Martin Lukaszewski
Chair Board of Directors of Minnesota Transitions Charter Schools (MTCS)
