Sage Wellness response
Sage Wellness founder and CEO Dr. Tara Doaty said she was also shocked but for a different reason: What was said at the committee meeting doesn’t reflect the evaluations the company received from the six educators who were involved in the four meetings.
“These comments or allegations that are being said are very shocking to us. It doesn’t reflect the evaluations we received,” Doaty said.
She looked at evaluations and said five of the six educators said Hall was very clear in helping them understand how systemic inequalities have generated generational stigmas that are discussed throughout the novels, and all six said the training both met their expectations and they would agree they would recommend the training.
According to Doaty, comments included: “It felt more of a discussion,” and “I enjoyed listening and speaking with Victorious. I enjoyed hearing everyone’s perspective on the topic of systemic inequality.”
At a follow-up session, one teacher said they could use the meeting as a framework or jumping-off point for other lessons. Doaty said the company caters to all learning styles, including audio. And the game, A Tribe Called Quest, is from the hip-hop group of that name and they have a song called “What’s the scenario?”
A piece of that song was played to introduce staff to the scenarios that were presented.
Doaty said one educator left a comment that the game would be helpful in her own classroom.
“It was wonderful working with him. Thanks for all of the help,” read one comment from the evaluations, Doaty said.
Asked if white people could teach Black writing, Doaty said, “I believe everyone can teach on anything as long as long as we’re all open and qualified, absolutely.”
“It’s not just limited to race. If they don’t have a shared experience, if they understand the human condition and understand what the goals are and are qualified to teach them, absolutely,” Doaty added.
Doety noted that Hall has over 20 years as a teacher and vice principal in Prince George’s County teaching language arts and has a passion for teaching.
As for the small number of students who said they felt uncomfortable about the book, Doaty had these thoughts: “For one student to feel isolated, to feel dejected or separate or othered, is enough for these conservations to happen and we value our partnership with Haverford School District in taking those voices into serious consideration which prompted these trainings and workshops.”
She said what was also important was that educators said they would recommend Sage to others and the company takes people’s experiences to help craft future training.
Doaty said they never received any indication at all levels from the board, families or educators that anything was received in a way that would make someone isolated or othered and the company shared the aggregate of the evaluations with the school district.
Doaty also shared an email requesting assistance from Saksa, who was director of Curriculum and Instruction at the time.
“I’d like to give teachers direction in To Kill A Mockingbird for next year. I just don’t see how we can use this book with the n-word in it dozens of times, its simplistic characterization of Black characters, and White perspective of racism told by a white narrator through a white child at this time,” Saksa wrote.
In the email, Saksa also notes the difficulty the pandemic and remote learning would have in developing relationships with students, making it harder for students to understand.