Tulalip students share their experiences on Equity Day

Marysville teachers heard from Tulalip students about their culture and needs on March 18 which the Marysville School District called "Equity Day."

During the day staff traveled around Tulalip to hear about their history and listen to Native students.

“This is a day of learning for all of our Marysville School District staff,” said Eneille Nelson, executive director of equity and family engagement. “We are learning more so that we can do a better job meeting the needs of our children."

Teachers in the district receive professional development days regularly, although they are usually more focused on teaching techniques.

This day was set aside to focus on equity.

“I think it’s going pretty well. We have a lot of people excited because it’s not the normal professional development that you usually get with someone just presenting in front of them,” said Nelson. “Today we’re hearing the perspective of kids. Kids are the teachers today for the most part."

Calista Weiser, a Marysville Getchell High School student and member of the Tulalip Youth Council said she has had bad experiences with staff in the past.

“I’m not saying that all teachers are like that, but it is enough,” Weiser said.

Marysville Getchell Native Club member Charley Dick said teachers should “take time to learn about our culture … not just pretend to support us.”

“Hopefully we can make a change today,” said Tulalip Youth Council member Kileea Pablo.

She said that many narratives involving Native Americans taught in schools are incorrect or oversimplified.

“I was taught that Christopher Columbus was here first and that was his land,” she said.

The burden of correcting that often falls onto Native students.

“When a teacher is incorrect about a cultural tradition, just letting them know they need to be respectful can be hard,” said Pablo.

The general atmosphere from other students and staff is not always welcoming as well, said students.

“Some assumptions about our race is that we live off of per capita handouts and they don’t view our families as equals,” said Marysville Getchell Native Club member Connor Juvinel. “I’ve been judged multiple times based on the way I look, the color of my skin."

Nelson said the day was to help create a better environment in Marysville schools for all.

“What can we do to help our community feel better about being a part of the Marysville School District,” she said. “We have lots of staff and students feeling as if they don’t belong here.”

Creating a positive environment for all students is necessary for good schools, said Nelson.

“I know many people will talk about ‘we need to improve test scores, we need to lots of other things,’ but if someone does not feel like they belong in this setting and they are not comfortable they will not learn from the people in front of them,” Nelson said.

After touring Tulalip the Marysville School District provided classes on a number of other topics that teachers could choose from.

“We have classes available so we can get better at integrating service for our special education kids or meeting the emotional/social needs of our students and we’ll have some Black Student Union presenters as well,” said Nelson.

Nelson hopes the day is useful for improving local schools for all students.

“We have an opportunity here to re-write the story of Marysville,” she said.