Cover Photo by Molly Conway

By Cheryl Conway  

Three Mt. Olive alumni returned to the Mt. Olive Middle School in Budd Lake last night to ask leaders to create a supportive environment for students of color, provide an anti-racist curriculum and a clear focus on inclusion.

Temi Akanbi, Afreen Fahad and Geraldine Ojukwu, alumni from the class of 2015, spoke during the public portion at the end of the Mt. Olive Board of Education meeting held Monday, July 27. The former students were there representing a group they formed in June- Mount Olive In Color- and presented the board with a petition with 500 signatures calling for change.

The first in-person meeting since COVID-19 closed all the school buildings in March and triggered virtual meetings, the Mt. Olive BOE met at MOMS at 5 p.m. for its regular board meeting. Attendees had to fill out a health questionnaire and get their temperatures checked before being admitted to enter the school’s auditorium.

Attendees were designated to sit separately, in every other row, with few people per row, and had to wear masks. Aside from social distancing concerns, BOE members were presented with a petition as well as letters from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) sharing their experiences they faced within the school district.

With the outcry throughout the nation, following the killing of George Floyd and other innocent black lives, local former students started their own conversations looking into individual experiences growing up in Mt. Olive. These conversations have enticed some young activists to speak up for change. 

“We were processing our own grief and essentially discussing what were our own experiences growing up in Mt. Olive namely the school district,” explains Ojukwu. “While doing that we realized how normalized some of the microaggressions and discrimination faced frequently. We realized that our peers were also having the same conversations and that these issues are widespread.”

So she and her friends organized a collection of students’ experiences.

Ojukwu explains: “We decided to speak up for ourselves; collect responses in one place; our priority was to create a forum where people could feel comfortable to share their experiences.”

Fahad says they asked for letters from their peers and the community and in doing so were surprised to receive more than 100 responses that exposes “how common” these experiences are for BIPOC.

They went ahead and created a group- Mount Olive In Color, explains Ojukwu, “To push for change centered around awareness, conversation and accountability.”

Their goal is to “Address the route, provide infrastructure for long-term solutions.”

They introduced their petition to BOE and provided a copy to the board secretary.

They also requested to have  “a more detailed conversation in following weeks” with the BOE.

BOE President Dr. Anthony Giordano suggested to the group to set up a meeting with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Zywicki to go over concerns.

Curriculum Planned On African American Studies

During the public portion of the BOE meeting, Akanbi questioned the BOE on its plans for a school curriculum on African American History.

Zywicki explains the African American curriculum planned for the high school and school district.

He says it will be “Team taught and team co-written,” with Mr. Zindel, who was board approved at the last meeting to be part of the process. He is working with Amistad Commission, says Zywicki. They were both invited to the Department of Education Black History Month event as “one of the inaugural Amistad Journey School Districts.”

Zywicki says they “Will be working hand in hand with the Amistad Commission” on a “Series of best practices when it comes to teaching African American studies," which he says, is “Not supposed to be just about trauma but also culture and things like that.”

He also made connection with a group out of Ghana that does a series of live video chats, on current African culture, economics, politics, keeping in mind the “need to infuse those things in elementary grades.”

He says there will be “tremendous number of scholars” who will “be vetting our curriculum before presenting it to full board approval."

This process is happening right now and in the next couple of weeks, he says.

He also placed an ad this week seeking a teacher in African American Studies, “as he wants a person to have a background in that.”

Akanbi says she appreciates the effort everyone has been putting into and researching the curriculum.

She says, “as someone who is the child of two African immigrants, born in America” she stresses that African History and African American History need to be two separate classes.

“That is the issue that we are missing in a lot these classes,” says Akanbi. “We are always talking about African and the slaves… Black people have come way farther than when they were slaves. We should focus more on the rich and beautiful black American history that has been in this country for decades past Africa.”

“I would concur with you,” says Zywicki, who took 12 credits of African American studies and African History at Syracuse University.

African studies for elementary schools will include African culture, history and art. The African American Studies course, however, is a high school elective. For middle school students in seventh grade and eighth grades, African American studies will be “infused throughout” in world history, world geography, world literature, in ELA. in text. 

Other MO School District Actions On Race

Zywicki noted the following on his daily blog:

“In January 2019, after I first addressed the full MOTSD staff I was struck by the lack of diversity in our teaching staff. Subsequently, we launched the Applitrack online hiring system and a recruitment plan to deliberately increase the diversity of our application pool. In December 2019, the Board of Education approved the Human Rights and African American Studies electives for the 2020-21 school year. Following the Murder of George Floyd we held a student-driven teach-in to discuss the issues of systemic racism and police brutality in our nation. While we have made recent strides towards equity and the celebration of diversity in our schools, these are first steps in a much longer journey to fully address these issues in MOTSD,” wrote Zywicki.

“On 8/31, Dr. Tyrone Howard will be addressing the full MO faculty and staff to kick off our examination of the relationships between bias, race, culture and the impact it has on our student's learning, development, and sense of belonging,” he continued. “Dr. Howard's visit is over a year in the making having been invited to the district in June of 2019. The entire Mount Olive Community is invited to participate in a virtual book club to read and discuss Dr. Howard's book "Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools.”

BOE Commend Students

BOE members commended the students who spoke up at the meeting. 

One of the reasons newly elected BOE member Nolan Stephens ran was to encourage a greater voice among the students. He thanked the group for attending the meeting.

“Thanks all of you for being a part of that,” and speaking up for change, says Stephens.

“Mount Olive in Color team, thank you for coming up,” says Dr. Antoine Gayles. “Truth to power; hold us accountable, that we do what we are elected to do; to learn, to grow and become a more inclusive school community.”

Giordano recommends that everyone read the book “White Fragility,” by Robin Diangelo, as a way to educate oneself on the issue of racism.

Mount Olive In Color

Mount Olive In Color started back in June around the time of the protest, says Akanbi, who stresses that she did not help develop the page but instead helped with the tasks.

“I've been working with Mount Olive In Color to draft the petitions released so far and also putting together all of the letters people have been sending in regarding their experiences as POC in MO,” says Akanbi.

The idea and the development of the group “was founded by two MO alumni who are good friends of mine from school.” They wanted to remain anonymous up until the BOE meeting last night.

“The purpose is to expose the disparities POC face in town because everyone thinks it doesn’t happen,” explains Akanbi. “The plan is to expose and then rebuild with understanding and better experience for POC that come to live here.”

Mount Olive in Color is a page on Facebook used to disseminate information from Mount Olive in Color and share stories as it’s not a Facebook group format. The group welcomes and encourages discussion in the comments and any posts on the page.

In addition to the BOE petition, the group has circulated another petition for the Mt. Olive Police Department.

There is no deadline for the police petition, they say. Two weeks ago, they attended a Zoom Town Hall meeting with MOPD Chief Stephen Beecher “and we walked away with more questions than answers,” they say. “After presenting our petition to the BOE this week, we will be able to give all matters related to the PD the attention it deserves.

As far as signatures, "We have a little over 100 on the MOPD one and close to 500 on the MOTSD one.”

The Zoom call with Beecher was held on July 14 at 7 p.m. and was facilitated by the MO Democrats.

“I appreciated him taking the time to hop on the call,” says Akanbi. There were about 26 of us. Most of the call was statistics and what jumped out at me was the consideration of body cams for MOPD and the stop statistics. MO shouldn't be funneling money into body cams when it could be used for other things. And the chief read some stats from over the last few years that black people stopped by MOPD range between 15-20% right along white people but black people only make up 5% of the community. That's a problem.”     

Progress For Change

Between the two protests held in Mt. Olive so far, the letters written by students and other community members, the town hall meeting with Beecher and two petitions, Akanbi says much more needs to be done for change.

“Not much change has happened yet,” says Akanbi. "It feels like a lot of scrambling and being performative with no real substance. What I love though are all the people in the group who are so open and welcoming to help usher in change. Everyone there is amazing.”

Next up is a protest set for Hackettstown “that I'm still hammering out details for. Depending on how things go, MO may be due for another one. We're also going to be keeping a close eye on all these officials to make sure they do things right because right now things look bleak.”

Akanbi says the group also hopes to reach out to township leaders.

“I haven't reached out to the mayor, but I have met informally with some members of the council to discuss my comments about MOPD,” she says. “It was unproductive to say the least. I think a possible council meeting with them may be beneficial but not if the Mayor doesn't attend because he is the one who needs to hear what we have to say the most. If not then it honestly would be a waste of time talking and explaining things I shouldn't have to people twice my age.”

She does add, “Definitely keep an eye out for more petitions and actions in the next two weeks. We have a lot coming so everyone should be paying attention to the MOIC and March Towards Justice pages.

The following is the petition submitted by Mount Olive In Color and signed by 500 residents:

To the MOTSD administration, faculty, student body, and extended community, We are writing this petition in the spirit of improving the experiences of all members of the Mount Olive community. We firmly believe that our community is due for an exhaustive reexamination of what has been normalized. As reflected by ​the letters​ of the Mount Olive in Color initiative, our school district has a considerable way to go in regards to creating a safe and supportive environment for its BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students. We ask that you read and sign the following petition​ which demands thoughtful reflection, anti-racist curriculum, and a clear focus on inclusion. [We encourage all who read this petition to look through the submissions to Mount Olive in Color​. As part of an ongoing initiative, Mount Olive in Color has been collecting the perspectives and experiences of Mount Olive’s BIPOC residents.] The mission of the Mount Olive Township School District is to “​challenge and inspire all learners within a safe, nurturing environment to discover and develop their unique abilities as literate, ethical and contributing citizens of the world.”​ In order to ensure that all students that go through the Mount Olive School District are able to be ethical and contributing worldly citizens, it is imperative that they are well-equipped with the tools and knowledge to not only be aware, but be actively anti-racist​. Only then, can these future leaders be ​“ready for what comes next.” As students graduate from Mount Olive, many become high-achieving leaders that permeate a variety of fields. In order to be prepared for positions of responsibility, students must have an acute awareness of systemic racism before they enter fields in which their personal biases may influence the care and services they give. It is most often the case that alumni of our school are only introduced to these topics in college, if at all. Why shouldn’t the foundations for an anti-racist education be laid in at an earlier stage? What role will the MOTSD play in their ability to groom impartial, respectful professionals such as lawyers, nurses, doctors, bankers, entrepreneurs, etc.? Students of color are regularly subjected to microaggressions and racial bias as they progress through the Mount Olive School System. These incidents, as documented through the MOIC letters, include being subject to inappropriate comments from teachers, peers using racial slurs (such as the N-word and Sp*ic), unjust discipline, etc. Some of these incidents are escalated to the administration, while most are left ignored and unresolved out of discomfort and fear of retaliation. It is the responsibility of the entire Mount Olive School Community to uphold the commitment of creating a “safe, nurturing environment” for all students.  

The Mount Olive School District prides itself on being at the forefront of innovation and change, constantly pushing its students to do better (ie. the No-D policy). As schools around the country spring into action, the MOTSD is presented with an opportunity to again prove that this town is committed to going above and beyond the basic state requirements to ensure that students are well-prepared and held to high-standards to achieve extraordinary results. Our demands aim to create long-term change within the Mount Olive Township School District and are as follows: 1. Acknowledgment ● Issue a statement of acknowledgment addressing the experiences of BIPOC students in the Mount Olive Township School District. 2. Curriculum ● A comprehensive revision of MOTSD’s History and English curriculum that reflects an accurate, objective, summation of both World and American History encompassing more than the current Euro-centric curriculum. English classes must be far more inclusive of authors of color. Class discussions on allyship, systemic racism, privilege, and justice should be a regular​ ​part of students’ learning experience--not just during Black History month or MLK day. ● Evaluate how to ​appropriately​ weave multicultural education into the existing Science, Math, Arts, and Music curriculums. ● Implement inclusive and anti-racist reading, lectures, and discussions at every grade-level to increase exposure and understanding from a young age. ● Incorporate African-American studies into the general curriculum. a. Seek out a Black educator who has designed the framework for an African-American History course or has consulted on a previous course that has been put into circulation. ● We suggest inviting speakers to present to the student body on social justice issues, especially as it pertains to racial justice. ● Incorporate field trips to local museums focused on the history, culture, and heritage of African-American, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian communities. This presents an opportunity for students to learn more about the multifaceted and complex experiences different Americans face. 3. Hiring/Training ● Educators and administrators must be properly informed and prepared to facilitate conversations around subjects of allyship, systemic racism, privilege, and justice. We demand that all teachers/administrators go through mandatory implicit bias/diversity and inclusion training run by an outside organization. Teachers and staff should use this training as an opportunity to examine their own internalized racism and prejudices, and to shift their teaching practices beyond just being neutral in the face of racism to becoming actively anti-racist​. ● Hire and retain multiple teachers and guidance counselors of color. We suggest recruiting more from HBCUs. ● Second or third-party review of gaps in training and curriculum within the education system prior to any implementation. 4. Security ● We demand an investigation into the need for a number of security officers (armed and unarmed) and the points of contact between students of color and security personnel. 5. Discipline ● The school district will provide data on previous disciplinary decisions regarding the use of racial and derogatory slurs including, but not limited to, homophobic, sexist, and racist language. It is crucial that there is a public understanding and record of how our school has dealt with such incidents in the past in order to acknowledge how we can ​better handle them in the future.​ 6. Reporting ● We demand the development and implementation of a reporting system for all incidents of bias, bigotry, and racism on campus. All incidents, regardless of physical evidentiary support, must be recorded. Derogatory language and intentionally harmful behavior are rampant within our community; the absence of a system for reporting and recording these incidents involving students, teachers, and administrators allows these issues to remain unresolved. ● Establish independent guidelines for faculty, staff, administration, and students who do not cooperate in fostering an inclusive environment. ● Implement a mandatory exit survey for MOHS seniors to fill out prior to graduation to report their experiences going through the Mount Olive school system and evaluate whether they feel “ready for the next.” How do students assess their understanding of ethical behavior and their preparedness in becoming well-informed, contributing citizens of the world? 7. Appreciation of Culture ● The creation of a space for students of color to share their experiences and heritage, such as a Multicultural Student Coalition club at MOMS and MOHS. ○ We also challenge clubs like Student Task Force, Key Club, and Student Council to collaborate with the Multicultural Student Coalition. ● Encourage the celebration and expression of different cultures year-round.​ ○ We suggest hosting a showcase night for the community to come together to celebrate different cultures. 8. Accountability ● For each category listed above, implement accountability measures and measures of success to ensure that these goals are reached. ○ We suggest a published bi-annual report of implemented training, new books in the curriculum, etc. (This letter and its action items were inspired by calls to action put together by @blackatlovett,​ ​@studentsofcolormatter​, and Nourhan Ibrahim and Jessica Sharan, alumnae of Morris County School of Technology in New Jersey)​

County College of Morris (CCM) in Randolph is providing students with a number of options for how they can take their courses this fall semester so they can keep moving forward with their higher education.

The college currently is enrolling students for the fall and has built in a high level of flexibly to make it easier for them to pursue their goals during these challenging times. It also is implementing a number of health and safety measures, as per federal, state and local guidelines, to protect the well-being of the campus community.

Students enrolling this fall will be able to select courses that are being offered in one of three formats: hybrid, online and remote. The tuition cost for each option remains the same.  

Hybrid Courses consist of a combination of traditional face-to-face instruction and remote or online sessions. This may include some on-campus labs with remote lecture, reduced in-classroom time or other instructional designs that meet the needs of the course materials.

Online Courses were designed to be taught in an online setting. Unless otherwise noted, online courses were developed to be taught without specific meeting times.

Remote Courses were designed to be taught in a classroom but are being offered as a form of distance education due to the emergency conditions. Remote classes are completely online but include scheduled virtual meeting times when the class is to meet together.

To limit the number of people on campus, the majority of classes are being offered in the online and remote formats.

Students enrolling this fall also can select from a number of terms, ranging from 2 week to 15 week sessions. Students can search for courses and the format they prefer at  https://titansdirect.ccm.edu/Student/Courses/.

New students first need to apply to the college before registering for classes. Applications can be submitted at www.ccm.edu/admissions/. Continuing students should talk with their advisor before registering.

Support Services Designed for Student Success

When the COVID-19 pandemic first struck New Jersey, CCM moved its support services online so students could continue to gain assistance to ensure their success. The Academic Success Center was expanded into TascPlus@ccm.edu to provide students with individualized online assistance from updating them on the status of classes, to connecting them to a student success specialist or a counselor, to arranging for them to pick up any class materials or technology they may need. Included among the other services the college is offering online are Academic Advisement, Tutoring and Live Chats with Librarians. To learn more about those services, go to www.ccm.edu/covid-19-information-center/online-resources/.

An Education You Can Afford

Each year, CCM awards approximately $12 million in financial aid and scholarships to its students, allowing them to pursue a high-quality college education at an affordable price. To find our more, go to www.ccm.edu/admissions/financialaid/.  All its classes, hybrid, online and remote, are offered at a fraction of the cost of most other online offerings.

Transfer or Gain Employment Upon Graduation

At CCM, students can choose from 50 academic degrees and a wide range of certificate programs. A number of programs, such as those in computer science, engineering, and hospitality and culinary science, are designed so students can seek employment immediately upon graduation. Numerous others are specifically designed so students can transfer their credits to earn a bachelor’s degree. CCM holds more than 125 agreements with colleges and universities across New Jersey and the nation to simplify the transfer process. A listing of those agreements can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ybpy9qqy/.

Centenary University in Hackettstown plans to launch a new bachelor of science in Health Science this fall, responding to a growing need for trained health professionals in a wide range of professions. The degree will prepare graduates to pursue master’s degrees in related fields including occupational therapy, physical therapy, nutrition, and health education, as well as for entry-level jobs in healthcare settings such as hospitals, research laboratories, public health organizations, rehabilitation facilities, and government agencies, according to Dr. Craig Fuller, assistant professor of health science and director of the University’s medical laboratory science program.

“With the population aging, there is a growing need for healthcare workers,” said Fuller. “That’s an area that students, especially prospective student-athletes, have told us they’re interested in studying. The COVID-19 pandemic has also illustrated the need that’s out there right now. Here in northwestern New Jersey, there’s definitely a deficiency in the number of healthcare professionals needed.”

Centenary’s new health science degree is part of an ongoing initiative to build on the University’s noted science programs and expand academic offerings in the health sciences. Last year, Centenary introduced a new degree in medical laboratory science, and officials have approved an exercise science program launching in fall 2021 and are exploring plans to introduce a new Master of Occupational Therapy program.

Founded in 1867 by the Newark Conference of the United Methodist Church, Centenary University’s academic program integrates a solid liberal arts foundation with a strong career orientation. This mix provides an educational experience that prepares students to succeed in the increasingly global and interdependent world. The University’s main campus is located in Hackettstown, with its equestrian facility in Washington Township. The Centenary University School of Professional Studies offers degree programs in Parsippany, as well as online and at corporate sites throughout New Jersey.