Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Olympia School District (OSD) Board of Directors proclaimed Feb. 3-7 as the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action during a meeting on Jan. 23.
The proclamation encourages OSD educators, students, families and staff to incorporate the Guiding Principles of Black Lives Matter at School into their discussions about race and privilege.
“A big thanks to everybody on teaching and learning (who are) doing the work to push the materials out to make sure that our faculty, staff and students have access to great materials to realize especially the last resolution we stated there,” Clifthorne said.
The proclamation stated the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action is endorsed by the National Education Association and was first conceived by teachers in Seattle in 2016.
“This is a proclamation that is something that originally started in Seattle in 2016 and families and educators throughout our district have asked us to participate in (it) as a school district, and we as a board have done so enthusiastically now for many years,” said OSD Board President Scott Clifthorne.
The directors took turns in reading each stanza of the proclamation, like how they did it in the prior years.
Clifthorne highlighted that some people requested the board to revise the proclamation as it “feels performative.”
“When people say that, I experience the critique as one of saying that performance means that it's inauthentic, that that there's not a real commitment to … this body of racial justice work in this school district and lip service, and that's wrong,” Clifthorne said.
“I certainly don't think any director here or any student representative or any member of the administration or staff would claim that our district or this board is doing this work perfectly,” Clifthorne added.
Clifthorne said not doing the work perfectly is not a reason not to do the work and to continue to hold one’s self to a high standard of advancing the work of racial justice.
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Brewmanchu
The Olympia School Board reveals its political agenda by endorsing the BLM's "guiding principles," which endorse every radical cause under the sun. Is it too much for OSD's taxpayers to expect it to focus on educating our youth in the fundamentals of reading, writing, math and history?
Monday, January 27, 2025 Report this
JW
The Government Indoctrination Center doing Government Indoctrination Center things.
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 Report this
Snevets
Bravo OSD. I'm more than glad to know the important ways my tax dollars are being spent.
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 Report this