The Newtown Bee has started a series to focus on residents who are making their voices heard at town meetings. This week we focus on the Christine and Konrad Miller, Board of Education meeting frequenters whose sons have also attended meetings.

A couple months ago, Christine Miller explained, her family members began attending Board of Education meetings.

They were excited after the school district hired a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) coordinator. They also had concerns.

Christine Miller, in a recent interview, shared that she was concerned for how incidents of racism are handled in the school district. From her experience as a mother, she said there should be an immediate response following an incident; there should be an educational effort; and the process should be cohesive from the “top down.”

Konrad Miller explained that his step-daughter — the family’s oldest child — experienced racist incidents at the high school; the couple’s middle child experienced incidents in middle school; and their youngest child experienced incidents in elementary school.

“We are going in the wrong direction,” Konrad Miller said, adding that he is concerned the school board does not see that as a concern.

At 10-years-old, Konrad Miller said, their youngest son “should not have to be fighting this.”

Christine Miller shared some of the other things she hopes the school board will do include having a hiring practice that actively seeks people of different backgrounds, and she wants the district’s curriculum to be evaluated and addressed.

“History truly is whitewashed,” Christine Miller said.

A recent homework assignment, Konrad shared, had their youngest son fill out a timeline of events for World War II that neglected to include the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“This content is being fed to our kids, and it is just wrong,” said Konrad Miller, adding that the school did respond and both parents said they are impressed by Reed Intermediate School’s responses in general.

As a parent, Konrad Miller said he is speaking at meetings because, “I need to clear a path for my son.” He also wants the path to be cleared so no one finds themselves in “this predicament.”

Konrad Miller said he hopes the Board of Education will follow recommendations from the district’s DEI coordinator, and he also hopes the coordinator is not there for token legitimization.

Christine Miller also shared that she hopes the school board will treat public participants equally.

Walking over briefly, Kenneth, the couple’s youngest child, said he has spoken at school board meetings because he knows many things are going wrong; that kids his age can say things without knowing it is wrong; and that he hopes for better treatment of others.

People who attend town meetings frequently and who are interested in being profiled can e-mail Education Editor Eliza Hallabeck at eliza@thebee.com.