The Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District will remain steadfast in its pursuit of creating and maintaining an environment where all community members are able to be their full and most authentic selves and feel a profound sense of belonging. The district commits itself to lifelong learning, recognizing that true diversity and equity work is continuous and requires an ongoing commitment of our professional and personal development, resources, and time.

My name is Derek Swenson and I am the proud Superintendent of the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District.  Over the course of my thirteen years within the BRRSD, the social demographics within our student population has become increasingly more diverse.  While this diversification has been a welcomed change, we have come to recognize areas of concern for marginalized groups within our district, through parental discourse, survey data, & focus group information
As a result, in the Spring of 2020, the BRRSD committed to a multi-tiered diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) plan of action as a means of identifying and dismantling these issues..  The agreed-upon focus included a three-year DEI professional development plan with L & P Educational Services, the creation, and implementation of a districtwide DEI Committee, and the hiring of an individual who would provide support to our BRRSD students, families & staff in regard to this important work.  I am so pleased to welcome Ms. Kayla Berrios to the BRRSD as our first Coordinator of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Please know that this important work does not simply stop with the implementation of this position.  Ms. Berrios will be establishing the groundwork for larger change/action through critical thinking & introspection on what it means for all students to not only succeed but to thrive within all of our classrooms district-wide.  Through the examination of our current policies, procedures & curriculum, Ms. Berrios will help us in recognizing biases that may exist and provide us with guidance on how to correct them in order to help move our district forward as we strive to be a more welcoming and equitable environment for all BRRSD families, students & staff.  Even though Ms. Berrios will be fearlessly leading this charge, the ownership of this work will be the responsibility of all of us within the BRRSD community.  Through our work in actively listening to our students, families & staff, we recognize that there is much work to be done and our distinct leadership, faculty & staff are committed to implementing changes that affirm every student & family member that makes up our wonderful learning community.

An essential component of this district-wide commitment will be the continuous reassessing of our student goals & outcomes as a means of remaining current & reflective of the needs of all our students.  I am decidedly confident that through these collective efforts we will achieve our objective of creating a safe & welcoming learning environment that provides all students equitable access to all preschool through post-graduate academic programming and social activities.  We Are B-R, One Team, One Family.

Respectfully,

Derek J. Swenson, Superintendent of Schools