Public Comment to the School Committee

By Yanxin Schmidt

Published on 18 May 2023

Dear Colleagues, Peter,

Thank you for your kind words and warm encouragement as I settle into my new role as a member of the Acton-Boxborough School Committee.

Lakshmi, Vikram, welcome on board and thank you in advance for your service to our community and students.

I would like to take this opportunity to share some thoughts with you.

I understand we are all shaped by our experiences. It is our nature to gravitate towards surroundings we are familiar with, and to people who we have had positive experiences with. Last month, one of my neighbors said to me that she hated Chinese because she had had negative experiences with her Chinese American tenants and that she believed the Chinese government had destroyed her small business. A couple of weeks ago, my child relayed to me that a student in his class said to him, “ COVID-19 was leaked out of a Chinese laboratory and you are Chinese. ”

Those comments unsettled me somewhat, not because they did me any immediate harm but because I fear that the negative experiences people have had with one person would lead them to believe that all people who look the same would act the same. That is simply not true.

As I stand in front of this committee and our entire community, I humbly ask that you get to know me, rather than rely on any preconceived impressions or expectations of me, share your thoughts with me as you would with anyone else, and hold me accountable as one would any of their elected officials.

Thank you and I look forward to working collaboratively with you for the benefit of all our students.

Regards,

Yanxin Schmidt