VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia Beach City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Donald Robertson spoke for the first time publicly since the city’s School Board voted to suspend diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the division’s schools.

Monday night, Virginia Beach NAACP hosted a town hall meeting over the school board’s decision to suspend initiatives promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, and Robertson was in attendance, saying he understands the anxious feelings of the community. However, he wanted to assure parents, students and staff the core values of the school division will not waver.

“Give us a chance to demonstrate what we are doing,” Robertson said, “which is continuing to provide a needs-based education where all students in the division are provided what they need to have access and opportunity to succeed, and that’s not changing.”

Robertson is asking the community to allow him and the School Board to prove they will handle the division’s recent suspension of DEI policies with care.

So what will be cut or changed?

Not much, he said.

“The most visible change is the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion changed names to the Office of Opportunity and Achievement,” Robertson said.

Programs like the Tide Coalition, Beach Girls Rock and others, will remain intact.

“When we create those programs, they are open to all students,” Robertson said. “They may have a particular focus. Beach Girls Rock has a focus on getting girls into STEM programs. We have our African American Male Summit that we’ve had for now 17 years. There are White students there, there are Asian students there, there are Spanish students there. It’s inclusive.”

Since those programs have been inclusive to everyone, not just the demographic that they serve, Robertson says they are in line with the recent executive order from the White House. Those in attendance at Monday night’s town hall meeting just want to make sure the students remain at the center of it all.

“Kids want to be challenged, but they want to be supported, and then they want to be in a classroom where, when they look up at the front of the room, there’s a teacher who believes in them,” Robertson said.

The board voted to suspend DEI policies to abide by the executive order and to continue receiving their more than $70 million in federal funding.