Equity Audit
Visioning Session
Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District
November 3, 2021
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Today’s objective and agenda
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Today’s objective:
To create an initial equity vision for the district to guide the equity audit
Introductions
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| Alloy Orange |
| B'dazzled Blue |
| Big Dip O' Ruby |
| Bittersweet Shimmer |
| Blast Off Bronze |
| Cyber Grape |
| Deep Space Sparkle |
| Gold Fusion |
| Illuminating Emerald |
| Metallic Seaweed |
| Robot Canary |
| Razzmic Berry |
| Sheen Green |
| Shimmering Blush |
| Sonic Silver |
| Steel Blue |
| Cheese Grater |
| Iron Indigo |
| Magnetic Magenta |
| Cobalt Cool |
| Acid Wash Jeans |
| Petrified Forest |
| Rose Gold |
| Gold Medal |
Pick a color that describes you.
Find someone you don’t know and introduce yourself.
Everytime you meet someone today introduce yourself this way!
Meeting Norms
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The purpose of an equity audit
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Equitable school districts make a commitment to do their best to give every student what they need so that they can participate fully in all the student opportunities that are available. The focus of equity work must be to create more inclusive systems by removing the barriers that limit full participation for all students.
The purpose of the equity audit is to uncover these barriers and suggest effective ways to dismantle them as well as identify existing equitable and inclusive practices to learn from and scale.
Equity
Inclusion
Belonging
Cultural Proficiency
Diversity
Equity audit process & timeline
Oct/Nov 2021
Phase 1:
Planning and Customization
Dec 2021 - Feb 2022
Phase 3:
Artifact and Data Collection
Dec 2021 - Feb 2022
Phase 4: Stakeholder Input
March/April 2022
Phase 5:
Root cause Analysis and Report of Findings
Nov 2021 - Jan 2022
Phase 2: Creating an Equity Vision
DEIB Advisory Committee
An equity audit begins with a shared equity vision
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What is a district equity vision? A district equity vision describes the desired state of equity in the district in the future. It is an expression of possibility, yet based enough in reality to be achievable. A vision is something positive to move toward vs a problem that is something to move away from.
Why is a district vision important? A vision’s purpose is to inspire and provide the basis from which the school district determines the priorities, strategies and targets for performance. Without a shared equity vision there is no clear guidance for what the district and school community should be doing.
Why is a shared equity vision important? When there is no shared equity vision there is no agreement on what the community is working toward. Without this consensus it is unlikely the district will attain or sustain its equity goals.
What does “shared” mean? An equity vision must be shared by all members of the school community - families/caregivers, students, staff, educators, leaders, especially those from historically marginalized populations. If the goal is a shared vision, it must be collaboratively created with the community.
Equity is a principle of fairness based on the recognition that all students are different and come to their education with different needs. We advance equity when we do our best to meet their need.” - Dr. Pedro Noguera
What should an Equity Vision include?
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Equity
Inclusion
Belonging
Cultural Proficiency
Diversity
What do you need to know before you start? (Part I)
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What is the purpose of the school district?
HWRSD Mission Statement: The Mission of the HWRSD is to educate our children to become young adults who are of good character and demonstrate mastery of the knowledge and skills needed to be successful members of our global economy and engaged citizens of the 21st Century.
What are the school district’s equity goals?
The Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District will meet the evolving and varied needs of all of our students and school community members in a manner that respects and values each individual, and:
● recognizes, acknowledges, and celebrates the presence of differences in all community members;
● promotes justice, impartiality, and fairness;
● welcomes and invites diversity in decision-making processes and developing opportunities for our community.
What do you need to know before you start? (Part II)
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By the Numbers
Who are we? HWRSD | Where do we live? Massachusetts |
Beyond the numbers: See handout for Oct 13th PD Diversity Word Cloud | |
See the HANDOUT
Creating an Equity Vision: Exercise (Part 1)
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FEEL | SEE |
SAY | DO |
In 5 years along on HWRSD’s equity journey, what will people see, say, feel and do?
We will work in role affinity groups:
Group 1: Caregivers/Families
Group 2: Students/Recent Alum
Group 3: Educators
Group 4: District Leadership - ES
Group 5: District Leadership - MS/HS
Group 6: School Committee/Community Members
Curriculum and Instruction
Student Support and Interventions
Human Capital
Family Partnerships
Resource Allocation
School Design
Operations
Budget
SEL/Behavior
Student Enrichment
School Enrollment
Governance and Leadership
School District Equity Functions
Curriculum and Instruction
Transportation
Food Service
Special Education
English Language Learner
Culture
Exercise (Part 2): Carousel and Share Out
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Using a marker:
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(10 Minutes)
To get to our equity vision - the District we want to be....
We need to understand the District we are now.
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Equity VISION
Exercise: What are our Belonging and Inclusion Gaps?
In your groups, what are the opportunity/inclusion and belonging gaps? What is missing from the Oct 13th brainstorm? What would you emphasize?
Try to be specific as possible.
Here is an example:
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Identity
Opportunity
Potential Root Cause
Exercise (Part 2): Carousel and Share Out
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Using a marker:
The equity journey
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“I am saying that a journey is called that because you cannot know what you will discover on the journey, what you will do, what you will find, or what you find will do to you.”
– James Baldwin
HWRSD’s Equity Journey (2021-2022)
NEXT STEPS
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Professional Development
DEI Advisory Committee
Goal 3: Commit to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices
Equity Audit
And Beyond!