A History of Equity (Opinion)

Originally published in:

https://burlington.wickedlocal.com/news/20200914/opinion-history-of-burlington-public-schools-equity-efforts

By Martha Simon / Burlington School Committee

Since at least 2013, the Burlington Public Schools and its staff have taken a variety of actions to respond to the need for more cultural proficiency among both students and staff. Since that time, various committees, staff, and students have repeatedly requested the addition of a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

In 2013, the Burlington Public Schools began offering anti-bias, cultural proficiency and understanding systemic racism workshops to all staff members through organizations such as IDEAS and Primary Source. BHS students have participated in the annual IDEAS High School Student Leadership Conference since then.

As early as 2015, staff and administration met in the District Capacity Project to discuss equity issues, with a Cultural Competence sub-committee that focused on issues that students of color were coping with in the schools.

In 2015, the School Committee adopted the following Core Value: The Burlington Public School district is committed to creating a learning environment that values human differences, fosters a sense of belonging, and promotes cultural proficiency among all students and staff.

In 2016, some Burlington High School staff formed the VIEW Committee. Student members joined in 2017. They had 14 initiatives, including a request for a Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, anti-bias training for all staff, a focus on cultural proficiency in teacher evaluations (this has been implemented), development and implementation of an incident response protocol with training for staff on how to use it, and school climate surveys to collect data on the social environment at BHS.

When the District Capacity Project ended in 2018, the Cultural Competence sub-committee recommended mandatory teacher training in the areas of implicit bias, systemic racism, and having difficult conversations. They also requested the creation of a Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion position to ensure that these goals were reached.

In May of 2018, high school and middle school students who participated in IDEAS training made a presentation to the School Committee. They requested the following:

• Hire a full-time Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

• Training for all teachers in implicit bias, systemic racism, and cultural proficiency

• Training for all administrators in the above

• Training for all students in the above

• Hire more teachers of color

• Creation of a District Equity Committee

The District Equity Committee was formed in 2018 after this request from our MSMS and BHS students. It was a logical outcome of the work done by the BHS VIEW committee and the Cultural Competence sub-committee. Membership included the superintendent, the assistant superintendent, all principals, and staff from each building. In September of 2019, students joined the committee. In June of 2020, parents, community members, and School Committee members joined the committee.

The District Equity Committee developed a Draft Action Plan in June of 2020, which includes as a priority the hiring of a Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to ensure implementation of the following four goals:

A. Staff: a) providing intentional support to staff of color and b) training all staff in cultural competence;

B. Students: a) providing intentional support to students of color, b) creating a crisis response plan, c) training all students in cultural competence;

C. Systems and Structures:

a) to actively review our current systems and structures through an equity lens and change discriminatory practices; to do outreach for meaningful community and family engagement and support;

b) Curriculum: to understand where the biases in our curriculum currently are, and supplement or replace material with culturally responsive materials and teaching practices;

D. Hiring: use our hiring process to attract and hire culturally proficient educators and educators of color. The District Equity Committee has developed a suggested job description for a Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion position.

As of 2020, about 300 teachers, administrators, and other staff have taken one or more workshops or courses. In the summer of 2020, administrative leaders from all district schools and programs completed a course entitled “Becoming a Culturally Proficient School District.” Professional development for teachers before the start of this school year included professional development on the issues of cultural proficiency and school equity.

In July of 2020, the School Committee passed an Anti-Racism Resolution resolving that Burlington Public Schools must ensure that racist practices are eradicated, and diversity, equity and inclusion is embedded and practiced for our students, families, faculty and staff. There continues to be on-going work in the District, at different schools, to review through an equity lens the curriculum and library and classroom books. Many teachers are hard at work making our district more inclusive and equitable.

Compiled by Martha Simon, Burlington School Committee member