Parkland sets racial equity plan into motion

This school year, the Parkland School District will launch a curriculum review, staff training, a community committee and a slew of other initiatives around racial equity and inclusion, as outlined in an Equity and Inclusion Action Plan the school board unanimously approved Tuesday night.

A team of administrators has been collecting ideas for the plan for nearly two years, curriculum director Kelly Rosario told the board. They put pen to paper over the summer, shortly after the school board approved a resolution supporting an “anti-racist school climate,” declared in response to the national racial reckoning following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The plan centers on student and diverse voices in three spheres: culture, curriculum and community. Though the goals have tentative timelines extending through August 2021, Rosario said the document is meant to be thought of as “living and breathing.”

“It’s not going to start and finish in one year’s time,” she said.

The plan breaks down several goals within each of the three spheres, as well as actions to be taken toward those goals.

Here are some examples of initiatives in the plan.

Culture

Train staff on the effects of trauma on students and coping strategies.

Implement “class chats” on race and resiliency.

For new students, develop a new student club, peer buddy system and assign a teacher “adviser.” Survey all students about school climate. Form a staff/student committee to address student concerns.

Have an “Equity and Diversity Day” across schools.

Build a diverse employee pipeline, beginning with promoting the education field at the high school’s job fair and attending job fair sat colleges with diverse

student populations.

Curriculum

Complete an audit of K-12 curriculum by October.

Develop a teacher committee to brainstorm what contemporary events should be added to social studies curriculum; collect feedback from students and parents.

Develop a plan for curricular changes that include multicultural perspectives to present to the school board in May2021.

Review English curriculum in tandem, proposing modern novels that add multicultural perspectives.

Develop staff training on inclusive practices to roll out in February 2021.

Community

Launch an Equity and Inclusion Community Committee in November, meeting quarterly.

Host a broader community event with guest speaker in April 2021.

Translate district wide communications into Spanish.

View the whole plan on the School Board page at parklandsd.org.

Morning Call reporter Kayla Dwyer can be reached at 610-820-6554 or at kdwyer@mcall.com.