Plan to wrestle with equity

Men occupying the top two positions at Lorain City Schools agree the results of an equity audit in the district are not easy to hear.

But what is more difficult than hearing the cold hard facts, they say, is digging for real causes and building workable but quick solutions.

Lorain Schools Chief Executive Officer David Hardy Jr. said his plan — which initially is to be released online to the public Oct. 22 for scrutiny – includes adjustments based on an equity audit conducted last school year.

Six months ago, Lorain Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Graham said results of the audit were disappointing, and even angering, and not easy to solve.

Without having a plan in place to fix systemic problems, releasing audit results would create

harm rather than intended positive results, Graham said.

Hardy says part of his job is drilling into root causes and fitting solutions into a district improvement plan.

“I think there are a few things that are starting to jump out, which are great,” he said. “We’re seeing some positive trends of improvement, or at least ideas around what we could improve.

“I think some of the big buckets are there needs to be a push to really solidify a strong Early Scholars program so our kids as early as three or four, are getting some formal education more broadly. We do have programs in some schools, but how do we bring that across the whole city.

“Digging into some of our high school results, how do we actually provide the rigorous coursework that our students need to be successful post high school? That starts by looking at what’s going on in middle school as well. Instructional rigor

needs to be ramped up in a big way.”

A plan released Nov. 1 will provide details about how the district will prepare students for high school, Hardy said.

While “kindergarten ready” is a threshold for preschoolers, “high school ready,” demands definition and attainment as well, he said.

Hardy said he is excited to dive into the district’s relationship to the larger community, and in particular, the families.

“I think there is an element of rebuilding and regaining that trust in us,” he said. “Creating environments where families feel welcome, cared for, and where they, too, are part of our direction. The notion that we have to make that our priority is becoming more and more clear.”

Hardy said he sees and hears from families and parents who say they want to feel welcomed when they go to a building, but they don’t feel that.

“There are notions about how we communicate with specific populations in the district are different,” he said. “And we have to figure

out how to communicate better.

“In specific, our Hispanic and Latino communities: How we reach out to their families better, making sure things are available to them in multiple languages so that when they come to the building, they have opportunity to engage with folks who can reach them linguistically.

“Those are the things that are bubbling up as priorities for sure. It really strikes this question of equity: How do we provide an

equitable learning experience for kids and level the playing field for our young people, and how do we provide equitable experiences for our families as well?”

District employees who encounter negativity from parents need to work harder to bring them into the fold and overcome barriers and obstacles between the families and schools, he said.

“There are the processes and things we’re able to provide,” Hardy said. “There’s also the human elements

of getting to know the other person, and valuing the other person.

“There’s a level of Disney ‘magic’ if you will. There is a level of some of the best customer service that you’ll see is that it becomes relational before it becomes process oriented. I think we need to think about how we become

more relational in our approach to our families and meeting them where they are, and operating from a place of empathy.

“There’s an element of trust we need to create between us and our families that needs to deepen and strengthen. And that’s a work in progress.”