Special School District launched a five-year Equity Learning Plan that will assist staff with improving interactions when challenges occur in their relationships with students and colleagues. The focus will be on understanding the connections between themselves and the interconnected layers of identity and uncovering bias.

2020-21 / Year 1: Year of Preparation

The Director of Equity, the CSIP Committee for Equity, and individuals passionate about equity made strides in providing a foundation for a multi-year District-wide learning plan. A District-approved statement of equity was adopted; a review of District policies, guidelines, and procedures was conducted; and the Board of Education approved the SSD Equity Framework. During the summer of 2020, professional learning began focusing on the framework, guiding principles, and how to use them in their work.

2021-22 / Year 2: Working the Framework

All staff participated in Framing the Frameworks professional learning sessions during year two. These sessions focused on equity in their job positions, guiding principles, and how to use the guiding principles to facilitate discussions on equity within their job positions. The outcome was an entire community (SSD) united by processes and language as staff make equity decisions daily in their job positions.

2022-23 / Year 3: Diversity and Cultures

During year three, staff will study concepts of identity and diversity as they develop increased capabilities for working with and interacting across cultures.

2023-24 / Year 4: Bias

Year four will focus on bias, both conscious and unconscious. It will provide opportunities to explore how biases develop, how to recognize them, and strategies for dealing with biases when interacting with others. 

2024-25 / Year 5: Integration into Practices

Options for this year focus on some of the more significant issues in equity, such as race, sexual identity, gender roles, environmental justice, and inclusion. Professional learning experiences for staff focus on the more esoteric concepts of equity and how our decisions begin to change institutional inequities.