Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are Critical in Schools

The FASA Diversity discussion for October focused on how principals can move equity, diversity, and inclusion forward in our schools and districts. We want to thank our guest speakers: 

•    David Watkins, Director of the Department of Equity & Diversity, Broward County
•    Chandra Hall, Director for Equity and Diversity Management, Polk County
•    Dr. Kyra Schafte, Coordinator of Equity, Indian River County
•    Steve Chatman, Equity Officer, Okaloosa County

A few takeaways from this meeting were that equity, diversity, and inclusion need to be intentionally monitored. Change will come fastest when it becomes a community conversation. Schools cannot work in isolation to tackle these topics. 

Communities can start by looking at what policies are already in place and improve upon them by being intentional. Mr. Chatman encourages schools to use disparity data such as the percentage of minority students in accelerated programs/classes and imbalances in discipline by race or gender as jumping-off points. Dr. Kyra Schafte said it very concisely, “What gets measured is what gets done.” Reporting structures must be in place and the data has to be reviewed so that actionable steps can be taken. It is then the responsibility of the school district to use the data to create a continuous learning cycle that moves the results toward equity.

If just the idea of talking about equity, diversity, and inclusion is nerve-wracking, then conversations surrounding the disparity data won’t produce results. Schools must work to create an environment of trust. When everyone in the conversation knows that each person is coming from a place of caring, then mistakes can be seen as learning opportunities. Fear of choosing the wrong words cannot be the reason to avoid diversity conversations within a school organization. To move conversations forward, the school or district needs to work with their community. They should start small with a coalition of the willing. Mr. David Watkins, of Broward County Public Schools, started with professional development using the Courageous Conversation course developed by founder and author Glenn Singleton. Through this learning, everyone was able to talk about the topic using a common language within a safe space. This led to an Equity Liaison program where every school and every district department has a representative that focuses on equity, diversity, and inclusion. We cannot make the change if we cannot talk about the problem.

Chandra Hall, from Polk County, reminded us that for districts that do not have the personnel to provide face-to-face training district-wide, they can create web-based training to alleviate that roadblock. Polk County also encourages discussions with guidance counselors to monitor the percentage of minority students who are entering accelerated programs.

Where schools may be making headway in many areas relating to diversity and equity, conversations surrounding LGBTQ seem to be one of the most difficult for our current principals to engage in. To progress, we cannot lessen our focus concerning diversity and equity for our minority students. The education system must continue to increase our scope and influence to ensure that ALL students know and feel welcome.