TP.1 Equity – Final Clean

Final Draft — 4/18/22

Policy Statement:

DPS will be a district that is free of oppressive systems and structures rooted in racism and one which centers students and team members with a focus on racial and educational equity, enabling students to ultimately become conscientious global citizens and collaborative leaders.

Racial and Educational Equity is our collective responsibility. We will achieve equity when we dismantle deeply rooted systems of oppression that have historically resulted in inequitable access and distribution of opportunities and resources for those who represent marginalized identities, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, language and ability.

Definitions

View All Definitions (22 items)

1. Racial Equity – Racial equity is the elimination of racial disparity in our society, and the achievement of comparable outcomes for all, particularly those who have historically and contemporarily been marginalized. Racial equity will be realized when no person is more likely to experience the benefits or burdens of society based on race.
2. Educational Equity – Educational equity is re-envisioning and re-designing the systems and structures in which we operate to be more fair and just- this is done by removing the predictability of success or failure, and by ensuring each student has what they need to achieve.
3. Systems – refers to the processes and practices associated with the day-to-day operations of the district. It refers to all practices and processes within the organization and the interplay between processes and practices.
4. Practices – refers to those processes which are not included in policy but have precedents in how the process was executed in the past within the organization.
5. Dismantle – to halt a process or practice and to identify and record its impact on the organization so that it can never be repeated by agents of the organization
6. Access and Opportunities – refers to one of the key factors affecting marginalized students. Marginalized students need access to high-level curriculum, instruction, assessment and other educational resources in order to have opportunities to achieve academic success.
7. Oppression – intentional, unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power with the purpose of limiting access and opportunities for the oppressed.
8. Discriminatory – making or showing an unfair or prejudicial distinction between different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, language and ability.
9. Inequitable – students across our system have differing needs. Equally distributing resources to all students does not address many of the gaps which have resulted from centuries of systemic racism. Inequitable practices tend to presume a level playing field as a justification for distributing resources in an equal manner. Equitable practices provide greater resources to those students and families so that they can
10. Intolerance – unwillingness to consider, not necessarily accept views, beliefs, or behavior that differ from one’s own.
11. Persistent – continuing to exist or endure over a prolonged period.
12. Enduring – continuing or long-lasting
13. Deeply rooted systems of oppression – refers to structural oppression including the laws, policies and practices designed to oppress another group on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, language and ability.
14. Discriminatory practices – practices anchored in discrimination
15. Discriminatory policies – policies anchored in discrimination
16. Inequitable distribution of resources – resources that are distributed equally rather than to address those marginalized groups most in need of the resources.
17. Inequitable distribution of opportunities – opportunities which are afforded in an equal manner rather than based on need
18. Free of oppressive systems and structures rooted in racism – the goal would be to eliminate such systems and structures rooted in racism
19. CHE – Congress of Hispanic Educators
20. ELA-S – English Language Acquisition through Spanish. A developmental bilingual program that instructs students in Spanish and transitions them to English as they become proficient.
21. Inclusive Practices – implementing practices where all students, regardless of cognitive or academic level, have opportunities to be included in the general education classroom, participating in standards-based curriculum.
22. Racial or Oppressive Language – Language that stirs emotion with strong ties in oppressive systems and has been used to marginalize under-represented groups in the past. (Eg. in the field)

Reasonable Interpretation

DPS has made Equity its cornerstone. Because of DPS's rich history of civil rights and student activism including, the West HS 1969 Blow Out, and Colorado's history of embracing one of the most iconic hate groups, choosing Equity as a cornerstone seemed inevitable. Listening to the voices of our constituents is critical in understanding the complex issues and challenges anchored in discrimination. The Congress of Hispanic Educators has worked with district officials on the creation of a Modified Consent Decree which requires compliance in addressing discriminatory practices to students who are Multilingual Learners.

Over the past 24 months, we've experienced the complexities associated with a pandemic and witnessed the effects of intolerance for others from a different race, religion, gender and sexual orientation, positional authority and political affiliation. We also witnessed an increase in anti-immigrant rhetoric and intolerance for people from various cultural backgrounds. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit." Given the great history of DPS and given my responsibility as the leader of this great organization, I commit to:

Superintendent Commitments

1. Discover, dismantle and revise persistent and enduring systems of oppression within our school system;
2. Partner with the City of Denver to dismantle and revise persistent and enduring systems of oppression outside of our school system that impact our student’s ability to engage in their educational opportunities equitably;
3. Discover, support, and connect assets within our communities with our students and their families, celebrating how diversity of thought, culture, and traits can lead to success in college, career, and life;
4. Educate our staff about oppression and inclusive practices in education;
5. Develop the agency of our students to empower themselves to learn and to effectively be part of the changes that are implemented, debate and act for the greater good of our global, multilingual society; (this is about embracing the differences in other cultures and accepting their own culture)
6. Empower our teachers and special service providers to connect with the communities they serve to better understand and embrace their differences.
7. Fully implement all of the Consent Decree requirements and continue to center the needs of MLLs in all DPS initiatives

Standard – RI Must-haves

Requirements

• The standard of measurement for one or more parts of the policy

• The level of achievement on the standard for one or more parts of the policy

• The rationale for the standard of measurement for one or more parts of the policy

• The rationale for the level of achievement on the standard for one or more parts of the policy

Outcomes

Given the limited amount of time for the Superintendent to establish and implement a Strategic Plan, some of the targets and baselines will be evident in the 21/22 school year but some measures of compliance will not be evident until the 22/23

Compliance with this End Statement will be achieved for 21/22 when:

Compliance Items (21/22)

1. At least two systems have been identified for dismantling including the restructuring of Central Office and would have been dismantled by teams within DPS. This is a reasonable standard of measurement and level of achievement since dismantling these systems will involve several different teams within the organization and may require these systems to be replaced immediately should it be tied to state regulations and/or policies. The reorganization of Central Office staff is intended to remove silos between divisions and to provide resources at the school level as we recover from the effects of the pandemic.
2. No fewer than four (4) community hubs will have their doors open to the public by the first day of the 2022-23 school year. These community hubs will address a holistic approach to student learning through including programs and services that support social, emotional, physical and academic needs of students. DPS will work with each identified community to build out the services that are most aligned to their needs.
3. DPS will establish a community advisory panel that will be scheduled to meet monthly and includes representation from at least 10 different organizations that serve historically marginalized communities. This panel will focus on uncovering the assets within our communities and identifying opportunities for the district to support those existing efforts and connect them with our students.
4. Educators of Color and Multilingual Educators will be retained at the same rate as other educators in DPS based on preliminary retention calculations by Human Resources in September 2022. This is a reasonable measure and target as national trends indicate that teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate.
5. We meet all of the requirements for the Modified Consent Decree

Compliance with this End Statement for the 22/23 SY and beyond will require additional measures including:

Additional Measures (22/23)

• 6. % increase in sense of belonging for racially and linguistically diverse students as measured by the Your Voice/TuVoz survey in May, administered by Research & Evaluation team. Given the limited amount of time for the Superintendent to have had an influence and This is a reasonable standard of measurement and goal based on the national report on

• 7. % increase in sense of belonging for racially and linguistically diverse families as measured by the Your Voice/TuVoz survey in May, administered by Research & Evaluation team.

Rationale: This is a reasonable interpretation which is designed to dismantle systemic structures in an ongoing and persistent manner. It has taken centuries of discrimination and oppression to create the current system in which we work and lead. It will take a persistent effort of all staff members to dismantle these systems and structures anchored in racial discrimination.

Measures

Aggregation Methodology

I will be successful if I achieve 75% of the weighted targets.