Cedar Rapids school committee finalizes equity plan

CEDAR RAPIDS - Improving graduation and suspension rates for students of color and maintaining a diverse workforce are among the goals of an 'equity action plan” that a consultant presented Monday to the Cedar Rapids school board.

The plan, developed by a district diversity committee over the last several months, also calls for increased community monitoring of school equity and improved cultural consciousness among school administrators.

Edwin Javius, a California-based school equity consultant who helps lead the diversity committee, presented the plan to the board. The committee members also is made up of district administrators and other staff, community members, and one board member.

The plan identifies African-American and Latino students as targeted student groups, as well as students in special education programs, those with disabilities, and those of low socioeconomic status.

For those students, the plan's goals include:

' A 15-percent increase in graduation rates at each of the district's four high schools

' A 15-percent decrease in absence rates at each high school

' A 15-percent decrease in suspension rate

' A 15-percent decrease in referrals to special education programs

' A 10-percent increase in the number of students 'scoring proficient or higher on state and local assessments”

The plan does not provide a timeline for any of those goals. The district would like to see that type of progress annually but knows that might not be realistic right away, said Paul Hayes, the district's executive manager of student services and one of the leaders of the committee that created the plan.

'The committee came to realize that this isn't going to be something that happens tomorrow,” Hayes said. He said improvements of 5 to 7 percent each year in student achievement categories would be realistic.

Javius said he did not want to tie the goals to a timeline because he had not looked at historical trends in the district's data. But he said 12- to 15-percent changes per year in graduation and suspension rates would be reasonable.

Javius and superintendent David Benson praised the measurable goals in the plan.

'Sometimes, educational equity becomes a nebulous term,” Javius said. 'We are using measurable outcomes to identify how we get better as a system.”

In pairing with its statistical targets, the plan calls for some new programs to be implemented in the next school year - mentorships for new employees of color and the targeted student groups, a parent advisory group, and interventions for high school students to ensure they stay on track for graduation, among others.

It also outlines the continuation of current district efforts, such as 'equity walks” during which administrators observe teacher-student interactions and identify ways to improve equity in classrooms.

The plan calls for the percentage of staff members in each category who are of color to mirror the percentage of the student body that is of color.

Administrators would be required to provide quarterly progress reports to the diversity committee and school board, according to the plan.

Javius praised the district's inclusion of community members in its diversity committee, saying few districts nationwide have similar efforts. He called equity and social justice 'the number one issue that's facing 21st-century schools.”

The district since January 2014 has been under federal investigation for allegedly discriminating against black students by disciplining them differently than white students.

The district now will focus on implementing the plan at each school, Hayes said.

Also Monday:

The board unanimously passed a 2015-16 budget that would increase property taxes in the district by 8 cents, up to a rate of $15.56 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. That rate could decrease, however, based on the outcome of the state Legislature's debate over state funding for public schools.

The board set a public hearing on April 27 for a 2015-16 calendar that would have classes begin Aug. 24. Gov. Terry Branstad last week signed a law prohibiting schools from starting class before Aug. 23.