Are K-12 schools’ new equity plans working?

Civil unrest fueled by the death of George Floyd, whose murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer sparked protests globally, prompted many Eastern Iowa school districts to take a closer look at their equity, diversity and inclusion practices.

School districts began to think more critically of racial justice in their own dealings — such as academic opportunities, discipline, retention and hiring of historically underrepresented groups, and staff training around cultural competence.

But Stephanie Jones, assistant professor at Grinnell College, said while she sees Iowa school district’s hiring new directors to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, she’s still “skeptical” of the effectiveness of these plans in Iowa’s K-12 schools for a key reason: there needs to be funds attached to the programs.

Equity directors need to have “power” and the support of the superintendent and other school administrators to make changes.

“Not only does their salary have to be a budget line, but the resources they’re allowed to spend must be a budget line that grows consistently every year to match the needs and changes of the community,” Jones said. “If we don’t fund and support it well, there is going to be high turnover and disillusion in this position.”

Ain Grooms, research fellow and assistant professor at the University of Iowa Public Policy Center, said diversity, equity and inclusion plans won’t “effect change” until districts put real effort toward assessing a schools’ culture, climate and curriculum.

“We want to dismantle racist systems we have in place,” said Grooms, who studies educational opportunity, with a focus on access and equity for Black students and other students of color in K-12 schools. “Once you attach a dollar amount to something, it becomes more of a priority.”

For these plans to be effective, data needs to be tracked consistently, frequently and made public, Grooms said.

“We’ve allowed it to be OK that students of color are disciplined more and disciplined more harshly,” Grooms said. “A major part of this is to dismantle the systems created over time.”

“We’ve already decided who young kids of color are without giving them a chance. That’s going to have some long-term ramifications,“ she continued. ”We tend to blame the parents, the family, how they’re raised, as opposed to looking at the system of schooling. We tend to blame kids of color, low-income, students who don’t speak English at home, for the failings of a system.“

Ruth White, founder and director of the Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success in Cedar Rapids, said equity, diversity and inclusion plans are a “trend” and some districts are “scrambling.”

The academy provides Black students an education they can't find in a public school classroom. It teaches students about Black history, literature, math and science, and has a postsecondary seminar to help students prepare for college and how to be successful once they get there.

Staff turnover is a huge barrier to consistent equity work, White said, who has approached every superintendent for the Cedar Rapids Community School District for the last 20 years about equity work.

“You have to educate the educators,” White said. “I know young people who come from backgrounds that are not diverse at all and really need to be given instructions in those things, so they’re not taking a job and being hit in the face with these kids who are different from them that they don’t know anything about.”

The Cedar Rapids Community School District’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives include:

District officials expect outcomes of these initiatives to include increased employee satisfaction and retention, increased minority hiring, and reduced achievement and behavior data between white students and students of color.

District officials did not respond to questions asking about the cost of these initiatives, if there is a budget for diversity, equity and inclusion work, and progress made so far.

Kimberly Fitten, who worked for the Cedar Rapids school district in various positions from 2008 to 2017, said taking the Intercultural Development Inventory helped her uncover a passion for diversity, equity and inclusion work.

The Intercultural Development Inventory is a tool — although an expensive one — to help people better understand what biases they might have and work to be culturally responsive, she said.

“I thought I was exempt from having bias because I’m Black,” Fitten said, who is now the founder and chief executive officer of ReSet Consulting, which provides equity, diversity and inclusion strategies and solutions to businesses.

Other districts

Other school districts share similar equity goals as the Cedar Rapids school district.

In the Iowa City Community School District’s comprehensive diversity, equity and inclusion plan, which was created in 2019, six goals are outlined. These include:

Over the last year, the district has implemented several initiatives to support its diversity, equity and inclusion work.

A fellowship program for Iowa City staff enables them to get experience in administration, which district officials hope retain more underrepresented teachers, administrators and staff.

Teachers have also begun working with students to foster an interest in careers in education, even promising them a job in the district if one is available after they graduate college.

Additionally, staff are receiving professional development focused on culturally responsive teaching, restorative practices and social emotional learning, which supports the district’s equity initiatives, said Amy Kortemeyer, Iowa City schools deputy superintendent.

Linn-Mar and Clear Creek Amana community school district’s added equity directors to their staff this year.

The directors are using the state of Iowa’s conditions for learning survey, a confidential, anonymous and voluntary survey for third through12th graders completed each spring focusing on issues ranging from student safety, relationships and school rules and how they are enforced.

This data is being used to develop and implement programs, initiatives and training to support, equity, inclusion and diversity in the districts.

Nathan Wear, equity director for the Linn-Mar Community School District, said the survey helps identify strengths and weaknesses in the school system.

Linn-Mar is also working with local diversity consulting firms to gather similar data, which will be used this summer to help develop the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategic plan.

“We have a lot of people passionate about this, but we want to drive it in a strategic manner," Wear said. ”We know we’re going to have to put (financial) resources behind this work.“

‘Listen to children’

True equity work is not going to feel equal, Jones said, “Especially to people who have been in positions of power.”

Jones, who researches ways in which Black girls and women engage with literacies in and outside the classroom, suggested challenging potential job candidates to talk about diversity, equity and inclusion and how it matters in their interviews.

“What do you do with those teachers who aren’t invested in this work?” Jones said. “Do we have the courage to say, ‘If you’re not willing to think about what it means to be in a classroom with Black and brown children and affirm them for who they are and include them in the curriculum, should you be doing this?’”

Another thing schools need to do is “listen to children,” Jones said.

“Adults don’t listen to children because they think they’re immature and their prefrontal cortex hasn’t been developed yet, but these students do know and are currently living this,” Jones said.

As more and more students are taking to social media to advocate for themselves and talk about concerns they have regarding equity, student involvement in these plans is also important, Grooms said.

“Turn to students and ask them in a meaningful way, ‘Tell us how we can be better,’” Grooms said.

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