Board Update 1-24-22
Special Interest Topics
Agenda Item 5.0
Equity Presentation – 5.01
CCSD59 believes all students should have equitable access to curriculum, resources, staffing, facility space, and schedules to best meet their individual needs. Equity is a district core value as stated in the district’s strategic plan, and with its place of importance, the district began the process of evaluating equity across all areas of the district in the winter of 2021.
At the end of 2020, the board of education and district administration identified the need for an outside organization to conduct an equity audit, which resulted in a comprehensive process that included 36 focus groups with over 120 district stakeholders. The board also directed the district to conduct a dual language program evaluation and an enrollment and facility usage analysis. The presentations and discussions at the Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, January 24, 2022, focused on the results of these studies, as well as the overall topic of equity and what future feedback, discussions, and actions the district might take to realize the definition of this core value.
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Equity Opportunity Review Findings (District Management Group)
District Management Group (DMGroup) recently completed a three-phase equity audit in collaboration with CCSD59. The group worked with a coalition of staff members spanning various roles in CCSD59 to analyze data and identify three key areas of focus:
- Scheduling
- Enrollment and transportation
- Students with disabilities
An in-depth analysis was initiated on these three areas, including focus groups and stakeholder feedback, and DMGroup provided the district with recommendations to decrease inequities discovered in those areas. DMGroup also identified the need for improvement in two-way communication across the district to effectively engage stakeholders and increase feedback opportunities.
Positive findings from the audit included day-to-day transportation meeting the needs of families, the amount of resources available to the district to meet student needs, and progress made in the inclusion of special education students in general education settings.
With focus areas identified, the district will take the recommendations from DMGroup and work towards more inclusive methods of programming and scheduling as well as communicating this work to the board and community members.
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Dual Language Program Evaluation (Adelante Education Specialists)
Adelante Education Specialists recently completed an audit of the Spanish Dual Language Program in CCSD59, which included focus groups, classroom observations, and review of district data, materials, and curriculum.
The findings showed the district in alignment with state standards in terms of language allocation, but highlighted areas for improvement. The report addresses:
- Inequities between the one-way and two-way Spanish Dual Language Programs
- Programming at the junior high level
- A need for further opportunities for teacher collaboration and professional development in biliteracy
- Moving beyond the translation of English materials to create a more natural transfer of linguistics
Prior to the audit, the district had established a Dual Language Leadership Team, which had already begun addressing areas of need in the curriculum. This group will continue to work with the findings of the audit and create a three-year action plan to strengthen the Spanish Dual Language Programs.
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Enrollment & Facility Usage Analysis (Cropper GIS)
Cropper GIS recently completed a review of space availability in CCSD59 schools as well as a demographics review of the district. The report summarizes where students live within existing school boundaries as compared to where they attend school. It also illustrates how many students each school building can serve based on space, which the district has addressed with architects in past years. Through the audit, the district can see what amount of space is being utilized in each building, and how many more students can be properly served in each building to maximize those areas.
With this data, the district understands the needs of students have changed since some facilities were built. The superintendent reviews district boundaries annually, in accordance with board policy, and this data will be factored into those reviews so the district can meet these student needs and maintain a modern, inclusive learning environment.
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Next Steps
As this information is assessed, the district will continue to educate and engage all stakeholders throughout the process. Developing a common understanding is a vital tool in our community partnerships that will allow CCSD59 to make decisions based on this data. The district will continue to be transparent and gather input from stakeholders on any potential outcomes that could impact students, staff, families, or the community.
