The jury has spoken in the Derek Chauvin murder trial, and the Colonial School District (CSD) sends its support to the grieving family of George Floyd and to millions around the world who watched this disturbing case unfold since May 25, 2020. Today’s guilty verdict on all counts is perhaps just one sign that cries for social justice have been heard. That said, so much work remains to be done in the form of police reform, racial disparity, and the well-being of marginalized people. This verdict cannot allow us to become complacent in addressing racism.  CSD supports any open and judgment-free discussions among students, teachers, staff, and community. The district and school-based equity teams stand ready to continue having courageous conversations with one mission in mind…to change the odds for all students in Colonial.

WE Focus on Equity

While focusing on equity in Colonial Nation began several years ago, a District Equity Team has been meeting in earnest since January.  Dr. Crystal Lancour is among the administrators helping to facilitate this effort saying, “We have a commitment to equity in Colonial and that means we are learning and growing to gain a deeper understanding of race, equity, and its impact on student learning so our Colonial community is stronger together.”  The administrators, teachers, and staff on the Equity Team know the work means having tough and sometimes uncomfortable conversations around race and the importance of equity in a district where the majority of students are black and brown, but the staff does not reflect that in the classroom and beyond.

Last week the group shared what is called Equity ERA (Engage-Reflect-Act). ERA is a self-guided learning resource link that contains documents, videos, book selections, and more for team members and staff to review. The goal of ERA is for team members and staff to have the resources needed to learn and reflect on race-related issues in order to raise self-awareness  and sensitivity for the sake of students of color.

“Every learner in Colonial deserves the best from us as educators, so we have to ensure that we know our students and ourselves well enough to be able to provide learning experiences that meet their academic, and social/emotional needs.  Understanding race and equity and its impact on learning is a huge part of this journey in order for us to do that effectively,” Lancour said.

More on Colonial’s Focus on Equity

Since 2016, The Colonial School District (CSD) began taking a hard look at race and equity. Statistics show the experiences of black and brown students are not the same as white students and our team of administrators and teachers do not reflect our largely Black and Brown student population.

To provide the best outcomes for all students, CSD established the following groups to focus on equity:

• Educators of Color (EOC-Est. 2016)
  • Who is involved: Teachers, Administrators, Public Information Officer (PIO), Media Specialist
  • Primary Focus: Recruiting and retention of Teachers of Color
• District Leadership Equity Focus (Est. Summer 2018)
  • Who is involved: District, Division and School-based administrators
  • Primary Focus: Develop skills at facilitating conversations about race and equity
• District Leadership Council (Est. Summer 2019)
  • Who is involved: Superintendent’s Council
  • Primary Focus:Deep dive into racial conversations, data discovery, book studies
• Nutrition Equity Team (Est. Fall 2019)
  • Who is involved: Nutrition Workers and EOC members
  • Primary Focus:Support our diverse school population through menu choices and options
• Educators Practitioner Program (Est. Winter 2019)(EPP)
  • Who is involved: Teachers
  • Primary Focus:Gives educators the skills and resources to engage others with equity work. A goal is to advance the equity work.
• District Equity Team (Est. Winter 2020)
  • Who is involved: Teachers, Administrators, PIO
  • Primary Focus: Develop a deep understanding of race and its relationship to equitable practices and outcomes for all learners, assess the needs of programs, departments, schools, and the organization as a whole as related to race and equity work, create a Colonial School District Equity Plan to guide our focus and work, support school leaders in leading equity work at the building level in the coming months and years, lead staff in organizing efforts to infuse institutional change within Colonial.
• Transportation Equity Team (Est. Winter 2020)
  • Who is involved: Transportation Administrators and workers, along with EOC members
  • Primary Focus: Determine a role for transportation workers with our equity work (only had one meeting due to COVID-19)

All group participants agree there is no quick fix but believe the intentional focus on equity is a great first step for CSD. In addition to the focus groups, CSD also established a new position, Director of Talent Development, which will be headed by Jennifer Alexander, the former principal of Pleasantville Elementary School. Among other things, Alexander’s goal is to recruit the most qualified minority teachers she can find to educate Colonial students. “Colonial is a district that believes our students deserve role models who look like them. Our district is committed to proving the resources, support, and professional development to grow teachers so they can acquire the skills necessary to provide instruction to meet the needs of ALL students,” she says.

Institutional racism has plagued this country for far too long. Talking about institutional racism is not simple. It requires courage through conversations and action. Colonial is committed to confronting racism and it’s systemic impact on our community and doing everything in our power to eliminate it and sustain the change.