WEBVTT - Made with VTT Creator 00:06.900 --> 00:10.500 We had to get more comfortable talking about the uncomfortable and 00:10.500 --> 00:12.200 lean into that discomfort because 00:12.200 --> 00:15.300 what ends up happening when you 00:15.300 --> 00:18.400 grow, growing is not easy you know, no 00:18.400 --> 00:21.500 no form of growth is easy. It 00:21.500 --> 00:24.300 actually kind of hurts a little bit. And so in order for us 00:24.300 --> 00:27.200 to grow we have to lean into that discomfort. We have to be 00:27.200 --> 00:30.500 able to have tough conversations. That 00:30.500 --> 00:32.400 will not be easy. 00:37.800 --> 00:41.300 When I was a principal we started having conversations about 00:41.300 --> 00:43.500 equity. We started looking 00:43.500 --> 00:46.200 at behavior data. When we looked at 00:46.200 --> 00:49.200 our suspension data and looked at the 00:49.200 --> 00:52.400 level of students that were being suspended that are 00:52.400 --> 00:55.200 children of color versus our students that were being 00:55.200 --> 00:59.900 suspended or even referred, you know, behavior referrals between 00:58.900 --> 01:01.600 white and non-white students, 01:01.600 --> 01:05.000 it was so disproportionate. And why? 01:05.900 --> 01:08.600 There is no clear cut answer to why. 01:08.600 --> 01:11.200 But it starts the conversations. 01:14.300 --> 01:17.600 The guidebook, I have to say, was truly a collaborative 01:17.600 --> 01:20.000 effort. It involved adults from 01:20.400 --> 01:23.700 different walks of life, from educators to people 01:23.700 --> 01:26.400 who were not in the field of education, because we 01:26.400 --> 01:29.300 always need those different perspectives. I kind of 01:29.300 --> 01:33.000 pushed the envelope a little bit and involve students 01:33.300 --> 01:35.600 who were as young as third graders. 01:39.600 --> 01:40.000 The equity guide book has been created 01:43.300 --> 01:46.700 to have us work towards being more 01:46.700 --> 01:49.600 equitable with our instruction, equitable with 01:49.600 --> 01:52.600 resources and finances, and equitable when 01:52.600 --> 01:55.900 it comes to parents and stakeholders. Just making 01:55.900 --> 01:58.600 sure that our students and our staff 01:58.600 --> 02:01.700 and all of us are working to address our biases working 02:01.700 --> 02:02.500 to address 02:04.500 --> 02:07.300 the lack of resources and the lack 02:07.300 --> 02:10.100 of support just so that we can do 02:10.100 --> 02:13.800 better for our children. I think co-designing systems to 02:13.800 --> 02:16.800 sustain equity is so important because this work 02:16.800 --> 02:19.700 is not work that can be done in silos and it's 02:19.700 --> 02:22.500 also not cookie cutter work. So we have to ensure that 02:22.500 --> 02:26.300 we're working across the district or across organizations or 02:26.300 --> 02:29.300 across communities to really ensure that the work we're 02:29.300 --> 02:32.200 doing is beneficial. And the way that you deliver this 02:32.200 --> 02:35.500 information to one group may not be the same as other 02:35.500 --> 02:38.200 groups. And so that's why, from a collaborative point in 02:38.200 --> 02:41.300 the planning, it's so important to have other people at the 02:41.300 --> 02:44.100 table to be able to give their input so that 02:44.100 --> 02:47.400 we can design programs that benefit all and not 02:47.400 --> 02:49.400 just one. 02:53.400 --> 02:56.600 Our district now has a gender and identity inclusion department. We have 02:56.600 --> 02:59.300 a Black and Latino males department now. I think 02:59.300 --> 03:00.300 that we've identified 03:01.400 --> 03:04.600 more areas and some new areas in which 03:04.600 --> 03:07.900 we need to advocate for our children, expose them 03:07.900 --> 03:10.400 to new learning. We have to be mindful and intentional 03:10.400 --> 03:13.600 in all that we do in our parenting and our teaching 03:13.600 --> 03:17.300 and in the spaces that we create to have conversations 03:17.300 --> 03:19.500 around equity. And I think now that people are 03:19.500 --> 03:22.300 more intentional, you are seeing, you know, 03:22.300 --> 03:23.400 these things taking, 03:25.100 --> 03:28.400 over in ways that I think are providing the 03:28.400 --> 03:31.700 space for change. It's happening everywhere. The 03:31.700 --> 03:35.300 fact that our department can even exist is a 03:35.300 --> 03:38.200 reflection of that. Equity doesn't look 03:38.200 --> 03:40.500 like a one size fits all 03:40.500 --> 03:44.100 the work that's done is truly diverse 03:44.100 --> 03:46.900 for some the work focuses 03:46.900 --> 03:48.100 in on 03:50.500 --> 03:54.100 racial equity for others. 03:54.100 --> 03:57.800 They're thinking about areas 03:57.800 --> 04:00.400 that our food deserts. Others 04:00.400 --> 04:04.500 see equity as related to academics. 04:04.500 --> 04:05.200 Over time, 04:06.400 --> 04:09.400 we have come to understand that equity includes 04:10.200 --> 04:13.800 so many different areas, so many different lenses,not 04:13.800 --> 04:18.800 just the cultural but instructional, staffing, 04:18.800 --> 04:20.000 making sure 04:20.300 --> 04:22.700 that that teachers are qualified, making 04:22.700 --> 04:25.400 sure that our staff is ready and 04:25.400 --> 04:28.400 capable so that we can do the best that we can possibly do 04:28.400 --> 04:32.200 for our students. All of those things are pieces of 04:32.200 --> 04:35.200 equity to help our children be the best that they can 04:35.200 --> 04:35.900 possibly be. 04:40.700 --> 04:41.700 I believe this work 04:41.900 --> 04:44.100 requires creating intentional space. I think 04:44.100 --> 04:47.700 with all that we do, intentionality is very important. 04:47.700 --> 04:50.400 And the reason why I think so 04:50.400 --> 04:54.000 many things don't work or so many things fail is 04:54.400 --> 04:56.600 because there isn't any intentionality and 04:56.600 --> 04:59.400 I think proactive solutions come from 04:59.400 --> 05:02.400 intentionality. The guidebook I should say is a 05:02.400 --> 05:05.300 living, breathing document, and so it's not like this 05:05.300 --> 05:09.800 is it and it's done. As part of the policy 05:09.800 --> 05:11.400 around the guidebook it 05:11.400 --> 05:14.700 is updated yearly. This 05:14.700 --> 05:17.600 is not a destination. This is 05:17.600 --> 05:20.500 truly a journey and it is truly head and 05:20.500 --> 05:23.800 heart work. Visionary work initially 05:23.800 --> 05:26.700 has to have time 05:26.700 --> 05:29.600 set aside for it. I think 05:29.600 --> 05:32.200 over time, it becomes routine and 05:32.200 --> 05:35.400 becomes a part of what you already do. When we 05:35.400 --> 05:38.800 started having these conversations about equity, we needed set- 05:38.800 --> 05:40.300 aside time, we need to training 05:40.900 --> 05:43.400 for how to even start the 05:43.400 --> 05:46.800 conversations, for how to even bring this to our staffs. 05:46.800 --> 05:49.700 Last year during our, we 05:49.700 --> 05:52.800 call them CAO meetings, which stands for Chief Academic Officer 05:52.800 --> 05:55.800 meetings, we decided as 05:55.800 --> 05:58.200 an office to make sure that we 05:58.200 --> 06:01.600 are including equity standards in all of our meetings. We're setting 06:01.600 --> 06:04.300 aside time to do these things, but it's 06:04.300 --> 06:08.400 becoming more of an ingrained process. 06:08.400 --> 06:11.000 We recognize there's 06:11.000 --> 06:11.500 inequity. 06:12.100 --> 06:13.000 Let's fix it.