Embracing Multiculturalism: Equality is not enough. Equity is the goal.by Geoff Serra
Westerly Sun, February 15, 2024 Two children arrive at the Emergency Room for treatment of lacerations sustained on the school playground. If the wounds were similar, the professionals would clean them with disinfectant, administer an antibiotic ointment, check tetanus shot status, and place a band-aid on them. This would be equal treatment. Equality gives everyone the same service. But, if one of the cuts requires stitches, a different level of care is needed. This difference in medical care is equitable care. Equity gives each child the services needed to heal properly. Equality and equity are not the same. Equality treats everyone the same: equity acknowledges our differences. Why is this easily understood concept often confusing and complicated when applied to education? In 2022, the Westerly School Committee voted to conduct an equity audit of the district. Why? An equity audit finds disparities in services and delivery contributing to performance gaps. An equity-based approach asks, “How can we deliver services so that all students thrive and succeed?” Some children need different or alternative instruction or opportunities to learn the same material. Some children need stitches and not a band-aid. In 2022, the Westerly School Department hired Public Consulting Group, LLC, to conduct an equity audit. According to the consulting group, equity and excellence demand “we consider the needs of each student, with a discerning eye towards students who are historically marginalized or held to low expectations, often due to cultural and linguistic diversity, identified disability, or gender identity.” The consulting firm fulfilled its obligations and delivered a report in March 2023 outlining findings and recommendations based upon data and professional research practices detailed in the report. Since March 2023, the School Committee has studied the findings, data, and recommendations individually and in several workshops. Last week, the Committee placed the Equity Audit on each monthly meeting agenda as a standing item. We applaud this move and the commitment it represents. A significant finding is that Westerly faces socio-economic challenges. A statistical disparity exists in the educational outcomes of children of low-income families, as measured by the 34% of children who qualify for free or reduced lunch, a nationally accepted measure of low income. However, we must recognize families who don’t qualify for free or reduced lunches headed by adults who work several jobs to remain afloat. It’s not just about food or hunger, either. It is about housing, physical and mental health, domestic instability, and a whole host of other concerns. Children can’t learn if they worry about moving again, or must sleep in their coats for lack of heat, or can’t sleep because of domestic instability, or must supervise and feed younger siblings, or worse, are unsupervised themselves, or must hold down jobs to contribute to the family budget. And there is the intersection of other influential factors — race, language, culture, gender, gender identity, and disability. Combining one or more of these factors with economic factors creates potent obstacles to learning and peak performance. These and a menu of other issues often result in poor attendance and other challenges affecting learning despite the best efforts of parents. These are real problems in Westerly and contribute to educational outcomes. Westerly’s equity audit unequivocally reveals some uncomfortable truths. Equality in instruction and opportunity does not produce top performance nor actualize every child’s potential. When schools provide their students with instruction and resources that fit their needs, the entire classroom environment — intellectual, social, and mental health — improves and strengthens. Equity improves communities through stronger social cohesion, better skills, and economic growth. Equity is a profitable social and economic investment. Westerly’s Equity Audit can help the district adopt decision-making through an equity lens and provide meaningful professional development for teachers and all staff — office, paraprofessionals, maintenance, cafeteria, bus drivers and monitors, and coaches. The School Committee itself will also receive training. And what is an equity lens? It is a decision-making framework (like Rotary’s Four-Way Test). Leaders ask four major questions, reflect broadly and deeply about the answers, and then intentionally apply their learning to all decisions. 1. Who is well served by this decision, policy, practice, or program? 2. Who is left out or harmed by this decision, policy, practice, or program? 3. What tools, materials, planning, logistics, etc., are needed for fair implementation? 4. What support, training, guidance, communication, etc., do we need to ensure fair implementation? Such a framework can identify and eliminate individual, institutional, and structural bias so that Westerly schools provide best-practice excellence and educational services to all our children and families. Read the entire Equity Audit on the Westerly School Department’s home page. Learn about the methodology and analysis drawn from research-informed strategies, reflect upon the data, and study the key findings, recommendations, and best practices. Many districts in RI and the nation face similar challenges, but these are Westerly’s to solve. “Enacting … the kind of change that will fundamentally improve outcomes of all students, and especially those from historically marginalized groups,” the Audit concludes, “requires focus, a strong vision from the Superintendent and School Committee enacted by district leadership staff, an appropriate allocation of resources, mandated professional development, and clear, non-negotiable, accountability measures.” This column is written by members of the Westerly Anti-Racism Coalition, which embraces multiculturalism to address racism. A community coalition unaffiliated with any state, national, or international organization, ARC meets on the steps of the Westerly Post Office each Sunday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. All are welcome. Learn more and subscribe to ARC’s newsletter at westerlyarc.weebly.com. Contact them at [email protected]. Comments are closed.
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This website is a publication of the Westerly Anti-Racism Coalition. ARC is a community coalition unaffiliated with any state, national, or international organization. ARC embraces multiculturalism to address racism.
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