Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Plan

black lives matter

ASD BLACK LIVES MATTER RESOLUTION
ALL STUDENTS BELONG

At AHS, we believe that diverse ideas, cultures and traditions reflect the broad diversity of the nation and enrich our insights into the work we do, providing a rich educational environment for our students.
CLICK HERE to view AHS’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan


2020-2021 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Plan

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Ashland High School 2020-2021 - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan

Mission

Empowering students to be lifelong learners, responsible citizens, and stewards of the world.

Vision

Inspiring learning for life!

Core Values

Community, Diversity, Empowerment, Excellence

We Believe

Students should learn about the diversity of human culture through avenues that normalize multiple lives experiences. We need to understand that we are all variations of human expression and tradition to be uplifted, celebrated, and protected.

I. Capacity Building

  1. Utilize Oregon Equity Lens and apply to all levels of decision making. Click me

  2. Continue to provide regular, ongoing professional development opportunities re: cultural agility, culturally responsive practices and EDI; provide training/events to students re: EDI.

  3. AHS will establish an EDI Committee meeting minimum bi-monthly during the 2020-2021 school year to evaluate, monitor and adjust EDI action plan; the committee will provide resources to AHS proactively

  4. Provide educational forums/discussions for students on topics related to race, ethnicity, gender, consent, theLGBTQ community, Indigenous people/history and more; invite guest facilitators/presenters (i.e. from BOSA, Lotus Rising, Multicultural resource Center at SOU, Native American Studies at SOU, parents and other resources).

  5. Continue to ensure that all students are aware of academic programs and opportunities; ensure that Spanish translation is available in the main office during business hours and as needed; translate commonly used documents.

II. Curriculum and Instruction

  1. Students in 9th and 10th grade humanities class will learn concepts and vocabulary related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

  2. Ensure that the books acquired for the book depository are culturally diverse and represent previously underrepresented groups; apply the equity lens to all book acquisition decisions; work with librarian to increase diverse books and resources in the library.

  3. Teachers will incorporate content that celebrates, uplifts, and highlights diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

  4. Continued evaluation of curriculum, content, visuals that are reflective of ALL students, utilizing the equity lens

III. Climate

  1. Administer Climate survey (EDI / Youth Truth), and review disaggregated data on student experience.

  2. Continue providing an effective, responsive anonymous reporting system for members of the AHS community to report hate speech/actions, racism, homophobia, sexism and other incidents.

  3. AHS will continue to implement Restorative Justice (RJ) practices (with an equity lens).

  4. Continue to increase participation in school events by all students by providing equitable access—for example, all students who receive free and reduced lunch are given a free ticket to school dances; whenever possible, provide access and materials to all students; find new ways to make participation more equitable.

  5. Provide clubs and affinity spaces for our Black, Indigenous, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian, and Pacific Islander students

IV. Community Engagement

  1. Recruit and elevate diverse students/family/community voices to be involved in site Council,committees, planning, and decision-making processes (i.e. policy, curriculum, budget, school reform initiatives, and safety).

  2. Continued efforts to get communication out in any language that supports student and family engagement.

  3. Continue holding Black African American Student Success parent meetings.

  4. Partner with Community organizations to create and connect students and families.

Ashland School District Equity Policy

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Ashland School District Equity Policy

Code: JBB
Adopted: 6/10/19

The Ashland School District (ASD) is a learning community committed to achieving equity and success for each student. In upholding the district’s mission of empowering students to be lifelong learners, responsible citizens, and stewards of the world, the district expands its equity practices to be more inclusive of its diverse learning community.

The district will create and maintain a safe, welcoming, supportive, and inclusive environment for all of its students. Student success will not be predicted nor predetermined by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, enrollment mobility, language, family structure, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, citizenship, initial proficiencies, or religion.

The district will change its practices as needed in order to encourage the celebration of diversity; achieve and maintain equity in education; and maintain an environment that is supportive and inclusive of all students. Every student deserves to have a respectful learning environment in which diversity is valued and contributes to successful academic outcomes. Educational equity goes beyond equality--where all students are treated the same--to fostering a barrier-free environment in which all students have the opportunity to thrive.

The Catalyst for Change

A primary issue in educational disparity is race equity. In school districts across the state, White students, as a group, have outperformed Black, Hispanic (The term “Hispanic” is used in the state assessment reports, so it is presented here, consistent with available data .) and Native American students on state assessments in nearly every subject at every grade level. White students consistently graduate at higher percentages than students of color, while students of color are disciplined more frequently than White students. Similar issues persist among economically disadvantaged students, regardless of race, ethnicity and cultural background. The Ashland School District will work to eliminate such disparities for its students. These disparities are unacceptable and are directly at odds with our belief that all students have the potential to achieve.

Complex social and historical factors contribute to inequities within our society. The Ashland School District resolves to address educational disparity at every level of the organization through policy, procedure, and practice in order to eliminate persistent achievement gaps, inequitable treatment, and inequities within the district.

The Ashland School District Believes:

  1. Every student can learn and has the potential to achieve with adequate support at the highest levels when all staff work together to provide equitable access and opportunity for learning;

  2. The responsibility for eliminating educational disparities among students rests with adults, not children, and is shared broadly by all district staff, administrators, teachers, families, and communities;

  3. An inclusive and welcoming environment plays a critical role in supporting a child’s educational goals, which may differ from student to student;

  4. Everyone in the district will hold each student to high expectations and prepare all students for college or career, and responsible citizenship; and

  5. Maximizing the academic achievement and success of every child requires allocating resources equitably, not necessarily equally.

The Ashland School District Will:

  1. Affirm the identity of each student and acknowledge and honor differences to create a sense of belonging for each student;

  2. Provide students with equitable access to high-quality curriculum, programs, extracurricular activities, support services, teachers, administrators, and staff even when this means modifying current practices or differentiating resource allocation;

  3. Systematically utilize district-wide and individual school level data, disaggregated as appropriate by race; ethnicity; language; special education; sex; sexual orientation and gender identity when available; socioeconomic status; enrollment mobility; and disability status to better inform district decision-making and to make those decisions in a manner that is free of bias;

  4. Incorporate the voice, culture, and perspectives of students, staff, families, and communities that reflect student demographics in order to support and enhance student success;

  5. Identify and counteract biased practices that perpetuate achievement disparities and lead to disproportionate levels of student success;

  6. Actively recruit, hire, and retain staff who reflect student demographics;

  7. Support employees to engage in culturally-responsive practices, including the delivery of quality instruction and services;

  8. Be responsible and accountable for the success and achievement of all students;

  9. Ensure that the Ashland School District Strategic Plan supports the principle of equity through its core values, goals, and strategies; and

  10. Regularly report progress and outcomes of the district’s equity plan(s) to the Board of Education and the community.

Legal Reference(s):
ORS 174.100(7)
ORS 332.075
ORS 332.107
ORS 342.437 to 342.449

LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan

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Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Transgender/non-binary
Queer/Questioning
2 Two-Spirit
Intersex
Asexual
+ Recognizes that there are myriad ways to describe gender identities & sexual orientations

What is presented below is just the foreward for the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan, for the full document please follow this link.
https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/equity/Documents/LGBTQ2SIA+%20Student%20Success%20Plan.pdf

Foreword from LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan Advisory Group

Oregonians are committed to the success of all our youth. This Student Success Plan was written to address barriers to educational success for Oregonian students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, non-binary, transgender, gender queer, two-spirit, intersex, asexual (+). This student success plan establishes a framework for creating safe, inclusive and welcoming schools for LGBTQ2SIA+ students.

Members of the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Act Advisory Group met for several months with SeeChange LLC to form a framework to create safer and more affirming classrooms and schools for our LGBTQ2SIA+ students. Our work was informed by the lived experiences of LGBTQ2SIA+ students and families in Oregon as well as three decades of research on educational barriers for students who are LGBTQ2SIA+.

It is critical for Oregon educators to be informed of both resilience and excellence of these students as well as the challenges and barriers these students experience in our school system. We must not discount the tremendous inherent strength in each of these students. What we know is that despite the statistically inhospitable educational settings they experience, in school and in their communities, LGBTQ2SIA+ students persevere with little educational support and often find ways to connect with one another.

In establishing this plan, we want to highlight the necessity for an intersectional framework that addresses the multiple identities LGBTQ2SIA+ students occupy. Student experiences related to racial identity, tribal sovereignty, religious identity, social class, disability, and immigration status interact with their experiences associated with the LGBTQ2SIA+ identity. Supporting the multiple valuable identities of these youth as assets, embracing their lived experiences, and creating nurturing environments for these youth means we need to think deeply about how our previous work to support student success has set a new foundation for our state.

We set forth this plan mindful of the Oregon Department of Education’s request to establish strategies to increase inclusivity, increase student belonging, reduce bullying, address bias based harassment and campus assaults, and improve attendance. We know from what youth share about their experiences, and what research and data shows, that our state has an opportunity to support the strengths and resilience of LGBTQ2SIA+ students.

The following plan provides strategies and goals to work toward addressing educational and social-emotional needs of these students. The plan addresses 1.) the need for professional development among Oregon educators, 2.) equitable access to appropriate educational curriculum, facilities and activities 3.) necessary data collection through an annual climate survey and student advisory group to inform future decision making regarding this student population.

This plan is offered with the expectation that Oregon educators will lead as advocates for LGBTQ2SIA+ students now and adapt as these needs and challenges change. We offer these recommendations as a path to set us down a new road of creating safer and more welcoming school environments for LGBTQ2SIA+ students.

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Guidance for Families and Educators When Responding to Racial Incidents

Guidance for Families and Educators When Responding to Racial Incidents