Point of View Emily White, Director of Communications and Marketing, Sunnyvale ISD shares her views

CREATING A DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PLAN IN A SMALL SCHOOL DISTRICT

by Emily White Director of Communications and Marketing Sunnyvale ISD

In early June, a little over a week after the murder of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers, I received a text from a former student — a brilliant, talented and extremely intelligent woman I deeply admire and respect. This alumna, who has worked internationally for a human rights organization in the fight against human trafficking, texted me of her pain and sadness.

“I just read through [fellow alumnus’] Facebook post. My heart is heavy,” she wrote.

Young alumni in our community had taken to social media to express their disappointment — and disenfranchisement — as persons of color during their time in our high school.

Her words unraveled a web of emotions within me — sadness, embarrassment, shame, guilt, anger — all at the idea that this person could have been hurt by me or by those with whom I work. We love our kids — what could we have possibly done to hurt them? However, the stark truth was that my feelings were nothing compared to those that she – and young people across the nation – have felt for ages in their long pursuit of equality.

This summer was tough. While families were grappling with a lingering pandemic and divisive political issues, cities across the nation erupted into racial unrest unlike anything we have seen since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Students voiced their frustrations in communities across the nation. My district was no exception. An alumni Facebook group was created in which teachers and administrators were disparaged. A student-led protest was held.

How were we, as school administrators, to handle this situation? What could our national climate teach us? How could we authentically create an open and healthy dialogue in our schools and community about race relations and inclusion? My superintendent — also a leader in TASA — led our team through a community-wide effort that led to growth and learning for everyone.

In Sunnyvale ISD, we felt that because the school district is the center of the community and the heart of

learning for our children, the district needed to be a leader in the discussion on race. It is our responsibility to advocate for every student and his or her race, culture or background. Although diversity and inclusion issues were already embedded in our district initiatives, we felt they needed further discussion. To ensure that every student is fairly represented, we created a Diversity and Inclusion Team. The team was charged with developing a list of recommendations for our Board of Trustees. As I write this article, the Board is set to meet about the recommendations on Nov. 16.*

Here are a few of the steps we’ve completed in or journey toward creating our Diversity and Inclusion Plan:

1. Everyone Was Invited to Be Involved

The goal of this team was diversity and inclusion. By the very nature of its goals, we felt it was crucial that everyone feel welcome and valuable as a participant of this team. Team members were encouraged to participate at the level they felt comfortable with – meaning that they could help with an action team, join us for meetings or simply receive team updates.

2. Team Goals Were Crowd Sourced

Using a platform that specifically eliminates bias (think: the opposite of the echo chamber of Facebook), we asked this question in an online exchange: “What are your thoughts and questions about what we can do to ensure we are improving our diversity and inclusion efforts as a district?”

Participants answered thoughtfully, frankly — without holding back! The input our team received was invaluable. After the exchange, participants ranked the comments given and themes were identified. Three main themes emerged — policy, climate and student learning. Each of these became the topics of our three Action Teams. The Action Teams began meeting and developed findings and recommendations for their related theme.

3. Experts Were Consulted

Dr. Brandie Green, Ph.D., a professor and expert in issues of vulnerable populations and diversity issues at the University of Texas at Arlington, led our faculty in a special back-to-school training. She provided a thorough professional development opportunity and remains a trusted adviser for our staff.

4. Promises Are Being Kept

The Diversity and Inclusion Plan, once approved, will become an addendum to our Strategic Plan. Each goal of the plan will have the same measure of accountability as the initial goals of the Strategic Plan, ensuring oversight for the team’s goals.

What’s Next?

After our plan is approved, our next step will be to implement the plan and then evaluate (following the RPIE public relations cycle — Research, Plan, Implement, and Evaluate). The most critical element will be for our team to maintain transparency throughout the process and to inform our community of progress, improvements and yes, even any missteps along the way. Correcting those mistakes is how we will grow. We owe this to all our students: past, present, and future.

*UPDATE: BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVE SISD DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PLAN

Our presentation to the Board of Trustees was a success. A member of each of the action teams presented their draft of the Diversity and Inclusion Plan and board members asked thorough questions following each team’s presentation. Our Trustees, themselves a diverse group, questioned every aspect of the presentation, ultimately voting unanimously to accept the plan.

Beginning in Jan., the Diversity and Inclusion Plan will be implemented district-wide as an addendum to our SISD Strategic Plan. A few recommendations our community can expect: a “dashboard-style” page on the Sunnyvale ISD website that will constantly be updated to document our progress toward diversity and inclusion; Superintendent William’s SISD “Anti-Discrimination Toolkit” which will be used by all SISD employees as a tool for intervention and the “No Place for Hate”student-led mandatory climate program. There are several other recommendations that will also be implemented and we look forward to continuing this process.