What is equity? To us, equity is about providing each and every student with the right conditions, resources and opportunities to support their achievement and well-being.
In 2016, we launched the Integrated Equity Framework – a strategic and coordinated approach to help ensure that all students have equal access, opportunity and expectations.
This Framework has started important conversations that have helped us begin to create a culture of fairness, respect and trust that values equity and inclusiveness, in every school and workplace.
While we have always been committed to equity through our innovative programs, inclusive curriculum, professional learning and unique strategies, this Framework has enabled us to address equity gaps in a bold, honest and transformative manner.
To be successful, every decision we make as a system must align with our guiding principles of equity:
- Supporting each and every student through an equitable and inclusive learning culture.
- Identifying, confronting and eliminating barriers.
- Aligning resources where needed.
- Sharing leadership and building staff capacity.
- Empowering staff, students and community members to share their voice.
Over the Plan’s three-year time frame, these actions will lead to measurable improvement by:
- setting a consistent policy direction;
- aligning resources with key system priorities; and
- providing the necessary tools, resources and support to create equitable, inclusive learning cultures in every school and classroom.
Year One concrete actions have included:
- Conducting extensive consultation on the Board’s revised Equity policy, which will guide all aspects of our work (to be presented to Board in the fall).
- Connecting with hundreds of community members through the Enhancing Equity Task Force, to discuss the barriers of social and economic inequity and how to overcome these.
- Engaging hundreds of students to share with us their ideas for improving our secondary programs.
- Providing professional learning to Principals and school teams to support effective implementation of the Home School Program (HSP).
- Working with the Special Education Advisory Committee on ways to ensure that students, as required, are identified, placed and supported appropriately.
- Supporting school leaders to develop local improvement plans based on data-driven conversations within their communities, introducing Inclusive Design, which provides a comprehensive understanding of what Equity-focused school leadership can encompass.
- Transforming practices to ensure more equitable and inclusive hiring.
- Creating spaces, through the Leadership Capacity Plan, where all staff, whatever their role, title or position, can feel safe exploring and reflecting on their own individual biases and learning needs.
- Delivering anti-oppression/anti-racism training for Trustees and Senior Team, with a commitment to provide it to all Board staff.
- Consulting with students about secondary programs, equitable access and opportunities, and how to support specific student communities.
- Improving service delivery and accessibility in schools and workplaces.
Centering all our work on anti-oppression practices, we are now better equipped to critically examine our biases and structures. And, as a result, we are better able to confront the systemic impact of historic exclusion, displacement and marginalization, including anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, sexism, classism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia and Islamophobia.