Schools

Daily Buzz | District Shares Process for Creating Equity Role

Nicci Kadilak

Mar 13, 2024 — 4 min read

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District Shares Process for Creating Equity Role

The recent posting for a Lead Instructional Coach focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion based out of the high school was top of the agenda at School Committee last night. Dr. Lisa Chen, Assistant Superintendent, opened the discussion by explaining the thought process behind changing the job description and the scope of the work. She reiterated that the role is a central-office position and said the job description came out of a long process of work with outside consultant, Dr. Kris Taylor, who implored the district to focus on student achievement.

Dr. Chen also said the district referenced the original job description, which was created by a group consisting of administrators, teachers, community members, and students alongside equity experts at nearby districts, when creating this role and that it was too focused on the individual director and not collaborative enough. Both Dr. Chen and Dr. Conti both said the position was not listed as a director because all the rest of the district’s Directors evaluate staff, while this Instructional Coach would be providing professional development and collaboration but not serving as an evaluator.

Dr. Conti acknowledges the community has work to do in the area of equity and said the consultant was concerned that a director would be so busy responding to issues from the community that they wouldn’t be able to focus on the work. He went on to say that eventually he sees this as a team, and if there’s a director needed, one will be hired. Both district administrators emphasized multiple times that equity is the work of everybody and not a single person.

Members of the School Committee commended the work that has been done to create this role, with Ms. Monaco saying, “We all want the same thing., which is a great program that works.” Mr. Brooks asked how to ensure all schools were moving in the same direction rather than working in isolation (Dr. Conti referenced the data dashboard the district has been using, as well as Dr. Chen’s role as Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning). School Committee Chair, Ms. Simon, read and concurred with a statement from Ms. Massardo affirming her commitment to equity in our schools. Ms. Simon also expressed disappointment with the detail of the communication from the district on this point.

One community member emphasized the lack of involvement of the community members that crafted the original job description in creating the new one and decried the slow action to fill the DEI role, reminding the district and the Committee that there had already been a description in place. She also stated that if the district acknowledges the need for a team, then they need to hire a team.

Another community member suggested the district is putting teacher comfort above student needs and highlighted the persistent lack of an incident response protocol. And, the opportunity to involve the community in the hiring process was highlighted by another community member.

A final speaker suggested that kids hear too much about race and that the district should be focusing on things that bring us together rather than labels.

Later in the meeting, Dr. Chen spoke about the Diversification Grant initiative, sponsored by the state, through which the district is collaborating with others to investigate steps they can take to attract and retain a diverse staff body.

Some other points from School Committee:

There will be an Eclipse Event April 8 2:30-4:30 at 61 Center Street
Elementary Computer Science Night will be April 11 from 6:30-8:30 at BHS
A more refined list of capital requests was presented, along with a request for a 10% contingency fund, which would hopefully account for cost increases that occur between the time of a quote and the completion of a project and will be returned to the town’s general fund if unused.

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Today in Burlington

Municipal Meetings and Community Events

12:00 PM - EdD in Educational Leadership - Online Information Session (Bay Path University; Virtual, learn more)
12:00-6:00 PM - Cousins Maine Lobster is coming back to Burlington. Lobster roll, anyone? (Wayside Shopping Center)
4:00 PM - Council on Aging will discuss Board policies, technology grants, prom, director certification, and more. (61 Center Street and Virtual)
6:00 PM - MBTA Communities Zoning Info Session - come learn about the multi-family zoning law, zoning requirements and compliance benefits. What will Burlington’s future look like? (Grand View Farm)
6:30 PM - BHS Coffee Hour Concert (Burlington High School)
6:30 PM - Cooperative College Fair (Reading Memorial High School)
6:30 PM - Zoning Bylaw Review Committee - agenda will cover the continuation of the May zoning warrant articles, a discussion on a possible future zoning article for recreational marijuana, and more. (Virtual)
7:00 PM - Ways and Means - a full meeting agenda for tonight includes discussions and votes on the budget and capital warrant articles for a long list of departments, including veterans, disability access, council on aging, MIS, central administration and more. There will also be a discussion and vote on the debt for the upcoming large projects. (Town Hall and Virtual)