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DEI advisory committee outlines learning agenda, book groups and neurodiversity week plans
Summary
The Groton‑Dunstable DEI advisory reported recurring meetings focused on shared learning, three working groups (community, district, subcommittees), planned book groups, and a neurodiversity awareness week in March.
The Groton‑Dunstable DEI advisory to the school committee described ongoing work at the Feb. 12 meeting, including a structured ‘learn together’ component, three subcommittees that focus on community outreach, district practices, and support for board subcommittees, and several short‑term projects.
Kristen, the district liaison to the DEI advisory, said meetings run from 7 to 9 p.m., beginning with about 45 minutes of shared learning and then moving into small groups for planning. She told the school committee, “We’ve made a commitment in the first 45 minutes or so of our meeting to learn together about different topics.”
Planned activities and recent work - Book groups (March): members will read titles including This Book Is Anti‑Racist, A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns, and Design for Belonging and use those texts in the learn‑together portion of the meetings. - Neurodiversity awareness week (week of March 17): the district group will coordinate read‑alouds and teacher resources; the World of Difference program will visit elementary schools. - Community working group: publicizes local events (MLK events, Women’s History Month) and seeks ways to engage families across Groton and Dunstable. - Subcommittee work: the advisory’s subcommittee focused on curriculum review processes that include checks for curriculum bias and exploring how to include student voice in curriculum pilots.
Committee questions and next steps Members asked how the advisory’s work connects to classroom practice and how the district will share progress with the public. Kristen said the advisory’s work gives the district common vocabulary and tangible, actionable steps and agreed to bring forward ideas for how to explain to the public “why this matters” and how the work supports belonging and student learning.
The advisory also discussed how the district might better publicize DEI‑related classroom activities and events on the district website and noted ongoing efforts to collect student voice for pilot curriculum reviews.
