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District updates board on APAC recommendations: training, representation, smudging policy and staffing
Summary
District equity staff reported Feb. 13 on steps taken to implement American Indian Parent Advisory Committee recommendations, including professional development, curricular updates, revised land‑acknowledgement posters and a smudging policy update.
Director of Educational Equity Isis Buchanan and Indigenous Cultural Liaison Madison McKinney delivered an update Feb. 13 on the district’s progress implementing recommendations from the American Indian Parent Advisory Committee (APAC).
Buchanan reviewed work on seven APAC recommendations. Highlights included: district equity plan alignment; professional development for library/media specialists on Indigenous instructional resources; adding Indigenous content to curriculum and media centers (including distribution of youth copies of Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask); pilot participation in the DreamCatcher program at three schools to improve attendance interventions with cultural context; review and revision of Indigenous People’s Day lessons; and staff participation in regional Indigenous culture conferences. Buchanan also said staff verified Indigenous‑authored materials in digital tools such as PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next.
On representation (APAC Recommendation 2) the district maintains land‑acknowledgement posters and APAC members have created a revised version that includes imagery from multiple tribal nations; those posters will be distributed across district sites. On smudging (Recommendation 5) Buchanan said the district revised Policy 4‑19 to incorporate relevant legislative language to allow smudging consistent with state law and legislative guidance. Buchanan reported staff changes: a specialist role supporting American Indian cultural work is vacant after staff transitions; the district’s Indigenous cultural liaison role remains filled and staff are recruiting to refill the specialist position.
Board members thanked staff and asked follow‑up questions about how professional development is tailored by role and site. Buchanan said PD is differentiated (for early‑childhood staff, administrators, teachers, board members and others) and that the district aims to make training relevant to each audience. The board asked for a fuller presentation from APAC at a later meeting with a vote of concurrence from APAC planned for later in the month.
