On Jan. 14, 2025, the North Penn School District Equity, Cultural Proficiency and Inclusion (ECI) Committee reviewed progress on five district goals that aim to expand culturally responsive instruction, reduce discipline disproportionality, recruit and retain diverse staff, and increase family and student engagement across the district.

The overview framed the work as long-running and structural: Dr. Pam Hart, director of curriculum and equity, told the committee the district has formalized equity goals since 2018 and recently merged its cultural-proficiency and inclusive-practices efforts to better address systems and structures.

The committee heard examples of how that systems focus has translated into programs and changes across schools. Goal 1 (professional development) has emphasized equity-focused data and behavior work for building teams and support staff, with staff sessions that pair short readings and classroom scenarios with school-level academic and behavioral data. Rachel Early and Jackie Giammarco, co-chairs for Goal 1, said building teams use multiple measures — student learning, perceptual, demographic and process data — and collect participant feedback via post-session Google forms to refine future sessions.

Goal 2 work is focused on student engagement, course selection and discipline. Committee presenters said the goal team met groups of high school students after reviewing attendance and course-cutting data; staff used student feedback to pilot mentoring programs that pair high-school students who have improved their attendance with middle-school students identified by data as at risk. Presenters also described efforts to adjust course-selection timelines so teachers have AP-predictability and related data on hand when making recommendations.

On AP and advanced-course access, a district instructional leader said AP predictability is one of several data points used to identify students who might benefit from higher-level courses; supports described included teacher mentors, counselor check-ins and “night zone” sessions where students can get help outside class. The committee asked for and were told they will receive disaggregated AP-enrollment data.

Goal 3 addressed recruitment and retention of diverse staff. Nick Taylor, co-chair for Goal 3, described recruitment at regional diversity job fairs, efforts to diversify interview panels, “grow your own” outreach to students interested in teaching, and the formation of staff affinity groups to strengthen retention and networking.

Goal 4 focuses on family engagement. Dave Yum, school climate coordinator and co-chair for Goal 4, described a recent Diversity World Café for parents and a new pilot Korean American culture club for fifth- and sixth-graders; the pilot filled past its 30-student cap within 24 hours of registration. The committee also cited an annual Black History Oratorical Competition and ongoing family-facing events and book discussions.

Goal 5 is the new systems-and-structures goal intended to overlay inclusive practice on discipline, MTSS, multilingual-learner supports and gifted programming. Presenters said subgroups are aligning professional development and evidence-based inclusive practices, and subgroup C is contributing to a district trauma‑informed action plan.

Presenters offered one concrete example of student-driven change: Dr. Hart recounted a listening session with members of the Muslim Student Association that led the district’s School Nutrition Services to alter operations. "We now have an entire vegetarian line at the high school with different sauces and foods, and the school nutrition service is actually working with a chef to make sure that the food is representative of the students at the high school," Dr. Hart said, adding that the department translated a family food-survey and consulted student groups on menu choices.

Student voice was included in the meeting. Haley, the student representative, said blackout dates for assessments have generally helped students but flagged that students sometimes do not understand whether a test is a checkpoint or a cumulative assessment, and that clarity on grading categories remains an issue for some.

During public comment, Jason Lenny of Lansdale asked for objective evidence that the district’s equity practices produce measurable student outcomes. His remarks focused on whether the committee has outcome data beyond demographics and participant satisfaction surveys.

Committee leaders acknowledged the request for outcome data and said they are using a mix of qualitative and quantitative measures — building-level discipline and attendance data, course-enrollment trends, survey results and feedback gathered during student and parent sessions — to inform the work. Presenters committed to sharing specific disaggregated metrics, such as AP-enrollment demographic breakdowns, with the committee.

Why it matters: North Penn serves about 13,000 students; the committee’s decisions on professional development, disciplinary procedures, recruitment and family engagement shape classroom practices and district policy that affect students’ daily experience. Several proposals discussed — expanded mentoring, adjusted course-selection timing and targeted family engagement — are intended to change who participates in advanced coursework and how student needs are identified and supported.

The committee plans follow-up reporting to the ECI group and board on data requested during the meeting, including AP-enrollment demographics and building-level discipline trends.