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District 128 reports gains in AP enrollment for underrepresented students; identifies retention gaps in Black staff
Summary
Director of equity and inclusion Larry Varn reported recruitment gains in diverse applicant pools, increased AP enrollment for Hispanic students and other equity initiatives; the district flagged ongoing challenges retaining Black staff and introduced a new student professional-learning series.
Larry Varn, director of equity and inclusion, and Charlotte Imes presented an annual update on District 128's equity and inclusion policy (Policy 7-12) at the Oct. 14 meeting, describing efforts on four commitments: diverse staffing, professional learning, student success and student voice.
On staffing, Varn said the district's targeted recruitment efforts (social-media outreach and professional-network recruitment) maintained or increased the diversity of the applicant pool in 2025. When the district included both certified and educational-support-professional (ESP) hires in this year's analysis, Varn said 40% of new ESP hires identified as people of color while 11% of certified new hires did so.
Varn told the board the district has had difficulty hiring and retaining Black or African American staff and flagged retention as an area for continued work.
Professional learning: Varn described a new student-facing series called "Speak Up," designed to teach students how to respond when they witness discrimination. He said the series was launched after Panorama survey responses indicated many students reported witnessing discrimination but fewer reported knowing how to respond.
Student success: the district reported steady growth in AP enrollment overall and increases for underrepresented students. Varn showed proportionality tracking (AP representation compared with overall enrollment) and said Hispanic student AP enrollment rose, reaching roughly 9% of AP enrollment in the most recent reporting year. He added that AP exam pass-rate metrics did not decline with the district's increased underrepresented enrollment.
Board members asked about supports for English learners and students with IEPs, whose AP pass rates lagged district averages; Varn and staff said the district is building classroom strategies and out-of-class interventions to improve readiness and persistence in higher-level courses.
Ending: The presenters said the district will continue to disaggregate results and follow up with targeted recruitment and retention actions as well as curricular and intervention work to improve equitable participation and outcomes.
