District equity council reports growth in family‑engagement tracking and new attendance and pathways work

The District & Community Advisory Council on Equity presented multi‑committee updates to the board, describing improved data systems for family engagement, new emphasis on attendance as an early‑warning lever, expanded career ladders for district employees, and efforts to increase equity in concurrent‑enrollment participation.

Parent and family engagement: Monica Gill, parent and family engagement supervisor, said the district moved family‑engagement tracking into Infinite Campus this year and developed a districtwide data tracking sheet. The council reported more than 40,732 recorded individual family interactions for the school year — a cumulative count that can include multiple interactions for the same family. Gill said the tracking covers family‑engagement nights as well as one‑on‑one support and community referrals for housing, food insecurity and other basic needs provided through the district’s student resource centers. The council said it will focus next year on leveraging existing family engagement to reach families who typically do not attend events.

Student discipline and attendance pivot: Nicole Lovell, who co‑chairs the student discipline subcommittee, said the group began the year analyzing disciplinary referral categories and demographic discrepancies with external research partners. While broad discrepancies were not found in some disciplinary classifications, the committee said its work led to a pivot toward attendance as a primary area for intervention. The council described plans to compile regular and chronic absenteeism data, cross‑tab it with educator‑handbook actions and other early‑warning indicators, and develop action plans that may include targeted professional development, Check & Connect interventions, and collaboration with partner districts and state cohorts to identify effective interventions. Staff highlighted the long‑term link between attendance and student outcomes and said better attendance data will inform targeted actions.

Teacher and principal diversity / employee career ladders: The committee said it is expanding from teacher‑and‑principal pipelines into career ladders for education support professionals (IT, maintenance, custodial, administrative assistants). The district reported partnerships (OTEC discounted certification opportunities) and a pilot “career fair” for seniors in May that allowed students to explore non‑teaching career paths within the district and gave principals an opportunity to conduct short “get to know you” interviews with students. The council said these efforts aim to create clearer pathways for district employees to advance into higher‑skill, higher‑pay positions.

Pathways and opportunities / concurrent enrollment: The subcommittee reported progress closing a participation gap in concurrent enrollment for Hispanic students. Committee presenters said they increased multilingual communication, provided counselors and teacher training to assist with applications, and used district funds to pay student registration fees for eligible students in order to remove a barrier. Staff said those measures produced a notable increase in Hispanic student sign‑ups for Weber State concurrent‑enrollment credit and that students in concurrent enrollment generally have high pass rates and earn college credit. The committee said its next steps include developing a mentorship program with Weber State to help seniors navigate summer tasks and reduce attrition between high‑school graduation and college matriculation.

The board thanked the council for the work; trustees praised the transparency and community partnerships and asked for continuation of data reporting and outreach.