North Kingstown DEI subcommittee outlines March 28 PD plan, pivots on consultant RFP and readies equity-vision rollout

The North Kingstown DEI Advisory Subcommittee met Dec. 18 and discussed plans for a districtwide professional development day on March 28, 2025, steps after a consultant request-for-proposal drew bids above the posted budget, and next steps to publicize the district’s recently adopted equity vision statement.

District staff told the committee they plan to open the March PD with a whole-group session to “level everybody” and then offer two breakout learning sessions staff can choose based on interest. "We have a district wide professional development day coming up on March 28th," said Rob Mezzanati, assistant superintendent. "Our thought right now is that we would start with a whole group for a limited amount of time... and then from there, they would move off into breakout sessions."

Why it matters: committee members said they want the March day to be both coherent with previous DEI work and practical — enabling teachers to leave with strategies they can apply the next school day. "The best professional learning is when you can go to work tomorrow and apply something that you learned," Mezzanati said. The administration and student representatives discussed offering an umbrella topic — culturally responsive practice — with opt-in sessions on subtopics such as microaggressions, neurodivergence, setting high expectations, and community-linked, project-based learning.

RFP, Title II funding and next steps

The administration reported the district posted a request for proposals to secure an outside DEI consultant but received proposals that exceeded the posted budget. "The bids we got were... well above the asking, budgeted amount that we had posted," Mezzanati said. Committee members were told the Title II portion of the district’s consolidated resource plan is the funding source for the work; Title II money must be spent within the federal program’s timeline (the committee noted typical fiscal-year deadlines). The administration said it is considering repurposing the existing grant allocation to supplement the district’s newly filled equity-coordinator position and to buy staff time, resources, or outside expertise rather than hiring a large outside consulting engagement.

"We’re thinking... to maybe repurpose it a little bit away from an outside consultant group and to use it to assist Sally with additional personnel, additional expertise, but also maybe to provide our teachers with some resources and time to complete this really important work," Mezzanati said. Sally Davidson, the district’s equity, belonging and community engagement coordinator, urged that the district consider compensating internal content experts for extra work and noted the practical constraints of giving teachers time to learn during the school day.

Student voice, survey work and reporting channels

Student representatives told the committee they are drafting solution-focused survey questions for peers to help shape student-facing PD sessions. "We are making them solution based," a student representative said. Committee members emphasized that the goal is to learn what students want to learn and how they prefer to receive it (small groups, videos, assemblies, or app-based modules), and also to assess what students already know about reporting tools. Committee members noted North Kingstown already uses an anonymous "Say Something" reporting system for safety and a separate bullying form; the group discussed making reporting options more visible and ensuring students and staff know how to access them.

Equity audit recommendations and equity-vision rollout

The committee reviewed a multi-tab spreadsheet of equity-audit recommendations compiled from an external audit done previously and from committee work since 2022. Members noted the district adopted an equity vision statement earlier and discussed creating a communications plan and a public progress rubric so the statement does not become merely performative. Suggestions included sharing the statement verbally in schools, posting it in buildings, including it in morning announcements or student-produced video announcements, and publishing it across website, email, newsletter and social media channels. "We need to create an equity communication plan... to develop the messages that we want to get out, both internally and externally," a committee member said.

Formal actions

The committee approved the November 20 meeting minutes and unanimously voted to appoint Jennifer (Jen) Lima as chair of the DEI advisory subcommittee (Lima was absent at the Dec. 18 meeting). The chair called the vote and members answered "aye." The meeting adjourned at approximately 6:57 p.m.

What’s next

Administration said it will continue planning the March PD, compile a short list of potential PD vendors and local resources for committee review, and work with student representatives to finalize the student survey. The committee agreed to collect rollout ideas for the equity vision statement in a shared document and to reconvene Jan. 22, 2025.

Quotes attributed in meeting: "We have a district wide professional development day coming up on March 28th," Rob Mezzanati, assistant superintendent; "We picked, an umbrella kind of topic, which is culturally responsive practice," Sally Davidson, equity, belonging and community engagement coordinator; "We received 4 bids," Mezzanati (on the RFP responses); "We are making them solution based," a student union representative (student comment).