Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Belonging Equity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Students and staff describe district diversity councils, cite Panorama data and short-term belonging goals
Summary
Students, counselors and equity leaders presented the district—s student belonging work, describing diversity councils, school events and Panorama survey goals; elementary results rank high, secondary scores lag and leaders outlined actions to improve belonging at the secondary level.
North Kansas City Schools staff and students presented the district—s work on student belonging at the Jan. 14 board meeting, describing school-level diversity councils, cross-school activities and the metrics the district uses to track progress.
District leaders told the board they measure belonging with a Panorama survey administered in fall and spring. Staff said the district has a short-term goal of increasing favorable responses on the survey—s overall-belonging question by two percentage points year-over-year, and a long-term aim to place elementary scores above the 60th percentile and secondary scores above the 50th percentile among Panorama users. Presenters reported that elementary scores currently sit at about the 90th percentile while secondary scores were lower (presenters cited a fall result near the 20th percentile) and are a focus for improvement.
Students from North Kansas City High School, Eastgate Sixth Grade Center and Shoto (elementary feeder) described activities run by diversity councils, including multicultural festivals and assemblies, collaborations with student unions, peer-to-peer outreach, daily community circles and student-led service projects. Student presenters credited funding sources at the school and district level for helping cover event costs and noted the district uses a small-grant process (referred to in the presentation as a district grant) and Title IV funds to support diversity-council work.
Teachers and counselors said diversity councils operate at every school (K—12) and the district convenes a quarterly district-level council with students in grades 6—. District staff identified training partners used at some schools (presentation referenced a group abbreviated as POAC) and said the district is developing an implementation scale to standardize expectations across schools.
Board member questions and student responses focused on concrete actions schools can take to increase belonging. Students and staff emphasized that many recommended practices do not require additional spending: simple actions such as greeting students, creating time for real conversations, and structuring opportunities for students to share culture and identity were repeatedly cited. Several student presenters described using "Belonging Bucks" or other small funding streams to pay for food or decorations for events to make them more inclusive.
Provenance: the presentation began with district staff framing belonging goals and continued with three student panels representing an elementary school, a middle school and a high school.
