Northshore School District reviews progress on racial and educational justice; students highlight conference and classroom work

Superintendent Irish opened a study session by asking district staff to report on Superintendent Parameter 9, the district's racial and educational justice policy, and said he was "very impressed with the work" done across the system.

Dr. Thomas and members of the district's racial and educational justice team framed the update around three goals: building and sustaining leader and staff capacity; building and sustaining structures of support at the school level; and building and sustaining cohesion across schools. "We structured this slide deck for you and the presentation for you into 3 themes," Dr. Thomas said, outlining an approach that pairs training with tools and measures.

Rena Harb, the district's organizational change and student-advancement specialist, opened the substantive presentation with a land and people's acknowledgment, noting the district meets on "unceded Coast Salish lands that have been colonized, occupied, and renamed to Bothell, Kenmore, Redmond, and Woodinville." She described materials the district is creating to make acknowledgments age-appropriate and actionable for students.

Student leaders from the Student Justice Collective described how the program operates. JD said the…