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Educational equity update: district outlines eight focus areas and course, pilot proposals
Summary
District equity lead presented eight equity focus areas — policy audits, LIEP development, restorative practices, bilingual staffing increases and professional learning — and administrators proposed new curriculum guides and pilots including I-Ready K–5 math, Twig Science for middle school and a middle-school reading intervention (SIPs).
The board received a multi-part educational equity update and a set of curriculum proposals meant to advance equitable access for English learners and other student groups.
Doctor Champagne Lee summarized the equity action plan’s eight focus areas: policy and procedure review using the MAEC audit tool, a language-instruction educational plan (LIEP) for English learners, bullying prevention and restorative practices, curriculum pathways (including revising a Black History course toward honors-level credit), workforce diversity (two added bilingual ESL specialists), community partnerships and a climate task force, data analysis and ELD program review, professional development tied to Pennsylvania’s culturally relevant educator competencies, and attention to equitable allocation of financial resources.
On curriculum, presenters asked the board to approve several guides and to pilot tools next year. Proposed new courses include a high-school Business Applications course with Microsoft certification, an Intro to Engineering project-based course, and a revised Statistics course; administrators proposed an I-Ready K–5 math pilot (two trimesters, professional-development costs funded through Title II) and a Twig Science Next Gen middle-school pilot (one module pilot with professional development). For middle-school literacy, the district recommended purchasing SIPs (Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Sight Words) for a small subset of secondary students with foundational decoding needs.
Champagne Lee said the LIEP and ELD curriculum-writing work is underway and that the district has increased ESL staffing to five specialists across seven schools. "This year, we were fortunate to add 2 additional ESL specialists to the team. Both of those specialists are bilingual," Champagne Lee said, noting the additions aim to better serve newcomer and Spanish-speaking students.
Board members probed implementation details: how many students would use SIPs, how intervention versus enrichment time will be scheduled under a new middle-school period, pilot timelines (pilots would start at the beginning of the next school year), and estimated pilot costs. Administrators said SIPs targets a small population and that more precise participation numbers will be provided to the board before final purchases.
If approved at consent or in subsequent action, pilots would run early in the next school year and the administration will report outcomes at the end of pilot periods.
