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Equity director reports first-year progress: action teams, affinity groups and mandatory training
Summary
Gina Weekley, the district—s director of equity, inclusion and belonging, told the school board the office reorganized its committee structure into action teams, launched building-level Equity Advocates and began mandatory staff training; early survey data and affinity-group participation show positive trends but staff said work remains.
Gina Weekley, director of equity, inclusion and belonging for the Waterloo Community School District, told the school board the district—s equity office completed a busy first year that included restructuring the district equity committee into proactive action teams and standing up building-level advocates.
Weekley said the revamped equity committee now has about 49 members and regular attendance of roughly 25 people. She described three early accomplishments: a district diversity calendar, the launch of mandatory equity training co-developed with human resources, and the formation of employee affinity groups, two of which the presenter described as "going really strong," including a mental-health affinity group.
Why it matters: Weekley linked the work to staff retention and student outcomes, citing research that a stronger sense of belonging improves workplace performance and, by extension, classroom results. She said district survey results show room for improvement: an earlier survey reported that about 66% of staff felt a sense of belonging and 54% felt their differences were valued; Weekley said a 2024 follow-up with roughly 300 responses shows an early positive trend but did not provide full districtwide results.
Board members asked about how Equity Advocates will be trained and whether the program has encountered public pushback. Weekley said every building will have an advocate and that the advocates will complete a multi-month workbook on culturally responsive teaching before beginning building-level work. Responding to concerns about national criticism of equity training, she told the board the district has encountered some pushback rooted in misunderstanding and said the approach is framed as professional learning rather than personal attack.
Weekley also described curricular and community initiatives the office helped coordinate this year, including student-led recorded trainings on gender-identity topics and a planned eighth-grade unit in which community members who experienced local school desegregation will tell their stories in person.
No board action was required; the item was presented for information only.
