Environmental Charter Schools
Minutes
Equity and Diversity Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday June 6, 2019 at 4:30 PM
Location
ECHS Auxiliary Office, 2625 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Suite 100, Redondo Beach, CA 90278
ECMS-I Members:
Equity & Diversity Taskforce Charter
The Equity & Diversity Taskforce promotes and supports ECS’s work to develop a school culture that fosters equity, inclusion and an appreciation of the diversity within our community.
Recent events in our nation have drawn attention to structures and processes that have historically disadvantaged people of color and persist today. We acknowledge that ECS, as an educational institution, is situated within a historical context and is not immune to the biases and structural inequities that have disenfranchised the communities we serve. As a public education leader in Los Angeles, we have a powerful responsibility to respond proactively and to embrace opportunities to change the structures and processes within our institution that undermine our efforts to educate and empower ECS students.
We need to critically examine our practices with an eye to continual growth, modeling the lifelong learning and critical thinking that will empower our students to be quality stewards of their communities and our world.
History of this Work
The Taskforce will build upon the work already begun at our three campuses, including Arlene Ford’s Great Minds Inquiry at ECHS in 2011-2014, the ongoing efforts of the ECHS Equity & Pedagogy Coalition and collaborative work of ECMS with Tyrone Howard in 2015-16.
Call to Action
The Equity & Diversity Taskforce will examine data on topics such as student achievement, school discipline, school climate and enrollment trends/retention; address the roots of bias; share insights and suggest possible resources or actions to ECS leadership. The Taskforce membership will include parent, student, teacher, staff, administration and Board representation. Community members may also serve on the Taskforce.
The goals of the Committee include:
THE ORDER OF BUSINESS MAY BE CHANGED WITHOUT NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that the order of consideration of matters on this agenda may be changed without prior notice.
PUBLIC SPEAKERS AT STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Notice is hereby given that consistent with the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act, special presentations not mentioned in the agenda may be made at this meeting. However, any such presentation will be for information only. The public should be aware that the Committee is unable by law to deliberate or take action on items raised during the Presentations from the Floor section.
Environmental Charter Schools recognizes that it benefits greatly from public input and perspective. Individuals are invited to address the Committee on any topic or subject matter that falls within the Committee's purview. Speakers may sign up in person immediately prior to the beginning of the Committee meeting by speaking with the Committee Chair.
Should a member of the public wish to speak on matters not listed on the agenda, they may speak during the Presentations from the Floor section of the agenda. Speakers will be given a maximum of three (3) minutes each to address the Committee (non-English speakers utilizing translators will be given a maximum of six (6) minutes each). Please note that the Committee allows a maximum of 10 minutes to each subject as determined by the Committee Chair.
Should a member of the public wish to speak on matters listed on the agenda, they may speak during the Presentations from the Floor section of the agenda. Speakers will be given a maximum of five (5) minutes each to address the Committee (non-English speakers utilizing translators will be given a maximum of ten (10) minutes each).
The public should be aware that the Committee is unable by law to deliberate or take action on items raised during the Presentations from the Floor section.
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION WILL BE PROVIDED FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY
Pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, any individual with a disability who requires reasonable accommodation to attend or participate in this meeting of the Governing Board may request assistance by contacting ECS at (310) 214-3408, option 5.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information concerning this agenda or for materials relating to this meeting, please contact ECS at (310) 214-3408, option 5.
- Tashanda Giles Jones
- Danny Cristales
- Dr. Qiana O'Leary
- Sabrina Johnson
- KC Villoria
- Sara Diaz
- Ernie Levroney
- Jenina Ramirez
- Danielle Kelsick (chair)
- Alison Diaz
Equity & Diversity Taskforce Charter
The Equity & Diversity Taskforce promotes and supports ECS’s work to develop a school culture that fosters equity, inclusion and an appreciation of the diversity within our community.
Recent events in our nation have drawn attention to structures and processes that have historically disadvantaged people of color and persist today. We acknowledge that ECS, as an educational institution, is situated within a historical context and is not immune to the biases and structural inequities that have disenfranchised the communities we serve. As a public education leader in Los Angeles, we have a powerful responsibility to respond proactively and to embrace opportunities to change the structures and processes within our institution that undermine our efforts to educate and empower ECS students.
We need to critically examine our practices with an eye to continual growth, modeling the lifelong learning and critical thinking that will empower our students to be quality stewards of their communities and our world.
History of this Work
The Taskforce will build upon the work already begun at our three campuses, including Arlene Ford’s Great Minds Inquiry at ECHS in 2011-2014, the ongoing efforts of the ECHS Equity & Pedagogy Coalition and collaborative work of ECMS with Tyrone Howard in 2015-16.
Call to Action
The Equity & Diversity Taskforce will examine data on topics such as student achievement, school discipline, school climate and enrollment trends/retention; address the roots of bias; share insights and suggest possible resources or actions to ECS leadership. The Taskforce membership will include parent, student, teacher, staff, administration and Board representation. Community members may also serve on the Taskforce.
The goals of the Committee include:
- Provide a fresh perspective on ECS data sets, considering where data suggest there may be bias or structures/processes that are unfair.
- Support ECS leadership in identifying resources to help develop the ECS community’s capacity to be inclusive and recognize and mitigate bias.
- Develop metrics or benchmarks to help measure effectiveness of equity initiatives.
THE ORDER OF BUSINESS MAY BE CHANGED WITHOUT NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that the order of consideration of matters on this agenda may be changed without prior notice.
PUBLIC SPEAKERS AT STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Notice is hereby given that consistent with the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act, special presentations not mentioned in the agenda may be made at this meeting. However, any such presentation will be for information only. The public should be aware that the Committee is unable by law to deliberate or take action on items raised during the Presentations from the Floor section.
Environmental Charter Schools recognizes that it benefits greatly from public input and perspective. Individuals are invited to address the Committee on any topic or subject matter that falls within the Committee's purview. Speakers may sign up in person immediately prior to the beginning of the Committee meeting by speaking with the Committee Chair.
Should a member of the public wish to speak on matters not listed on the agenda, they may speak during the Presentations from the Floor section of the agenda. Speakers will be given a maximum of three (3) minutes each to address the Committee (non-English speakers utilizing translators will be given a maximum of six (6) minutes each). Please note that the Committee allows a maximum of 10 minutes to each subject as determined by the Committee Chair.
Should a member of the public wish to speak on matters listed on the agenda, they may speak during the Presentations from the Floor section of the agenda. Speakers will be given a maximum of five (5) minutes each to address the Committee (non-English speakers utilizing translators will be given a maximum of ten (10) minutes each).
The public should be aware that the Committee is unable by law to deliberate or take action on items raised during the Presentations from the Floor section.
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION WILL BE PROVIDED FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY
Pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, any individual with a disability who requires reasonable accommodation to attend or participate in this meeting of the Governing Board may request assistance by contacting ECS at (310) 214-3408, option 5.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information concerning this agenda or for materials relating to this meeting, please contact ECS at (310) 214-3408, option 5.
Committee Members Present
Alison Diaz, Danielle Kelsick, Danny Cristales, Jenina Ramirez, KC Fabiero, Qiana O'Leary, Sabrina Johnson, Sara Diaz, Tashanda Giles Jones
Committee Members Absent
Ernie Levroney
Guests Present
Farnaz Golshani-Flechner, Jeremiah David, Julie Vo, Kami Cotler, Robert Maxwell, Sarah Jamieson, Tarviya Royal
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
Danielle Kelsick called a meeting of the Equity and Diversity Committee of Environmental Charter Schools to order on Thursday Jun 6, 2019 at 4:30 PM.
C.
Approve Agenda
Alison Diaz made a motion to approve the agenda.
Qiana O'Leary seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Danny Cristales |
Aye
|
| Jenina Ramirez |
Aye
|
| Sabrina Johnson |
Aye
|
| Qiana O'Leary |
Aye
|
| Tashanda Giles Jones |
Aye
|
| Ernie Levroney |
Absent
|
| Danielle Kelsick |
Aye
|
| KC Fabiero |
Aye
|
| Sara Diaz |
Aye
|
| Alison Diaz |
Aye
|
D.
Approve minutes from 4/11/2019 Equity and Diversity Committee Meeting
KC Fabiero made a motion to approve minutes from the Equity and Diversity Committee Meeting on 04-11-19 Equity and Diversity Committee Meeting on 04-11-19.
Danny Cristales seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Danny Cristales |
Aye
|
| KC Fabiero |
Aye
|
| Sara Diaz |
Aye
|
| Qiana O'Leary |
Aye
|
| Tashanda Giles Jones |
Aye
|
| Jenina Ramirez |
Aye
|
| Alison Diaz |
Aye
|
| Ernie Levroney |
Absent
|
| Danielle Kelsick |
Aye
|
| Sabrina Johnson |
Aye
|
II. Presentations from the Floor
A.
Presentation from the Floor on Non Agenda Items
None.
B.
Presentations from the Floor on Agenda Items
None.
III. Discussion Items / Updates
A.
Opener Activity
B.
Site Taskforce Presentations
ECMS-I's Danny Cristales presented:
Parent involvement is crucial and wanted to help them feel comfortable with assisting their child in math. The EDC calendar was then shown. Shout out to ECMS-G for providing resources. Planned for a month for Math Night and promoted the event heavily. Coordinator Shanelle communicated to parents in many different channels, personal phone calls. Math Night: parents divided by grade level. Implementation data: 3 of 3 parent workshops completed (added 1 reflection meeting). Stakeholder participation: 13% of invited.... Largest trend was the decline of parent participation over time. Many more Latino/a parents than AA parents. Questions to be considered are what caused the decrease. Areas of improvement where increasing/maintaining AA parent participation. Consistently tracking attendance and correct survey data. Impact data was then shared. How comfortable are you helping your child with Math? Results showed that parents overall became more comfortable. How often do you have conversations with your child about what his/her Math class is learning at school.
How comfortable is your child with Math? Students increased significantly. How often do you help your child understand the math content? How often does your child ask for help with math at home? Math passing course rates were then shared.
Project design: increase AA partnership and confidence in math for AA parents
Prototype: AA parent math workshops (February/March/May)
What worked? Collaborating with AA partnership meetings. 8th-grade parent leaders were astounding, building engagement with student success.
Challenges: managing parent engagement. 2-3 year process moving along with work. Balancing teaching, equity, and other responsibilities.
Discovered: Backwards planning is absolutely crucial. Parent involvement requires some kind of accountability.
Impact on student outcomes: a massive increase in 8th grade AA student passage rates.
Questions:
Sabrina Johnson: what were the initial interactions like with parents at the parent workshops? Very engaged and excited. Many 6th- and 7th-grade parents have multiple children and had challenges in making it to certain events.
Julie Vo: asked about the variance in survey responses to event participation in AA parents. Why did more AA parents engage in the survey but not in events? ...
Dr. O'Leary: were biases against Math addressed in the parent workshops? Within the overall parent workshops, the topic of bias was already being addressed, so it when the issue of Math came up, the parents were primed to talk about it.
ECMS-G's Sabrina Johnson presented:
Impact data: had teachers actually rate how engaged the students were in their classroom. Project design: very open with communication to connect to the vision of the parents. The prototype faced some challenges: the LAUSD strike prevented branching out to other teachers. Increased engagement with staff and students as a result of this project.
Key takeaways: backward planning would have been a great benefit and will be done for next year. Families who wouldn't otherwise be participating in school activities became more engaged as a result of the Mathlete program.
Focus: Increase engagement and interest in Math
Strategy: 7th and 8th grade students tutor 6th grade students
Hosted a visual aid making party with AA parents before actual EDC event to increase engagement
Recruited 15 students; 10 students began and 5 additional students joined once the program was implemented
Some questions in the survey
Do you believe that math will be a useful tool for you in the future
6th- and 7th-graders who received mentorship were excited to participate and mentor next year.
Questions:
How were the parents motivated to show the pride they did at the board meeting recognition ceremony? Having authentic relationships with parents. After Wakanda fashion show, the parents were more connected to the EDC work.
What is happening next year? Mathlete tournament against other schools. Bringing in more history toward increasing motivation for Math.
ECHS's Sara Diaz presented:
Planned intervention: Ongoing gradebook analysis. Prototype: gradebook analysis affinity group.
Project update: conducted 4 EDC meeting at ECHS facilitated by KC and Jane. Semester 1 final grades for AA students were then compared to grades for the AA affinity group. It was clear that there weren't any clear interventions that the participating teachers. The patterns for the interventions that were tried were either vague or abstract. The design of the project is to meet the academic needs of AA students by implementing strategic PD. Define: identify the academic needs of AA students. Ideate: adopted the textbook "Teaching for Black Lives", as a resource to continue driving the project forward. When the prototype was piloted, experienced pushback from teachers and had to rethink how PD would be carried out. Decided to split employees up...
One of the challenges is how do you intentionally introduce these new initiatives to staff so that they don't think that the PD is random or arbitrary.
Another aspect of the ECHS project is the Black Student Experience which is qualitative research that is being conducted by an ECHS-BSU alum.
Takeaway: looking to implement a cultural event that would see AA students celebrated and recognized.
Questions:
Implementing gradebook analysis with non-bias is a success in itself.
Qualitatively, some staff were already doing that as part of their practice.
Suggestion was provided to disaggregate the participating teachers gradebook work before and after the project.
Would it have been beneficial to obtain qualitative feedback from students and parents about this gradebook analysis project? Did not have specific and directed opportunities. Research is currently being conducted.
Parent involvement is crucial and wanted to help them feel comfortable with assisting their child in math. The EDC calendar was then shown. Shout out to ECMS-G for providing resources. Planned for a month for Math Night and promoted the event heavily. Coordinator Shanelle communicated to parents in many different channels, personal phone calls. Math Night: parents divided by grade level. Implementation data: 3 of 3 parent workshops completed (added 1 reflection meeting). Stakeholder participation: 13% of invited.... Largest trend was the decline of parent participation over time. Many more Latino/a parents than AA parents. Questions to be considered are what caused the decrease. Areas of improvement where increasing/maintaining AA parent participation. Consistently tracking attendance and correct survey data. Impact data was then shared. How comfortable are you helping your child with Math? Results showed that parents overall became more comfortable. How often do you have conversations with your child about what his/her Math class is learning at school.
How comfortable is your child with Math? Students increased significantly. How often do you help your child understand the math content? How often does your child ask for help with math at home? Math passing course rates were then shared.
Project design: increase AA partnership and confidence in math for AA parents
Prototype: AA parent math workshops (February/March/May)
What worked? Collaborating with AA partnership meetings. 8th-grade parent leaders were astounding, building engagement with student success.
Challenges: managing parent engagement. 2-3 year process moving along with work. Balancing teaching, equity, and other responsibilities.
Discovered: Backwards planning is absolutely crucial. Parent involvement requires some kind of accountability.
Impact on student outcomes: a massive increase in 8th grade AA student passage rates.
Questions:
Sabrina Johnson: what were the initial interactions like with parents at the parent workshops? Very engaged and excited. Many 6th- and 7th-grade parents have multiple children and had challenges in making it to certain events.
Julie Vo: asked about the variance in survey responses to event participation in AA parents. Why did more AA parents engage in the survey but not in events? ...
Dr. O'Leary: were biases against Math addressed in the parent workshops? Within the overall parent workshops, the topic of bias was already being addressed, so it when the issue of Math came up, the parents were primed to talk about it.
ECMS-G's Sabrina Johnson presented:
Impact data: had teachers actually rate how engaged the students were in their classroom. Project design: very open with communication to connect to the vision of the parents. The prototype faced some challenges: the LAUSD strike prevented branching out to other teachers. Increased engagement with staff and students as a result of this project.
Key takeaways: backward planning would have been a great benefit and will be done for next year. Families who wouldn't otherwise be participating in school activities became more engaged as a result of the Mathlete program.
Focus: Increase engagement and interest in Math
Strategy: 7th and 8th grade students tutor 6th grade students
Hosted a visual aid making party with AA parents before actual EDC event to increase engagement
Recruited 15 students; 10 students began and 5 additional students joined once the program was implemented
Some questions in the survey
Do you believe that math will be a useful tool for you in the future
6th- and 7th-graders who received mentorship were excited to participate and mentor next year.
Questions:
How were the parents motivated to show the pride they did at the board meeting recognition ceremony? Having authentic relationships with parents. After Wakanda fashion show, the parents were more connected to the EDC work.
What is happening next year? Mathlete tournament against other schools. Bringing in more history toward increasing motivation for Math.
ECHS's Sara Diaz presented:
Planned intervention: Ongoing gradebook analysis. Prototype: gradebook analysis affinity group.
Project update: conducted 4 EDC meeting at ECHS facilitated by KC and Jane. Semester 1 final grades for AA students were then compared to grades for the AA affinity group. It was clear that there weren't any clear interventions that the participating teachers. The patterns for the interventions that were tried were either vague or abstract. The design of the project is to meet the academic needs of AA students by implementing strategic PD. Define: identify the academic needs of AA students. Ideate: adopted the textbook "Teaching for Black Lives", as a resource to continue driving the project forward. When the prototype was piloted, experienced pushback from teachers and had to rethink how PD would be carried out. Decided to split employees up...
One of the challenges is how do you intentionally introduce these new initiatives to staff so that they don't think that the PD is random or arbitrary.
Another aspect of the ECHS project is the Black Student Experience which is qualitative research that is being conducted by an ECHS-BSU alum.
Takeaway: looking to implement a cultural event that would see AA students celebrated and recognized.
Questions:
Implementing gradebook analysis with non-bias is a success in itself.
Qualitatively, some staff were already doing that as part of their practice.
Suggestion was provided to disaggregate the participating teachers gradebook work before and after the project.
Would it have been beneficial to obtain qualitative feedback from students and parents about this gradebook analysis project? Did not have specific and directed opportunities. Research is currently being conducted.
IV. Study Sessions
A.
Collaboration Activity
The first cross-campus collaboration activity took place: an open forum for inspiration and takeaways.
Sabrina: hearing the high school and the challenges faced, it was very inspiring to see the persistence shown. In disparate outcomes.
Tashanda: when ECHS team had roadblocks with teachers, ECHS was able to find ways to work with teachers on their goals rather than what the ECHS team wanted.
Danny: was inspired to see the student engagement at ECMS-G. Also, the use of texting to drive decision-making can be very beneficial.
Sara: inspired by ECMS-G because of the resources and planning put into their Mathletes project. Inspired by ECMS-I with the effort to make parent more engaged and comfortable.
Farnaz: inspired by ECHS for taking the teacher body as a whole rather than only specific groups of teachers. Also inspired by ECMS-G's leadership, brought to tears by the pride shown by the AA students and parents at their recognition ceremony.
Sabrina: inspired by the use of data at ECMS-I.
Kami: biggest takeaway, the continuous growth in the participants at EDC. Huge increase in the level of knowledge and sophistication
Jenina: is very inspired by all member at the EDC and by the board's Mathelete recognition
Alison: inspired by the collaboration shown by EDC members as it aligns to the EDC charter and is also a great example for ECS employees.
KC: was inspired by ECMS-G's Wakanda show and wants to do something similar at ECHS. Now that many more student are coming from ECMS schools, how can we better align our EDC work?
Dr. O: the alignment with EDC. There's a sense of pride as an exemplary school, which seen by LACOE.
Dave: takeaway is that EDC chose a multi-pronged strategy in its work for the current year: ECMS-I focused on parents, ECMS-G focused on students, and ECHS focused on teachers.
Danielle: how do we line up the work that is being done so that it is sustainable? How do we use existing systems and structures to implemented the EDC work so that it doesn't add additional burdens on staff. As diverse as the work is, there is a pattern that EDC is getting to as their work together has come to fruition.
The second collaboration activity took place: a reading and discussion of the UNCF study.
One initiative that you would like to see implemented in:
Sara: school and university partnership. Challenge low-income narrative. College tours. Learning opportunities for AA parents. Peer trips. College Tours. Cultural Competencies. Increased representation. COunselors visit ECHS classrooms. Student training for mediation. The requirement for social justice learning. Giving our learners opportunities. Identify business for more students to do job shadowing. Coordinated...
Must connect to literacy initiative. Keep growing EDC.
Sabrina: hearing the high school and the challenges faced, it was very inspiring to see the persistence shown. In disparate outcomes.
Tashanda: when ECHS team had roadblocks with teachers, ECHS was able to find ways to work with teachers on their goals rather than what the ECHS team wanted.
Danny: was inspired to see the student engagement at ECMS-G. Also, the use of texting to drive decision-making can be very beneficial.
Sara: inspired by ECMS-G because of the resources and planning put into their Mathletes project. Inspired by ECMS-I with the effort to make parent more engaged and comfortable.
Farnaz: inspired by ECHS for taking the teacher body as a whole rather than only specific groups of teachers. Also inspired by ECMS-G's leadership, brought to tears by the pride shown by the AA students and parents at their recognition ceremony.
Sabrina: inspired by the use of data at ECMS-I.
Kami: biggest takeaway, the continuous growth in the participants at EDC. Huge increase in the level of knowledge and sophistication
Jenina: is very inspired by all member at the EDC and by the board's Mathelete recognition
Alison: inspired by the collaboration shown by EDC members as it aligns to the EDC charter and is also a great example for ECS employees.
KC: was inspired by ECMS-G's Wakanda show and wants to do something similar at ECHS. Now that many more student are coming from ECMS schools, how can we better align our EDC work?
Dr. O: the alignment with EDC. There's a sense of pride as an exemplary school, which seen by LACOE.
Dave: takeaway is that EDC chose a multi-pronged strategy in its work for the current year: ECMS-I focused on parents, ECMS-G focused on students, and ECHS focused on teachers.
Danielle: how do we line up the work that is being done so that it is sustainable? How do we use existing systems and structures to implemented the EDC work so that it doesn't add additional burdens on staff. As diverse as the work is, there is a pattern that EDC is getting to as their work together has come to fruition.
The second collaboration activity took place: a reading and discussion of the UNCF study.
One initiative that you would like to see implemented in:
Sara: school and university partnership. Challenge low-income narrative. College tours. Learning opportunities for AA parents. Peer trips. College Tours. Cultural Competencies. Increased representation. COunselors visit ECHS classrooms. Student training for mediation. The requirement for social justice learning. Giving our learners opportunities. Identify business for more students to do job shadowing. Coordinated...
Must connect to literacy initiative. Keep growing EDC.
V. Closing Items
A.
Next Steps & Resources
EDC resources, including the EDC website, Unbound ED's Bias Toolkit and PD opportunities.
Teachers for Social Justice in SF in October.
Free Minds Free People in Twin Cities in Minnesota.
Teachers for Social Justice in SF in October.
Free Minds Free People in Twin Cities in Minnesota.
B.
Closing Discussion
C.
Adjourn Meeting
Alison Diaz made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Tashanda Giles Jones seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Danny Cristales |
Aye
|
| Danielle Kelsick |
Aye
|
| Tashanda Giles Jones |
Aye
|
| Qiana O'Leary |
Aye
|
| Alison Diaz |
Aye
|
| Ernie Levroney |
Absent
|
| Sara Diaz |
Aye
|
| KC Fabiero |
Aye
|
| Jenina Ramirez |
Aye
|
| Sabrina Johnson |
Aye
|
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 6:33 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Danielle Kelsick