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Equity & Diversity Initiatives

In February 2021, District 63 launched a comprehensive Equity & Diversity Initiative, guided by anti-oppression educator and consultant Corrie Wallace. Below, explore the conversations, professional development, dialogues, and more.

  • April 2023 - D63's Board of Education approves a formal Hate Speech Protocol to guide staff in addressing hate speech and discriminatory acts swiftly, firmly, and consistently across all schools.
  • January 2023 - D63's Board of Education approves a formal Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Belief Statement. The District's second virtual Book Club kicks off and runs into February, with 19 participants. Once again the book of choice is So You Want to Talk About Race.
  • October 2022 - All D63 staff participate in an afternoon of training focused on microaggression during Early Dismissal. D63 staff and parents kick off a nine-month SEED Cohort (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity). The 35 participants meet monthly for three hours, learning, listening, thinking, debating, and working to drive change toward social justice.
  • August 2022 - A 13-member District Equity/Diversity/Inclusion Leadership Team - comprising staff and Board representation - launches its work with a full-day retreat to set the stage for the coming year. The group will work throughout the school year on EDI issues.
  • February 2022 - The District kicks off its first virtual Book Club, which continues through March. More than 80 parents, guardians, employees, and Board members register to read and discuss Ijeoma Oluo's So You Want to Talk About Race.
  • January 2022 - More than 60 parents, guardians, and employees participate in a virtual Introduction to Equity workshop.
  • December 2021 - District Principals participate in a professional development workshop focused on Talking to Children About Race.
  • November 2021 - All-staff Introduction to Equity professional learning day.
  • October 2021 - District and school administrators begin year-long participation in in-depth Using Unconscious Bias to Building Understanding training. The group meets for several hours approximately once every other month to reflect on, read about, discuss, and explore this topic. 
  • August 2021 - Thirteen D63 employees begin participating in a ten-month The National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) pilot with Maine Township High School District 207 and Pennoyer School District 79. Participants start by completing a Cultural Competence for Social Justice self-assessment and then meet monthly to explore their own relationship to race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual identity, abilities, and age - and how this relationship impacts their school, classrooms, community, and workplace.
  • May 2021 - D63 Equity Task Force meets to lay foundation for future collaboration.
  • February 2021 - District leadership and consultant begin exploratory conversations of what equity work might look like across D63.