PUSD's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative
Imagine a school district whose staff, students and families represent a wide range of identities: where each person feels appreciated, celebrated, and supported for who they are; their identities, experiences and contributions valued; their talents, skills and needs honored and supported. The district culture and the systems it puts in place for getting things done ensure avenues of success for all its employees and students, and everyone thrives.
PUSD encompasses that kind of diversity, but the data and lived experiences of some students, staff and families indicate that not everyone is thriving or meeting their full potential. As USC Rossier School of Education Dean Pedro Noguera puts it, “schools often exacerbate disparities through practices that reward privilege and harm the disadvantaged.”
The problem is larger than our school district, to be sure, but that doesn’t mean we are powerless to change our culture or the way we do business. The district’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Initiative provides PUSD with a decision-making lens and a framework for systemic change. Here is a bit of background on “why DEI” matters, an overview of PUSD’s approach, what’s happening so far, some thoughts about what this means for our children, and what parents and caregivers can do to learn more and help our district do better.
Key Things to Know:
The Diversity Equity & Inclusion initiative aims to shift the culture of PUSD so that its systems and practices reflect the District’s commitment to ensuring that all students and employees feel valued and supported in ways that enable them to reach their full potential.
PUSD’s Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Development (CIPD), under Assistant Superintendent Dr. Helen Hill, oversees the initiative; United Teachers of Pasadena (UTP), principals, and District administrators as well as students are involved in the work.
The District has committed to using a DEI “lens” to guide decision making.
Concrete actions to date include: adoption of a high school Ethnic Studies course that meets the UC’s A-G course requirements for history; anti-racism and LGBTQ+ training for principals, counselors and teachers; ongoing curriculum revision and professional development.
DEI is NOT a zero-sum game! Closing opportunity gaps and eliminating inequities does not “take away” from traditionally more advantaged students; if anything, it enriches the learning environment and boosts social emotional and critical thinking skills for all concerned.
There are resources available to support parents and caregivers as well as educators and students as we learn to honor our diversity, prioritize equity and inclusion, and ensure avenues of success for all.
Why DEI?
In June 2020, the School Board passed Resolution 2566, affirming that “Black students and their families matter” and recognizing that Black students in particular “continue to be disproportionately overrepresented in disciplinary and special education measures and underrepresented in Advanced Placement, honors and gifted and talented programming.” The Board committed the District to “eradicating any practices, policies, systems, and curriculum that have a biased, discriminatory, racist, or suppressive impact on Black students” and deemed “the progress of Black students as the standard upon which PUSD’s commitment to race equity will be measured.”
PUSD had already identified the need to improve equity, based on persistent gaps across measures of student success for Black students, English learners, children with disabilities and foster youth. A District Coordinator of Equity and Access (the late Trudell Skinner) had been appointed in 2016 and charged with “ensuring that our traditionally underserved students have access to strong teachers and challenging curricula.” PUSD teachers contributed to the development of an Ethnic Studies model curriculum which was adopted by the State Board of Education on March 18, 2021.
A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team began meeting in 2020, defining terms and using a “student equity and opportunity” lens to look at data on academic outcomes, identification for Special Education and GATE programs, and disciplinary action for different groups of students. (A report from Hanover Research analyzing these data can be found in the 2/12/21 Friday Communique.) The DEI Team created a Student Think Tank and Leadership Team to bring together a diversity of student voices to build shared knowledge and inform approaches to instruction. Teacher leaders were invited to participate in a Curriculum Review for Cultural Responsiveness.
PUSD’s approach to DEI
The DEI Team made a series of presentations to the School Board and district-level parent groups in May and June 2021. It defined the terms as follows:
Diversity – “Intentionally valuing the multiple identities that are represented in our school structure.”
Equity – “Ensuring avenues of success for all students and staff by honoring and supporting individual experiences, talents, skills, and needs.”
Inclusion - “A space where a person’s whole identity is appreciated, celebrated, and supported; and all experiences and contributions are valued.”
– And presented a lens or litmus test to be used in District decision-making:
Does the impact of the current or proposed action directly encourage the valuing of multiple intersectional identities? How do we know?
Does the action ensure avenues of success for BIPOC and marginalized students/ employees? Is the action at the expense of/harming BIPOC and marginalized students/employees?
Does the action intentionally contribute to the belonging for BIPOC and marginalized groups? How do we know?
The DEI Team adapted the California Teachers Association’s Social Justice in Education Framework:
Within this framework, each sphere works to support the others:
Awareness is about examining and being open to changing the way we think and feel about the social equity dimension of our role in a given situation (in this case, as school district administrators and staff).
Capacity building translates those internal “heart and mind” shifts into concrete changes in our practices, which may require learning new skills or ways of doing things.
Action in this framework is about making systemic changes at the school and district level, revising policies, structures, processes and aligning resources to create a coherent system designed to support and reinforce the awareness and practical competencies promoted in the first two spheres.
To take a specific example, awareness training on equity for LGBTQ+ students and employees was extended into capacity building by introducing staff to the practice of stating one’s preferred pronouns and inviting students to do the same as a way to normalize and honor those preferences. This led to the suggestion of an action (now being implemented by PUSD’s IT department): allowing students to indicate their preferred name and pronouns in the Aeries student information system, such that it would then appear in Canvas, WebEx, and the student’s gmail account.
What’s happened so far?
On January 28, Dr. Helen Chan Hill gave an update on the DEI Initiative to the Pasadena Educational Foundation’s Community Engagement committee. Dr. Hill was part of the original DEI Team, and as Asst. Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development (CIPD) now oversees the initiative. She highlighted several specific actions that have been taken to date or are now in process:
PUSD revised its Mission Statement to emphasize “embracing the cultural background of every student” and “an innovative curriculum that represents the global value of education.”
An Ethnic Studies course was adopted by the Board of Education in April 2021. It was shortly afterward certified by the University of California as meeting “A-G” course requirements, and is now being offered at all PUSD high schools.
Professional development: principals and district administrators received anti-racism training; PE teachers and counselors (and other interested teachers/admin) have received LGBTQ+ training.
The IT Department is making changes to Aeries student information system to allow students to use a preferred name and pronouns with Canvas, WebEx & gmail accounts.
Curriculum revision is ongoing. The CIPD department is looking at resources and materials to help teachers implement the state standards using an equity lens and culturally responsive teaching practices.
“Transformation Center” – PUSD is partnering with Pacific Oaks College on how to increase teacher diversity, train teachers to use a DEI lens in their teaching, and support the teachers we get so that they not only stay in the district but have the capacity and institutional support to be successful with students of color.
What does this mean for my child?
DEI is not a zero-sum game! Closing opportunity gaps for those furthest from opportunity does not “take away” from more advantaged students; if anything, it enriches the learning environment and builds critical thinking skills for all concerned.
The “accelerated learning” approach to bridging learning gaps is a good example. The pandemic exacerbated existing gaps and inequities, forcing us to be more creative about how we meet students’ needs where they are. Accelerated learning has been shown to be more effective than remediation for students of color, but also for all students.
Seeing others in their full humanity (and seeing ourselves that way – not as the “norm” but as one part of the infinitely varied spectrum of humanity) is liberating for all of us, and essential for the future of our democracy.
Remember that any change can feel challenging at times, but that this is not a bad thing! As with any other aspect of parenting, we have an opportunity to grow too, as we help our children navigate their experiences. Resources for parents include: EmbraceRace.org, Raising White Kids, integratedschools.org, to name a few.
What can parents/caregivers do?
Change can be challenging and feel threatening for teachers and administrators, too – particularly if they are not sure how parents/caregivers will respond.
Let your teachers and administrators know you support the District’s effort to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Knowing that PUSD’s Ethnic Studies course meets the college A-G requirements, parents can encourage their students to sign up for the course, which in turn helps HS principals in terms of master scheduling. When you hear about conversations that are happening in your students’ classrooms – whether that’s about gender, race, or other aspects of rethinking how we do school, let your child’s teachers and principal know you appreciate their efforts.
Pasadena Unified has not experienced the kind of backlash against curriculum changes that have made the news in other places, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen here. Let your school board members know you are supportive of an honest and authentic approach to teaching social studies, to making sure that everyone sees themselves more fully represented and valued in the curriculum.
PEN has been reviewing our own programs and practices through a DEI lens. Along with other community partner organizations, we meet regularly with leaders of the various District parent groups - PTA, DELAC, AAPC, Foster Youth, CAC, DAC - all of which support PUSD’s DEI Initiative. We look forward to bringing you updates as this work unfolds.