Shared Vision
Champlain Valley School District (CVSD) is excited to announce the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Shared Vision.
In 2022, CVSD underwent an equity audit in order to understand the ways the district could meet the needs of its diverse student body, staff, and community, including those from marginalized populations. That audit demonstrated the need for a shared understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and clear direction for DEI initiatives. “In order for the district’s equity policy and DEI initiatives to impact the student experience, the district should focus on building a shared understanding of DEI-related terms, clarifying the actions that the district is taking in support of equity, and providing ongoing support to staff and families.” The CVSD DEI Team spent much of the 22/23 school year reaching out to students, faculty, staff, administrators, and parents in order to help understand what DEI means to the wider CVSD community. Using this feedback the DEI Team crafted the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Shared Vision:
To create and sustain safe, diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning ecosystems that meet individual needs, foster belonging, acknowledge histories, and cultivate and celebrate identities and stories.
CVSD is looking forward to using the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Shared Vision to guide our district in its efforts to create and maintain a community that respects and celebrates all people and helps to uplift all of our students and families.
Definitions
Anti-Biased - Actively making people aware of the ways that opinions and policies can result in people being treated unfairly.
Anti-Racist - Actively changing systems, behaviors, and beliefs that perpetuate racist ideas and actions.
Culturally Responsive - The ability to understand cultural differences, recognize potential biases, and look beyond differences to work productively with children, families, and communities whose cultural contexts are different from one's own.
“The beliefs, methods, and practices that support and empower all students socially, emotionally, intellectually, and civically by leveraging students’ lived experiences to ensure learning.” (CVSD Equity Policy)
Diversify Staff - Staff and administration reflects the global community.
Diverse/Diversity - All identities are represented, celebrated, and honored in our community, and reflected in our academic systems, content, programming, and decision-making.
Equitable/Equity - “Each student receives the resources and educational opportunities they need to learn and thrive.” (VSBA Equity Definition)
“Equity means that a student’s success is not predicted nor predetermined by characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, family economics, class, geography, ability, language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or initial proficiencies.” (CVSD Equity Policy)
Global Community - The interconnectedness of people around the world.
Historically Marginalized/Oppressed/Underserved - People who currently and/or historically experience discrimination of any kind and encounter barriers to accessing opportunities and services. (Including by not limited to: racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, economic, cultural, ability, religion, and/or linguistic)
Histories - The told and untold memories, narratives and experiences (recalled or documented) that create context for recognizing and addressing disparities in the present day.
Inclusive/Inclusion - Intentionally structuring our systems to actively create belonging, voice, meaningful participation, and shared power for all students, staff and community.
Learning Ecosystems - A system of people, data, history, content, technology, culture, services, programs and policies that exist both within and outside of our schools, all of which impact formal and informal experiences.
Restorative Practices - Proactive and responsive systems that enhance relationships which are vulnerable, authentic and self-reflective. These systems provide the framework that enable all community members to process and heal from harm that occurs within or outside of our immediate ecosystem.
Sustainable - Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future.