Equity Zones FAQ's

For students:

Who should I nominate?

You can nominate any staff member that is apart of ETHS. This means, Teachers, Counselors, Safety Members, Coaches, or Community Organizers. You might ask the questions, Does this person makes me feel safe in my identities and do they engage in conversations around identity in supportive ways? Do you know any staff members or teachers who you are comfortable speaking to about the topics of identity and equity? Does this person reserve judgment and make you feel safe?

How will I know which spaces and people are part of Equity Zones?

Equity Zones will be identified by posters on the staff members designated workspace, or a mobile staff member will be given a pin.

What things can I talk about in an Equity Zone?

You can talk about any problems, fears, accomplishments that you hold with your identities. The staff advocate is there to hold a confidential place where you can express yourself freely and sometimes get advise or just have a needed dialogue.

Can I go to any Equity Zone or do they have to be my teacher?

Equity Zones are provided to all students. This means that even if you don’t have a relationship with a designated staff member you can still discuss the matter with them if you feel comfortable. Other students nominate a staff member because they feel their identity is represented. This might mean that the staff member has not been nominated based off of your identity.

For staff members:

How are staff nominated?

• Students can nominate staff online with the link: www.tinyurl.com/equityzones after the nomination period is closed, students of equity zone will review the nominations. Teachers that receive 5 nominations will be considered to hold an equity zone.

I have been nominated, Now what?

• Teachers that have received multiple nominations will be invited to a conversation with SOAR Equity Zones committee to discuss what it means to hold an Equity Zone space. After the conversation, the staff will receive an Equity Zone designation that can be displayed on their classroom door or person.

Staff Conversations

• If any questions or issues arise regarding identity for individual students or in general, about issues around race and racism, SOAR offers support to students and staff to help work through issues. The SOAR Equity Zones committee may also check in once in a while to see how successful the program is and possible issues we may need to fix to make this program more accessible to staff and students.