Equity before Equality

We believe in equity before equality which is why we expect that all students, including those who come with greater challenges, receive the highest quality learning experience and are expected to achieve at high levels. We provide additional, targeted, high-quality resources for students with the greatest needs because equity means giving everyone what they need to be successful. Students receive all necessary support and resources for academic, behavior, and social-emotional mastery. We expect that resources are used to create inviting schools for students and parents. We believe all students feel valued, loved, and supported and feel welcomed in our schools by all staff. All staffing assignments are made equitably, based upon student needs. We have a district culture where all staff are passionate and want to inspire all students particularly the students with the greatest needs.

Design Principles

To put equity ahead of equality, MUSD is focused on the following system design Principles:

● high quality differentiated instruction adjusted to each student's individual needs, that (is not narrow but) builds from and supports the richness of the graduate profile

● creating a professional culture where ALL staff are passionate and want to inspire ALL students particularly the students with greatest needs

● formative assessment, part of a full complement of assessment at all levels, is an integral part of instruction, keyed to progressions, ongoing, embedded, checking for understanding used to modify instruction, and used to diagnose student understanding [for early identification of student needs - from Building Block 3 team]

● staffing assignments are made equitably, based upon student needs (site-based leadership has the ability to assign teachers based on student need not seniority).

● providing students needing more support with a broad array (not a narrow range) of extra and co-curricular activities - based upon some flexibility in scheduling

● All families utilize resources to understand their student’s progress, to successfully navigate the educational system, and to advocate for their children.

How do these Design Principles reflect the comparative research?

These commitments align to what we see in the highest performing education systems internationally, in which teachers and support staff come together to ensure that all students receive the support or enrichment they need to ensure that they not only don’t fall behind but also excel. Formative assessment is central to teachers’ practice. Teachers strategically assess students’ learning as it is being taught, and are adept in using the real-time results to diagnose misunderstandings, adjust their teaching strategies, determine when students need additional support, and decide when students are ready to move on to more complex concepts in a sequence. Students are actively engaged in the process of formative assessment to help them learn actively and develop critical thinking and self- motivation skills.

Teachers support students who are struggling. When students demonstrate they are ready to move faster or study subjects more in-depth, they get a curriculum that enables them to study some subjects in more depth and when they reach high school, to get qualifications earlier if they prefer. The standards are immovable; the time and support needed to achieve them may be different for different students. To do this, teachers use the non-instructional time they have to screen students early for learning issues and ensure they do not fall behind by giving struggling learners more one-on-one support during the school day, after school and outside of school. Struggling learners receive a flexible range of supports that can start, stop, or change as needed including extra help outside of class, small group work in class, or help from professionals with specific expertise. And all students, including those who learn material more quickly, have access to learning experiences that will challenge and engage them