Visalia Unified School District is committed to equity and inclusivity. We believe it is important to understand the unique and diverse student needs across our district and to ensure those needs are being addressed in both policy and practice.

In an effort to advance our work in this area, we will create safe spaces for our students, staff, and families to engage in conversations to provide common ground through civil discourse on controversial student issues. To provide venues for these conversations, the District will continue our work with our Community Advisory Task Force, Student Inclusivity Task Force, and Staff Inclusivity Task Force. In addition, we have established Equity forums for communication and discussion in which all members of the community can share their voice and learn about what's happening in our schools and in our district to meet the unique and diverse needs of ALL students.

In VUSD our focus on equity is about ensuring that our practices, policies, and procedure are fair and inclusive of all students, staff, and families; and race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, sex, learning ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, education level, immigration status, or financial status do not hinder anyone from being treated fairly or having equal access and opportunity.

EQUITY GOALS

Engage key stakeholders (students, staff and community) through civil discourse on controversial issues.
Ensure we have equitable policies, practices and procedures.
Eliminate disproportionate and discriminatory practices.
Recognize and Celebrate Diversity.
Implicit bias & cultural awareness training.
Culturally relevant curriculum.
Increase access and remove barriers.
Change in student outcomes.

VIDEOS

ARTICLES

PODCAST

110: Ten Ways Educators Can Take Action in Pursuit of Equity - Cult of Pedagogy

EQUITY, DIVERSITY &INCLUSION TERMS

Equity:

In educational research, equity is defined as providing students with differentiated levels of support and resources in order to provide them with an equal opportunity to succeed in school. A focus on equity is warranted by research (Lareau, 2011) that demonstrates that because the public education system was largely developed by White, middle class men, schools have come to reflect the tacit and explicit norms and rules of White, middle class culture (Watkins, 2001). Students who don’t come from those backgrounds can struggle to learn and adapt to the tacit norms and rules of schools and thus, may struggle academically. Equity-focused policy describes the ways in which educators accommodate children who don’t come from middle to upper class backgrounds, as well as students with disabilities (SWD) and students who qualify for English Language Learner (ELL) services, in an attempt to help them be as successful as students who don’t have to overcome those obstacles.

In educational research, racial equity is a concept borne out of a body of research (Kozol, 1995; Darling-Hammond, 2010) that reflects the field’s understanding that students of color can experience compounded stress and anxiety when the implicit or explicit racism they experience outside of school is unknowingly or knowingly replicated by teachers and administrators in schools (Pollock, 2017). Educators’ mistreatment of students of color is well documented (see attached reference list) and can stem from individual’s explicit or implicit bias and racism, such as racial microaggressions (Pollock, 2017), and the largely invisible structural and systemic factors that impede and limit how successful children of color can be. Policies aimed at addressing racial inequity require districts and schools to address both the practices of individuals within the system, such as teachers, staff, and administrators, and the institutional practices that empower and protect the biased actions of individuals against students and families of color.

Inclusion:

Inclusion refers to the policies and procedures that organizations make to intentionally include a diversity of people in any social or organizational context. In many ways, inclusion is the enactment of a belief in the value of diversity (Banks, 1993). In education, calls for greater inclusion can refer to the kinds of people invited to meetings (e.g. a diversity of parents, students, various community stakeholders) and/or the access granted to students into different kinds of coursework (e.g. students from historically marginalized communities or students with disabilities or ELL students encouraged to enroll in mainstream or advanced coursework). Research has repeatedly shown that thoughtful inclusion of a diversity of students within schools, programs, and classrooms, benefits students socially and academically (Au & Kawakami, 1994; Banks et al., 2007; Sahlberg, 2010).

Diversity:

A belief in diversity is an acknowledgement of the value of having many beliefs, perspectives, and ideologies present within social groups (e.g. neighborhoods, community and professional organizations, etc.) to deepen cross-cultural understanding and learning to benefit individuals and the community as a whole (Banks et al., 2007). In education, calls for greater diversity in schools, programs and within the curriculum, stem from the belief that different kinds of students have much to gain from learning from each other, and by learning from a diversity of teachers and teaching styles. Such interaction teaches students essential democratic skills (Parker, 2003) and broadens their perspective, making them more tolerant and culturally literate over time (Banks, 1993).

Equality:

Equality refers to the belief that all students should be afforded the same treatment and access to educational resources and opportunities regardless of racial, ethnic, linguistic, socio-economic status or learning ability. Underpinning the argument for more equality in the educational system is a belief that a central purpose of public schools is to ensure greater democratic participation and social mobility for all its citizens (Labaree, 1997). The relevant research strongly suggests that unequal access to resources, whether it be high quality teachers, after school programs, or highly rigorous coursework, to name a few, negatively impacts students’ academic performance and achievement as well as their social and emotional well-being (Darling-Hammond, 2010). One example of policy that aimed to create more equality in the system was the Bellevue School District’s policy to open access to and enrollment of advanced coursework (e.g. the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs) to all students.

Cultural Competence:

Cultural competence is defined as an ongoing process by which individuals and systesm respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, languages, classes, races, sexes, ethnic backgrounds, religions, sexual orientations, abilities and other diversity factors " in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals, families, and communities and protects and preserves the dignity of each." (NASW, 2001).