Ankeny school board punts decision on equity-focused specialist job into next month

The Ankeny school board on Monday voted against a controversial proposal for a new district specialist for student achievement, but the idea is expected to come back for another vote next month.

Superintendent Erick Pruitt recommended approving a job description for the achievement specialist position that would find ways data-driven ways to improve student performance and help address patterns of inequity. The achievement specialist would be the successor to a diversity, equity and inclusion specialist position that was withdrawn last year.

"My desire for this position is for the district to more effectively use and understand available data to inform our instructional strategy, improve leadership and instructional practice and increase student achievement for all students," Pruitt said. "We need to improve how we serve students."

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Ankeny has data to be proud of, Pruitt said — 85% of students in grades 3 through 11 are proficient in language arts and 80% in math. But he said he wants to impact the other side, which includes gaps among students with disabilities, students from minority backgrounds, students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds and students learning English.

What would Ankeny's achievement specialist do?

According to the proposed job description, the achievement specialist would report to Chief Diversity Officer Ken Morris, Jr., and would have several responsibilities, including:

• Provide updates and reports about the root causes of district patterns of achievement.

• Research ways to address student underachievement and make recommendations to improve the academic performance of all students.

• Work to improve data literacy in the district with an emphasis on equity.

• Leads schools to identify patterns of inequity and improve.

• Collaborate to design academic programs and support for students not meeting performance goals.

• Provide support for those conducting investigations related to Title IX, bullying and harassment and bring systematic concerns to the chief diversity officer.

• Provide updates and reports on diversity, equity, and inclusion related topics and data.

Opposing board members say position too tied to DEI

Board members Ryan Weldon, Joy Burk, Sarah Barthole and Joshua Palik were not supportive of the position on Monday, saying there is too much division, misunderstanding and opposition in the community over the idea, they weren't given enough time to digest the proposal or that a potential hire would be set up for failure under the weight of rhetoric and expectations.

"I want the best for our students. I know we all do," Palik said. "But at this time, it's very hard to see how we could bring someone in to help bridge that divisiveness without constantly being under a microscope from everyone."

Board members received a lot of community and staff feedback as soon as the proposal appeared last week, including from people who accused the district of trying to slip the diversity specialist through under a different name, they said.

More:Why was Ankeny schools' hiring of a diversity specialist put on pause? And what happens next?

Conservative politicians and activists have targeted the concept of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in education, and Iowa Republicans have proposed banning such programs at the state's universities. For progressive politicians and activists, such work is crucial.

The opposing board members said the community's response to the achievement specialist proposal has gotten too caught up in the three letters D, E and I, which stand for diversity, equity and inclusion.

"When somebody comes in as an achievement specialist with all this rhetoric around it, and they walk into a building, regardless of if there's positive or negative feedback, that person is going to have expectations put on them that are unfair and will set them up to fail," Weldon said. "How are they going to do meaningful work when they're expected to be this, that or another thing without ever taking that lens away?"

Instead, the board unanimously approved bringing the proposal back at its April 3 meeting, which would leave room for further changes and discussions with the superintendent. Burk signaled openness to the position moving forward.

"I think we can still get there," Burk said. "I just feel like there are some things within the job description that maybe are what's holding people up."

Approving board members say position needed to address gaps

Board members Amy Tagliareni, Katie Claeys and Aaron Johnson voted to approve the achievement specialist job description as was presented Monday. They said the board should push past the national narrative about DEI, move forward with what would be best to help students in Ankeny and approve a position that falls in line with the district's other efforts, discussions and planning work over the past year.

"I just feel like this job is the outside eyes that are going to push our system leaders to look at data and additional layers that we just don't have right now," Claeys said.

Johnson compared the situation to the division over the decision to create a second high school in Ankeny. "What we did as leaders was we made what we felt was the right decision to move forward, and today, you wouldn't think otherwise, right?" he said.

He said there is an opportunity for the board to change the narrative, seize the moment and do something different to address gaps in the data while putting faith in district leadership to make the role into something students need.

Jemma Bullock, a non-voting student representative of the board, said the board is not listening to students.

"This position will go a long way to addressing our achievement gap in Ankeny," Bullock said. "Our students are diverse in their needs, and we owe it to our students and teachers to employ, at the very least, more than one person with the expertise to support the needs of our students and their families."

The board approved other positions on Monday including a literacy coach, a math coach and a specialist for English language learners.

Chris Higgins covers the eastern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ankeny school board delays equity-focused student achievement position