OCSD outlines equity plan

Feb. 14—OTTUMWA — Officials with the Ottumwa Community School District made an eight-point presentation that tackles equity issues and creates an "all-in" process that breaks down racial and ethnic barriers between students, families and staff members.

Director of curriculum and learning Maria Lantz, Evans Middle School principal David Harper, OCSD assistant superintendent Brad McCloskey and district special education coordinator Mike Stiemsma discussed with the board the aspects of creating a welcoming environment in all the district's buildings.

The district has moved equity to the forefront after the U.S. Department of Education's civil rights office cited it for neglecting the bullying of a middle school student for two years. Gerald Baugh, a resident in the district who wrote an editorial in The Courier, continues to be concerned about harassment in the schools going forward.

"My concern is what's been done to curb that harassment and what's being done to eliminate the hostile environment," he said. "This problem, you know, is like a leaky roof. It's not going to go away unless you address it. I'd like to see more being done."

The district hopes the equity plan is part of the solution.

"Equity work is really vast, and it's not just one thing. It's really centered around rigorous and challenging learning for every single kid, ensuring every single kid feels safe and has a sense of connectedness and belonging," Lantz said. "We know that we are a very divers community in every way, and we strive to engage, educate and empower all of our students every single day."

The comprehensive "Equity Pathway" plan falls under eight parts:

Youth leadership. This facet puts in place a student leadership at Evans, and a student action committee at OHS. Various student clubs and activities are also important to increase opportunities for students.

Community partnerships. Part of this was developing an Equity Review Committee, which Stiemsma is a part of. The principle creates work-based learning experiences, and a scholarship program through Indian Hills Community College for minorities.

Access to core instruction. The principle allows for expanded training for staff in dyslexia-friendly practices, translation earbuds to provide a native language with grade-level instruction, an increased English Language team and partnerships with the Ottumwa Public Library and John Deere Works for EL and migrants summer programming.

High-quality curriculum and expanded learning opportunities. This principle creates apprenticeships, internships and work-based opportunities for all students, and provides "rigorous, highly-vetted curriculum."

Safe, supportive learning environments. In this area, the district's leadership team's work is centered on motivating and inspiring every staff member and student, and making safety and security a priority in every building.

Professional learning. This principle discusses the district's instructional framework and bases it on the experience of students, and talks about the district's outreach efforts with firms to provide feedback to the district as well as professional development that can be passed on to students and the diversity that exists.

Health and well-being. This principle offers free breakfast and lunch for every student, in-service days for teachers and district-wide celebrations of achievements.

Family engagement. This area works with the Marshallese community, having a yearly parent-advisory committee, having bilingual associates to facilitate parent communication, especially in Spanish, Marshallese and Chuukese languages. The area also creates an Evans Equity Parent Committee.

"These pieces don't live in silos. It has to work inner-connectedly," McCloskey said. "In any school system, we forget really the essence of our existence when we talk about building projects and the intangibles that go along with the learning environment.

"We exist to educate human beings."

McCloskey added later in the presentation that "we're making sure our staff and teachers have the very best tools and curriculum at their disposal at all times, and we're always looking at updated and vetting the curriculum that we're using in the classroom."

The district has been at its equity plan since September, but this month to the end of the school year are critical. Lantz said an equity audit will be conducted in each building according to its school improvement plan.

More importantly, the coming months will ask for parental involvement.

"If a family doesn't feel heard at the building level, or they didn't feel like their family needs were met, then they would work with me, and I would be kind of a liaison for the family with the building," Lantz said.

Stiemsma said, "our diversity advocate team actually spearheads a lot of work."

"We get people lined up and we do everything we can get to get human interpreters," he said. "We've also had conversations with JBS about maybe some creative ways we could do things like parent-teacher conferences, so if we can make it more convenient for parents and increase our attendance for those kinds of things."

Lantz said community involvement will be key to seeing the plan come to fruition.

"We want to bring the community into the schools with interpreters for conferences, but we also have a responsibility to be present and engaged in our community in a variety of ways."

Lantz encouraged anyone wanting to be a part of the equity committee to contact her directly.

— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury