Minutes 02-12-2019 Schools - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 code of conduct. He said the OCS equity taskforce is heavily involved, and all stakeholders are being consulted. He said a new code of conduct should be presented to the OCS Board this spring, and then comprehensive staff training will occur from bus drivers to nutrition workers to teachers. He said OCS is committed to doing this work differently. Chair Rich said there was a program at the Passmore Center, where 5 young men of color spoke about their school experience and the lack of encouragement they receive in comparison to their white counterparts. She said there were not many educators there, but it was an eye-opening event, and the students voiced great passion for helping the next round of students coming up behind them in the school district. She asked if OCS hears these voices. Chair Stephens said Dr. Wirt has an advisory council at OCS. Chair Rich said these students were from both school districts. Superintendent Wirt said OCS has a superintendent student advisory council, and these groups take a lot of work. He said there are other groups too. He said moving forward OCS will need to formally create some student leadership groups around the issue of equity, with whom OCS leadership will regularly interact. Commissioner Price said the County specifically asked those students to speak at this event, and she and her friends noted that these students raised the same concerns that existed when they were in school. She said the voices of people of color, and women of color, are not heard. She said it is a societal issue, and all have to be involved to make this work. Sarah Smylie said one student spoke of a teacher advising him not to let a guidance counselor ever tell him he cannot take a class. She said the equity work needs to continue to the point that it is the norm for teachers to encourage. Rani Dasi said equity is not a layer of the work, it is the work, and they need to intentionally change the structures to support students. Chair Rich asked if the work at the board levels is passed down to the teachers. Superintendent Baldwin said the kids are way ahead of the adults, and are often involved in the professional development of teachers. Commissioner Price said it is so important to look at cultural differences, backgrounds and environments. She said people of color should not be expected to assimilate into the dominant culture. Mary Ann Wolfe said CHCCS went through a culturally responsive curriculum scorecard yesterday, which was an enlightening and powerful activity. Superintendent Wirt said passing an equity policy was so important in OCS because it makes some strong statements, but it also draws a line in the sand of how equity training is completed. He said he could not find in OCS archives any trace of any type of equity training with staff, but OCS is planning to do it now. He said it will be different, challenging and difficult work, but the outcomes cannot continue to be the same as they have for multiple decades. He said disparity data does not mean that OCS is full of racist staff, but rather there are policies in place that continue to be implemented that have unintentionally lead to disparity. Commissioner McKee asked if, given that 5% of the students in Orange County have no representation at these types of meetings, would it be beneficial to ask charter schools to send a representative to these meetings. He said he has had no interaction with the charter school systems, but sits on a board that provides them funding. He said there is an unlevel playing field between the public schools and the charter schools, but thinking that charter schools will go away is foolish. James Barrett agreed with Commissioner McKee. Rani Dasi said she also agreed, and public schools should serve as hubs of public information, but added that equity is not an overlay and the commitment to implementation would be important. Commissioner Marcoplos said he visited the Expedition School last year, and noted that the staff is trying to do its best for the students, and it would be good to have representatives in