March 29, 2024
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Local News

Oswego School District Board updated on diversity, equity efforts in district schools

The Oswego School District 308 Board of Education heard an update on its steps to improve diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the district at its Oct. 26 meeting.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Coordinator LaTonya Simelton led the presentation, which focused on the steps the district has taken since 2008, and how the district will move in the future.

"Equity is a journey, not a destination," Simelton told the board. "When you think about a journey and how it's defined, it says that it is a 'Long and often difficult process of change and development.'

"I'm always being asked, 'Is equity work ever done?', 'When is equity no longer a focus or a priority?'," she continued. "My response is always 'Until all students benefit from the way things are, then we should remain on the journey.'"

The goal of the district's DEI plan is "to be a district where diversity, equity and inclusion are actively embraced and practiced by all staff members to prepare District 308 students to live, learn and work together in a vibrant and diverse world."

Steps already taken include selecting high school students to be a part of the DEI committee, the creation of a Spoken Word elective course for the 2020-2021 school year, and holding equity workshops involving students and faculty members to "amplify student voice and act on student feedback."

Most recently, Simelton told the board, Superintendent Dr. John Sparlin made a statement over the summer reaffirming the district's efforts towards the DEI program. The district has also worked to facilitate culturally responsive training for staff members and administrators, she said.

"To be culturally responsive, is when you realize that school is not a culturally neutral space, that we all bring our own values and beliefs, norms and ideologies to school with us every day," she said. "The idea is to make those to be responsive to all that anyone brings to the building."

Simelton told the board that students want their stories to matter.

"They want to show up in their classrooms, they want their exams to reflect their lived experiences or the texts they read or the discussions that they have. They want to know that their story matters," she explained.

Culturally responsive training, she added, is when that is reflected in the classroom.

The Illinois Association of School Boards has also recently featured students from the district in a web seminar promoting equity practices at the Board of Education level.

"The premise of the webinar was that student voices are creative tools in the process of creating inclusive school communities," Simelton said. "They wanted to hear from our students about what that means to them. It was a very engaging conversation...we had a lot of praise for that from IASB," she said.

An additional step in the DEI process, was the creation of a Board of Education Equity Advisory Committee, which met for the first time Oct. 21.

Sparlin continued the presentation, explaining that work conducted by the DEI committee will be reported to the Equity Advisory Committee for possible consideration by the board, something he said would allow for a lot of voices to be heard.

Sparlin will also partner with student equity ambassadors, and hold "critical conversations" with building administrators and staff to create "a more equitable and inclusive school community."

Shea Lazansky

Shea Lazansky

Oswego native, photographer and writer for Kendall County Now