Equity in Education

In 2016,  PSESD developed the Equity in Education department to work collaboratively with our regional partners to provide each and every student with equitable access to educational opportunities by enhancing and supporting racially equitable and culturally responsive approaches and capacities among staff, students, parents and communities. We believe that the development of these approaches will center the cultural abundance of our communities and contribute to creating a sense of belonging, academic success and a strong educational system for every student.

We work with schools, districts, colleges, universities, community-based organizations inside and outside the PSESD region. Our services range from Early Learning through post-secondary education. We also support regional and state initiatives to diversify the educator workforce. 

equity in education logo
 
 

CONTACT US!

Our services intentionally address priorities established by our students and communities of color, along with educators and leaders of color. We are also committed to supporting your unique equity goals, so please contact us if you don’t see a service listed.

Our approach: 

Equity in Education strives to work alongside students, families, communities, and educators to transform school systems into just and humanizing learning communities. 

We believe: 
  • The voices and lived experiences of our students, families, communities and educators of color are central to our work to transform systems
  • Professional development offers us a starting point to develop shared language and a shared analysis of how institutionalized racism has intersected with other inequities to create deeply rooted and persistent injustice in our schools and communities. Professional development is effective when self-reflective and content-driven sessions are: 
    • Aligned with strategic directives and priorities identified with students and communities of color.
    • Include opportunities for personal and organizational self-reflection and growth. Part of a sustained and ongoing relationship between Equity in Education and the participants.
    • Include ongoing opportunities to integrate learning into practice and learn through experiences and feedback. Build capacity with school, district, community and students leaders to become their own agents of change.
    • Include an ongoing cycle of feedback from students, families and educators of color as part of a meaningful evaluation process. 

When engaging with PSESD’s Equity in Education team for services, you can expect:

  • Co-designing as an opportunity for meaningful learning for your context
  • Being in relationship with us beyond an initial meeting or training opportunity
  • Assessing and cultivating your school/district/agency’s readiness and ability to implement systemic supports for long-term change.
  • Honoring, supporting and partnering with equity leaders in your context.

PSESD services to support transformative systems change

All services below include coaching + technical assistance along with 5 registrations for the Coaching & Leading for Racial Equity institute.

Sustaining Racially Just and Humanizing School Environments

Regional and in-district/agency support for leaders who are cultivating the conditions for systems change.
 

Coaching and Leading for Racial Equity

CLRE is an opportunity to create a strong equity leadership team who can implement racially equitable policies and practices and lead their schools/districts/communities toward systemic transformation. 

This Institute can be delivered in-person or virtually. Please contact Clint Weckerly at cweckerly@psesd.org to discuss the most effective opportunity for your team. 

Coaching and Leading for Racial Equity participants will be able to:

  • Identify how interpersonal, institutional and systemic racism impact their current systems
  • Identify their own cultural lens/biases and opportunities for personal growth and transformation
  • Develop a leadership stance informed by their own personal and collective commitment to racial equity
  • Practice the foundational skills for authentic co-design and partnership with communities, students and families most impacted by racial injustice. 
  • Develop a context-specific plan for next steps.

Participation in the CLRE institute is accompanied by follow-up opportunities and technical assistance to support implementation of the
content and planning done in session in their own context. 

CLRE is most effective when paired with regional partnership and support. CLRE participants are recommended to join : 

  • Puget Sound Transformational Collaborative to support community-district partnership work
  • Cultivating a Racially Diverse and Thriving Educator Workforce
  • Elevating Youth of Color Voice and Leadership
     
Leading and Teaching with Racial Equity

LTRE is an ongoing opportunity to learn, try and reflect on our changes in practice as we strive to become antiracist educators. Professional learning becomes effective as it becomes part of educators’ daily practice. LTRE is intended to be a department- or school-wide experience that helps support the integration of racial equity concepts and school/district goals into students’ and educator’s day-to-day experiences. 

Participants in LTRE can expect: 

  • 1-3 grounding sessions to create collective understanding about: 
    • Community Cultural Abundance and asset-framing ideology
    • Street Data as a practice for effective teaching and learning environments. 
  • Using Liberatory Design practices, Equity in Education staff will facilitate individuals, teams, departments or schools in:
  •  identifying equity challenges
    • seeking feedback and partnership from students and community members to better understand those challenges
    • develop individual or collective goals and processes to check in with students and families to receive feedback on those goals throughout the year.