Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Facilitators

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Facilitators support Parkway school staff, leaders, and community members. They provide guidance and coaching to ensure equity for all students within the Parkway School District, upholding the Educational Equity Policy and Educational Equity Procedures.

LEAD Parkway

Leadership, Empathy, Advocacy and Diversity

LEAD Parkway is a high school leadership program in which students from across the district gather for monthly meetings, participate in weekend retreats, and embark on an experiential journey throughout the St. Louis region to gain a deeper understanding of the history, culture, and identity of the Black and Jewish communities.

Participants will gain an understanding of different systems of oppression and be able to discuss and analyze how these systems are interconnected. They will hone their leadership capacity through practical skill training, including facilitation, public speaking, community organizing, inclusion, writing, curiosity, and educated risk-taking.

The application process opens in the spring of each school year.

Parent Advocacy for Multicultural Excellence in Education

Mission Statement

The Parkway Parent Advocacy for Multicultural Excellence in Education (PAMEE) mission is to support the Parkway School District’s efforts and initiatives that promote inclusion. We will accomplish this by providing families with a space to share ideas, perspectives, and experiences, promoting a positive and productive experience in Parkway.

Title VI

Title VI, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq., was enacted as part of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.

The Parkway School District Board of Education is committed to maintaining an educational environment that is free from discrimination and harassment in admission or access to, or treatment in, its programs, services, activities and facilities. In accordance with law, the district strictly prohibits discrimination and harassment against students or employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by law.

The Board of Education is committed to maintaining an environment for its employees and students that is free from sexual harassment. Furthermore, the Board of Education strongly believes that no person in the Parkway School District shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity.

To report an incident of discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, please contact your building administrator or Dr. Cartelia Lucas, the Title VI Coordinator (Race, Color, or National Origin Discrimination - Students) 

Dr. Cartelia Lucas
Director Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
760 Woods Mill Road Manchester, MO 63011
314-415-9061

EDUCATIONAL EQUITY POLICY

FILE: ACIB

The Parkway Board of Education is committed to the success of each student enrolled in our schools. In order to accomplish this, the district will create an educational environment that emphasizes equity in the opportunities created for all students.

Students enrolled in the district shall be provided an educational experience in which they receive the resources they need to have a greater sense of self-efficacy and self determination. The Board recognizes that barriers and inequities exist in our society, resulting in the reality that not all students start from the same place. The district will identify these barriers and imbalances and make adjustments in order to create equitable educational opportunities for all students.

Implementation

The district will evaluate current policies and practices (e.g., curriculum and its implementation, discipline practices, professional development, employee recruitment and retention) to determine the degree of equity contained therein. Appropriate revisions will be made to policies and practices such that equity for all students will be an apparent, defining feature. If appropriate, practices or policies may be revised or eliminated in order to produce equitable opportunities for all students. Such evaluation of policies and practices will include the study of how current practices may disproportionately impact or discriminate against any student or family.

As a result of this review and any revised policies and practices, all Parkway students should expect, along with their participation in the education process:

1. To develop the necessary skills to face and participate fully in an increasingly ever changing world;
2. To honor, be knowledgeable and inclusive of cultures in a way that does not violate others' individual or group rights to self-determination;
3. To become leaders in listening for learning as well as creating and facilitating harmonious thought indicative of the equitable education they experienced;
4. To interact with others in ways that create equity; and,
5. To have staff members respect and understand each student's culture and ethnicity to build lasting relationships, enhancing each student's ability to learn.

The administration will establish guidelines for the implementation of this policy.

Note: The reader is encouraged to check the index located at the beginning of this section for other pertinent policies and to review administrative procedures and/or forms for related information.

Adopted: October 13, 2021 

Revised: Parkway C-2

School District, Chesterfield, Missouri

© 2015, Missouri School Boards' Association, Registered in U.S. Copyright Office

EDUCATIONAL EQUITY PROCEDURES

File: ACIB.AP

The following administrative procedures have been developed to implement board policy ACIB, Educational Equity.

1. Relationships and Community Building 

For all students to honor and be inclusive of others and their cultures and interact with others in ways that create equity, schools must create a safe, welcoming, supportive, and affirming environment. As such, district and building administrators, teachers and staff will:

1. 1. 1. build environments that intentionally focus on fostering empathy, developing relationships and upholding dignity for everyone in our schools, offices, and community,
      2. create and maintain a culture in which students, employees, and families are encouraged to self-reflect on assumptions, biases, and beliefs to promote understanding, respect, dignity, acceptance, and positive interactions amongst all individuals and groups,
      3. maintain a safe and supportive school climate that uplifts positive relationships and a culture of belonging, and supports the social-emotional and mental health needs of students and staff,
      4. identify and eliminate disproportionality in discipline practices, create a just and equitable learning environment, repair harm, and respond effectively to conflict,
      5. incorporate student voice in school and district-level decision-making,
      6. develop and implement programs and activities to promote and encourage students and staff to acquire, practice, and continually improve problem-solving and conflict-management skills,
      7. design and facilitate effective and efficient school-community relations and parent involvement opportunities,
      8. oppose or prohibit unfair discrimination against people based on protected classes.

2. Curriculum

Teaching students to listen to and learn from the perspectives of others and develop the necessary skills to participate in an increasingly ever-changing world, the topics of diversity, equity and inclusion must be embedded in the curriculum. As such, district and building administrators, teachers and staff will:

1. 1. 1. provide culturally responsive instruction and relevant curriculum inclusive of but not limited to perspectives from marginalized people excluded or underrepresented in the current curriculum,
      2. utilize instructional materials which reflect aspirations, history, issues, and achievements of persons from diverse social identifiers and incorporate a global perspective,
      3. evaluate and continuously improve course, program, activity and enrollment placement and scheduling processes to ensure the implementation of equitable educational opportunities for all students,
      4. provide access and support to rigorous coursework and comparable academic and enrichment programs for all students to maximize student learning,

3. Professional Development 

For staff to understand each student’s culture, ethnicity and other identity markers, which promotes lasting relationships and enhances students’ ability to learn, continuous professional learning on topics of diversity, equity and inclusion is essential for all staff. As such, district and building administrators will engage in and provide:

1. 1. 1. ongoing professional learning focused on factors influencing educational equity, including but not limited to cultural proficiency instruction, cultural responsiveness, multiple abilities levels, implicit and explicit bias, and racial equity for all staff,
      2. development on instructional practices and support for educators and staff to utilize in building positive cultures where students and staff feel valued, welcomed, and supported to fulfill their academic and professional potential,
      3. learning experiences that enhance staff, administrators and community members’ understanding of how to engage students and one another in courageous conversations around race, equity and inclusion.

4. Recruit, Hire, Retain and Develop/Promote

In recruiting, employing, supporting, retaining and continuously developing a racially conscious and culturally competent administrative, instructional and support personnel workforce, district and school administrators will develop a system of strategies necessary to consistently hire, retain and develop a staff reflective of the student demographics.

5. Accountability

To achieve educational equity for all students, the Superintendent or designee will:

1. 1. 1. monitor the development and implementation of a system-wide plan to promote educational equity,
      2. oversee the development of system-wide objectives and activities, and track progress towards measurable targets to achieve educational equity,
      3. track, document and report progress toward measurable targets to achieve educational equity,
      4. annually obtain student, staff and community feedback on progress toward measurable objectives for achieving educational equity,
      5. provide data on educational equity through information items, memorandums, and reports that include disaggregated data to the Board of Education,
      6. oversee reporting progress toward equity-related goals, including data for all protected classes to the public.

Note: The reader is encouraged to review policies and/or forms for related information in this administrative area. 

Implemented: November 16, 2022

Revised:

Parkway C-2 School District, Chesterfield, Missouri