QUINCY SCHOOL COMMITTEE
EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING
A meeting of
the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Subcommittee was held on January 9, 2023
at 6:30 pm in the Coddington Building.
Present were Subcommittee members Mr. Doug Gutro, Mrs. Emily Lebo, and Mr.
Frank Santoro, Subcommittee Chair. Also
present were School Committee Members Mr. Paul Bregoli and Mrs. Tina Cahill; Superintendent
Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins, Ms. Kim Connolly, Mr.
James Mullaney, Ms. Maura Papile, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla; and Ms.
Laura Owens, Clerk.
Director of Equity,
Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Kim Connolly presented the Performance
Improvement Plan, beginning with a draft of a new vision statement, followed by
a comparison of staff and student demographics.
DEI work is underway across the district in the areas of Student Support
Services, Curriculum & Instruction, and Family Engagement. School-based DEI teams, communications
improvements with the Family Liaisons and translation line, and website
upgrades are all areas of recent growth for the district. Opportunities and challenges include creating
pathways to increase staff diversity, in the face of decreased enrollment in
education prep programs and competition for the limited number of currently
licensed educators of color.
Goals for
2022-2023 include: (1) To identify and establish a minimum of three structures,
tools, and partnerships to build a pipeline system for educators that will
increase the district’s workforce diversity; (2) to identify and implement a
minimum of two initiatives or programs that will support academic and
enrichment needs of the district’s most underserved students; (3) identify or
develop or collaborate on delivering professional development that will support
creating a safe and supportive environment for all and to create and/or support
DEI networks to advance DEI work in schools; (4) identify and contribute to
refining internal systems, policies, or approaches which will improve our
ability to attract, hire, and retain diverse candidates; expand our reach for
networks of diverse candidates; contribute to or lead training or creation of
tools that prepare and support staff.
In expanding
opportunities for Family Engagement, Ms. Connolly has created DEI Newsletters
and an Events Calendar and is collaborating with the Citywide Parent Council
DEI Subcommitee. Ms. Connolly is also
researching grant opportunities, including the DESE Teacher Diversification
Grant and the federal Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant
Program. Future areas for budget growth
might include a candidate tracking system, increased funding for student
programming and professional development.
Mr. Gutro
asked about the demographics of the college programs where we are recruiting, many
businesses are struggling with the lack of diversity of qualified candidates. Ms. Connolly said that education prep
programs are struggling to recruit and retain diverse students. More explicit
opportunities for students to see the benefits of education as a career are
needed, maybe introducing the concept of starting out as a paraprofessional and
outlining a career path.
Mrs. Lebo
asked about the Safe & Supportive Schools, Quincy Public Schools has been
implementing many of the initiatives under this umbrella. For example, the elementary and middle
schools have re-implemented PBIS in the post-COVID era. Interventions are happening at all school
levels, in addition to professional development on LBGTQ+.
Mrs. Lebo
asked about ALANA, this is an acronym for African-American, Latino, Asian,
Native American affinity group.
Mrs. Lebo
asked about the Student Handbook, Ms. Connolly has been working on revision of
the Rights & Responsibilities Handbook and this will be shared with School
Committee.
Mrs. Cahill
thanked Ms. Connolly for her work, great value in having her focus on pulling
the initiatives together and looking at the district as a whole. Mrs. Cahill said that identifying the
candidates and supporting their interest is key to successful recruiting.
Mr. Santoro
asked about student clubs, in the past there have been Future Educators clubs.
Mrs. Lebo
made a motion to approve the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
Performance Improvement Plan. Mr. Gutro
seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to adjourn at 7:00 pm, seconded by
Mr. Gutro. On a voice vote, the ayes
have it.