Whether a student belongs to a minority group, has special needs, is male or female, or comes from a wealthy household, the Hopewell Valley Regional School District wants to ensure that each student succeeds.
That philosophy is at the heart of proposed revisions to the school district’s “Equity in Educational Programs and Services” policy. The revised policy was introduced at the Board of Education’s Jan. 22 meeting.
A public hearing and final action on the revised policy is set for the school board’s Feb. 12 meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at the school district office at 425 S. Main Street in Pennington Borough.
The revised policy clearly states that for educational success to occur, “the district is committed to equity by recognizing institutional barriers, and creating access and opportunities that benefit each student. ‘Achieving equity’ means students’ identities will not predict or predetermine their success in school.”
“Educational equity is based on the principles of fairness and justice in allocating resources, opportunity, treatment and creating success for each student,” according to the revised policy.
“The district shall provide every student with equitable access to high quality curriculum, support, facilities and other educational resources, even when this means differentiating resource allocation,” the policy states.
How will the school district turn that philosophy into action?
By setting out specific goals, such as reviewing curricula to ensure that it is written so that it provides a balanced, bias-free presentation of content. Access to all courses offered by the school district “should be driven primarily by a student’s drive and interest” in the course, the policy states.
Also, the district wants to raise the achievement of all students while narrowing the gap between the lowest performing students and the highest performing students, according to the revised policy.
School board vice president Lisa Wolff pointed out that among the nine public school districts in Mercer County, the Hopewell Valley Regional School District is the least diverse, and that equity disparities are more likely to go unnoticed.
“One of the most noteworthy policy revisions states that our district administration will annually review data to determine that all subgroups of students sharing certain characteristics are equitably represented in certain areas, including access to Advanced Placement courses or assignments to suspension,” Wolff said.
Those “characteristics” include race, religion, gender, socio-economic status or special needs.
Citing the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Wolff said that minority students are disproportionately suspended from school, as early as pre-school. The numbers “are worse” when gender, disability or English learning information is added to the mix, she said.
“If the staff is not intentionally discriminating, what factors would account for such alarming national trends? Much of the problem is attributed to ‘implicit bias,’ or unconscious attitudes that may affect our understanding or actions,” Wolff said.
The school district has promoted the “equity conversation” through its character education program, the cultural competence committee and the Hopewell Valley Central High School students’ participation in the Mercer County Day of Dialogue, she said.
“While most neighboring school districts may not have comprehensive equity policies, we are not afraid to take the lead in actions intended to improve the outcome and experiences for all of our students,” Wolff said.
