Equity Action Plan

Year at a Glance 2022-2023

Highlights of the Equity Action Plan for the 2022-2023 school year are available below. These goals are also articulated in the Board’s Budget and Strategic Priorities Report (direct link).

For more information on Equity and Inclusive Education, please email us at: equity@dcdsb.ca

Training and Staff Development

Summer Institute for Educators (August 25, 2022)

Keynote: Aubrey Noronha – Colour Blind? Why being ‘not racist’ is not enough anymore
Academic and Student Services workshops covering a variety of topics
Approximately 70 staff attended from various groups

Three female staff members arriving for the Summer Institute for Educators session Community partners displaying information Director of Education saying a few words to staff at the Summer Institute for Educators Session

All staff will engage in learning about equity and mental health, facilitated through regular meetings, using a consolidated resource package titled, What does racism have to do with me?

School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO) resources:

Staff will engage in self-reflection about how to be anti-racist and use an equity leadership framework to guide their own professional growth/learning plan

Equity Leads (one in every school) will engage in three full days of professional development and learning focused on anti-racism and anti-discrimination to support engagement, conversations and capacity-building at the school-level

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Special Education Considerations

Learning and practical strategies connected to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and early literacy instruction/intervention into monthly Program Support Teacher (PST) and PST Curriculum Chair meetings each month

Key Resources:

Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning: Building Expressways to Success (Andratesha Fritzgerald)
Universal Design for Learning in Action: 100 Ways to Teach All Learners (Whitney H. Rapp)
Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom

Community and Staff Engagement

Anti-Black Racism and Black Excellence Advisory Committee

Meeting dates TBD

Community Partnerships Hub

Continue to build relationships with community partners who provide culturally relevant resources and support to our racialized students and families
- Engage and connect through regular meetings with key partners in the community to support ongoing and effective communication of resources, events and relevant information for our racialized students and families
- Current organizations engaged:
Durham Family and Cultural Centre (DFCC)
DurhamONE
Intergenerational Hub
TAIBU
Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre (WMRCC)

Invitational Learning Series for Staff, Students and Families

Tentatively set for November 29 to December 1 - speaker list coming soon!

Student Symposium

Equity Learning Symposium for Grade 7 and 8 students being planned that will involve three centrally delivered learning sessions February, March, and April
Culminating Student Conference to be held in May with participation from secondary student leadership teams

Year at a Glance 2021-2022

Highlights of the Equity Action Plan for the 2021-2022 school year are below:

Training

Anti-Black Racism Training - Secondary Educators (Oct. 8, 2021)
Critical Consciousness and the Front Office: Your Lens in Focus – Elementary School Administrative Assistants (January 21, 2022)
Critical Consciousness in Representation and Imagery: The Agency and Accountability of an Administrator (Feb. 16, 2022)
Critical Consciousness and the Front Office: Your Lens in Focus – Secondary School Administrative Assistants (Feb. 18, 2022)
Anti-Racism Training – Central Staff (Mar. 9, 2022)

Invitational Learning Series for Staff

Authors and Advocates: Illuminating Representation in the Classroom

(Nov. 22-24, 2021)

Two female and two male guest speakers and their bios

Engagement

Anti-Black Racism and Black Excellence Advisory Committee

Executive Meeting Dates:

September 21, 2021
November 16, 2021
January 17, 2022
March 22, 2022
May 17, 2022

Year at a Glance 2020-2021

Highlights of the board's Anti-Black Racism Strategy for the 2020-2021 school year are below:

Training

Anti-Black racism pilot workshop

Group A – Oct. 20 and 27, 2020
Group B - Oct. 22 and 29, 2020
40 teachers across 4 secondary schools

Challenging System Barriers: Anti-Racism and Equity - training for leaders

November 3, 17 and December 2, 2020
Over 80 principals, vice-principals and consultants
13 school

Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy (CRRP) Practitioner Inquiry

Learning opportunity with the Ministry of Education Equity Secretariat
Two secondary and one elementary school involved
Board members – System Faith Animator, Indigenous Education Advisor, Equity and Engagement Officer, Superintendent (Academic Services), Superintendent (Equity)
November 4-5, 2020 – 2-day learning symposium
Critical Inquiry Question: How will work with staff (book studies, PD, consultations) on micro-aggressions and discrimination impact feelings of belonging for racialized students?

Racial Equity Facilitator Training

10-hour course in February offered through the Equity Literacy Institute and Ed Change (led by Paul Gorski and Marceline DuBose)
Board Team of 20 leaders received 10 hours of training in February

Mandatory Anti-Black Racism Training

1/2 day training for all secondary educators on the Secondary Professional Activity Day on February 12, 2021
1/2 day training for all school administrative assistants over 2 days – March 25, 2021 and June 10, 2021
1/2 day training for all elementary educators on the Elementary Professional Activity Day on June 11, 2021
Led by Margaret Brimpong, Senior Manager of Equity, Anti-Racism and Equity

Invitational Learning Series for All Staff

May 17 – 20, 2021 @4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Female and male guest speakers and their bios

Engagement

Consultations (November 2, 2020 to December 15, 2020)

Initial consultations with Black and racialized students and parents/guardians were held to inform our next steps to address systemic discrimination and barriers in our system. We spoke with 38 students, 48 parents/guardians and 18 members of the Student Senate to hear the impact that systemic racism and how it has affected the experiences of some of our students and families.

The Thoughtexchange platform was used to gather the information and feedback that was shared. Thoughtexchange is a collaborative platform that brings people together on important topics. It helps people learn from one another, discover important insights, and make decisions quickly and effectively. More information about this platform can be found on the website using the direct link: Thoughtexchange – How it Works.

Direct links to the interactive reports for each of the Thoughtexchanges are below. The student and parent/guardian reports will also be shared broadly with our school communities. Some of the intentional next steps in our work can be found within these reports.

Interactive Thoughtexchange Summary Reports:

Anti-Black Racism Strategy Conversation with Senior Admin (February 16, 2021 at 7:00 - 8:00 p.m).

All community members were invited to engage in further conversation regarding DCDSB's Anti-Black Racism Strategy with members of Senior Administration.

Anti-Black Racism and Black Excellence Advisory Committee

As part of our Anti-Black Racism Strategy (2020-2021), the Board has committed to establishing an Advisory Committee to support engagement and ongoing communication with our stakeholders as we move forward in this work. Aside from the main group, six sub-committees have been formed:

Curriculum and Learning
Celebration and Recognition
Academic Performance and Student Discipline
Talent Recruitment and Advancement
Faith and Expression
Community Resource Development

Meeting dates:

March 30, 2021 - 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
May 4, 2021
June 9, 2021 @ 6:00 p.m. (Elections)

Action Plan and Report (2020-2021)

An Anti-Racism Policy entails a clear process for the resolution or escalation of equity-related issues/concerns for both students and staff. Through this policy, the Board seeks to clearly outline racism, anti-Black racism and related discrimination. We are also working to revise student investigation protocols to include elements specifically related to racism and discrimination.

An Anti-Racism Policy was developed to form the foundation for administrative procedures that would entail clear processes for the resolution or escalation of equity-related issues/concerns for both students and staff. Drafts of the policy undertook different internal consultation processes, including critical review through the Equity Committee.
Throughout the development process of this policy, the Board has sought to clearly outline racism, anti-Black racism and related discrimination. The Board has also strived to revise student investigation protocols to include elements specifically related to racism and discrimination.
The policy went to first reading on March 8, 2021 and to second reading on May 10, 2021. The policy is currently open for further public input and, will proceed to a third and final reading in the fall 2021. As part of our regular review process, this policy will be reviewed every 5 years.

2. An Advisory Committee focused on anti-Black racism and the illumination of Black Excellence, has been established with broad staff, parent, student and community representation. The committee will support and help co-ordinate school and system-level engagement, and internal accountability for addressing issues of systemic barriers. An Advisory Committee focused on anti-Black racism and the illumination of Black Excellence, was established in March 2021 with broad staff, parent, student and community representation. The committee focuses on supporting and helping to co-ordinate school and system-level engagement, and internal accountability for addressing issues of systemic barriers.

Six working subcommittees have been formed: Curriculum and Learning, Faith and Expression, Academic Performance and Student Discipline, Community Resource Development, Talent Recruitment and Advancement, Celebration and Recognition
- Meetings that have taken place:
- The first meeting took place on March 30, 2021 with 151 participants
- The second meeting took place on May 4, 2021
- Elections for Co-Chair, Secretary, Vice-Secretary and Subcommittee Co-Coordinators (all non-staff) were held on June 9, 2021.

3. Ongoing training opportunities for staff at all levels will be a continued focus. Mandatory training will be incorporated into PA days for both the elementary and secondary panels.

There have been number of training opportunities connected to anti-Black racism this year, including invitational training opportunities specifically for administrators and educators, and other learning sessions open to all staff
Elementary and secondary educators and school administrative assistants have received mandatory introductory training on anti-Black racism and bias, and we will continue training opportunities for all staff groups in the coming year.
The full range of training opportunities this year are outlined on the Board’s Equity and Inclusive Education Webpage under the section titled, “Anti-Black Racism Strategy – Year at a Glance 2020-2021”: Direct link

4. The Human Resources Department is developing a new hiring policy and administrative procedure that is reflective of the Ministry of Education’s expectations on teacher hiring practices to develop a diverse and representative workforce, with a focus on hiring Black educators and professionals.

The Human Resources Department has developed an interim Staffing Policy (328), currently in second reading, that provides a framework for the administrative procedures that govern the various human resources and labour relations management operations, practices and processes (Direct link to PO328)
This policy intentionally addresses hiring processes in relation to diversity, equity, human rights, and outlines the goal of achieving a diverse and representative teaching and non-teaching workforce to meet the needs of a diverse student population
Another intentional action has been to critically examine various practices within the department, including training and considerations related to bias-free hiring

5. The Board’s Demographic Data Project Application to the Equity Secretariat has been approved and project planning is underway. Administration of a Student Census will take place in the fall of 2021.

In order to facilitate engagement sessions with all of our stakeholders, the administration of the Student Census is now scheduled for April/May 2022 for students in grades 6-12
More information will be coming starting in late September 2021
The Board will offer a number of community sessions to share information and answer questions from parents/guardians, along with providing information to students and staff throughout the year prior to the administration

6. The Business of Belonging Learning Series took place May 17-20, 2021. The learning series focused on critical topics regarding belonging and what it looks like for Black learners and professionals through intersectional topics in education. The symposium was open to all DCDSB staff.

The Business of Belonging Learning Series took place May 17-20, 2021. The learning series focused on critical intersectional topics on belonging and what it looked like for Black learners and professionals in education. The symposium was open to all staff.
- Speakers and Topics:
  - Dr. Andrew B. Campbell - Anti-Black Racism and Black Excellence Work
  - Dr. Kofi- Belfon - Black and Educated – The Right to Just BE
  - Katherine Mustachi - Missing Black and Racialized Narratives in Catholic Education, Service and Expression
  - Carrington Christmas - Intersectional Black Identities and the Spirit Injury of Classification
- 300 staff registered for these opportunities and we received tremendous feedback on the learning and value of these opportunities.

News Release and Updates

News Release: DCDSB Announces Introduction of New Grade 12 Course: Deconstructing Anti-Black Racism in the Canadian and North American Context. Click here to read the news release.

St. Mary Catholic Secondary School Yearbook Report

Report on St. Mary CSS Yearbook - March 2021