Many district leaders continue to wrestle with different ways to incorporate equity into their planning as well as the best approaches to gather feedback and analyze data. Ongoing analyses can help set priorities and determine where to invest resources based on how conditions actually are – not based on assumptions – and are important to learn how outcomes vary across schools, classrooms, and student groups. As programs and school supports are implemented with ESSER funding, districts will also need to rely on data to assess their impact. This data will benefit stakeholders, too, by helping communities hold districts accountable for attaining the goals they set and improving outcomes for their students. However, these decision-making practices and progress-monitoring efforts are only as good as the data on which they are based, so it’s important to review current plans and tools as districts try to evaluate and promote equity.
Strategic Survey Examples
- Strategic Priorities Diagnostic Tool – By gathering feedback from district and school leaders, this survey instrument helps districts prioritize efforts across different strategic areas based on considerations of both relative importance and performance. The survey instrument features sections pertaining to the following constructs: District Leadership (i.e., planning strategically, structuring and staffing the central office, developing leadership, strengthening board relations); Teaching and Learning (i.e., ensuring college and career readiness, evaluating programs); District Culture (i.e., building safe and supportive environments, engaging families and the community); and Resources and Operations (i.e., recruiting, developing, and retaining talent, improving operations).
- K-12 Climate Survey – To measure climate at the district and school levels, this survey instrument includes items related to school/building environment, academic environment, social environment, and stakeholder inclusiveness. By gathering responses from students, parents, staff members, and community members, the survey instrument indicates how perceptions and experiences differ across stakeholder groups.
- K-12 Social Emotional Learning Survey – This survey instrument gauges the state of staff members’, students’, and families’ social-emotional well-being, perceptions of existing programs and resources, and need for additional supports.
Equity Resources
- Equity and Inclusion Diagnostic Tool – This survey instrument captures different stakeholder groups’ perceptions of equity and inclusion within the district. This feedback assists district leaders’ efforts to understand current conditions, define desired outcomes, and set immediate priorities.
- Staff Equity and Inclusion Survey – This survey instrument, developed in collaboration with Cleveland Metropolitan School District, measures the extent to which staff members feel they work in an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment and how staff members’ perceptions differ across departments and roles, as well as based on their demographic characteristics.
- Academic Equity Workbook – District leaders can use this workbook to develop a framework for evaluating academic data points, identifying differences in performance across student groups, and determining the root causes of these disparities. In addition to defining key concepts, the workbook provides spaces for district leaders to enter academic data and guiding questions to support related discussions.
Virtual Events
- Superintendents Leadership Council – Hanover reconvened the SLC last Thursday to hear how district leaders are addressing the challenges they face in preparing for the summer and the 2021-2022 school year. Please click here to access the recording. The SLC will meet next on Wednesday, June 16th at 8pm EST. Please click here to register, and many thanks to WASA and MASA for co-hosting this event.
- Promising Practices for Staff Support and Retention in 2021-2022 – On April 22, Hanover hosted a webinar in which Mr. Matt Reynolds (Douglas County School District – CO), Dr. Scott Blum (Educational Service Unit #3 – NE), and Dr. Marcy Levy Shankman (Cleveland Metropolitan School District – OH) discussed how districts can strengthen supports in order to engage staff and increase retention. Please click here to view the recording. Building on that discussion, Hanover will host a webinar on Tuesday, June 22nd focused on effective strategies to retain teachers and mitigate teacher shortages. An invitation to register will arrive in your inbox soon.