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A Statement from the San Leandro Unified School District on Equity
June 10, 2020
As our country confronts our legacy of racial oppression, the national dialogue is fueling an undeniable call to action for activism and advocacy. This pivotal moment in history demands that all public institutions, including SLUSD, carefully examine every practice and policy that contributes to systemic racism. It is no longer enough to be aware of the critical weaknesses and biases that perpetuate these racialized inequities, whether intentional or unintentional. Every member of our society has an active, urgent role to play in remedying these historic wrongs.
Knowing that despite our best intentions, we continue to contribute to the persistent problem, SLUSD must meet the moment with critical reflection. Fortunately, we have a thoughtful framework in place to analyze our efforts towards eradicating institutional bias. In October of 2018, the San Leandro Unified School Board passed EQUITY BOARD POLICY 0415, grounded in the core foundational belief that the diversity in our community is our greatest singular strength and integral to our success.
Through this policy, we proactively identify class and cultural biases as well as practices, policies, and institutional barriers that negatively influence student learning, perpetuate achievement gaps, and impede equal access. We strive to eliminate inequities by reversing the history of exclusion, discrimination, and segregation, which has been especially troubling in San Leandro.
Specific requirements within our equity policy include the following:
- Routine assessment of student needs based on data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds to enable equity-focused policy, planning, and resource development decisions.
- Allocating financial and human resources to provide all students with equitable access to district programs and services.
- Enabling and encouraging all students to complete advanced college preparation programs.
- Building positive school climates that promote student engagement, safety, and support.
- Adopting curriculum that accurately reflects the diversity among student groups.
- Promoting the employment and retention of a diverse staff that reflects the student demographics of the community.
- Providing district staff with current, researched-based, professional learning, and development on culturally responsive instructional practices.
Knowing that educational gaps persist for our students, this policy informs our current critical reflection. State and national awards for improving access and equity are potent indicators that this policy has moved the needle in the right direction. With that in mind, the San Leandro Unified School District will expand on our current equity-based practices with these next steps:
1. Require cultural competency and racial bias training for every current SLUSD employee through both our mandated training process, and with embedded anti-bias professional development throughout the year.
2. Collaborate with the San Leandro Police Department about the future of the School Resource Officer program on our campuses prior to the start of the school year. It is important to note that SLUSD stopped participating in the GREAT program for elementary students in 2018 and has never allocated any funding to support the School Resource Officer program.
3. Increase funding for our Social Justice Academy (SJA) at San Leandro High School, while finding more opportunities to expand the academy’s programming to all classrooms in SLUSD.
4. Increase enrollment in our Ethnic Studies course at San Leandro High School through strong, sustained recruitment. We will also look to expand ethnic studies curriculum to include every grade level, starting in kindergarten.
5. Strengthen ongoing efforts to increase diversity in our teaching and administrative staff, through explicit employment postings and practices that recruit equity-focused applicants.
6. Closely align and collaborate with the San Leandro Teachers Association’s Human Rights and Social Justice Committee to elevate the dialogue on inequity in our organization and our community.
7. Analyze our ongoing cycles of student, staff, and community feedback to ensure our work is making the intended lasting impact.
As we look deeply at ourselves, we advocate for the same critical reflection by all of our community partners. We echo the voices of our students, staff, and community members who are calling for justice locally on behalf of Steven Taylor, Emerald Black, and Anthony Gomez. We also believe that our civic leaders are ready to follow through on their commitment to our community. We will continue to say the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and all who have been tragically killed due to institutionalized racism. We unreservedly agree that Black Lives Matter while standing in solidarity with our communities of color in the pursuit of a future that will finally, truly reflect equal freedom and equitable justice.
