Equity Review

Throughout the implementation of our Equity Review programs, we build a culture that is focused on self-reflection and the analysis of results and actions. Implemented in this way, our programs serve as a powerful tool that can promote efforts to improve equity at the district, school, and classroom levels.

The Equity Review is a comprehensive benchmarking tool that assesses diversity, equity, and inclusion for schools, non-profit organizations, and companies. The Equity Review is the new standard bearer for organizational growth in diversity, equity, and inclusion measures.

Purpose

The purpose of the Equity Review is to:

  • Identify institutional practices that produce discriminatory trends in data that affect students

  • Analyze data in these key areas: programmatic equity, teaching quality equity, achievement equity and equity in access to programs

  • Provide the district with a clear view of its opportunities for improvement and areas of strength and challenge

We exam the impact of the policies, programs, and supports in Four Domains:

1. Student Learning and Development Outcomes

  • Achievement

  • Opportunity

  • Resource allocation

  • Discipline

  • Expectations

2. Leadership, Management, and Accountability 

  • Governance 

  • Operations

  • Communications

  • Technology

  • Human Resources

  • Facilities

  • Accountability

3. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment 

  • Cultural relevance

  • Cultural responsiveness

  • Professional development

  • Use of data

4. Engagement of Families, the Community, and Other Stakeholders

  • Voices of families and their input in decision-making

  • Voices of students and their input in decision-making

  • Community support

The Equity Standards and Rubric

The Equity Review process requires reviewers to collect evidence to support findings about the organization’s level of equity, as it pertains to access, inclusion, and opportunity for all stakeholders. A rubric is then used to assess how the organization meets or exceeds the agreed upon standards, and where there are challenges in inequity.

In the complex context of an Equity Review, it is important that there are consistent and transparent processes, clearly understood procedures, and unambiguous and consistent terminology. Agreed upon rubrics and descriptors guide the assessment of the findings, based on an objective evidence-based assembled rubric. 

The Three Phases of the Equity review process

Phase 1: Pre-visit preparation

  • Organizational preparation meetings for key staff 

  • Contact by the Freedom Ink Team

  • Documents required prior to the review

  • Organization self-evaluation 

  • Analysis of the data 

Phase 2: School visit

  • Scheduling and structure of review

  • Documents required during the review 

  • Collection of evidence

  • Focus group meetings

  • Classroom visits

  • Reviewing evidence

  • Verbal feedback to the district/organizational leader

Phase 3: The Equity Review Report

  • Internal Quality Assurance (QA) 1 protocol

  • Fact check version sent within 20 days

  • QA review 2

  • Final report submitted

The Equity Review as an element of the school improvement process

The Equity Review is a key component of a comprehensive continuous improvement process, since it is a third party, evidence-based, objective validation of the organization’s equity levels.

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