Office of Equity Newsletter

The Office of Equity is excited to present the first newsletter for the 2021-2022 school year. This edition includes information regarding Indigenous People's Day, Hispanic Heritage Month, National Bullying Prevention Month, Disability History and Awareness Month and other resources that will be useful as you continue your equity work in your school or office.

Please feel free to reach out to Lottie Spurlock, Director of Equity, at Lottie.Spurlock@lcps.org or Traci Townsend, Supervisor of Equity, at Traci.Townsend@lcps.org with any questions.

Our webpage provides an overview of equity within our division. You will find helpful information such as the Comprehensive Equity Plan, Action Plan to Combat Systemic Racism, division-wide equity statement, past editions of our newsletter, resources for the LCPS community, and other helpful information.

LCPS Equity Webpage

The School Board has passed several proclamations for the months of September and October.

The proclamation for Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes, amongst other highlights, the essential contributions, sacifices, and accomplishments that Hispanic and Latino people have made to the United States throughout our nation's history.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, a time to focus and raise awareness on bullying. All school administrators, unified mental health team members, teachers, students, and parents play a critical role in creating a climate where bullying is not tolerated. It has been proven when adults and children stand together, bullying ends.

Virginia’s General Assembly passed Senate Joint Resolution 321 in 2009 designating October as Disability History and Awareness Month in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Governor Ralph S. Northam recognized October as Dyslexia Awareness Month in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

An additional proclamation was issued declaring Monday, October 11, 2021 as Indigenous Peoples' Day as we recognize the progress our society has accomplished through the academic, economic, and cultural contributions of the Indigenous People.

PROCLAMATION

Leaders across various departments, offices, and schools collaborated to create a document to serve as guidance to understand our diverse student and staff population and reflect the specific educational equity work that needs to be done in Loudoun County Public Schools. Please access the document using the link below or visit the LCPS Equity Webpage.

Cultural Literacy/Common Language

Education Equity: Eliminating the predictability of student outcomes based on race, gender, zip code, ability, socioeconomic status or languages spoken at home. (VDOE. Adapted from the National Equity Project. Educational Equity Definition.)

Please see Navigating EdEquity VA: Virginia's Road Map to Equity for additional information.

The School Board developed Policy 8040 to meet the requirements of Virginia House Bill 145 and Virginia Senate Bill 161, enacted by the 2020 Virginia General Assembly. This legislation created Section § 22.1-23.3 of the Code of Virginia, treatment of transgender students. This Code section states that each Virginia school board shall adopt a policy that reflects the requirements set forth by the Code.

We are grateful for the efforts of leaders in the Department of Student Services who collaborated to support the development of Policy 8040 and created the professional learning to ensure that our division understands the policy and the importance it holds for our students.

The required training module is designed to educate LCPS employees about Policy 8040 and provides an overview of how LCPS employees can support a culture that is a welcoming, affirming, safe and caring environment for transgender and gender expansive students. It is available to staff in Schoology.

LCPS’ number one priority is to foster the success of all students and ensure they feel safe, secure, accepted and ready to learn at school.

View the Entire Policy

LCPS Statement on Policy 8040

View FAQs

The Virginia Department of Education has been hosting monthly webinars focused on equity strategies and resources available to school divisions.

The series of webinars focuses on the competencies based on Virginia's Equity 5 C's: Courageous leadership, Compassionate family and student engagement, Continuous reflection, Cultural responsiveness, and Curriculum reframing.

The latest webinar, that also supports Policy 8040, "Supporting Transgender Students: An Overview of the Transgender Model Policy and Strategies to Support Trans Students," can be found at this link: VIDEO.

Additional EdEquityVA Webinars can be found here: EdEquityVA Webinar Series

Email: contact@lcps.org
Website: lcps.org/equityoverview
Location: 21000 Education Court, Ashburn, VA, USA
Phone: 571-252-1000
Twitter: @EquityinLCPS