Equitable Practices
A Quarterly Publication
Spring 2024
Equitable Practices Committee Update
On April 24th, our Equitable Practices committee will meet in-person to reveiw and discuss data and plan for the next three years of our Equity Action Plan. The committee will review proposals for an outside company to complete an equity audit and will contribute to discussions on what the team would like to see accomplished through the audit process.
Following the meeting, more information will be shared with the community regarding the EAP and upcoming next steps.
Upcoming Events
Family Information Series
Question, Persuade, Refer Training- May 15, 2024 (In-Person-Middle School Library)
Springfield Township Equity Action Plan
Springfield Equity Statement
Recognizing the diversity of our community, The School District of Springfield Township is committed to and accountable for advancing equity and excellence for all of our students. We, in the School District of Springfield Township, endeavor to provide equitable opportunities for high level, meaningful, and engaging learning experiences for each and every student, regardless of racial/ethnic background, economic condition or other dimension of identity or difference.
We recognize that in order to achieve Educational Equity we must apply principles of fairness and justice in the allocation of resources and work toward the elimination of institutional barriers to access and opportunity. We aim to ensure that funding, policies, practices, and initiatives will enable every student to receive what they need to maximize their success. In order to foster growth toward equity, we must engage in continuous reflection and ongoing measurement of our efforts.
DVCEE District Membership
Our district is a proud member of the DVCEE, Delaware Valley Consortium for Excellence and Equity, an organization sponsored by the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. Springfield Township is proud to continue our membership and work collaboratively with the 37 other districts in the Greater Philadelphia region to enhance equitable educational practices for all students.
For more information on DVCEE, please visit their website.
Year 2 Information and Highlights
December 2023 marked the close of the second year of Springfield Township's Equity Action Plan. With eight goals to focus on during the year, our district was busy continuing our committment to diversity, equity, and belonging. Our building data teams used a newly created data protocol to dig deep into our disaggregated data. The Human Resources Department partnered with district and building leaders to expand our hiring horizens by visiting new career fairs to recruit diverse staff for a variety of positions. And our district took great pride in collecting feedback from a variety of stakeholders using Panorama surveys.
On Tuesday, January 16, 2024, Superintendent, Dr. MaryJo Yannacone, presented a comprehensive review of Year 2 of the Equity Action Plan goals and how our cumulative work has positively impacted the district.
If you were not able to attend the Board presentation, you can view the video HERE or check out the slideshow HERE.
We are extremely proud of our work here in Springfield Township and we hope that you are too!
Equity Action Plan Goals
Year 3 (2024: In- Process)
- Ensure that access and opportunity yield measurable outcomes (On-going and embedded in practices)
- Collaborate with parent organizations to develop a roadmap for decision-making K-12 (On-going and embedded in practices)
- Explore scholarships/reduced fees, and sibling childcare to improve access to extracurriculars (On-going, survey forthcoming)
- Work with our parent organizations to grow the Ambassadors Program so that families and students new to the district learn and understand how to navigate systems (Planning stages)
- Identify, review, and report on primary indicators of growth/achievement (On-going and embedded in practices)
- Provide enrichment opportunities at the elementary level after school (On-going)
Year 2 (2023)
- Create a system for the collection, review and dissemination of relevant data (On-going and embedded in practices)
- Elicit feedback from students, staff, and families (On-going and embedded in practices)
- Create a K-12 course overview with language accessibility (Complete)
- Simplify and focus our communication to families (Complete)
- Improve our website's accessibility and ease of use/clarity (Complete)
- Train our MTSS teams to utilize the MTSS process to improve our systems of identification/readiness (Complete and embedded in practices)
- Utilize an online platform for feedback from students and families (Complete and embedded in practices)
- Continue to communicate and implement recommended strategies for recruitment and retention of a diverse, representative workforce across the district (On-going and embedded in practices)
Year 1 (2022)
- Adopt and enforce an Educational Equity Policy (Complete)
- Identify administrator responsible for conducting review and analysis of data and leadership of EAP (Complete)
- Communicate the purpose and goals of the EAP broadly and consistently (Complete)
- Support conversations in the classroom that help students to be prepared for difficult topics and conversations around equity (On-going and embedded in practices)
- Improve safety for marginalized students, including students of color and LGBTQ+ students (On-going)
- Utilize analytics to assess the impact our communication has on students and families (On-going and embedded in practices)
- Create feedback/communication system for parent teacher conferences (On-going and embedded in practices)
- Provide training for ALL district staff on equitable practices that are able to be implemented in the classroom and across district offices (On-going and embedded in practices)
Educational Materials
The following information is shared with families to help strengthen equity conversations in the home. Please note that these resources are not shared in the schools. However, we encourage families to use these resources to engage your children in conversations around equity in the home.
What does it mean to belong?
According to Stanford researcher, Geoffrey Cohen, "Belonging is the feeling that we're art of a larger group that values, respects, and cares for us- and to which we feel we have something to contribute."
This means several things:
- Belonging is a feeling- in other words, we kow it when we experience it.
- Belonging involves a larger group that exhibits certain behaviors towards us. We feel valued, respected, and cared for by that group.
- And belonging includes a feeling that we have something of worth to contribute to that group.
Source: Educational Leadership, February 2024
Great Reads
Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match
By Monica Brown
Marisol is Peruvian-Scottish American and is sometimes teased and corrected for her muiti-faceted heritage. She learns though to be true to herself and to appreciate the cultural differences that make her special.
Reading Level: 2.8
Available at Enfield Elementary School
Planting Stories : The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
By Anika Aldamuy Denise
This book highlights the inspiring life of Pura Belpre, who moved from Puerto Rico to New York and became a storyteller, puppeteer, and librarian. It also comes in a Spanish language version.
Reading Level: 2.6
Available at Enfield and Erdenheim Elementary School Library
Mrs. Katz and Tush
By Patricia Polacco
This book is about Larnel and his neighbor, Mrs. Katz, who bond over a cat named Tush. Mrs. Katz shares stories and traditions from her Jewish heritage with Larnel and they discuss how their cultures have something in common.
Reading Level: 3.1
Available at Erdenheim Elementary School Library
The Rose That Grew From Concrete
By Tupac Shakur
This collection of poems was written by Tupac Shakur while still a teenager—making it a source of inspiration for young writers, particularly boys, who appreciate the musician’s authenticity. The poems are reproduced from Shakur’s journals; many show small edits he made, giving a glimpse of his creative process.
Reading Level: 6.3
Available at Springfield Township High School
The Skin I’m In
By Sharon G. Flake
Tackling bullying and the adolescent drive to build an identity, Sharon Flake’s debut novel is the story of Maleeka Madison, an African American seventh grader who struggles with poverty and self-consciousness about her dark skin—and fights the people who try to help her. The book won Flake the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent.
Reading Level: 4.1
Available at Springfield Township Middle and High School
They Both Die at the End
By Adam Silvera
A company called Death-Cast calls two New York City teens just after midnight with the bad news: This is the day they’re going to die. After meeting through the app Last Friend, Rufus, a bisexual Cuban American, and Mateo, who is of Puerto Rican heritage, spend their End Day together, making their way through the city and becoming friends—and then something more.
Interest Level: Young Adult
Available at Springfield Township Middle School and High School