Equity audit in school division’s future

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This article was published 20/06/2023 (838 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s largest school board plans to undertake an “equity audit” of its educational programs and services next year.

Trustees and senior leaders of the Winnipeg School Division, including outgoing chief superintendent Pauline Clarke, met Monday evening for their final regular public meeting of the 2022-23 academic season.

Chairwoman Betty Edel gave her colleagues a heads-up about a motion she is scheduled to put forward when the board resumes regular operations in the fall.

Edel plans to request WSD issue a request for proposals for an equity auditor to assess local programming, a follow-up project after hiring a consultant to probe the division’s employment practices, before 2024.

“If we believe in inclusion of every sort (in our teaching practices, staffing roster and student support services)… What does that translate to in action?” she said, when reached Tuesday.

The Ward 8 trustee said she sees value in hiring someone with “clean eyes” to analyze programs, partners and wait lists, and make related recommendations.

In late 2021, the former board unanimously voted to create an office to oversee anti-racism initiatives and collect data on diversity demographics across WSD.

At the time, officials agreed to launch the special unit ahead of 2022-23 and conduct an employment equity audit.

In doing so, trustees answered calls from Equity Matters, a coalition that represents Indigenous, newcomer and inner-city organizations whose members had called on boards to create local offices dedicated to taking down barriers for racialized students.

“If we’re serious about making concrete changes and we want to address the inequities within (public schools), looking at the structural inequities that currently exist, then we don’t just need the talk — we need to walk,” Equity Matters’ Suni Matthews, a career educator, has told the Free Press.

WSD hired a Toronto consultant who specializes in equity issues to analyze local hiring practices and interview staff members throughout 2022-23.

Tana Turner, founder of Turner Consulting Group Inc., has done dozens of audits that examine under-representation throughout her career.

Trustees discussed the results of her final report in-camera during a special meeting earlier this month. It’s anticipated to be released in the coming days.

One-third of all students belong to a visible minority and 17 per cent of the student population identifies as either First Nations, Métis or Inuit, per WSD’s latest demographics report.

Upwards of 17 per cent of learners identify as immigrants or refugees and almost 18 per cent of the population at large is learning English as an additional language.

One-quarter of students live in single-parent households. Roughly five per cent of pupils are in foster care.

Community members showed up to the division’s latest meeting on June 19 to congratulate Clarke on her imminent retirement.

Tom Simms, co-director of the Community Education Development Association and a regular attendee of board meetings, applauded the chief superintendent’s supportive attitude in working with local organizations throughout her career.

“Over the 40 years (we’ve worked together), I don’t think there was one crazy idea that I brought to her that she said, ‘No, I don’t think we should do that,’” said Simms, who is among the WSD partners who have advocated for anti-racism initiatives in central schools.

Clarke has been the division’s chief executive officer for more than 15 years and prior to that, she oversaw inner-city schools in the division.

A search for a new education leader for 2023-24 and beyond is underway.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie