Hello SWCS, thank you for taking the time to read about our DEI work.

May 31st DEI Meetings:

Together with Dr. Brown, we developed our next action steps, including adding student voice to our work, reviewing our district's mission statement and policies tied to DEI, examining our Code of Conduct through an equity lens, and evaluating our curricula k-12. We also set a goal to establish a year-round calendar to recognize and celebrate holidays and diverse heritages (e.g., Asian Pacific American Heritage month in May).

Dr. Brown worked with our high school student led group Allies for Diversity. He shared ideas to promote leadership qualities amongst our students. He then met with our administrative team to begin our work looking at policies and our Code of Conduct.

Finally, Dr. Brown met with our Board of Education to discuss our district's current needs and help guide some decision-making in regards to potential policy updates.

In addition to our district-wide DEI meetings, smaller committees at our building levels have begun to work on needs specific to each building. This will allow us to maintain overall consistency district-wide, but also consider the developmental level and needs of each building. Our work continues this summer!

June marks the celebration of Pride month and the first time Juneteenth is recognized as a Federal Holiday. We felt it was important to recognize and provide appropriate education on these important historical celebrations. Below are activities planned in each building:

Elementary School –

The week of June 13th - morning announcements will include educational information about the Juneteenth holiday and significance in our American history. Students in 5th grade are creating Juneteenth flags to be included in our Flag Day Ceremony. There will be a display in the library asking students and staff to write how they can show kindness to all.

Middle School –

For the week of June 13th announcements will include education about Juneteenth as well as recognize a different historical person each day that worked towards improving inclusion in our country. Optional Makerspace activities after school for students include making Pride or Juneteenth buttons and flags.

High School –

Beginning the week of June 6th, announcements will include education about Juneteenth as well as the history of Pride month. A display was created by graphic art students; it depicts facts about Juneteenth and Pride month as well as celebratory images of these events. In the library, students can create buttons, flags, mug stickers etc. (See examples below!)