Equity & Inclusion
We acknowledge the role Eastview High School has played in perpetuating the historic injustices and marginalization of specific groups. Although our guiding principles, the Eastview Puzzle Pieces, include commitment to educational equity, access to opportunities for all students, and a safe, welcoming learning environment, we recognize that we have failed to consistently and adequately honor these responsibilities for every member of our learning community.
Going forward, Eastview High School will move past the simple acceptance of diversity in our school, rather we will celebrate our diversity, and actively foster a culture of inclusion. As a learning community, we will seek out, listen to and trust marginalized voices. Our success is dependent on all members of our school community feeling a genuine belonging. When every member of our community feels valued, supported and heard, they matter.
We are committed to making change happen in our community through the creation and advancement of a school plan focused on the elimination of system inequities within our school.
Our Commitments:
● We personally and organizationally commit to anti-racism practices in our classrooms and school.
● We will teach all faculty, staff, and students to recognize discrimination and oppression, and provide each individual tools to address and prevent it.
● We will ensure that our curriculum and pedagogy reflect the cultural, racial, historical, political, social experiences of our students, families and community.
● We commit to ensuring high outcomes for all students by removing the predictability of success or failure that correlates with any racial, social, economic or cultural factor.
● We commit to fostering, recruiting, hiring, supporting and retaining racially conscious and diverse staff.
● We will seek out, listen to and trust Black people, Indigenous people and other Communities of Color (BIPOC) when they share their experiences in our systems and in our communities.
● We commit to using what we hear and learn from our BIPOC community members to foster a deeper appreciation for those experiences and perspectives which may be different from our own.
● We will broaden our engagement with and in our larger community to impact systemic change.
Equity & Inclusion
- Equity Action Group
- The Work So Far
- Looking Forward
- Student Groups
- Equity Advisory Council
- Learn With Us
Equity Action Group
The Work So Far
Looking Forward
Student Groups
Equity Advisory Council
ISD 196 Equity Advisory Council
Superintendent Mary Kreger announced creation of the EAC during a July 2020 board meeting where she detailed the district’s heightened focus on equity and efforts to end systemic racism. In June, the School Board approved a resolution denouncing the killing of George Floyd and reinforcing the district’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. The resolution directs Kreger to develop recommendations to address racial inequalities in District 196 schools.
Purpose
The EAC is comprised of parents, community members, high school students, district administrators, principals, teachers and other staff. There are 25 appointed positions and seven ex-officio members. The committee assigned members to one- or two-year terms this first time only. All future appointments to the EAC will be two-year terms, beginning July 1, with approximately half the positions up each year.
The EAC has authority to make recommendations to the Superintendent’s Cabinet on potential changes needed to ensure equitable practices and systems, and to eliminate the predictability of student achievement based upon race, gender, special education status or eligibility for free and reduced-price school meals. The council’s role is to participate in analysis of data related to student achievement, attendance and discipline; the review of programs and services; community outreach to address the needs of underrepresented families, and to offer multiple perspectives and voice on matters of student equity and inclusion.
Members
- Leigh Collier (parent)
- Shaun Pannu (parent)
- Scott Tryggeseth (parent)
- Luis Fernando Salguero (at-large community member)
- Lee Mbiyu (high school student)
- Grantham Green (high school student)
- Sahasra Molleti (high school student)
- Calvin Keasling (assistant principal)
- Cathy Kindem (principal)
- Becky Melville (principal)
- Michael Gillis (teacher)
- Tian Grace (teacher)
- Kathryn Haave (teacher)
- Lauren Nelson (teacher)
- Julie Wavrunek (teacher)
- Carol Wekesser (teacher)
- Alyssa Bartosh (assistant administrator)
- Carita Green (assistant administrator)
- Veronica Ramos (cultural family advocate)
- Jorja Valandra (cultural family advocate)
- Kate Schmidt (Dakota County United Educators President)
Ex-officio members of the EAC are School Board Members Sachin Isaacs, Cory Johnson and Jackie Magnuson; Superintendent Mary Kreger; Director of Equity and Inclusion Virgil Jones; Director of Elementary Education Sally Soliday; Director of Secondary Education Michael Bolsoni, and Equity and Inclusion Coordinator Violeta Hernandez Espinosa
Contact
Susi Yermishkin, Equity and Inclusion administrative assistant
Email: susan.yermishkin@district196.org
Meetings
The EAC meets as a large group throughout the school year, as determined by the council. Smaller groups, or subcommittees, will meet to discuss specific areas of equity.
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Until further notice, all EAC meetings will be held virtually via videoconference
Dates:
- August 19, 2021
- September 23, 2021
- October 28, 2021
- November 18, 2021
- December 16, 2021
- January 13, 2022
- February 3, 2022
- March 10, 2022
- April 14, 2022
- May 12, 2022
- June 9, 2022
2021-22
- August 19 | Meeting Minutes
2020-21
- October 8 | Meeting Minutes
- November 12 | Meeting Minutes
- January 21 | Meeting Minutes
- March 11 | Meeting Minutes
- April 1 | Meeting Minutes
- May 13 | Meeting Minutes
Learn With Us
"We won’t grow and learn by doing what we’ve always done, and thinking what we’ve always thought. We need to move beyond our comfort zones. We need to engage with new and different if we want to expand ourselves."
Equity Resources
Read
So You Want to Talk About Race
We Got This: Equity, Access and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be
A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota
Why This Started in Minneapolis
Listen
The Leading Equity Podcast focuses on supporting educators with the tools and resources necessary to ensure equity at their school. On this podcast, listeners can expect to hear interviews and stories from voices of equity in education today. One to start with: Episode 135 How to Have Difficult Conversations About Race in the Classroom.
Watch
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
Why "I'm not racist" is only half the story
How I learned to stop worrying and love discussing race
Notice
Go out in the world and change up what you notice. Here’s some of what you might look for:
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Who are your ten closest friends? What is the racial mix in this group?
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As you move through the day, what’s the racial composition of the people around you? In your neighborhood? On your commute? At the coffee shop you go to? At the gym? At your workplace? At the places you go to on the weekend?
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What percentage of the day are you able to be with people of your own racial identity?
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Notice how much of your day you are speaking about racism. Who are you engaging with on these issues? Who are you not? Why do you think this is?
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What are the last five books you read? What is the racial mix of the authors?
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What is the racial mix of the main characters in your favorite TV shows? Movies?
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What is the racial mix of people pictured in the photos and artwork in your home? In your friends/family/colleagues’ homes?
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Who is filling what kinds of jobs/social roles in your world? (e.g. Who’s the store manager and who’s stocking the shelves? Who’s waiting on tables and who’s busing the food?) Can you correlate any of this to racial identity?
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Who do you notice on magazine covers? What roles are people of color filling in these images?
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Who is and is not represented in ads?
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If you’re traveling by car, train, or air, do you notice housing patterns? How is housing arranged? Who lives near the downtown commerce area and who does not? Who lives near the waterfront and who does not? Who lives in industrial areas and who does not? What is the density of a given neighborhood? Can you correlate any of this to racial identity?
Adapted from the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge
Connect
Follow Racial Justice activists, educators, and organizations on social media. Here are some ideas to get you started. A good way to widen your circle of who you follow is to check out who these organizations follow, quote, repost, and retweet.
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Antiracism Center: Twitter
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Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Justice League NYC: Twitter | Instagram + Gathering For Justice: Twitter | Instagram
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The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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The Movement For Black Lives (M4BL): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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National Domestic Workers Alliance: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook