Flagstaff Unified School District

FUSD Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias Task Force Meeting Summary

November 5, 2020

5:00 – 7:00pm

Participation:

This was the fifth and final required meeting of the full Task Force. We met via Zoom, and there were 20 people present plus the facilitator. There was one student member present, which means that most of the absences were among students (5 were missing). Almost all participants were present for the entire meeting duration.

The co-chairs and facilitator decided to schedule one additional, optional meeting for the Task Force to provide input on the draft report and discuss how to present the report to the Board. This meeting will be held on November 19, 2020 from 5-7pm via Zoom.

Meeting Pre-Work:

Between the fourth and fifth meetings, the subgroups were asked to plan an additional meeting—if needed—to complete their work from the fourth meeting. Similar to our previous process, the chair of each subgroup was tasked with scheduling and facilitating these meetings. Each subgroup was asked to fully complete the table explained in the summary from our third meeting, as well as respond—as necessary—to the questions offered on the document by the facilitator.

The google folder remains available to Task Force members.

Agenda:

The agenda for the fifth Task Force meeting was developed by the facilitator. The co-chairs had previously decided to invite key FUSD leaders to be part of the fifth meeting in order to allow Task Force members an opportunity to hear from these leaders and ask them questions. The goal for this meeting, as shared with the Task Force members via email, was: To hear input from FUSD leaders on the recommendations, barriers, and suggested timeframes for each domain; and then to refine each subgroup’s recommendations for the final report. In other words, we focused our time on (1) hearing from FUSD leaders for each of the four domains and considering how/if what they shared should inform the Task Force’s work, and (2) identifying key points Task Force members wanted in the final report to the FUSD Board. 

• 5:00 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.
  • Welcome, introductions, and agenda review
  • Reminder of Commitments:

    • Stay engaged

    • Speak your truth

    • Experience discomfort

    • Except and accept nonclosure

    • Assume best intentions

    • Honor others’ anonymity

• 5:20 p.m. to 5:40 p.m.
  • Subgroups meet to hear from and dialogue with relevant FUSD leader
  • Encourage each group to assign group roles of timekeeper, recorder/reporter, facilitator, and observer
• 5:40 p.m. to 6:20 p.m.
  • Whole group discussion
    • Proposed report format
    • Key themes
    • Presenting report to the Board
• 6:55 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
  • Discuss next steps
    • Report via email: 11/16
    • Optional meeting: 11/19
    • FUSD Governing Board meeting: 12/8

The meeting followed this agenda, except that we did not have an opportunity to talk about how the Task Force wants to present the final report to the Board. We will discuss this issue during a future meeting. 

Key Highlights:

We began the Task Force meeting with introductions since we had five FUSD leaders joining us. The leaders included: 

• Student Behavior and SEL: Cathy Cox and Cherise Hovis
• Staff Diversity: Dawn Anderson
• Professional Learning: Rochelle Bronson
• Curriculum: Mary K Walton

The facilitator reviewed the commitments that our Task Force established, and she asked the guests to also commit to these norms. After 20 minutes in breakout rooms with the relevant FUSD leader for each subgroup, the facilitator closed the rooms and thanked the guests for joining. The subgroups then went back into their breakout rooms with two key tasks: (1) consider if and how they wanted to revise the goals/recommendations they have been developing in light of what they learned from the FUSD leader, and (2) list between two and five key points or messages that they felt strongly should be in the report to the Board. After 35 minutes in these subgroups, the full Task Force came back together and looked at a draft outline the facilitator had developed for the final report. The outline included some cross- cutting themes that the facilitator identified as seeming to be ever-present in her observations of the Task Force’s work since August, and Task Force members were asked to comment on the report format and the themes. A rich conversation ensued that highlighted themes related to sustaining this work, greater communication and accountability for this work, and that a culture shift is needed to really center this work in FUSD.

Next Steps:

Specific next steps that were discussed include:

• Inviting Task Force members to send any additional feedback on the report template to the facilitator via e-mail by November
• Reminding Task Force members that the draft report will be sent to them via email on November They will review it and send any written feedback to the facilitator via email by November 19.
• Reminding Task Force members of our optional meeting on November 19 to discuss the draft report, as well as to plan for the presentation of the report to the Board on December

The co-chairs hosted a Town Hall event between the third and fourth meetings. This event was held on October 5 via Zoom and Facebook Live. The co-chairs worked with Zachery Fountain from FUSD to organize the technology and inform the community about the event. Not including Task Force members, 81 people registered in advance for the event, and 83 people participated in the event via Zoom. The Town Hall was also posted on Facebook Live; there were 2,415 viewers and 600 engagements with the event on Facebook. The Task Force facilitator participated in most of the planning meetings for the Town Hall, but the event was led by the co-chairs. Task Force members were asked to attend and participate in the Town Hall, but it was not required. Approximately half of the Task Force members attended the Town Hall.

The Town Hall included some introductory comments from the co-chairs, and then participants were put into Zoom breakout rooms based on the domain (i.e. curriculum, staff diversity, professional learning, and student behavior/SEL) they selected. The student behavior/SEL domain had the highest number of participants. Each subgroup was led by one of the Task Force co-chairs, and they used the following questions to guide the conversation:

1.         What experiences do you have in FUSD that could inform this Task Force domain?

2.         What recommendations for FUSD do you have for this Task Force domain?

3.         What would you like to see as an outcome of the FUSD Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias Task Force?

Each group also had a Task Force member assigned to be the note taker, and the notes were saved in the google folder for the appropriate subgroup. Based on my review of the group notes, it appears that most of the conversations included a number of personal experiences that were shared and some ideas for what FUSD should consider changing. Most of the ideas shared were consistent with ideas that the Task Force had previously discussed.

After the Town Hall, all 81 people who registered received an email thanking them for their time and inviting them to complete a short survey. The survey included the same three questions as noted above, plus a few likert-scale questions asking their impressions of the Town Hall event. The survey elicited responses from 20 individuals – over half of whom were interested primarily in the student behavior and social emotional learning domain, and a quarter of whom were primarily interested in the curriculum domain. A number of ideas were 

shared in the survey, but some of the themes and/or ideas that appeared multiple times included:

•       More transparency regarding what the curriculum is, and more integration of Ethnic Studies and/or other materials and knowledge systems from diverse people and communities.

•       More proactive and restorative approaches to student behavior and discipline, and additional learning opportunities for staff in this area.

•       Additional and ongoing opportunities for FUSD to hear from students and the broader community about what their needs are, and then using this information to guide decisions.

•       A system of transparent and sustained accountability related to anti-racism and anti- bias work in FUSD.

•       Greater collaboration and coordination with the community and community entities (such as the City, County, etc.).

•       Ongoing and required learning opportunities for FUSD staff related to anti-racism, anti- bias, hiring practices, and diversifying the curriculum.

Feedback about the event itself was generally positive, but some participants expressed concern about insufficient time for discussion, unfocused questions, and that there wasn’t a clear plan for continued community input.

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The remaining text of this summary focuses on the fourth meeting of the FUSD Task Force

Participation:

This was the fourth meeting of the full Task Force. We met via Zoom, and there were 19 people present plus the facilitator. There was one student member present, which means that most of the absences were among students (5 were missing). Almost all participants were present for the entire meeting duration. 

Meeting Pre-Work:

Between the third and fourth meetings, the subgroups were asked to plan an additional meeting to complete the work they began during the third meeting. Similar to our previous process, the chair of each subgroup was tasked with scheduling and facilitating these meetings. Each subgroup was asked to complete the table explained in the summary from our third meeting.

In addition, the facilitator reviewed each group’s work prior to this fourth meeting and added questions to their working document. The questions were primarily aimed at eliciting greater clarity around the group’s goals and ideas. However, if the facilitator felt there was an obvious hole, she also added questions to prompt thinking about that.

The google folder remains available to Task Force members, and members were encouraged to review the data and other relevant materials compiled there.

 

Agenda:
 

The agenda for the fourth Task Force meeting was developed by the facilitator in consultation with the co-chairs, all of whom agreed that we needed to continue focused attention on the key domains. The goal for this meeting, as shared with the Task Force members, was: To review and integrate input from the Town Hall, and to provide input across subgroups. In other words, we focused our time on (1) reviewing the Town Hall data and considering how it should inform the Task Force’s work, and (2) allowing Task Force members to work outside of their particular domain and share their thoughts on the work completed thus far in other domains.

5-5:15pm
Welcome, recap from last meeting and Town Hall, review plans for tonight’s meeting
Reminder of our commitments:

•       Stay engaged

•       Speak your truth

•       Experience discomfort

•       Except and accept non- closure

•       Assume best intentions

•       Honor others’ anonymity

5:15-5:50pm
Subgroups meet to discuss feedback/input from Town Hall
Encourage each group to assign group roles:

•       Timekeeper

•       Recorder/Reporter

•       Facilitator

•       Observer

5:55-6:15pm
Task Force members will select a new subgroup to provide input
Co-Chairs will stay in original group and take notes

6:20-6:40pm
Task Force members will select a new subgroup to provide input Co-Chairs will stay in original group and take notes

6:40-7:00pm
Groups share out key take aways to whole group

Discuss next steps Next meeting: Nov. 5
Optional meeting: Nov. 19

FUSD Board meeting: Dec. 8

The meeting followed this agenda, which required a lot of movement between breakout groups, but it went smoothly and the co-chairs and facilitator felt the time was well spent. 

Key Highlights:

We began the Task Force meeting by providing a general overview of the Town Hall and sharing highlights from the Town Hall survey data. The facilitator then asked for Task Force members’ thoughts if they attended the Town Hall event. Three individuals shared their perspectives, which ranged from feeling like the Town hall was awkward with a lot of concerns expressed to feeling like it was a good litmus test for the general perspectives of the broader community.

Some Task Force members were alarmed by what they perceived to be a hostile engagement by a community member early on in the event, and many Task Force members wondered how we can bring the community along in this important work. 

During the first subgroup meeting (5:15-5:50), Task Force members were in their usual domain groups and worked from the google doc they began last meeting. They were asked to revise, refine, and complete the table with the goal statements and related information for their domain. Groups looked at survey data that they sorted by domain, in addition to the notes taken about the conversation during the Town Hall. 

During the second two breakout rooms (beginning at 5:55 and 6:20), the Co-chairs remained in their original domain groups and served as facilitators and notetakers soliciting input from new Task Force members who joined their breakout rooms. During each breakout session, roughly equal numbers of Task Force members ended up in each breakout room, but the student behavior and SEL domain breakout room had approximately 40% more participants both times than the other groups.

After the final breakout room, the facilitator asked each Task Force member to use the chat box in Zoom to write one single recommendation to FUSD. The instructions were to think about their single most important message for the Board and to write it either for the full group to see (chat to everyone) or just to the facilitator (private chat). The following list are the verbatim responses (with obvious typos corrected) from those who responded:

•       Be persistent and intentional with trying to make FUSD more anti-racist and anti-biased. Don’t give up because of the difficulties that are certain to present themselves. (Like pushback or lack of buy in)

•       Require all FUSD staff to be educated in their own privilege and power, and then follow up that information with ways to be allies to all students regardless of their own identification. The SEL group mentioned mentoring for students, and I think it would be incredible if every staff member were able to be a true mentor and ally to each student.

•       Identify and subsequently prioritize bias problems/concerns of each group of stakeholders (e.g., students, teachers, support staff, parents/guardians).

•       Develop/organize an educational system that is born of the values and teaching practices of communities of color

•       I would like to see curriculum be the priority to incorporate the opportunity for students to be proud of who they are and share who they are as opposed to what someone tells them who they are and who they should be. Self-expression and family history should be celebrated and shared with others to promote awareness and inclusion.

•       To bring an awareness of the bias that we naturally bring to the table. Reflection amongst who we are and the experiences that we have had. How they can seem to others?

•       Include the community beyond FUSD for real systemic change to happen.

•       Keep the momentum going, even if you do something that may seem like a failure, keep the conversation going and continue efforts.

•       Conversations and action around anti-racism and anti-bias need to be embedded into every decision and every conversation we have as a community. When we discuss curriculum, when we look at curriculum, PD, hiring… We need district leadership to take a strong stand on this and back teachers, students, families doing this work.

•       Policefreeschools.org FUSD DO NOT ONE MORE RACIST THING as Dr Kendi mentioned. Example: standardized testing

•       This topic is important and FUSD has the responsibility of our children, so please listen to the Task Force in providing some guidance/shedding light on these subjects.

•       Consistent integration of diverse communities, professions, and bodies of knowledge into the classrooms and overall school experience.

•       Utilize ideas that are across the nation, not just in our area.

•       Change current hiring practices: 1) require all vacancies to be posted and have an external hiring process; 2) advertise positions longer than 2 weeks; 3) train hiring committees on diverse hiring practices

•       Mandate anti-racism curriculum at all levels.

•       This task force should be permanent because FUSD needs to be 100% committed to this work. identifying and solving anti-racist/anti bias issues needs to be constant to be effective.

•       To see the resemblance to the changes made from the task force towards anti-racism and anti-bias. Changes don’t happen overnight it’s the reputation from those changes we need take notes on, but really the repetition of the changes being made to really see the outcome leading to professional learning in a community to understand the different perspectives of everyone in the society.

•       Hire a diversity consultant to conduct an in-depth assessment of the district, its policies and practices, measured against national best practices to promote equitable and anti- racist and anti-bias policies, practices. After the assessment, the consultant would recommend and implement programming/training for faculty, staff, students, parents.

We closed the meeting by hearing a brief report from each subgroup. Some of the key highlights and/or themes reported by each group are noted below:

•       FUSD Curriculum subgroup: A term that was used that captures a lot of what this group has discussed is “co-constructing curriculum” – which integrates parents, educators, etc. How do we integrate communities to influence the classrooms?

•       FUSD Staff Diversity subgroup: A strong focus on recruiting diverse staff must be made, and the recruitment cannot just be on teachers – it must include leadership too.

•       Professional Learning for FUSD Staff subgroup: Professional learning opportunities need to be inclusive of families and people beyond the FUSD staff. The district needs to understand what’s going on in families.

•       Student Behavior and Social Emotional Learning subgroup: This group has mostly focused on looking at student data, but they also believe it is important to look at the faculty/staff data and ask who the infraction citations are coming from. Are most coming from the same few staff members, and if so, could that be an issue to address specifically with them?

Next Steps:

Specific next steps that were discussed include:

•       Reminding Task Force members of our upcoming November 5 meeting, plus an additional optional meeting that has been scheduled for November 19.

•       Informing Task Force members that the report will be presented to the FUSD Board a bit later than originally planned – on December 8.

•       Each co-chair will contact their subgroup and schedule a meeting to complete any work that was not completed during this meeting, and this was requested to be done by October 28.

•       Key upcoming deadlines include:

o   November 16: Facilitator sends draft report to full Task Force, with option for Task Force members to submit written feedback by Nov. 19

o   November 19: Optional Task Force meeting to provide verbal feedback on the report draft

o   November 24: Facilitator will submit "final" report to Co-Chairs for final round of review and revision

o   November 29: Co-Chairs will submit any revisions to Facilitator

o   November 30: Facilitator will conduct final edits

o   December 1: Submit final report to FUSD Board and Superintendent

o   December 8: FUSD Board meeting

When the co-chairs and facilitator met after this Task Force meeting, they had a rich discuss about how to best use our final required meeting time and, specifically, whether an FUSD leader for each domain area should join the next meeting. The group ultimately decided that we would invite a leader for each domain with the goal being for the FUSD leader to provide any initial input on the recommendations, barriers, and suggested timeframes.

FUSD Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias Task Force Meeting Summary

September 24, 2020

5:00 – 7:00pm

 

Participation:

This was the third meeting of the full Task Force. We met via Zoom, and there were 25 people present plus the facilitator. This number includes all members of the original group, minus two individuals who had to step off the Task Force due to other obligations, plus one new additional member. Almost all participants were present for the entire meeting duration.

Meeting Pre-Work:

Between the second and third meetings, the subgroups were asked to plan an additional meeting to complete the discussion questions they began during the second meeting. Each subgroup has a chair, who is one of the Task Force co-chairs, so those individuals were tasked with calling their respective subgroup together and completing the work. The purpose of asking the subgroups to meet outside of our assigned Task Force time was to keep the work moving forward given our overall timeline. 

Task Force members were not asked to complete any additional reading between the second and third meetings. The facilitator and co-chairs decided that the remaining meetings we have together should be centrally focused on meeting the objectives set forth by the FUSD School Board. Although there is still plenty of background knowledge that we could build as a Task Force, and also plenty of rich topics Task Force members appear to want to discuss, the co- chairs and facilitator decided to focus instead of supporting the Task Force members in articulating the issues and recommendations for the November report to the FUSD School Board. 

The google folder remains available to Task Force members, and members were encouraged to review the data and other relevant materials compiled there.

Agenda:

The agenda was developed by the facilitator in consultation with the co-chairs, all of whom agreed that we needed to spend a significant amount of time in our subgroups to continue focused attention on the key domains. The goal for this meeting, as shared with the Task Force members, was: To clearly articulate the goals, barriers, leverage points, and key stakeholders for each domain. In order to support the Task Force members in the development of goals for each domain, the facilitator shared the SMART framework for goal statements. We also explained and provided some examples of barriers, leverage points, and stakeholders.

5-5:20pm	Welcome, recap from last meeting, orient the group and seek feedback on the final report template	Reminder of our commitments: •       Stay engaged •       Speak your truth •       Experience discomfort •       Except and accept non- closure •       Assume best intentions •       Honor others’ anonymity
5:20-5:30pm	Continue to build a shared set of definitions to guide our work	•       SMART criteria for goals •       Barriers, leverage points, stakeholders
5:30-6:40pm	Subgroup work on the four domains.	Encourage each group to assign group roles: •       Timekeeper •       Recorder/Reporter •       Facilitator •       Observer
6:40-7:00pm	Groups share out key take aways to whole group Discuss next steps Reminder about October 5. Town Hall and October 20 Task Force meeting.

The meeting followed this agenda, which meant Task Force members had over an hour in their small groups.

 

Key Highlights:

The opening part of this meeting was fairly straightforward and brief. Since we did not open up the conversation to issues related to racism and bias, the whole group more easily and quickly transitioned into small group work. Similar to previous meetings, the subgroups each were placed into a Zoom breakout room, and the facilitator provided a template they were asked to complete. The template for each of the four subgroups looked like this: 

Goal (written in a way that aligns to SMART criteria, if possible)	Barriers to this goal?	Leverage points/areas for this goal?	Key stakeholders for this goal?	By when could this goal be accomplished?	How will we know if we accomplished this goal?
1.
2.
3.

Each subgroup was asked to focus on one specific goal using the SMART criteria first, and then to fill in the rest of the row for that goal. Then they were asked to move on to a second goal, and so on. The SMART criteria are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based.

We closed the meeting by coming back together as a full Task Force and hearing a brief report from each subgroup. Some of the key highlights and/or themes reported by each group are noted below:

• FUSD Curriculum subgroup: A primary goal identified by this subgroup is the development of a consistent and sustainable process for curricular
• FUSD Staff Diversity subgroup: This group discussed the need to increase staff diversity by 10%, as well as specific ideas for improved recruitment and retention of diverse
• Professional Learning for FUSD Staff subgroup: This subgroup discussed the need to establish a baseline dataset regarding staff understanding and comfort with anti-racism and anti-bias topics, then developing a 9-month professional learning plan that includes a process to evaluate the effectiveness of the
• Student Behavior and Social Emotional Learning subgroup: This subgroup discussed an idea of having an advocate with shared identities available to students when needed, as well as a student committee to review behavior infractions and responses on an on- going

All of the subgroups reported needing more time to fully complete the task, and they also all reported how thoughtful and engaged the conversations were in their subgroup breakout rooms. 

Next Steps:

Specific next steps that were discussed include:

• Reminding Task Force members that we changed the October meeting date to October 20 (from 15) to accommodate FUSD Fall Break.
• Discussing the Town Hall that is scheduled for October Task Force members were encouraged to attend, but we emphasized that this is an opportunity to hear from and solicit ideas from a broader base of our community. Input from the Town Hall will be shared with Task Force members and integrated into our work during our October meeting.
• Each co-chair will contact their subgroup and schedule a meeting to complete any work that was not completed during this meeting, and this was requested to be done by October The facilitator will provide any needed support to these subgroups, including liaising with FUSD if any additional data is requested.

FUSD Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias Task Force Meeting Summary

September 3, 2020

5:00 – 7:00pm

 

Participation:

This was the second meeting of the Task Force. We met via Zoom, and there were 20 people present plus the facilitator. This number includes most members of the original group, plus two members who were unable to attend the first meeting, minus most of the student members.

Almost all participants were present for the entire meeting duration.

Meeting Pre-Work:

After the first meeting, Task Force members were assigned by the facilitator to one of four subgroups. The subgroups were identified by the facilitator based on the primary domains of work identified in the Objectives document that guides the work of the Task Force. The four domains are: (1) professional learning for FUSD staff, (2) FUSD staff diversity, (3) FUSD curriculum, and (4) student behavior and social emotional learning considerations. Task Force members were asked via email to add their thoughts about their assigned domain to a google doc during the time that lapsed between the first and second meetings. The google doc asked participants to specifically address (1) what’s working, (2) what’s not working, (3) what do we want to see, and (4) what information do we need to inform this work. Fifteen Task Force members added their thoughts to the document before the second meeting. The purpose of this assignment was to solicit initial thoughts, ideas, and perspectives from the group about the four domains in the current FUSD context.

In addition, a reading from the introductory and concluding chapters of the book Educated in Whiteness: Good intentions and diversity in schools was shared with the Task Force members and they were asked to read this prior to the second meeting. The purpose of this reading was to orient members to the concept of Whiteness and the ways it creates barriers to educational equity.

And finally, also between the first and second meeting, the facilitator built out a robust google folder for Task Force members to access. This will be available to them for the duration of our work together. The folder includes various subfolders, including one for each domain of our work (which includes relevant data from FUSD to inform each domain, as well as relevant readings), homework and between-session readings, background FUSD information (which includes the strategic plan, the Objectives for the Task Force, general data, etc.), and Task Force meeting summaries and agendas.

Agenda: 

The agenda was developed by the facilitator in consultation with the co-chairs, all of whom agreed that we needed to spend a significant amount of time in our subgroups and beginning to work on the key domains. We also wanted to establish a few additional shared definitions, so that was built into the agenda as well. 

5-5:20pm	Welcome, Introduction of new members, recap from last meeting, show the Google folder and explain organization of it	Reminder of our commitments: •       Stay engaged •       Speak your truth •       Experience discomfort •       Except and accept non- closure •       Assume best intentions •       Honor others’ anonymity
5:20-5:30pm	Continue to build a shared set of definitions to guide our work	Key concepts •       Whiteness (and white privilege) •       Systemic change
5:30-6:30pm	Subgroup work on the four domains	Explain assignment to groups. Encourage each group to assign group roles: •       Timekeeper •       Recorder/Reporter •       Facilitator •       Observer
6:30-7:00pm	Groups share out key take- aways to whole group   Discuss next steps   Poll about October meeting date

This agenda was mostly followed. However, we started about 5 minutes late due to waiting for a greater number of members getting online. Then, the discussion of the concepts of Whiteness and systemic change prompted a great deal of dialogue and sharing among the full group. Thus, we did not get into our subgroups in breakout rooms until about 6:10pm, so we spent 35 minutes in those groups. Each breakout room subgroup had five group members present. 

Key Highlights:

The initial discussion about the concepts of Whiteness and systemic change prompted rich discussion from Task Force members. The facilitator highlighted that Whiteness has identity, ideological, and institutional elements and functions. Thus, it is not just about White people solely, but rather about how systems of power and marginalization are secured through people, ideological commitments (like equality and meritocracy), and institutions (like schools, and policies within schools). Many members spoke to the various ways the concept of Whiteness resonated with their own lived experiences, both within and outside of FUSD. Some of the themes of this discussion included passing and intersectionality.

We then moved into our subgroups so that each group could have a focused conversation about their assigned domain (see list of domains above). The subgroups each were placed into a Zoom breakout room, and they were asked to look at the data, readings, and initial input related to their domain – all of which were previously provided in the google folder. As this was the first time the subgroups met, time was needed to orient the groups to their google folders and to review the relevant information. Each group began to talk about their domain, but it was clear that more time was needed. Some of the key highlights and/or themes reported by each group are noted below:

• FUSD Curriculum subgroup: This group discussed the need for student identities to be honored and represented in the curriculum, as well as for the curriculum to cultivate student
• FUSD Staff Diversity subgroup: This group discussed the need to move towards a more diverse staff, as well as that there are some important efforts in this area that ought to be
• Professional Learning for FUSD Staff subgroup: This group discussed the need for some sort of baseline of where staff are at regarding their understandings of anti-racism, anti- bias, and equity They also discussed the need for professional learning that is sustainable and over a long-term rather than a single session. Finally, this group discussed the need for all staff to be committed to this work, and for teachers to know that administration/leadership will support them when families or other community members express resistance and/or displeasure.
• Student Behavior and Social Emotional Learning subgroup: This group discussed the opportunities that exist to do additional training and programming related culturally responsive approaches, as well as restorative approaches to This group also noted that there is a connection between their domain and the domains of staff diversity (because if staff are more representative of students, then that usually results in lower rates of referrals) and professional learning for staff.

Throughout the conversations, it was clear that the Task Force members care deeply about this work and really want to meet the Objectives identified by the School Board in a thorough and thoughtful way. Some people also expressed a need to develop a system or mechanism for FUSD to solicit input on these issues even after the official work of this Task Force is complete. We closed the meeting by noting some of the next steps (see below) and by encouraging Task Force members to spend some time with the google folder and familiarizing themselves with the data and resources in the folder. 

Next Steps:

A number of next steps emerged from this meeting. I’ve briefly listed them below:

• We changed the October meeting date to October 20 (from 15) to accommodate FUSD Fall Break. This will be communicated to all Task Force members via email.
• We informed Task Force members of the Town Hall event scheduled for October 5, and we let them know that more information will be forthcoming about this
• Each co-chair will contact their subgroup and schedule a meeting to complete the work that was not completed – this will be done before our third Task Force The facilitator will provide any needed support to these subgroups, including liaising with FUSD if any additional data is requested.
• Because we were missing most of the student voices/perspectives at this meeting, one of the co-chairs agreed to text each student before the next meeting to remind and encourage them to
• The facilitator will ensure that the Zoom information is sent in the body of the emails moving forward, rather than only embedded within the We hope this will clarify for Task Force members how to connect to the meetings and ensure an on-time beginning to our meetings.

FUSD Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias Task Force Meeting Summary

August 13, 2020

5:00 – 8:00pm

Participation:

This was the first meeting of the Task Force. We met via Zoom, and there were 24 participants plus the facilitator. This number includes the five co-chairs of the committee. Participants included individuals who identified as students, parents/caregivers of students, FUSD staff (teachers, central office, and school principal), and community member. Participants were diverse across race, ethnicity, language, gender identity, dis/ability, age, and sexual orientation. Almost all participants were present for the entire meeting duration.

Meeting Pre-Work:

Task Force members were informed of their selection just a couple days before our first meeting. However, they were asked (via email) to (1) review the objectives of the Task Force,

• read an article on Kendi’s notion of anti-racist and its applicability to schools (found here: https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54999/how-ibram-x-kendis-definition-of-antiracism- applies-to-schools), and (3) read a one-page handout by the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center that defines educational equity (attached). Members were also asked to complete a brief google form indicating their prioritization of the key domains that make up the Task Force’s work.

Agenda:

The agenda was developed in consultation with the co-chairs, who expressed their strong desire that the first meeting prioritize relationship and trust building, as well as group norming and discussion of key concepts.

 

5:00-5:15pm	Land Acknowledgement	Ms. Carletta Tilousi, Havasupai Councilwoman
5:15-5:40pm	Welcome and Logistics •       Co-Chair welcome •       Netiquette •       Facilitator introduction •       Commitments for our work together •       Review the objectives and FUSD strategic goal re: equity	One co-chair will provide a welcome to the task force.
		Commitments: •       Stay engaged •       Speak your truth •       Experience discomfort •       Except and accept non-closure

5:40-6:20pm	Task force members introductions	Break into pairs to meet your partner. What brings you to this work? Prepare to share with the group one commonality in why you are here, and one difference in why you are here.
6:20-7:00pm	Establish a shared set of definitions & understandings to guide our work.	Key terms: anti-racism, anti- bias, educational equity
7:00-7:45pm	Examining and unpacking the six domains for the task force	Divide into groups, use a google doc so each group can capture the following for the assigned domain: (1) what’s working, (2) what’s not working, (3) what do we want to see, and (4) what information do you need to inform this work
7:45-8:00pm	Wrap up and next steps

 

The meeting followed this agenda except for the item listed from 7-7:45pm, which we did not have time to do. The introductions took some time, and the group engaged in rich conversation, so the facilitator allowed that to happen in the interest of developing the group cohesion and rapport.

Key Highlights:

We began the meeting with a land acknowledgement, which highlighted the importance of place and relationality. The importance of relationships continued to come up throughout the meeting. During the introductions by each task force member, a number of commonalities emerged in why people chose to participate in this work. Some of the reasons included:

• wanting to ensure all people in FUSD feel a sense of belonging and inclusion
• experiences of injustice and/or discrimination, and wanting to do something about that
• building relationships and community
• leveraging individual’s various positions to bring about change
• being action-oriented
• commitment to equity, justice, anti-racism, and anti-bias efforts

The introductions also highlighted important differences among the members’ positionalities and also in their motivations for participating. Most notable were the various identities the members hold and how those identities have informed their experiences, perspectives, and commitments.

In framing the work of the Task Force, we highlighted the language related to equity and access in the FUSD Strategic Plan and Core Values, along with the Objectives for the Task Force adopted by the Board in July 2020. We drew on Dr. Kendi’s work to define racism and anti- racism, and the definition of educational equity provided by the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center. In defining anti-racism and anti-bias, the facilitator highlighted (1) the intersectional and both/and nature of our work (i.e. both about race and other forms of marginalization), (2) that this is about the ways policies, practices, and ideas all operate in concert with one another to create and sustain inequities, (3) that our work is focused on systems and the institutions that make up FUSD, but that it is also about people, and (4) that the focus on “anti” suggests an active, engaged stance. In defining educational equity, the facilitator highlighted the difference between equality and equity, as well as the need to look at both inputs and outputs. Some of the insights, ideas, and/or questions that task force members raised included:

• This is systemic But it is also relational. As we do systems work, keep in mind also our relationships with one another.
• How do we ensure action? We don’t want this task force to just be about talk/reflection, and no action or follow
• We want to be sure this work goes beyond the task force, so how do we ensure the conversations we have get taken out to other students? To other staff?
• The imperative and commitment for this work has to come from FUSD
• It can be scary to be “anti” – it is usually not viewed as polite or But there needs to be a culture in FUSD to speak up when we hear/see things. This involves the active questioning of yourself and others – it’s not currently the culture or the norm to be anti- racist, so you are viewed in a certain way if you do that.
• It is not the role of people of color (POC) to educate about It is not the role of those with non-dominant identities to educate those with dominant identities. People who occupy more dominant identities and positions need to do this.
• Some applied for the taskforce because of the language of “anti” – this resonated for them.
• We need to understand that we all have This can come from family, media, upbringing, etc.
• We can all do better, and our school system can do
• Bias – preconceived ideas about people, who they are, what they can
• We need to begin by asking ourselves what is the purpose of
• Regarding the key objectives of the task force, we should be sure to talk about incorporating alternative lenses into the What is the body of knowledge we are drawing on?
• Also regarding the key objectives, we need to consider what parent partnerships and family/community connections we are

In addition to these insights and questions about the objectives of the task force and the foundation concepts guiding our work, task force members also noted the following points:

• We want to be sure to keep FUSD leadership informed about what we are doing throughout the process, and also check in to ensure feasibility of the kinds of things we are
• An idea was raised about opening up the work of the task force to the broader The group felt that the meetings should not be opened up, but many members like the idea of a town hall (or other public meeting opportunity) halfway through the process.
• Task Force members were asked to maintain privacy and anonymity of what is discussed in our People share personal experiences and thoughts that should remain in the group.

Next Steps:

Members were asked to complete google form noted in “pre-work” above if they had not already done so. They were also asked to monitor their email for communication about between-session work that we would ask them to do. Finally, the facilitator shared her direct email and phone number and encouraged members to reach out to her with any feedback, thoughts, concerns, etc. The facilitator and co-chairs will meet to debrief the meeting and plan for next steps.