Superior School District Adopts Racial Educational Equity Statement

The Superior School District has adopted a Racial Educational Equity Statement.  Members of the Superior School Board voted to approved the measure at their most-recent meeting.  The document seeks to communicate the district's commitment to equity in the entire Spartan Community.

In a letter co-signed by Superior District Administrator Amy Starzecki and Len Albrecht - the President of the Superior School Board, the educators made a pledge to equity for everyone:

"Educational equity benefits all students and our entire community.  As a school board, superintendent, and staff, we are committed to work even harder to do our part to stop injustice and realize our school district's vision:  In Superior, ALL means ALL....every student, every day."

The Racial Equity Statement stems from the Equity & Social Justice Leadership Team that was formed at the beginning of the school year.  That team consists of administrators, teachers, parents, and community members. This Racial Equity Statement represents the "first step" developed by the committee.

Some of the key points addressed in the document:

• "The School District of Superior is committed to the success of every student in each of our schools"
• "In light of this mission and our beliefs, the District's historic, persistent achievement gap between White students and Black, Indigenous, and students of color is unacceptable"
• "Race must cease to be a predictor of student achievement and success"
• "Educational equity benefits all students and our entire community"

Those key points were used to create a series of eleven action points that the Superior School District will use moving forward.

• Acknowledging racial and cultural biases and eliminating institutional structures and practices that affect student learning and achievement.
• Recruiting, hiring, and retaining a diverse staff that more closely reflects the school community.
• Honoring and building on the strengths and assets of each and every student.
• Recognizing that each student's needs are each individual staff member’s responsibility.
• Identifying and removing barriers in our current policies, procedures, systems, or practices that limit opportunities for our students.
• Understanding that all students may need different things to succeed, but ALL students can succeed.
• Providing students and staff with resources, opportunity and support needed for success.
• Identifying and providing equal opportunities for students to demonstrate learning.
• Ensuring ALL students must have options when they graduate. We must provide students with what they need to be able to choose the option that they want and will not pre-determine their choices/path for them.
• Ensuring all staff members, with deliberate effort, continue to examine and eliminate institutional beliefs, policies, practices and teaching to perpetuate racial disparities in achievement. It must be a non-negotiable if you work here that you are supportive of ALL students.
• Recognizing, including, and respecting our sovereign tribal partners and all indigenous students, families, and staff in our community. We acknowledge that the School District of Superior is located on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of both the Anishinaabe people and the Dakota people. We have a moral responsibility as educators to critically reflect on the histories of dispossession, forced removal, and cultural erasure that are a part of this institution.

The Superior School District anticipates using the Racial Educational Equity Statement to guide future policies and practices.