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COLCHESTER BOARD OF EDUCATION
Ad hoc Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
Draft Goals - Revised October 2021
1. The Board of Education believes that every student deserves to benefit from the promise of high
expectations and standards for what they can learn and are able to do:
- The Board supports school-based efforts to engage students in personalized, meaningful
learning experiences.
- The Board promotes an “asset-based’ approach , helping students to see and build on their own
academic and personal strengths.
- The Board promotes student leadership development in the classroom and during
school-based extracurricular activities.
- The Board encourages student representation in leadership structures, decision-making
processes, and curriculum development.
- The Board supports the development of clubs and extracurricular activities to provide
opportunities for students to express their ideas and beliefs.
- The Board promotes the development of alternative disciplinary measures.
2. The Board of Education supports academic, social, emotional and physical health needs of students
so they can thrive.
- The Board supports a well-aligned student support system for the most vulnerable students
- The Board supports access to planning for Post-K-12 Education, Technical Certifications or other
pathways aligned with student interests.
- The Board supports efforts to decrease chronic absenteeism, suspensions, expulsions, and
student arrests through expansion of a school-based diversion initiative, or other restorative
justice programs, and positive behavioral interventions.
- The Board supports school personnel’s ability to use the process of “mediation” or “restorative
practice” when conflicts occur or school discipline is triggered.
- The Board supports efforts to provide students age-appropriate opportunities to explore and
question beliefs about race, color, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender orientation,
socioeconomic status, and mental and physical ability.
3. The Board of Education supports equitable practices in staff hiring and retention.
- The Board supports hiring and retention practices that result in school personnel collectively
reflecting the rich cultural diversity in Connecticut.
4. The Board of Education endorses a culture of accountability.
- The Board will access “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” training opportunities.
- The Board will uncover any root causes of disproportionality and promote equity through the
BOE Policy, Personnel and Budget committees.
- The Board will review the annual BOE budget with an equity lens.
- The Board supports Colchester Public Schools in efforts to discover and eliminate barriers to
learning opportunities during school sponsored extracurricular activities.
- The Board supports efforts to identify any barriers to students of identified marginalized groups
being represented in advanced classes.
- The Board supports efforts to train members of the school community to recognize and
interrupt implicit and explicit prejudicial and harmful language or actions such as
microaggressions or bullying of individuals and groups.
- The Board supports high school students being given the opportunity to give teachers feedback
on classroom culture, assignment, grading and other aspects of teaching practice.
- The Board supports Colchester Public Schools developing a process for teachers to include
current events in their teaching practice.