What is an Equity Platform?
The Equity Platform is a process and practice to:
1. Create designs and solutions that focus on affected communities.
2. Increase opportunity for those people most affected by exclusion.
3. Shift decision-making power to the people who are affected by policies.
All students deserve to be treated with respect, embracing and supporting what makes them unique. This means supporting students’ needs regardless of race, gender, orientation, religion, socioeconomic background and other factors. Students who have been unsupported or left out will not always be their own advocates. We must be proactive advocates for ALL of our students, no matter how new or uncomfortable that may feel for those who have held power for so long. We are protecting and changing lives; we need to use our position to support those impacted by historically racist, sexist, and homophobic policies.
It is imperative and urgent to discuss and implement environmentally sustainable practices relating to every decision, policy, practice, building improvement, curriculum mandate, and process in our District. Our students understand what is at stake: their future. We must collaborate with the Village of Skokie, the Library, and the Park District to ensure we are all working together to put environmental sustainability at the forefront.
Our community is a unique one, diverse in so many ways. This uniqueness is one of the qualities that make our District so special. The District has been making progress toward more diverse representation for educators, but leadership, voices, and participation continue to be the same faces again and again. I want to serve on the School Board as a true community representative, a voice for everyone left out. Parents, students, community members, alums, government officials — I want to hear from you. I want you to know what the School Board is voting on, and I want to listen to your thoughts before we vote. You also deserve to be treated with respect and know the issues in detail.
I don’t have to tell you how hard the last few years have been; we’ve all been through it. We all need help sorting out our feelings and thoughts after a worldwide crisis. Our kids probably felt this more than we did. I don’t know any family whose mental health hasn’t been impacted due to isolation, uncertainty, changing standards, fear, and everything else we already know. Our kids need help and the School Board can develop inclusive and equitable mental health policies to help them.
Skokie School District 68 can be an example of how to identify and implement anti-racist policies and practices both in operations and curriculum. We’re innovative, the resources exist, we have a diverse community, and leaders who care. There is no excuse for ignoring past and current transgressions and policies that continue to oppress our students of color. No excuse.
As a member of the LGBTQIA community, I can testify that if I had experienced an inclusive and comprehensive Sex Ed curriculum throughout my public education experience, my life wouldn’t have been so confusing and challenging. I might not have been as self-alienated and full of self-doubt as I was, had I had role models, conversations, and support. No kid should go through that today. We have the facts, we have the resources, and our state has voted FOR a comprehensive sex mandate, and we need to find the resources to develop our curriculum to meet this mandate. Kicking this down the road is unacceptable. We can do better for our kids right now and save lives.
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