LTHS Hires With An 'Equity Lens'

LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School hires with an "equity lens," aiming to bring on more nonwhite staff, officials said last week.

Before interview teams begin their work, they undergo a half-hour training that is focused on hiring with the equity lens, Jennifer Rowe, the school's director of equity and belonging, said last week.

The teams, she said, share the importance of all aspects of diversity. They define implicit bias, note the impact of blind spots, and look at common types of bias and ways to counteract them, Rowe told the school board.

"We know that just recognizing something is the best way to disrupt or interrupt those behaviors," Rowe said.

Ed Piotrowski, the human resources director, said the school is making progress in striving to "hire the highest quality employees and, when possible, mirror the demographics of the LT community."

At the same time, Piotrowski said the school still has a "great deal of work to do" to have certified staff reflect student demographics.

According to the school's statistics, 77 percent of teachers and administrators are white. That compares with a student body that is 68 percent white.

Five percent of certified staff are African American, compared with 3 percent of students. Those are the same numbers for Asians and Pacific islanders.

As for Hispanics, 14 percent of certified staff fall in this category, compared with 24 percent of students.

According to the school, 23 percent of new certified staff are people of color.