March Is Equity Month; FCPS Team Works To Eliminate Gaps In Opportunity And Achievement For All Students

Press release from Fairfax County Public Schools:

March 01, 2021

The Fairfax County School Board—in conjunction with the Virginia School Boards Association—observes March as Equity Month, a division-wide opportunity to ensure that all students have the same opportunities and abilities to achieve.

Since joining the One Fairfax initiative in 2017, the Board has prioritized equity and established an Equity and Cultural Responsiveness (ECR) team to ensure implementation of culturally responsive practices for all stakeholders. Team members are assigned a group of schools where they work with faculty, staff members, and students to create and nurture inclusive school cultures in order for all students to have a strong sense of belonging in the FCPS community.

In November 2020, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) established a new leadership program—Student Equity Ambassador Leaders (SEALS)—designed to enable students to take an active role in fostering a school culture that affirms and sustains racial, linguistic, and cultural identities. As the stories of marginalized students appear, SEALS participants will be able to contribute to a more equitable and culturally responsive learning environment.

To help celebrate this month, the ECR team has planned to engage a variety of stakeholders to harness their commitment to equity. School teams will have an opportunity to go in depth in the study of School Talk by Mica Pollock, examining the ways in which our talk reveals and upholds our beliefs about students.

In addition, all staff in FCPS schools will engage in our seventh cultural proficiency professional development module. This learning will focus on amplifying and affirming the voices of those who are marginalized by our own systems, society, and the status quo.

The FCPS website includes an Equity Profile, a data source provided to make transparent the current state of access, opportunity, and achievement for all students. The Caring Culture goal in the FCPS Strategic Plan stresses creating and nurturing an inclusive school culture for all students to have a strong sense of belonging in the FCPS community.

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For more information, contact the Office of Communication and Community Relations at 571-423-1200.

This press release was produced by the Fairfax County Public Schools.The views expressed here are the author’s own.