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Earlier this year, Vancouver Public Schools participated in an equity-focused audit. The audit reviewed existing policies and practices to help the district eliminate barriers and provide equal educational opportunities for all children, especially children of color and English learners. The district partnered with Valbrun Consulting Group and UPD Consulting to gather input on what is going well, what could be improved and what is important to prioritize.

The audit was concluded this spring. The audit showed that VPS understands the need and has a desire to improve diversity, equity and inclusion, yet acknowledges inequities exist that prevent cultural change. Findings from the audit showed areas that the district can improve to be more inclusive of all students, families and employees by embracing each person’s unique culture and background.

Audit findings showed:

• A lack of staff understanding of differences among cultures
• A need for staff training on cultural differences
• Diversity of employees does not match the student population
• A lack of student diversity in highly capable services, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs and schools of choice (Vancouver iTech Preparatory and Vancouver School of Arts and Academics)
• Budgets should meet the needs of students at the school level instead of districtwide uniformity.
• Supplemental funding tends to be higher for schools with fewer low-income students.
• Different levels of knowledge among families about how to access district opportunities and resources
• Inconsistencies in the implementation of district-wide staff training in areas that include:
  • Trauma-informed practices (recognizing and responding to students who have suffered childhood trauma)
  • Restorative justice (building relationships and solving problems to respond to student behavior instead of suspensions or expulsions)
  • Response to racial incidents (knowing and following district procedures when responding to racial conflicts)
• Staff, students and other community members observe race-based advantages at VPS
• A lack of clear communication from VPS leadership on its equity concerns

Areas to improve:

• Identifying core beliefs and values that will guide diversity and equity in the district’s mission, vision and strategic plan
• Creating training for staff to increase understanding of race, socioeconomic status and equity
• Improving access and participation in high-quality programming for all students
• Developing practices to correct gaps in student success
• Providing additional school funding in high-needs schools to increase success for all students including those with disabilities, multilingual, multiracial and those living in poverty
• Aligning financial investments to ensure that all students have access to high-quality learning materials and academic programs, culturally responsive teachers and culturally diverse learning environments
• Increasing diversity in decision-making, planning and next steps to improve equitable practices within the organization
• Creating and communicating opportunities for students, staff, parents and community members to participate in planning and implementation of equity work

VPS is committed to the work and will focus on areas to improve. Next steps are to:

• • Examine systems of inequity.
  • Review current and past practices.
  • Plan next steps with stakeholder feedback.
  • Focus on changes supported by data and information from surveys, listening sessions and focus groups.
  • Provide open two-way communication about progress.
  • Highlight student voices and experiences.