Room for improvement Millennium Learning Concepts made the following recommendations to CFISD based on the audit. District o cials said next steps have not yet been determined.
practices in CFISD. MLC founder and Presi- dent Roger Cleveland de nes educational equity as “the provision of personalized resources, instruction and academic support needed for all individuals to reach com- mon goals.” MLC reported achievement gaps between racial and eth- nic groups. White students overall outperformed their Black and Hispanic peers in standardized testing and graduated at higher rates. The rm cited studies from Johns Hopkins University in 2015 and American Univer- sity in 2017 about exposure to same-race teachers which showed students have better academic outcomes and tend to be suspended less when they have teachers of the same racial background. But most CFISD students do not have that experience. As Cy-Fair’s popula- tion grows, CFISD has become more diverse. In 2003-04, 52% of students and 85% of teachers were white. By 2019-20, students and teachers were 22% and 66% white, respectively, according to the Texas Education Agency. However, CFISD has made progress towardmore balanced ratios. The district gained a net 96 Black teach- ers and 145 Hispanic teach- ers between 2019-20 and 2020-21, while the number of white teachers remained at, according to the TEA. The importance of equity Ryan Irving graduated from Langham Creek High School in 2016 and said he can recall having two Black classroom teachers during his entire K-12 education in the district. “It was something that I personally needed, especially as a third-grader walking into a classroom and seeing ... somebody that looks like me, somebody that talks like me, who is also well-educated, who understood my back- ground and my issues,” said Irving, who ran against Scott Henry in November and now serves as president of the
Cy-Fair Civic Alliance. “It honestly made me feel very optimistic as a young child just having that example, and I’m now still friends with that teacher to this day.” Carlecia Wright, chief diversity o cer at Lone Star College System, said organi- zations should hire racially diverse sta , but that is not the only factor that contrib- utes to student success. “The key is that organiza- tions should be intentional about their recruitment strat- egy, but they should also be intentional about making sure that their sta … are also equipped with culturally rele- vant curriculum and that they are understanding the lived experience of their student population and that they are equipped with awareness and strategies to mitigate their THE PURPOSE OF THE EQUITYAUDITWAS TO FINDOUTWHERE ARE THOSE PLACES WE CANGET BETTER TOBETTER SERVE ALL OF OURKIDS. JULIE HINAMAN, CY FAIR ISD TRUSTEE biases,” she said. Many public commenters at the Jan. 13 board meet- ing said they support the board’s original resolution and the need for the audit. Odus Evbagharu, a CFISD graduate and the Demo- cratic Party chair for Harris County, pointed out Cy-Fair High School was once segre- gated, and many individuals in the room were old enough to remember the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Other community mem- bers—including Scott Henry in a statement—said they want to see the district “get back to the basics” of educa- tion and avoid politics. “To be honest, I’m more concerned about my kids’ grades than the race of the person teaching them,” said Todd LeCompte, a CFISD
father who unsuccessfully ran for the board last fall. “It seems like lots of these things being discussed in the school district is more focused on race these days rather than performance. Politics has in ltrated this school district.” Room for improvement District leaders acknowl- edged disparities between white students and stu- dents of color based on the audit, which highlighted evident learning gaps. About 88% of white students met or exceeded their math targets in 2021 compared to 60% and 68% of Black and Hispanic students, respectively. Additionally, nearly 40% of all suspensions in 2020-21 were of Black stu- dents, when 19% of the stu- dent population was Black, according to the TEA. “Similar to achievement patterns, this discipline pattern is a districtwide concern consistent across CFISD and has profound consequences for student learning and academic outcomes,” Mayers said. Some district employ- ees interviewed for the audit recognized a focus on equity was slowly being implemented and some progress had already been made. Others called for more meaningful profes- sional development regard- ing diversity, equity and inclusion. MLC’s recommendations for the district included col- laborating with diverse stake- holders to develop an equity plan; launching an equity dashboard and/or equity scorecard system; creating a position to support the dis- trict’s commitment to equity; creating a central o ce equity department; establishing an equity advisory committee; and developing and approving a formal equity policy. Next steps Hinaman said the board will not necessarily take action on each recommen- dation but said the data con rms unintended bias,
Collaboratively develop an equity plan or “road map” for the next two to three years with input from diverse stakeholders. 1 Modify existing data systems to explicitly measure and track equity outcomes in the form of an equity dashboard and/or equity scorecard system. 2
Further develop district equity infrastructure by: Establishing a position that reports to the
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superintendent to support the district’s commitment to equity, including implementing cultural understanding, competency training and diversity initiatives; Creating a central o ce equity department with sta , resources and decision-making authority on par with other CFISD departments; Establishing an equity advisory committee that comprises district stakeholders from various roles across CFISD; and Developing and approving a formal equity policy.
SOURCE: MILLENNIUM LEARNING CONCEPTS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
achievement gaps and incon- sistencies in discipline exist. District o cials did not have a concrete plan or time- line regarding next steps as of press time. Leslie Francis, assistant superintendent for communication and commu- nity relations, said the board may add objectives or tar- gets to its Board Monitoring System; the administration could recommend next steps to the board; or both or nei- ther could take place. In addition to the rec- ommendations, MLC com- mended CFISD for equity e orts already in place, such as investments to provide technology and meals to stu- dents during the pandemic; support for English language learners; some professional development on diversity and equity; and the board’s reso- lution condemning racism. However, board members in January decided to “sun- set” the original resolution and write a new version due to concerns expressed by the new board members. “When we’re re-evaluating this resolution, … we don’t need to denigrate white peo- ple because they’re white and say that you’ve got systemic racism. I fundamentally do
not agree with that state- ment,” Scanlon said. “I think if we’re going to approach helping our kids, then I think it comes back to creating the right classroom work culture and enabling and holding our kids accountable and driving that back to them.” Superintendent Mark Henry closed the Jan. 13 meeting with an emotional apology to his Black employ- ees for hurt they may have felt following the work ses- sion earlier that week. He shared a personal testimony from his own family to explain the importance of a diverse workforce. He said the Hispanic, Asian, white, Black and LGBTQ communities are all represented among his chil- dren and grandchildren, and he wants them to see people who look like them. “We want the best teachers we can get in this commu- nity, but we want them to be diverse,” he said. “The way you come up with a diverse workforce is you go look dif- ferent places than you’ve ever looked before.”
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CY FAIR EDITION • FEBRUARY 2022
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