At the Tuesday, July 17, 2018 Princeton Board of Education meeting, educational consultant Marceline DuBose discussed the findings and recommendations from the equity audit that was conducted since December 2017. The audit consisted of reviews of policies, analysis of available data, surveys and focus groups of more than 2800 PPS community members, nearly 50% of all households, all high school students, and a majority of PPS faculty and staff. Major findings: racially-predictable disparities in achievement data, a perception of disparities in discipline and academic expectations, a difference between various identities’ sense of welcoming and belonging, challenges in addressing incidents of oppression and bias, and a strong sense of academic pressure and competition.
In his introduction to the report, Superintendent Steve Cochrane states, “We are working with Princeton’s Civil Rights Commission to form a “Study Circle” of community leaders, educators, and students who will meet multiple times this summer and fall to review the equity report in depth and begin developing meaningful action steps for us to implement” and address the challenges DuBose identified: 1) Community and Relationship Building, 2) Build Internal Educational Equity Leadership Capacity, 3) Culturally Responsive Teaching and Educational Equity Professional Development, and 4) Recruiting and Retaining a more Diverse Staff.
To hear the presentation click here. To read the full Equity Audit Report, click here.