Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Welcome, OASD Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The OASD is pleased to announce that Anthony Miller Jr. was appointed to serve as the district’s director of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This new position was created to support the district’s educational equity efforts. Miller currently serves as the Scholars for Success manager at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton. He joined FVTC in 2014 after serving the Appleton Area School District and Milwaukee Public Schools TEAM Up College Access Center. As the school district’s first-ever director of DEI, Miller will collaborate with students, parents, and staff to develop strategies that foster a culture of inclusivity, promote equitable opportunities, and celebrate the unique contributions of every member of the OASD community. Principal supervision will not be included in his initial responsibilities, however, he will work closely with district and school leadership teams to provide training and professional development opportunities and establish support systems that address the diverse needs of students. Additionally, Miller will build partnerships with local organizations, community leaders, and other educational institutions to enhance the district's ability to create an environment that values diversity, challenges biases, and promotes understanding.  

In March 2023, the OASD Board of Education unanimously approved the creation of a Director of Diveristy, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) position to oversee the growth of the District’s equity efforts and its commitment to ensuring equitable opportunities, experiences, and outcomes for all students.

The District recognizes the need to actively support DEI in a strategic and comprehensive way. This dedicated leadership position was developed to have the power, reach, and resources to make broad and meaningful changes for the District’s increasingly diverse school communities. Key responsibilities of the position include:

• Developing and implementing creative strategies to foster the OASD’s diversity goals
• Collaborating with district leadership and staff to integrate DEI principles into all aspects of district operations, policies, and procedures
• Strategizing with Human Resources to develop and implement initiatives for the recruitment and retention of diverse staff.
• Developing and delivering training programs to promote awareness and understanding of DEI issues
• Providing guidance and support to students, families, staff, and community members on DEI-related matters

The OASD has been engaged in equity work since 2017, beginning the Integrated Comprehensive Systems (ICS) for Equity in 2018-2019. In this time, school principals and building leadership teams have learned the history of marginalization, deficit to asset-based thinking, identity development, applying equity research, creating equity non-negotiables, and completing an equity audit. This information is continually cycled to meet the needs of individual buildings. The District is also focused on identifying relevant teaching and learning for all learners, proactive behavioral supports, and co-planning to co-serve and leveraging policy and procedures to eliminate inequities. 

 

As a result of this work, all staff engaged in developing equity non-negotiables and feedback was gathered from all school sites to finalize the OASD Equity Non-Negotiables. The Policy and Governance Committee of the OASD Board of Education reviewed the OASD Equity Non-Negotiables at their meetings in December 2022 and in January, February, and March of 2023 to put it in policy which was approved by the OASD Board of Education on March 29, 2023. 

OASD Equity Non-Negotiables

We affirm in our actions that each student can, will, and shall learn. We recognize that based on factors including, but not limited to, disability, race, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic status, not all students receive equitable educational opportunities. Educational equity is the intentional allocation of resources, instruction, and opportunities to meet the specific needs of students and staff in the local school community (WASB Equity and Racial Justice Statement, June 2018).

1. Changing the system begins with ourselves, our schools, and our systems in providing equitable opportunities. 
2. We are responsible for everything in our control to promote student success through asset-based thinking.
3. All efforts are made to place students based on proportional representation in all environments. (All means all and that means in every program, every classroom, and every school).
4. All staff are aligned to grade-level teams including general educators and specialists and, given time, they can share knowledge and expertise with each other to intentionally increase each others’ capacity to better educate all learners.
5. These teacher-based teams co-plan and co-serve through proactive instructional practices for each learner within their grade.
6. All learners have pathways to curricular content and tasks that are rigorous, engaging, and allow them to see themselves (mirrors and windows). 
7. Instruction is designed and accessible for all learners to understand the first time the concept is taught versus developed for a normed-group of students and then adapted after-the-fact.
8. Plans are developed to address the individualized needs of all learners to assist the team of educators in determining appropriate instructional practices and documenting progress and goals. 
9. All district policies, procedures, and funding are aligned with all of the above Equity Non-Negotiables and leveraged to eliminate inequities.