The Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) is comprised of students, families, and staff with a wide range of heritages, experiences, cultures, perspectives and talents. The OASD is committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment for all students, staff, and community members. The District is engaged in an equity journey with the understanding this work is never complete, and will always strive to learn, grow, change and adapt for the continued success of all students.
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).
Changing the system begins with ourselves, our schools, and our systems in providing equitable opportunities.
We are responsible for everything in our control to promote student success through asset-based thinking.
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).
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.
These teacher-based teams co-plan and co-serve through proactive instructional practices for each learner within their grade.
All learners have pathways to curricular content and tasks that are rigorous, engaging, and allow them to see themselves (mirrors and windows).
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.
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.
All district policies, procedures, and funding are aligned with all of the above Equity Non-Negotiables and leveraged to eliminate inequities.
The Oshkosh Area School District is committed to ensuring all students have equitable access, opportunities, and outcomes for learning and achievement. Our Equity Plan outlines a comprehensive strategy to promote diversity, inclusion, and equitable practices across the district.
The plan's initiatives include professional development, curriculum audits, family outreach, student support services, policy reviews, and more. Our goal is to create a more equitable and inclusive educational system that empowers every student to thrive.
