Diversity
Steering Committee
Outlines Goals for 2005-06
April 29, 2005
 The
Plano ISD Diversity Steering Committee (DSC), which
was established in the spring of 2002 in response to
the recommendations from both the school district's
Multi-ethnic Committee and 1997 Curriculum Audit, has
held several meetings
this school year to develop goals for student learning,
diversity development, human resources and communications. "The
Diversity Steering Committee is a very 'action oriented'
group," noted
Rob Stewart (pictured), Plano ISD director of diversity
programs.
"The
group has been instrumental in creating and supporting
programs to address issues of diversity within the
district and is focused on building bridges of trust
and respect by modeling and promoting a culture
that embraces diversity and values all persons," said
Mr. Stewart.
Diversity Steering Committee
 As
diverse in its activities as in its membership, the
Diversity
Steering Committee is
made up of approximately 33 members from all levels of the organization,
including
school district administrators (14),
campus administrators (7), counselors and teachers
(8), para-professionals (2) and community members (3).
Representatives from the Multi-ethnic Committee serve
on the DSC to insure alignment of purpose
for both groups.
Sub-Committees/Goals
Within the DSC are four sub-committees that have been charged with
putting into practice programs and activities that
support and further the goals and principles of community,
belonging, trust and unity. The four sub-committees
are responsible for studying diversity development,
communications, student learning and human resources.
Goals
The sub-committees have established specific goals,
which reflect the intention to have a positive impact
on the understanding of different groups within our
district. The goals
are the overarching guides for
the specific activities of each sub-committee
and the Steering Committee as a whole.
- the development of a document to identify the
scope and sequence of the district curriculum identifying
learning experiences related
to diversity for students from Pre-Kindergarten through
grade 12;
- providing learning experiences for staff
that create a unified sense
of belonging and community; providing sexual harassment
training to all staff in order to ensure a safe,
secure and professional learning
and working environment;
- conducting and compiling a
survey to identify where the district is in relation
to understanding of and sensitivity
to the diverse cultures in our schools, and the development
of an action plan to support that initiative; and
- supporting
the initiatives from the Learning Summit in “Closing the Achievement
Gap” for
our diverse student population.
The challenge for the DSC for the 2005-2006 school year is to apply
appropriate action steps toward continued goal attainment in order
to keep the momentum. To that end, the following are specific integrated
goals that each sub-committee plans to accomplish.
Diversity Development Sub-Committee
This committee will develop
a presentation on the Plano community that will mirror
the information presented in the video entitled “A
Village of 100”. The sub-committee will also
develop a presentation regarding the work of diversity
programs, diversity steering committee and continued
updates towards learning experience progress throughout
the district.
Communications Sub-Committee
The communications team will publish a series
of district articles and other forms of information
highlighting the on-going work of the DSC. This
sub-committee will also review and expand on the 2003-2004
survey that was conducted on all campuses in order
to determine the extent of existing campus committees
expressly addressing diversity.
Student Learning Sub-Committee
With a focus on students learning, this sub-committee will develop
a format for roundtable conversations throughout the
district and will also work towards the establishment
of diversity vertical teams at the different campuses.
Human
Resources Sub-Committee
This human resources team will develop a campus climate
survey in conjunction with the other sub-committees
in order to explore issues of diversity district-wide
and continue to support campuses with a
focus on specific campus data related to diversity
initiatives regarding under-representation of staffing
targets. The HR Sub-Committee asks
that administrators consider the district’s diversity initiatives
when making decisions in regards to hiring and retention
of quality professional personnel at campuses and departments
for the 2005-2006
school year.
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