8th
Annual Diversity Leadership Awards Nominations Sought
November 24, 2008
Plano ISD’s Diversity Advocacy Committee is seeking nominations through December 12 for its Eighth Annual Diversity Leadership Award. Winners will be announced at Plano ISD’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Tribute to be held on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at Plano Centre.
Nominations Due December 12
Nominations will be solicited from students, staff members
and Plano community members. The nomination form may
be downloaded in either Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF formats.
Mail nominations on or before 5:00 p.m. on December 14,
to:
Dee Sampson, diversity and mentoring coordinator
Plano ISD Administration Building
2700 W. 15th Street
Plano, TX 75075
"Nominees may include individuals or groups (Plano ISD staff, students, PTAs, community members) who have made a significant difference in the improvement of relations between individuals and groups of various races, cultures, ethnicities or religions during the previous school year,” noted Jun Melvin, director for compensation and diversity. Follow this link to read about the 2008
Diversity Leadership Award winners.
Plano ISD Diversity Advocacy Committee
Mission
The mission is to advocate for, promote and ensure stronger
relationships, improved communication and enhanced understanding
between Plano
ISD and its diverse communities.
Committee Core Values
Beliefs
- We should communicate clearly and factually to our customers,
i.e. students, parents, staff and community.
- We should look for similarities among diverse groups while
honoring differences.
- We gather strength from diversity as an opportunity for growth.
- An excellent education occurs when students, parents and schools
are partners.
- By hiring and retaining diverse personnel, we will ensure that
our children will have appropriate role models to prepare them
for the future.
- By training all personnel on issues of diversity, our school
community will prosper.
- We are a voice and advocates for students
and parents.
- Our schools should ensure respect and tolerance
for all
The Diversity Advocacy Committee (formerly Multi-ethnic
Committee) was formed by the school board in 1988 in response
to racial conflicts at a senior high school. The Diversity Advocacy
Committee was
charged with the specific task to study and review district programs
and
make recommendations regarding diversity issues, to dispelled
the perceived lack of concern and mistrust by the growing diverse
community
and to focus their attention on any district program or issue
affecting the students and staff of the district as it related
to race, religion,
gender or handicapping situation.
The committee membership shall represent, to the extent possible,
the diversity of the Plano school community and staff. The committee
consist of 21 Board appointed members; 14 community representatives
and 7 district staff representatives from a diverse cross-section
of the community; including professionals, educators, parents and
administrators.
The committee members will focus their attention
on any district program or current issue regarding race, religion,
ethnicity, or handicapping situation. The committee may study
the advisability of adding, deleting, or changing various programs
based on the needs of the community and student body of the district.
The Board or superintendent may direct the committee to study
and
make recommendations on specific issues. The committee will report
directly to the Board, since the issues addressed do not usually
fall within the purview of the Board.
Committee's Impact
The Committee for many years has studied such equity
issues as to whether there was under-representation of minority
children
in gifted programs, or over-representation of underrepresented
children in special education programs. Members have also
actively worked with the district to recruit and increase the number
of underrepresented employees throughout the district.
The
committee
has also looked at numbers of underrepresented students
in extracurricular programs, student management issues and how
these issues relate
to curriculum and instruction. The committee has been
responsible for the passage of numerous significant policies that
have
helped shape the district. These include:
- The Policy on Religious Neutrality
- The Business Outreach Policy
- The Hate Language Policy
- A revision of several student discipline
policies
- The Affirmative Action Policy
Each year the committee will hear progress reports from each department
in relations to the mission and core values of the DAC. The DAC
has made a great impact on the district and community over the
years. Some of the areas of impact include:
District
- Leadership and Vision
- Guidance on Religious Issues
- Hiring Procedures
- Student Conflict Resolution
- Parental Conflict Resolution
Community
- Martin Luther King Celebration
- News Media Involvement
- Support for other Districts
- School Level Impact
- Recruitment Fair
- Parental Contact
Contact
Jun Melvin, director for compensation and diversity
e-mail - Jun.Melvin@pisd.edu
phone - (469) 752-8189
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