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Date: 6/22/2023
WILBRAHAM — The Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee was presented with the findings of the equity audit performed by Mass Insight, a consulting firm, at it’s June 15 meeting.
Dr. Carmen Thomas-Browne, engagement manager for Mass Insight, led the presentation via Zoom. She began by reviewing the purpose and the process of an equity audit and said the goals of the audit were to “uncover barriers that limit full participation and success outcomes for all students” and recommend ways to address them.
The team gathered more than 350 pieces of data from Superintendent John Provost. They conducted surveys, focus groups and interviews with more than 1,300 students, as well as families, community members, school staff and leadership, district-level staff and School Committee members in February and March. Thomas-Browne cautioned the School Committee that some of the findings might be “difficult to sit with and difficult to digest,” but she said HWRSD has “many strengths to build off of.”
Communication and engagement
One area in which HWRSD can improve is communication of its priorities and the vision behind decisions that are made by the administration and the School Committee. Consultant Destiny Shantell Woodbury said that while the School Committee, district administration and school staff and leadership have a fairly strong understanding of the district’s reasons for wanting to be more equitable, there is only a “moderate amount of understanding” among families. Similarly, there was “significantly less awareness” of the district’s strategic plan priorities among families than among the School Committee.
Thomas-Browne talked about the levels of family and community engagement. She said people reported various forms of communication with stakeholders through email or phone calls, but she added that some people feel more frequent communication is needed.
Some school-community partnerships have been created, such as parent-teacher organizations or a special education parent advisory council. However, Thomas-Browne said awareness of these partnerships could be improved upon.
Analyst Krista Reed said that not all students have an awareness of, or access to, opportunities in the district. For example, only 55% of families responded that they were at least somewhat aware of financial support for students to participate in extracurricular activities and how to obtain it. There is a lack of school-provided transportation to and from after school activities.
Equitable outcomes and experiences
When considering equitable student access and outcomes, Reed explained that the district measures success with the focus on what the School Committee has done rather than the outcomes of those steps. She pointed out that the School Committee has not used disaggregated data in the past and therefore cannot yet determine which groups of students are succeeding in achievement.
A gender gap has appeared over the past four years among students who drop out of school. In the 2018-2019 school year, students who left school were evenly split between male and female students. In 2021-2022, 87.5% of students that left school were male and 12.5% were female.
MCAS math scores for grades 3-8 show African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino and multi-racial students trailed behind white students, while Asian students scored highest.
Pervasive outcome gaps for students with disabilities, English language learners and low-income students were identified. While the MCAS math scores for English language learners lagged behind the scores for students taken as a whole in each of the last five years, the percentage of English language learner students meeting or exceeding expectations dropped by nearly double the percentage of overall students reaching that goal between 2018 and 2022. Reed did point out that English language learner students have increased their achievement in the ACCESS test, which measures listening, speaking, reading, and writing proficiency, over the same period.
Only 26% of low-income students, the largest of the three categories, achieved a meets or exceeds expectations in the MCAS math exams for grades 3-8, while 48% of non-low income students reached that threshold.
One piece of data that depicts this finding is the scores for grades 3-8 in the English language arts MCAS exam. In 2019, 20% of students with disabilities met or exceeded expectations, while 67% of their non-disabled peers met that benchmark. In 2022, only 8% of students with disabilities and 60% of their non-disabled peers attained that level. Graduation rates for 2022 among students who went to high school together for four years.
Reed said students with disabilities are more likely than their peers to experience lower expectations from teachers. One student said teachers “sometimes” do not follow individualized education plans. Another student commented, “They call you dumb being in there and the special ed teachers give you all the answers. Teachers don’t act like they believe in you, so they just make it easy.”
Bullying and discipline
Bullying has been identified by students as “a major issue” and there was some indication of adult awareness but inaction. Eighty-one percent of students said there is questionable effectiveness at addressing bullying and harassment, Thomas-Browne said, calling it a “significant problem.”
More white students reported feeling safe and ready to learn than students of color. One student answering the Equity Audit survey responded that the district could be improved by “[Getting] rid of the SPEDs.” A total of 57% of students reported witnessing bullying or harassment due to race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity or other characteristics.
A student commented that teachers “preach equality,” but “it isn’t something I really see enforced.” Yet another said that transphobic and homophobic slurs have been said in classrooms without any consequences. “I’ve been called names because of my gender identity in the hallways and teachers who are monitoring don’t do anything to speak up.”
At recent School Committee meetings, members have discussed a relatively high suspension rate in comparison to other districts. Mass Insight noted that while there were 185 suspensions last year, there have been fewer than 80 this year, but also pointed out that discipline lacks consistency. Discipline rates among high needs students, students with disabilities and low-income students are disproportionate to their percentage within the student body.
“I’ve had a lot of issues with my son experiencing violence. Whenever it was his word against a white child, he never won. When it was reported, he wasn’t believed,” a parent told the Mass Insight team. She said her son was afraid to speak up because he did not want to “be perceived as violent,”
School instructional leadership
Shantell Woodbury called out several commitments and steps HWRSD has taken to move toward a more equitable district. She said school leaders “play a vital role” in encouraging professional development opportunities and there is professional development provided for educators on topics such as gender identity and bullying. The School Committee also passed an anti-racism resolution in 2020 and adopted positive policies related to textbook and educational material selection.
Shantell Woodbury said that when it comes to talent development, the district has taken a “foundational approach” to recruitment but there is still a gap between plans and outcomes. There is also no data on the correlation between local hires and the proficiency of educators, she said. While staff diversification has been prioritized, the diversity of the staff is not yet representative of the student population.
Recommendations
Mass Insight made the following recommendations to help HWRSD to become a more equitable district:
In summary, Thomas-Browne said HWRSD is “well poised” for the “next leg” of its “equity journey.” She said there are strong foundations and that the leaders are equity minded an inclusive. She said the guiding beliefs of the district reflect the community’s values and stakeholders recognize a need to create “welcoming spaces.”
School Committee member Maura Ryan thanked the Mass Insight team and asked about MCAS data regarding students with disabilities. She said she was concerned it does not account for the rates of students who have opted out of the test since COVID-19.
Ryan also said, “Metrics have always been a problem for us at the School Committee level.” She asked if there were recommendations for how HWRSD can move forward in that area. Reed said that creating a district data team and collecting disaggregated school-level data will allow the committee to see trends and patterns.
School Committee member Sean Kennedy noted that all information presented in the equity audit report came from stakeholders within the district and said he appreciated that Mass Insight made a point to call out the district’s strengths. He said people asked him about comparative data and asked how the district stacks up against others in the area. Reed acknowledged, “It’s a valid question.” However, she did not have an answer as that was not the focus of the team’s work.
School Committee member Patrick Kiernan asked if there was a cohort analysis available. Reed said they did not complete that analysis but agreed that it was “incredibly important” information.
A parent in the audience asked how the Mass Insight team had identified students with disabilities and low income families. Reed explained that Department of Elementary and Secondary Education looks at individualized education plans when identifying students with disabilities and she said there are multiple ways that schools verify a student’s low income status.
School Committee member Sherrill Caruana asked how the district could generate change and align the strategic plan, the budget and professional development. Reed said that it is easier to enter the budget process with an eye toward what allocations are needed to increase equity, than it is to make changes afterward. Thomas-Browne added that Mass Insight provides support and modification of strategic plans and can help “triangulate” priorities.
Parent Karen Romano asked about communication between the towns and the district. Ryan said, “We are starting in the right direction” to fix communication issues. She said the strategic plan working group, which was comprised of residents and town leadership from both communities and district leadership, was a step on the right path. “Folks in the community want to bring things together” and “be a united front,” Ryan said.
School Committee member Bill Bontempi agreed and pointed out that both towns recently voted to use Community Preservation Act funding to purchase playscapes for Green Meadows School and Mile Tree Elementary School.
Kennedy pointed out that there had been “a lot of concern” when the equity audit was first proposed by members of the School Committee. “It is okay to feel uncomfortable” and “identify hidden and unconscious biases.” He said professional development can help with that, but “we all have to want this.” On a personal note, he said, “I need to be better. It’s not political correctness. It’s politeness.”
The district will now review the report and make decisions on implementation of the recommendations.