A. Sun Prairie Area School District Equity Focus Group by Strengths

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Compassionate Educators

Throughout the focus groups and interviews, parents, educators, and administrators discussed the compassion they have seen or felt from the educators in Sun Prairie. “Our staff is very unique, and we try to all support each other as much as possible. I think our kids feel safe, and that we have their back.” Another educator shared, “We have a lot of teachers who always want to do what’s best for students, now we don’t always agree on how we do that, but the intention and spirit is there to get it right.”

Participants were most proud of Sun Prairie as a teaching and learning organization. As one participant shared, “We have a very dedicated staff who go above and beyond the call of duty to do what’s best for kids.” While another stated, “I think we have an awesome place to learn, and too often it is taken for granted by both staff and students. Our Sun Prairie greater community is really supportive too and that helps us.”

Others addressed the opportunities that students have, “Students have a ton of opportunities, and families really appreciate that. If this kid wants to explore an interest, that is supported in Sun Prairie. Educators discussed, “that all children have access to universal core instruction all the time. We continue to grow in this area.” Another shared that, “We are working hard on interventions to do inside classroom rather than pulling students out of the core curriculum.” Others discussed their grading practices and how the practices have changed, “to help students not become trapped in the hole.” For example, “In math, we are now standards-referenced as opposed to grade and point-based. This has been transformative for student math efficacy.”

In addition, “We are very blessed as we have some people who are very passionate about Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Specific teachers go to professional development and bring it back and present on it to enlighten everyone… This year we took committees to streamline things.” The 9th grade teachers discussed their involvement with the Universal Design for Learning Focus Grant through the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). They were happy to report that they are becoming much more universal in their teaching through Unit design with a UDL focus. Others discussed the diversity of course offerings, interdisciplinary academics, and advanced placement classes. Elementary teachers stated that principles of Universal Design for Learning have “helped us differentiate opportunities to meet the learning needs of all students.” For example, “giving a rubric at the beginning of the class to assist all students.” Others confirmed that for some schools, “the push is on lesson planning. Basically, we are taking what we were doing and moving to point of putting it in action.”

Teachers across the focus groups discussed the work in the areas of Second Step and social emotional curriculum. Teachers expressed that, “the push to do universal for social emotional in every classroom through morning meeting[s] and social circle[s] are helping to develop

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communities in every classroom.” They also expressed that their understanding of their own racial identities was increasing through supporting learners and Second Step. As one teacher shared, “Everyone is equipped with the consistent curriculum and the District has provided a lot of funding for classrooms and libraries more of an emphasis on diversifying the books.” Another teacher summed up, “Teachers rally around kids and families when they experience trauma.” Others reinforced this in sharing that, “I think once teachers understand what’s really happening with kids, I do see an empathy shift and a shift in their approach.”

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Many participants discussed the importance of overt equity conversations. As one teacher stated, “Conversations about addressing equity are out in the open now.” Board Members and educators both discussed the importance of the District-wide expectation to do the work of equity. Many discussed that it is a “Conscious decision that everyone is at the table having this conversation… Equity is not something we are adding to the plate – it is the plate.” Others shared how the work of equity, as intended, gives everyone “a shared experience for common learning experiences.” Others discussed how this helps everyone to “move beyond fear and blame or shame.”

Focus group participants discussed the District’s Equity Framework with pride. “The equity framework is very impressive, for such a large District, it has been impressive to see these action steps in place.” As another member stated, “The equity framework drives all of our work.”5 Participants continued to reinforce that “In the last two years, equity, diversity, and social justice has been emphasized in our District. Kids and teachers are encouraged to have brave conversations about such, and that has been a huge change for us.” Others shared how well their building principal was able to lead the work of equity with conviction and application. For example, “Strength of building. Our building leadership overall does a good job at taking District policy – which may or may not be beneficial – and helps translate [it] into something that works or advocates to District Office for change.”

5 https://www.sunprairieschools.org/district/equity

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Figure 47: SPASD Equity Framework

However, others within the focus groups acknowledged that the District has taken a “strong stand that all our kids feel supported, but it comes with a high price as some community members do not believe that the schools should take a strong stand.” As one participant stated, “As a Hispanic person, I have been paying a really high price, but I have always had the support of the administration.”

Other teachers shared the importance of the additional professional development that the District has supported over the past decade. For example, “One of the things that the SPASD has done to get me on my anti-racist and social justice journeys was the work we did with Beyond Diversity. It was the first time I had ever heard ‘white privilege’, and this was around 2012/2013. There was a big push at that time.” As well as another educator who stated, “The Beyond Diversity Training has been quite good, especially for people who are more socially conservative or stuck in their whiteness.” More recently, others within focus groups reinforced the District’s support of the Sharroky Hollie and Zaretta Hammond work. As one participant stated, “Hammond’s work gave us a shared vocabulary to start talking about some of the inequities that exist.” Others shared the importance of Hammond’s message, “don’t lower expectations, as it tells a student they cannot perform.”

Focus group participants discussed the importance of “affirming students who are questioning their gender and sexual identity.” “We’ve done a great job of facilitating care teams and care

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plans for students who are transitioning.” Others discussed the importance of inclusivity across sexual and gender identities, “We have more non-binary bathrooms.” In addition, others discussed the need to increase support for students who are experiencing trauma based on their identities. As one participant stated, “attaching students to groups to build a sense of community… our affinity groups are pretty strong, and we want to do more for students who have experienced and are experiencing trauma.”

Early childhood teachers discussed that they are fully integrated in all settings, schools, preschools, etc. The teachers discussed how they have grown since 2019 and how they integrated services from the community, to Head Start, to private pre-school and daycares, as well as two school sites. The Department of Public Instruction showcases the SPASD’s early childhood program on their website as a model program.

District Equity Policy

Overall, educators reported feeling proud of their initial steps toward inclusion and equity in the areas of race and sexual identities, but shared desires , to include other identities (social class, linguistically diverse, etc.) and educational identifiers (e.g., special education and advanced learners).

Many focus group participants discussed the importance of the District’s equity policies, the language supporting the work of “Black Lives Matter”, and the policies regarding gender and sexuality. As one focus group member stated, “A lot of language in communication and policy has changed to be more gender neutral.” Others discussed how the dress code has been changed so that it is not discriminatory against females. Across the focus groups, educators discussed the importance of natural proportions and of “putting their learnings into practice.” For example, the “Student council is being revamped to represent all students across identities.”

Student Choice and Community Schools

Teachers, families, and board members reported how “The wide variety of courses is a strength of ours. Kids have a great chance to get some really good instruction, and a lot of that instruction can be tied to their interests.” Others described that the “Clubs and activities are so diverse, and they can always find something to go to. And if we don’t have it, we encourage our kids to start clubs.” Another educator stated that “Relative to other districts, we have resources to fund classrooms, programs, and really cool learning experiences for all kids.”

Focus group participants discussed their pride in the Community Schools’ work to increase achievement, decrease absenteeism, and connect with families. Participants discussed that five schools were currently involved in the Community Schools initiative.6 Participants stated that

6 https://www.communityschools.org/

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“The Community Schools model appears to be a very good thing that the District is trying to do.” and that “This past summer we started a collaboration across non-profits to better address inequities across the community and expanding what we are doing well in our schools to our communities. We held 9 different conversations that were very profound.” Yet another educator shared in the belief regarding the positive direction while also urging caution by sharing that, “I think the Community Schools model is a good direction the District is going in… but I want to caution people from thinking that Community Schools will solve everything. We need the District to advocate for more social services in Sun Prairie, such as public transportation and more proactive safety measure for kids.”

B. Sun Prairie Area School District Equity Focus Group by Areas of Growth

Focus group members frequently shared dichotomous perspectives and opinions. In order to acknowledge the different understandings, beliefs, and opinions held within the District, we include the contrasting perspectives, as shared during the focus groups, below. It will be essential to acknowledge that at this time, on many topics, there is not a universal consensus regarding moving forward.

Participants identified four interrelated areas for District improvement: 1) Equity Work, 2) District Improvement, 3) Educational Structures, 4) Teaching and Learning. Though we discuss each of them separately, all four are interrelated and influence each other. For example, the way the schools address equity and how teachers are aligned to Co-Plan to Co-Serve to Co-Learn Teams impacts individual proactive learning opportunities, and in turn impacts achievement. Within each of these four areas, participants also identified subthemes for the District to improve (see Table 1 below).

Table 1: Focus Group Growth Themes Equity Work District Improvement Educational Structures

Teaching and Learning Systematic Approach District Leadership Special Education Academic Expectations

Equity Capacity Lack of Impact at the Classroom Level Linguistically Diverse Identity Relevant Curriculum

Identities and Histories Policies Advanced Learners Identity Relevant Instruction

Racism Hiring Representation in Response to Intervention

Eliminate the Fear Professional Development Tracking

Student Centered Collaboration Alternative Education

Discipline