• Progress on the Equity Plan will be updated regularly. It is an attempt to capture the equity work done throughout the district by staff, students, administrators, and school community stakeholders. However, it is not an exhaustive list of all of the things done to support learning and teaching for all students and staff at Haslett Public Schools. We appreciate your support as we move forward with our work.

    Governance & Leadership

    • Goal areas

      • HPS has a clear public stance on value for equity in education

      • Establishment of a standing Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) leadership team/committee that meets regularly and advises the Superintendent to help with timely responses to events 

      • HPS has an effective and proactive communication plan 

      • Establishment of DEI leadership teams/committees at each school building

      • Establishment of Annual Equity Audits that examine policies and practices in the district that impact diversity, equity, and inclusion and inform the development of benchmarks to measure progress

      • The work of District  leadership reflects the HPS commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

    • Progress

      • 2023-24 school year (to be updated throughout this year)

        • DEI Leadership Team and subcommittees continue to work on goals and develop recommendations for change

        • Continue to update Board on progress and update this site regularly

      • 2022-23 school year

        • Welcome signs in 34 languages from the community in all district buildings, created with input from stakeholders

        • DEI Coordinator to manage implementation of Equity Plan

        • Equity Coaches in each school building

        • Equity Teams in each school building

        • District DEI Leadership Team made up of stakeholders from school and community 

          • District DEI Leadership Team subcommittees: family & community engagement, responding to incidents of bias, hiring & retention

        • Engagement with public relations firm to help with communications with HPS community

        • Gather baseline data for equity audit and identify areas for growth (e.g. systems/processes, training)

        • Monthly reports to Board on progress of implementation

        • Regular updates to district DEI website on progress of implementation

      • In place prior to 2022-23

        • Equity Committee surveys stakeholders, develops Equity Plan draft, receives feedback from stakeholders

        • Board approves Equity Plan June 2022

        • Ongoing updates to Board policy with NEOLA guidance 

        • Ongoing updates to building and athletics handbook with equity lens (e.g. dress code)

    Student-Centered Support Programming

    • Goal areas

      • Students have a specific person or place to go when a need arises

      • Establishment of a “Perspective Forum” with substantive student participation

      • Establishment of equitable practices for student participation in programs and activities 

      • Celebration of cultural differences

      • Students are exposed to a more inclusive range of activities and clubs

    • Progress

      • 2023-24 school year (to be updated throughout this year)

        • Utilize a culture calendar to avoid scheduling important school events on major holidays (e.g. Yom Kippur, Eid Al-Fitr)

        • Continue engagement with successful programs and initiatives listed below (e.g. Unified, Family Game Night, Student Life Fair, student-led book clubs, etc.)

        • High school advertise student supports (e.g. free tutoring, care closet, food assistance) to all students at class meetings

        • Recruit new students to the Superintendent’s Student Advisory

        • Continue to maintain and advertise Care Closets at all levels

      • 2022-23 school year

        • All Levels: Create and/or revise school culture survey for all students and staff

        • Establish Superintendent’s Student Advisory meeting monthly

        • High School Student Life Fair fall and spring

        • High School College and Career Readiness Awareness Month in October with focus on skilled trades, HBCUs, unique programs; drop-in post-secondary planning hours

        • High School Unified named Banner School for Special Olympics

        • High School and Middle School student-led book clubs

        • High School and Middle School Polar Plunge for Unified 

        • Middle School Student Activity Gallery

        • Middle School celebration of world holidays door decorations

        • Middle school social studies monthly focus on different cultures

        • Ralya Besharat Arts Foundation “Faces of Innocence” Collection

        • Ralya Be Nice program school wide book

        • Murphy Family Game Night with different cultural traditions

        • Murphy art projects celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month

        • Wilkshire One Book, One School “We Are All Alike, We Are All Different”

        • Community Education updating training for staff on wheelchair accessibility at pool; revising advertising and names for family events to include the variety of family structures and gender expressions in the community

      • In place prior to 2022-23

        • All levels: OK2Say confidential student safety program to report tips advertised widely (e.g. class meetings, posters in hallways)

        • All levels: counseling offices, school social workers, MTSS coaches, teacher classrooms advertise how to get help at all levels (e.g. Google Classroom, Class Catalyst, posters in restrooms, class presentations)

        • High School Student Forums held twice a year 

        • Middle School and High School annual school culture survey 

        • High School Unified Sports and Unified Sports class 

        • High School post-secondary planning meetings with all students in grade 12 and College and Career Readiness Awareness Month in October

        • Middle and High School club board/club calendar advertising how to get involved and/or start a new club

        • Murphy annual Family Traditions and Cultures project

        • Wilkshire, Murphy, Ralya: Activities announced in weekly Principal’s Newsletter

        • Wilkshire annual “Bucket Assemblies” (e.g. Bucket Filler Philosophy)

        • Community Education: Communications sent in multiple formats (paper, digital, via Skyward if youth program), providing accommodations for accessibility (sign interpreter, etc.), offering financial assistance/scholarships to cover cost of participation 

    Family & Community Engagement

    • Goal areas

      • Advance engagement among the district, families, and the community on topics of equity and inclusion

      • Transparent and easily accessible district/building information

    • Progress

      • 2023-24 school year (to be updated throughout this year)

        • Continue updating district website and all pages to ensure they are ADA compliant

        • Continue to roll out principal’s newsletters at multiple levels in different languages 

      • 2022-23 school year

        • Add translate button to district website that allows for translation of website into any of 100 different languages

        • Begin updating district website and all pages to be ADA compliant for text reader capability and train staff on ADA compliance 

        • Develop list of interpreters for multiple languages in community

        • High School pilot sending weekly principal’s newsletter in English and Spanish

        • Track attendance for STEAM night, science fair, literacy nights, Kindergarten Round Up, Soft Start for K and Young 5s

      • In place prior to 2022-23

        • Staff engagement with LATTICE (Linking All Types of Teachers to International Cross-Cultural Education) 

        • District Superintendent’s Blackboard monthly update newsletter sent to all families and linked on Superintendent’s Page on district website

        • All levels weekly principal’s newsletter sent to all families

        • All levels tracking attendance at Open House and Conferences 

        • Wilkshire weekly newsletter from most staff via Friday Folder and/or SeeSaw

    Curriculum & Instruction

    • Goal areas

      • Students experience an inclusive curriculum in which issues of diversity and equity are prioritized

      • Establishment of equitable academic and social environments that support student learning, growth and development 

      • Students are prepared for an increasingly diverse world

    • Progress

      • 2023-24 school year (to be updated throughout this year)

        • Continue updating district website and all pages to ensure they are ADA compliant 

        • Examine current practices for student academic placement

        • Grow understanding and use of restorative practices

        • Begin roll out of curriculum mapping initiative using revised map

        • Pilot use of evaluation tool for materials with equity lens

      • 2022-23 school year

        • Revise annual school culture survey to include questions about being challenged and represented in curriculum and being prepared for a diverse world

        • Develop curriculum map with equity lens for use K-12 in line with work of Dr. Gholdy Muhhamad’s work in “Cultivating Genius”

        • Research evaluation tool for evaluating resources for the classroom with an equity lens

      • In place prior to 2022-23

        • Ongoing curriculum revision to be more inclusive K-12

          • ELA texts with increased representation of different ways of being

          • Science resources more representative of student body

          • Social Studies intentional attention to under-represented stories and groups

          • Math focus on diverse mathematicians 

          • Music selecting and teaching about music rom different cultural traditions

        • Some staff trained on restorative practices at elementary and high school levels

        • Ongoing engagement with the RISE (Ross Initiative In Sports for Equality) Program for high school football program

    Recruitment, Hiring, Development, and Retention

    • Goal areas

      • New hires are better informed on diversity, community, students and colleagues within HPS

      • District staff and employees are representative of the diverse and inclusive environment we are striving for in HPS

      • New staff postings are written to recruit staff who share HPS’s community to advancing diversity and equity work in the district

      • More comprehensive interview process for new staff positions

      • Increase staff awareness of district goals towards diversity and equity during interview process

    • Progress

      • 2023-24 school year (to be updated throughout this year)

        • Include information on Equity Plan, how to engage with building Equity Teams, and HPS commitment to equity in New Teacher Orientation

        • Begin to develop relationships with teacher training programs in an effort to widen recruitment pool

        • Draft survey for current staff on their staff experience at HPS

        • Continue to revise job postings to include commitment to equity

        • Implement revised interview questions and protocols for best practices with DEI lens 

        • Draft flyer/marketing materials for HPS for use at teacher fairs/recruitment opportunities 

      • 2022-23 school year

        • Distribute Equity Plan to all new teaching, administrative, and support staff

        • Gather demographic data on current staff

        • Begin drafting protocol for how postings will be written to include DEI lens and commitment to equity

        • Research best practices for interview questions and protocols with DEI lens

        • Draft list of questions all buildings will ask as part of the interview process

      • In place prior to 2022-23

        • High School flyer for prospective candidates highlighting school commitments

        • Add interview question about commitment to DEI in curriculum and instruction

    Professional Learning

    • Goal areas

      • HPS educators are prepared to advance equity in their work with students

      • HPS educators regularly engage in external equity-focused professional learning opportunities

      • HPS educators are equipped with resources and strategies in professional learning opportunities to make their teaching data-driven and current with best practices in educational research

      • HPS educators are able to integrate equity-focused professional learning into activities outside the classroom

      • HPS educators are able to support all students when the need arises

    • Progress

      • 2023-24 school year (to be updated throughout this year)

        • Share HPS commitment to equity at opening PD for all staff and encourage staff to join building Equity Teams

        • Train staff on the CISM process for HPS (Crisis Incident Stress Management)

        • Begin to investigate ways to use existing data to more equitably serve students at all levels

        •  Continue to seek out PD on supporting students and interrupting bias

      • 2022-23 school year

        • Justice Leaders Collaborative yearlong course for Building Equity Coaches and DEI Coordinator 

        • Diversity in Literacy Symposium for Building Equity Coaches, DEI Coordinator, Associate Superintendent, Director of Special Education, Haslett Board member

        • Social-Emotional Learning PD at all levels with Rebekah Schipper, trainer for staff resilience and wellbeing

        • Courageous Conversations training for DEI Coordinator

        • High School and Middle School two teachers awarded Broad Global Fellowship

        • Ralya and Murphy PD on respecting student identity 

        • Wilkshire teacher awarded Global Children’s Literature Fellowship

        • Wilkshire four teachers attended  Zones of Regulation training for managing stress and regulating emotions

      • In place prior to 2022-23

        • District-wide book study “Cultivating Genius: an equity framework for culturally and historically responsive literacy” by Dr. Gholdy Muhammad

        • District-wide PD on creating group norms/class contracts that are inclusive and respect the dignity of others

        • Equity Team and/or Equity Book Study groups in place at all levels

        • Equity training with Dr. Terry Flennaugh

          • Examining issues of personal bias

          • Learning to respond to hate at school

        • Data meetings at all levels to meet individual student needs (data days, child study teams)

        • NWEA data collected fall, winter, spring at all levels

        • Acadiance screeners in place K-5 to identify students for interventions in math and reading 

        • High School monthly “Mental Taffy” newsletter to staff with PD opportunities

        • Middle School guest speakers from MSU athletics program