Room: D139-140
Abstract:
Equity from Policy to Planning to Project:
How to apply district policy to an equity-based planning process. Many school districts across the country have implemented equity-centered policies that aim to close achievement gaps, guide decision-makers towards more equitable decisions, and ensure those who have been marginalized are centered in the decision-making. Facilities planning plays a vital role in advancing district equity-centered policies. Join this pre-conference workshop to learn more about equity-based facilities planning and how to translate policy to planning to projects. This will be an interactive, true learning experience for attendees that will reinforce concepts and demonstrate success and lessons learned in each of the 3 sessions.
- 9:15 am – Part 1 (1 hour): Equity-centered Policies. Dr. Grandson will focus on equity policy development in schools as a precursor to planning efforts. He will share his experience developing the Opportunity and Achievement Gaps Policy and Racial Equity Planning Tool at Boston Public Schools. Part of this discussion will include how to proceed with planning efforts when there is not a specific policy in place.
- 10:30 am – Part 2 (1 hour): Translating Equity-centered Policy into Equity Planning. This session focuses on engagement best practices and how to translate “what is heard” from underserved communities, students, and educators into planning criteria and tool development. This will be very interactive, and participants will practice how to translate what a community says into planning and design criteria for consistent high-quality schools as defined by the district with the community. They will also see how tools can be developed that demonstrate who is impacted by planning choices, providing transparency for difficult decisions and inviting the community into that decision making process.
- 1:00 pm – Part 3 (1 hour): Implementing an Equitable Plan. Participants will also look at how the plan gets implemented and how engagement and goals can differ for a specific long-range plan vs. built project, using Dr. French’s experience in Austin ISD and DLR Group’s experience in Pawtucket. The same tools shared in Part 2 will be demonstrated, as will additional engagement exercises for projects. Interactive activities will show how they can be used for continued transparency in implementation decision-making.
Learning Objectives:
- Compare engagement strategies that can be used at different scales in a planning/design project or process.
- Identify the impact on planning and design of equitable outreach in alignment and in collaboration with client goals.
- Explore strategies for centering the experiences, voices and needs of those who have been historically underserved in decision-making.
- Apply direct community feedback and input to planning decisions.
