What exactly is an Equity Study? Is the the damage control that comes in the wake of the UnifiEd outburst a few weeks ago?
I can save the board a whole lot of hassle since the mere mention of doing such a study means that the study will reveal inequities, regardless of any basis.
If they would like to throw a quarter million down the drain for 20 pages of "yeah, we could be better...," please remit payment to:
Tim Giordano
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Tim Giordana is exactly correct.
If you are going to pay $290,000 for a study about inequality, you can bet they will find some. I have asked on many occasions for a list of inequities. The only answer I get is, "there are many." To that I say, "Just give me the top five."
The School Board voted Thursday night to approve giving $290,000 to a group we know hardly anything about to help facilitate discussions about inequity in our schools. No one knows (or so we were told) where the money is coming from to pay them.
Where the money comes from is very important. You can facilitate the discussions in any direction to achieve any outcome you want. Do you really think any of these consulting type groups is going to bite the hand that feeds them?
Bottom line is this, HCDE has a Chief Equity Officer and has appointed an Equity Task Force. Is it really necessary for an out-of-town firm to come in and identify inequities? Surely, if these inequities are as glaring as we are being told they are, they would have already been identified.
A very wise friend once told me, 'Consultants look at your watch and tell you what time it is."
Rhonda Thurman