Despite push from one board member of the Oak Park and River Forest High School Board of Education to broaden the equity goal, the board approved of maintaining racial equity the number one priority for the district.
The board approved of the strategic plan with a vote of 5-1, with board member Mary Anne Mohanraj voting against the plan.
During an earlier April meeting, Mohanraj expressed concern that focusing primarily on race under Priority 1 outlined in the Strategic Plan 2023-2028 was too narrow.
Mohanraj maintained that position during the April 25 meeting.
“I don’t see it as deprioritizing,” Mohanraj said. “I think racial equity absolutely has to be a priority. I also think gender equity has to be a priority. I think disability equity…and honestly, I would throw in class, I would throw in a couple of things. When you elevate one over the others what happens is that ends up driving what data gets collected and what gets presented and what administration works on.”
Mohanraj expressed her concern over the lack of attention given to intersectionality because other data, such as for students identifying as LGBTQ and other indicators, is not being collected.
“It is often the matter of being aware of many intersecting concerns and weighing them and I just feel like by stating racial equity at the beginning it skews the weight,” she said. “And I think it has affected things in a negative way and I would like to see that changed.”
Board member Audrey Williams-Lee disagreed.
“When you look at where we are in this country and what the issues are, it is always about race,” Williams-Lee said. “It is always about particularly Black people.”
The approved strategic plan is similar to previous ones, as it still includes “transformative leadership” and “transformative education.” Equity has moved up higher in priority.
In a previous plan, adopted in 2017, equity was listed as the second goal for the district, with “Holistic Community Education” listed as the first goal.
Since that adoption, equity has changed to “racial equity” as shown in the current version.
Regarding intersectionality, Williams-Lee said that she is a woman who is Black but often she would be described as a Black woman.
“The issues that we have in this school all tend to be, primarily, racially driven,” she said.
Putting racial equity as the priority sets it up so the district does not lose sight of the predominant issue, Williams-Lee said.
To properly address any of the other issues, the systemic racism needs to be addressed, she said. Taking race out of the equation would be a big mistake.
Board member Fred Arkin echoed that sentiment, saying that just because the district focuses on race it doesn’t mean neglecting other factors.
“Keeping the name racial equity keeps it in front of the important work that we need to continue because we are not there yet and we still have a long road to go,” Arkin said.
Board member Jonathan Livingston said that “showcasing and prioritizing” race acknowledges the importance of racial equity in this country.
With racial equity being the priority listed on the strategic plan, the district will work to “eliminate race, socioeconomic status, and other social factors as predictors of students’ academic achievement and social emotional growth.”
To achieve this goal by June 2028, the district will “implement a comprehensive set of strategies focused on ensuring that students have access to opportunities and resources, using specific metrics such as graduation rates, reduced achievement gaps, increased access to honors and advanced courses, and enhanced student and family satisfaction with school experiences.”
They also commit to implementing “data-driven Resource Allocation Plan to equitably distribute resources,” including funding, staff, and educational programs. This also includes “increases student performance in areas where there is an achievement gap, and improved access to support services for at-risk students.”
Mohanraj declined to provide additional comments.
The new plan lists the top five priorities the district is committing itself to for the upcoming years.
Priority 2
Under this area, Transformative Education, the district is to “take a holistic, supportive, and transformative approach to providing engaging, equitable learning experiences.”
Goals include increasing the number of Black students who are meeting growth targets by 10% and increasing the number of Hispanic students meeting growth targets by 4% by June 2025, along with increasing by 2% “the number of students overall who meet growth targets on the PSAT/SAT Math test.”
Additionally, they plan to add two more approved endorsements to their College and Career Pathway Endorsement opportunities by August 2026.
Priority 3
Labeled “Transformative Leadership,” this priority will guide the district to “hold leaders to high expectations in responsibilities, policies, practices, and professional development, and create opportunities that support effective teaching, learning, and leadership.”
According to Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Roxana Sanders, an example of “transformative leadership” would be “holding leaders responsible for selecting and hiring highly qualified diverse candidates.”
“Our leaders participate in recruitment events, must engage in implicit bias training prior to being part of a hiring committee, and follow standardized hiring protocols to make the best hiring decisions,” Sanders said.
The district also plans to increase workforce diversity with a “specific focus on increasing representation of faculty of color to 35%” by August 2028, as well as to improve their employee retention with a “specific focus on increasing the retention rate of support staff of color to 90%.”
According to the 2023 Illinois Report Card, 75.4% of teachers at OPRF are white, 9.4% Black and 9.2% Hispanic. According to the report card, 52.5% of students at OPRF are white, 19.8% are Black, and 14.6% are Hispanic.
Board member Graham Brisben said this goal is a “kicking the can down the road” because it’s the same goal the district has had for the past five years.
“I would put the administration on notice that I am really going to be asking for, as you led into your personnel reporting in the fall, what are the specific strategies and tactics that we are doing to try to actually close the 20-basis point gap between our students of color and our faculty of color,” Brisben said. “I just for one will be super interested in detail for that one.”
Priority 4
In “Operations, Facilities, and Finances” the district intends to “make fiscally responsible, student-centered decisions that allocate resources to ensure excellence and equity for all.”
One of the four goals includes creating a long-term technology plan to meet the needs of all learners by June 2025.
Priority 5
In terms of communications, officials aim “support the district’s mission and goals by facilitating effective, timely, transparent, and two-way communication with internal and external audiences.”
By June 2026, the district aims to have most parents of color and non-English speaking parents report they are satisfied with communications on surveys, and by June 2027, have the number of community stakeholders who rate the communications “excellent or above average” increase from 35% to at least 50%.
