Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 has shared a detailed plan regarding its partnership with the nonprofit Convergence, which aims to address claims of antisemitism at the high school.
In a written statement of commitment emailed to district families on Aug. 13, Supt. Greg Johnson announced the high school’s plan to create an inclusive environment following discontent and accusations of antisemitism during the last school year.
That plan included a partnership with Convergence, a nonprofit organization focused on solving social challenges through collaboration.
In the Convergence proposal to OPRF, provided to Wednesday Journal by the district, the organization provided a three-phase approach to address the “challenges” and help enhance skills of district and community members to aid in the bridging of divides to solve problems.
The three phases are:
· Conducting a comprehensive assessment
· Convening and facilitating a collaborative problem-solving group
· Supporting the implementation of consensus recommendations
According to Karin Sullivan, executive director of communications for D200, the district “committed” to its relationship with Convergence on Aug. 9 and a final written agreement is still in the process of being formalized by the business office.
The district is currently in phase one, Sullivan said.
Sullivan told Wednesday Journal on Aug. 29 that the decision to work with Convergence derived from “dozens” of meetings Johnson had with Jewish community members including parents, students and staff.
“Given Convergence’s expertise in building trust and bridging divides around complex, contentious issues, we’re confident that their process will help move us toward our ultimate goal: creating a safe and welcoming environment for all students, where differences are respected,” Sullivan said.
According to Sullivan, the partnership with Convergence is under the threshold of $35,000 in cost, which means the district did not need a vote from the board of education.
The cost of the program is quoted at $29,400 but does not include travel costs, which would be covered by OPRF.
Tom Cofsky, board president, did not respond to requests for comment by time of publication.
Phase One
This phase includes interviews with up to 30 key stakeholders including administrators, staff, faculty, staff, students, parents, and community leaders. According to the proposal, the OPRF administration will be selecting who to include in the stakeholder interviews.
The results will be summarized by key themes.
“The assessment will develop a comprehensive understanding of both specific and broad issues affecting the campus community,” Convergence representatives said in the proposal. “This includes the impacts of the events of October 7th and the ongoing war in Gaza, as well as broader concerns related to feelings of belonging, support, and the overall welcoming nature of the campus culture.”
Phase one is expected to take approximately 45 days following the signing of the agreement with OPRF.
Phase Two
In phase two, Convergence will host a series of meetings of a “collaborative problem-solving group.” The group will be composed of 15 to 25 people and should reflect a diverse population of the campus community, including district faculty and staff, administration, parents, students, and community leaders.
The group will discuss how to foster understanding of diverse perspectives, improve relationships, create a shared vision for navigating the tension around the Israeli-Palestine conflict at the campus and develop and implement recommendations to improve campus culture.
“It is critical that the issues explored during the dialogue sessions are framed in a way that promote dialogue, helping participants focus on the most pressing challenges,” Convergence representatives said in the proposal.
According to the proposal, discussions are recommended to be framed as a way for team work to help identify the best practices and implement programs and policies.
The problem-solving groups are expected to convene beginning in October 2024 and last throughout the remainder of the project.
Phase Three
Convergence proposed ongoing consultation services to help support the implementation of the recommendations that came from the problem-solving group.
Support would be dependent on what the recommendations are but can include:
· Facilitating strategy planning sessions to help develop actionable steps
· Design and facilitate specific dialogue such as conversations between students,
administrator, faculty and staff
· Conduct listening sessions with other groups not included in the project
· Develop a “sustained dialogue” program on campus
· Develop dialogue-focused curriculum that would be integrated into faculty lesson planning
· Deliver training to campus community members
“We are in the early stages, but so far it has gone very well,” Sullivan said. “We look forward to the moving on to additional steps in the process as quickly as we can.”
Jeff Weissglass, a former D200 school board member and board president, is on the board of Convergence. Weissglass is also a donor to Growing Community Media NFP.
