If we want to hold equity officers accountable for their work, we must be clear about expectations for the role and provide the support they need to succeed.

The high ideals of the United States are expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other founding documents, but we are still on the road to realizing those ideals. Achieving the promise expressed in the preamble of the Constitution that we will become a “more perfect Union” that can “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” requires concerted efforts to break entrenched barriers that have left far too many people on the margins.

In education, leadership teams have a duty to carefully craft learning conditions that will support every child’s learning. To that end, many K-12 districts have hired equity officers to ensure equity is foundational to every part of the school system and that it has a place in every conversation and every decision. As of 2020, 62% of the nation’s 100 largest school districts, including the 10 largest, had a dedicated equity officer on staff (Greene & Paul, 2021). And just like other attempts at supporting our country’s ability to be a more perfect union, this role has come under attack.

Some critics have wondered if equity officers are accomplishing the goal of improving outcomes for students of color. In short, these critics are holding equity officers solely responsible for student outcomes when outcomes are a districtwide shared responsibility. But their criticisms raise questions about what success should to look like for equity officers and how systems can provide the supports they need to be successful.

Accountability for equity officers

A recent report by the Heritage Foundation purports that schools with equity officers tend to have the lowest achievement outcomes for their students (Greene & Paul, 2021). According to their findings, the average achievement gap between Black and white students is about 2.4 grades; but in those districts with chief equity officers, the gap is nearly 3 grades. Therefore, authors Jay Greene and James Paul conclude, if a school district has an equity officer, students of color are less likely to show academic improvement. In addition, they suggest that, because equity officers tend to work in Democratic-led states, the reason for creating an equity officer position must be political.

While we appreciate the Heritage Foundation’s research on the types of school districts that are employing equity officers, their conclusions require close examination. For one thing, the assumption baked into their conclusion is that hiring an equity officer should quickly remedy the achievement gap, even though the work of equity officers can take years to bear fruit. Yet their report does not appear to address how long equity officers have been in place in these districts. A report from the National Education Policy Center addresses this and other methodological flaws (Fierros, 2022).

Simply having an equity officer is not enough to transform schools and student outcomes.

We believe that Greene and Paul missed two crucial factors for effectively analyzing the work of equity officers: a deep understanding of the role equity officers are meant to play within a school system and the myriad factors that play into student achievement data. Their analytical approach implies that the presence of an equity officer alone would directly determine whether student test scores rise; therefore, this is the outcome they are holding equity officers accountable for. As we know from our intimate work with leaders in these roles, simply having an equity officer is not enough to transform schools and student outcomes.

If we want equity officers to be an integral part of how a district improves student outcomes and ensures every student has access to engaging and challenging learning experiences, we must shift and expand how we think about the role. To start, we need to reconsider how we define and measure their success and how we provide the supports they need to be successful.

Considering the context

Before we explore what a strong future for equity officers could look like, it’s important to understand some historical context for the role. While equity officers in school systems are a relatively new phenomenon, government agencies, private companies and organizations, and higher education institutions have had similar roles in place for decades. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 created the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission to enforce federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or employee. To ensure they were complying with workplace anti-discrimination laws, government agencies and private companies and organizations hired equal employment opportunity officers.

In the 1970s and 1980s, as enrollment of students of color at traditionally white colleges and universities grew, an increasing number of colleges and universities created a chief diversity officer position to support minority students. The person in this role in higher education “coordinates, leads, enhances, and in some instances supervises formal diversity capabilities of the institution in an effort to build sustainable capacity to achieve an environment that is inclusive and excellent for all” (Williams & Wade-Golden, 2013, p. 32).

The work of K-12 school system equity officers of today grew from these earlier efforts, and the role has expanded to address a range of challenges connected to systemic inequities. For example, as we’ve supported and conducted research on equity officers, we’ve seen them identify and address disproportionate disciplinary practices, expand access to accelerated learning opportunities, and make sure every student has a skilled and effective teacher.

Defining the role

A K-12 equity officer’s work is nuanced and complex. If they are to support the district in its pursuit of dismantling inequities, the equity officer needs to take a layered approach. They are doing work that affects district systems, structures, and policies and that shapes school system culture. While improving student learning is one goal, the work of an equity officer is more than just improving student test scores.

In our work at The Leadership Academy and The Education Trust, we support more than 50 equity officers across the country. We have learned from these partnerships that different districts have different structures and expectations for the role. Most of the equity officers we partner with are assuming recently created roles. For that reason, they spend the bulk of their time creating the roadmap for the role. They are essentially building the plane as they fly it, which we can all agree is a stressful, frustrating, and at times counterproductive position to be in. In addition, many districts establish an equity officer role in response to a racist incident or series of events, which means the new equity officers are walking into a highly charged environment.

A district that creates these roles before trouble erupts will be better able to set up the equity officer for success.

A district that creates these roles before trouble erupts will be better able to set up the equity officer for success. They can do so by creating some of the roadmap ahead of hiring someone for the position. This starts with asking questions about plans and expectations for that role:

• Why are we creating the equity officer role? Are we creating this role to be proactive or reactive?
• What is the intended role of the equity officer in our district or state?
• How will we make a case for the equity officer? officer role in our district or state?
• What environment will the equity officer walk into when hired?
• Does our district or state have an articulated vision and mission for equity?
• How will an equity officer help fulfill the vision and mission?

Measuring success

Once districts have hired an equity officer, they will need to consider how to measure their success. These specific factors used to evaluate equity officers’ work will vary, depending on the district’s context and goals. In general, equity officers measure their success through the impact of the policies and practices they enact, such as by increasing staff diversity or student enrollment in honors and Advanced Placement classes, decreasing student suspensions, or centering family and students in decision making.

Questions to consider when measuring success could include:

• How has the equity officer supported the district in identifying inequities across school systems and cultures?
• How has the equity officer collaborated across roles to set targeted district goals based on the examination of data?
• How has the equity officer built capacity across departments (special education, athletics, arts, accelerated learning, etc.) to identify inequities that need to be addressed?

Consider some of the work that Tommy Welch, chief equity officer of Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia, has been doing. He shares research with staff and community members showing that students learn better when they feel included and have a sense of belonging and stories of what that looks like in practice. Jordy Sparks, equity officer in California’s Oceanside Unified School District, has worked to intentionally build a common understanding among his team by having them talk about their experiences and create common definitions and talking points. They consider whose voices they are bringing into the work, whose voices are left out, and how they can be mindful of that. He told us that “the hardest thing would be if we are out in public and at schools talking about ‘equity’ and talking about ‘inclusion’ and we are not modeling that as a team, then we’re going to be sabotaging ourselves at every single turn.”

Creating a system of support

Once a leader is in the equity officer role, it’s incumbent on district leaders to create a support system that sets up the equity officer for success. Time and again, we have heard from the equity officers we partner with how lonely a job it is. Too often, the professionals in this role are isolated in departments rather than given a seat at the executive’s table where decisions are debated and made. This positioning makes it next to impossible to integrate the objectives of inclusion and excellence for all across an entire system. To be successful, the equity officer needs the support of the superintendent and the resources to do the job well.

We recommend:

• Enabling the equity officer to build a cross-functional team able to support the district with data analysis, human resources, professional learning, and curriculum and instruction.
• Recognizing the environment and culture in which equity officers work and providing support for sustaining the work.
• Developing clear standards and guidance for these roles, which can help prevent burnout, isolation, and frustration.

Massachusetts’ Boston Public Schools (BPS) shows how having a strong equity-focused team in place, with the ability to weigh in on key decisions, can make a difference. Becky Shuster, the district’s equity officer, is part of a four-person team of leaders in the equity office. She and her team have worked with other district leaders to develop the BPS Equity Impact Analysis Tool, now used across the district to determine whether existing or proposed policies and programs are likely to help close opportunity gaps. Shuster saw the tool being especially instrumental when making decisions during the pandemic. “When COVID started, the initial proposal was that all our students would be invited back into buildings with half of them invited on Monday and Tuesday and half invited on Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday as a deep-clean day,” she said. After using the racial equity planning tool, however, the district decided to only have the highest-needs students return to buildings.

Because the district had built a team dedicated to equity and created a climate where leaders across the district were willing to collaborate with the equity team and rely on their expertise, Boston Public Schools was better able to consider the needs of all its students, including those who may have been left out of previous conversations. This outcome was not focused on improving test scores, but it did make a positive contribution to the lives of students and families.

In many areas, ideas and practices related to equity are being challenged, but states and districts must continue to provide attention, funding, and professional support for leaders dedicated to promoting equity. With clear goals for the role, targeted ways to measure their success, and sufficient support, equity officers undoubtedly will push forward the work of school systems, ensuring students have every opportunity to enter the more perfect union we strive to become.

References

Fierros, E.G. (2022). NEPC review: Equity elementary: “Diversity, equity, and inclusion” staff in public schools. National Education Policy Center.

Greene, J.P. & Paul, J.D. (2021). Equity elementary: “Diversity, equity, and inclusion” staff in public schools (Backgrounder No. 3666). The Heritage Foundation.

Williams, D.A. & Wade-Golden, K.C. (2013). The chief diversity officer: Strategy, structure, and change management. Stylus.

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This article appears in the November 2022 issue of Kappan, Vol. 104, No. 3, pp. 18-21.