At its April 6 Board of Education meeting, the D120 Board passed Policy 7:12, Racial & Education Equity.  In addition, the Board recognized two Mundelein High School students, Senior Trey Baker and Junior Jordyn Miller, for their work to engage the Board and school community in the creation of this policy. The students provided input from a student’s perspective throughout the process. In addition, staff in-service days, under the leadership of Assistant Superintendent of Teaching/Learning, Stacey Gorman, focused on equity for nearly four years eventually leading to the adoption of this policy.

Excerpts from the newly-adopted policy include the following:

• Mundelein and its surrounding communities offer a rich and compelling place to work, live and grow. At the core of Mundelein High School’s mission is to provide each student the opportunity to understand and express their identity, cultivate a multitude of skills, build intellectualism within each area of study and develop criticality to advance their understanding of power, equity, anti-racism and other anti-oppressions. It is our expressed belief that a school district that values the racial and ethnic diversity of its students, contributes to successful outcomes for all students as well as for our community and for society.

• Elsewhere in the policies, we (Board of Education) capture our commitment to equality in education. It is our commitment with this policy to address the systemic barriers to equity. Educational equality and equity are not the same principles. Equality means treating all students the same regardless of differences. Equity means the systemic fair treatment of people of all races and ethnicities that allows equitable outcomes. Once racial and ethnic inequities are eliminated, race and ethnicity are not factors in outcomes. Equity aims to remove barriers to provide each student the opportunity to benefit equally from the high-quality educational experience and outcomes that Mundelein High School offers.

• In order to realize equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone, equity must be applied across, including but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, national origin, foster status, housing circumstance, involvement with the juvenile justice system, IEP status, disability, learning differences, immigration status or spoken language.

“This policy is a significant step in our equity journey,” said Districts 75/120 Superintendent Kevin Myers.
“Staff and administration have also involved several students in the process. The board is fully invested which is seen in the development of this policy,” Myers said.

“I’m beyond grateful and excited to announce that our collaboration with the D120 BOE and MHS administration and faculty came full circle by passing the first-ever D120 School Board policy on racial and educational equity,” Baker said.