Burlington School District Releases Equity And Inclusion Data Report

From the Burlington School District:

May 26, 2021

Burlington School District (BSD) has released the 2019-2020 Equity and Inclusion Data Report, the annual report that measures equitable outcomes for students. The report analyzes data on student academic achievement, discipline, and participation in order to identify and eliminate disparities in these areas, and to show whether, and to what extent, there are different student outcomes collaborated with race/ethnicity, household income, language background, ability, or gender.

“In August 2020, our leadership team created six goals to improve our district and to reduce the opportunity gap,” explained BSD Superintendent Tom Flanagan. “This report follows looks at our progress towards those goals, in many cases looking at data from last year through the midpoint of this year. My goal is that by connecting this report and future report to our goals, we can take a systemic approach to eliminating systemic inequities.”

“This is really a disparities report, highlighting the opportunity gaps that still exist in our District,” said BSD’s Director of Equity, Sparks. “Even though we have published this report for eight consecutive years and are making progress in some areas, we’re seeing that a lot of the same historical inequities persist. This year’s report gives us a chance to intentionally focus on meeting our goals as a District and offers the chance to hear students describe their experiences in our schools.”

An executive summary of the report notes that of the six district goals, BSD is meeting two of the goals: increasing the use of Restorative Practices in schools and increasing the percentage of students who graduate having completed Algebra II.

Though these goals are being met, the District will work to increase success in these areas while also focusing on meeting the four other goals not yet met. Two of these support students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, working to increase the percentage of those students who can read at grade level by the end of third grade and do math at grade level by the end of the eighth grade. The District also wants AP, Honors, and dual-enrollment courses to reflect the demographics of the high school student population and is working to increase the number of teachers of color through the District.

This year’s report also highlights a number of suggestions on how to better meet these goals, close the opportunity gaps that persist, and create a more equitable schooling experience for all students.

Filed Under: Updates and Reminders

This press release was produced by the Burlington School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.