Springfield Public Schools has adopted the following definition of "equity."

Equity is the provision of personalized resources needed for all individuals to reach common goals.  In other words, the goals and expectations are the same for all students, but the supports needed to achieve those goals depends on the students’ needs. 
(Equity Education, 2019)

Our common goal:  College and/or career readiness for all students.

What do we really mean by "Equity"?

“ Every conversation I have in and about schools is a conversation about equity - regardless of the demographics of the school.  Every time I set foot in a school or speak to an administrator or a coach or a teacher, everything I see and hear is filtered through an equity lens.  I think about who is thriving, who is sitting where, who is raising their hand, who is being yelled at, who is reading what, who is playing with whom, who is in the front office waiting for the principal, who the principal is, who the teachers are, what the teachers are doing in professional development, how teachers redirect off-task students, how the teachers explain a concept, how the teachers check for understanding, what teachers assign for reading, how students are grouped, how students are instructed to walk in the hallways, who is praised, who gets feedback, ad so much more. I filter each observation and wondering through an equity lens. I look for patterns and trends, and I look for outliers. I process what I see through my understandings of sexism, classism, institutional racism, and other forms of bigotry and discrimination.”

Elena Aquilar, Coaching for Equity (p.9-10)

Jamar Scott
Chief Equity & School Improvement Officer
Springfield Public Schools
1900 W. Monroe
Springfield, IL 62704
Phone 217-525-3017
FAX    217-525-7910
Email  jdscott@sps186.org