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Equity & Access Office
Pasadena Unified School District's Office of Equity and Access was developed with the purpose of ensuring that our district meets the intention of aligning, integrating and cross-stitching all of our education justice and equity initiatives at the district and school site level. We are seeking to build equity in voice, systems alignment for inclusion, dismantling barriers for academic success and consistency and coherence of learner-centered practices.
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Equity Goal
The District’s overall goal is to promote excellence through educational equity and eliminate barriers that keep students, especially those from marginalized communities, from receiving a high-quality education. This will be accomplished by the elimination of discrimination and harassment based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, ethnic group identification, race, ancestry, national origin, religion, color, and mental or physical disability, AND the cultivation of an inclusive and anti-racist environment for the entire PUSD community. Therefore, our efforts must support and reinforce the District's efforts toward educational equity.
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Culture Statement
Pasadena Unified School District shall cultivate a culture of trust where employees, parents, students, and the community are welcomed, valued, and supported. We will collaborate with each other and our partners to achieve academic excellence, pursue continuous personal and professional improvement, and build positive relationships. We will celebrate our strengths and continually embrace opportunities to improve as a community of learners.
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Anti-Racism Professional Development
Under the leadership of Equity Specialist Stephanie Cosey and Powerful Choices, Pasadena Unified School District teachers are engaging in a 2 year Anti-Racism Professional Development series, in which they learn about systems of oppression that have resulted in inequities for our marginalized students and their communities. This Professional Development series also provides teachers with skills and strategies to design and implement a learning experience that honors diversity, centers inclusivity, and promotes equity, so that students are able to access the content and thrive as emerging agents of change.
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Community Schools
California's historic investment in Community Schools is based on Four Cornerstone Commitments that align with PUSD's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion lens:
- A commitment to asset-driven and strength-based practice
- A commitment to racially just and restorative school climates
- A commitment to powerful, culturally proficient, and relevant instruction
- A commitment to share decision-making and participatory practices.
In PUSD Community Schools, these commitments are reflected through a campus culture that values the multiple and intersectional identities and collective wisdom of our students, families, and community members; school campuses that serve as centers of community connection, healing, and wellness; school climates that embrace and support students' whole selves; school policies and practices that emphasize teaching social-emotional skills and resorative practices; collaborative and relevant learning experiences that engage students as citizens and informed decision-makers; and authentic partnership with parents and communitie partners, built on a foundtion of trust, cultural humility, and mutual respect.
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Curriculum Review
Using Gholdy Muhammad's Cultivating Genius as our anchor, lead PUSD educators are convening to apply a lens of identity and cruciality to our Curriculum Scope & Sequences, starting with English Language Arts. Upon implementation, students will be provided with a learning experience centered on diversity, equity, and inclusion, in which students can see themselves and their communities reflected in the curriculum.
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Ethnic Studies
The Ethnic Studies Collaborative is charged with developing and refining a stand-alone Ethnic Studies course, already A-G approved by the University of California, that fulfills either elective credit or U.S. History credit. Using California's Ethnic Studies "model curriculum" as an anchor, the collaborative aims to fulfill the vision of this course for PUSD, which is to provide students with knowledge, resources, and tools to help them develop as catalysts for change who promote inclusivity and raise awareness of the societal power dynamics that result in inquities and oppression in marginalized communities. In addition, this group of teacher-leaders also collaborates with teachers of other disciplines and grade levels to embed ethnic studies teaching in their content.
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Student Think Tank
PUSD recognizes that the student's voice should be acknowledged and heard. The district's Think Tank is a student-led initiative whose mission is to create a safe space for students to connect across campuses, raise consciousness about Pasadena's history, and to provide a platform through which students can create equity within the district and the region.
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DEPARTMENT CONTACT INFORMATION
Dr. Allison Steppes
Institutional Equity & Title IX Coordinator
(626) 396-3600 (88476)
