Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion January 2022 Updates
Greetings WT Families,
In Washington Township Schools, we are committed to advancing equitable achievement. Each student should have access to educational systems that help them thrive and support their individualized needs. Our efforts to create culturally responsive and inclusive environments that yield high achievement and positive social-emotional outcomes can be found in WT’s District Strategic Plan. Each school also has a school improvement plan and principals as well as staff should be able to articulate building based efforts. Throughout the year, we have embedded diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) related updates in district wide notifications. To ensure awareness of the systematic work happening across the district, we wanted to take the time to provide updates and reminders exclusive to DEI work.
Learning In Community Webinar Series
Equity is the concept of giving students what they need to thrive within school systems. Each student has unique strengths, gifts, and different lived experiences that we have to be mindful of when trying to support academic and social-emotional needs. We also recognize that families need tools and support to help their children succeed, and spaces for shared learning to understand how schools are promoting equitable practices. Part I of the series focused on high ability, implicit bias education, special education, and sessions pertaining to culture and humanity. This semester will focus on parental involvement, critical conversations about race, social emotional learning and school counseling, and other important topics that pertain to supporting students. WT families and staff can register and learn in community with each other! Our Office of Multilingual Learners can also support linguistic needs. Please contact the Administrative Assistant to the Director of Equity and Inclusion, Ms. Andrea Badue at abadue@msdwt.k12.in.us, if you have any questions. Please note the upcoming sessions in January and February:
Tuesday, January 25th from 7:00-8:00pm
This webinar will explore existing partnerships throughout Washington Township. There are many community and parent-based organizations that work to support schools as well as outcomes for students. Attend this session to learn more about the Washington Township Foundation, WT Community Coalition, Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs), and the Parent Council Network. Learn how you can stay connected to WT and involved through these partnerships.
Thursday, February 10th from 6:30-8:30pm
This introductory workshop provided by the Peace Learning Center, participants will focus on building a basic awareness and general understanding of its impact. Participants will also be guided through self-reflection around how bias may show up in their lives.
Thursday, February 24th from 7-8pm
Washington Township Schools will spend an evening with Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul, who is the author of the groundbreaking adaptation of the book, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You. Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul’s adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi’s research is a New York Times bestseller and the 2021 Parent’s Choice award recipient. This session will focus on the importance of teaching historical truths and how to engage in critical conversations about race.
Interrupting Racism For Children (Youth Training)
Washington Township Schools has formed a partnership with Child Advocates, an organization that provides community-wide antiracism workshops. More than 100 WT staff members have participated in antiracism training within the past year. Child Advocates (8200 Haverstick Road, Suite 240) is offering free youth workshops to middle and high school students. These workshops offer an opportunity for teens and young adults to engage in conversations around racism in the United States, connect with peers from across the Indianapolis area, and have a space to make their voices heard. Transportation is required. If you’re interested in this opportunity for your student(s) please register for one of the sessions below and use the code YOUTH2022 to waive the registration fee.
Friday, Jan 21 – 4:30pm-8:00pm
Saturday, Jan 22 – 9:00am – 4:30pm
Friday, Feb 4 – 4:30pm-8:00pm
Saturday, Feb 5 – 9:00am – 4:30pm
High Ability Testing (CogAT for Grades K, 2nd and 5th)
From January 12-26, 2022 students in grades K, 2nd, and 5th at all elementary sites will be administered the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). This is a screening measure that is administered to all students in these grade levels. The CogAT provides a snapshot of your child’s abilities in the areas of verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal functioning to determine possible placement in the district’s high ability program. In the past, testing was only available to students who score exceptionally well on NWEA. Now, access has been increased to all students in the identified grade levels.
Process and Assessment:
The verbal assessment measures verbal inductive reasoning, problem solving, and verbal comprehension. The quantitative assessment measures general abstract reasoning skills, particularly inductive reasoning and specific mathematical reasoning skills. The nonverbal assessment measures inductive reasoning skills. The nonverbal assessment differs from the verbal and quantitative measures in that it does not require the student to use information gained from other experiences to solve problems.
Students’ performance on these assessments are combined to produce a composite score. Students achieving a composite at or above the 92nd percentile for their age are considered high ability-general intellectual.
Summary of Results:
The high ability program in Washington Township services students in grades 3-5.
For Kindergarten students, the CogAT will be used as a screener in order to measure areas of exceptionality (to inform schools of instructional needs).
For 2nd and 5th grade students, this is just one piece of the data that school staff will review as a component of multiple criteria used to determine placement for the 2022-2023 school year. We expect to receive the testing results in February. A copy of your child’s results as well as a written summary of strengths and needs for your student will be sent to you.
For more information or questions regarding CogAT testing, please feel free to contact the District High Ability Coach for MSD Washington Township Schools, Andrea Cannon at acannon@msdwt.k12.in.us or Dr. Buchanan-Rivera the Director of Equity and Inclusion at ebuchananrivera@msdwt.k12.in.us.
To learn more about the CogAT, visit the National Association of Gifted Children’s Website here.
Follow #WT4Equity
Do not forget to follow the MSDWT Equity social media pages, on Facebook and Twitter. You can follow the hashtag #WT4Equity to learn of updates and see equity in action within our schools. Recordings of previous webinar sessions among other resources can also be found on our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) district webpage under Parent and Caregiver DEI Resources. Please make sure to inform others of our work and ask schools to provide updates of their building-based efforts to support equitable achievement. All schools have teams, professional learning communities, and improvement goals that are working collectively to support student achievement.
