KS: Strategic Plans Versus The Gag

Sigh. 

Gag laws seeking to restrict what schools can say about gender roles and LGBTQ+ humans and critical race theory (aka "anything at all about race stuff") are having the desired effect in many states. 

I don't imagine for a second that any of the supporters of these measures wanted to see a bunch of lawsuits and arrests. No, the point of vague and threatening rules like these is to scare teachers and chill discourse and especially spook conflict-averse school leaders into backing away from all such content, as well as continue reinforcing the choicer talking point that public schools cannot be trusted. 

And also to empower those board members who want to put the kibbosh on all that stuff.

So it was inevitable that a gag law would impact that most useless of school district practices, the strategic plan.

In my 39 years of teaching, I stepped up to become involved in every single strategic planning cycle, and I can say with absolute confidence that not once did the results of a strategic plan have any actual effect on how the school district operated and certainly not on how teachers did their jobs. Goals ranged from aspirational documents ("All students will become fluent in 21st century skills while showing skills required to be fully functional citizens while self-actualizing their way to accomplishment of personal success...") to catalogs of administrative fears ("The district will make sure to be a space safe enough to avoid any actual lawsuits") to implementation steps that accurately reflected the concerns of whichever group of parents showed up {"The school will continue to develop a strong middle school tiddly winks program"). And then they go to some shelf to gather dust (or, in modern times, into some software file that nobody will have the software to open within a decade).

The process is far more fascinating that the eventual product, because it generally involves an assortment of stakeholders saying out loud what they actually think about education and schools. 

And what the board of the Derby School District in Derby, Kansas is worried about is diversity. Specifically, noticing that it exists. Consequently, the right-leaning majority on the board axed the recent strategic plan proposal. Reactions from the board included 

“I don’t think focusing on diversity is going to (help) ... our kids, academically,” board president Michael Blankenship said. “Rather than trying to point out our differences … we should try to find things that make us unite. We should find similarities.”

He proposed replacing "diversity" with "unity." 

This board has previous experience with this stuff. They've dabbled with book-banning. They complained that a book publisher supposedly supported anti-racism efforts. they made a principal apologize for showing staff a four-minute video that talked about racial discrimination and white privilege. 

Board members also objected to the part of the proposal that called for an advisory committee to report on trends in staff and student diversity. The board vice-president said she objects to any audit of district discipline patterns or hiring practices as they relate to race. And there were also complaints about the plans mentions of mental health and social/emotional well-being.

Derby is a large suburb of Wichita, with a population of about 25K with a median household income of $76,684. In 2022, the racial composition of Derby was 87.9% white, 6% two or more races, and 1.3% Black. The school district takes in 37K people, with a median income of $66K. The school district's racial breakdown is 75% white, 4% Black, 4% Asian, and 10% Hispanic. The child poverty rate in the district is 8%. The district serves around 7,000 students, of whom roughly 3,000 qualify for free and reduced lunch, and 596 are ELL. The school board itself looks uniformly white.

Board President Blankenship added, “If we keep going down the road of focusing on everything that makes us different, how are we ever going to unite?” He did not actually go on to add, "Why can't I just assume that everyone is like me and leave it at that." 

Two board members did speak up in favor of the diversity aspects of the plan.

Board member Pam Doyle, who voted in favor of the plan, said diversity efforts are common in the business world and should be part of the district’s mission.

“Diversity is something to be celebrated,” Doyle said. “The more diverse (the) administration, teachers, and staff that we have, the more we’re going to learn from each other.”

Board member Tina Prunier, who voted in favor of the plan, said she didn’t understand why concepts like diversity and equity are controversial.

“These words have been around long before political gain,” she said. “I don’t understand why it’s becoming such a divisive thing.”

The solution to all this will look familiar to veterans of school district projects--Derby has hired a consulting firm to help out. 

In the meantime, pay attention to your local school board elections.