August, 2022

In August of 2022, LPCSD officially launched its first DEI&B Committee.  The Committee, currently comprised of ~20 stakeholders (Board of Education Members, Administrators & Teachers), was named after an intensive interview process. The district has plans to expand this committee to include Service Employees, Parents, Community Members and Students, starting in the Spring of 2023.

*Please see the side tab titled “District DEI&B Members” for information on current team members.

Our first meeting was held on August 9 and 10, 2022.  At the meeting we established the following goals:

• Establish a Mission & Vision for the Committee - add link

• Review and Recommend a DEI&B Policy to the Board of Education- add link 

• Build Community

• Study Together & Build Capacity

• Set and accomplish DEI&B-related tasks

• Reflect on possible survey questions for stakeholders

September 2022: The NYSED Policy Framework (link)

At our Liaison meeting this month, we worked to develop suggestions for implementing applicable additions to include Hispanic Heritage Month curriculum (see September/October Canva link).

October: Developed a plan to introduce the principles of DEI&B to our district faculty

• Developed program planning for November - Native American Heritage Month

  • Elementary Schools: Keepunumuk

  • Secondary Schools: Speaker Pete Hill

November: Data Dig and Program Planning

• At our November Liaison Meeting, we began developing Program Planning for each building for December's Cultural Celebration Month: Celebrating the World’s Winter Holidays

• Deciphering Data:
  • In November, the Lpcsd Faculty Was Surveyed to Begin Our Initial Data Collection for Analysis Purposes. Our Dei&B Team Will Use This Data to Develop Sub-committees in Order to More Thoroughly Define Dei Needs in Our School, Based on Faculty Assessment.
  • Our Next Steps Will Be to Hone the Survey in Order to Gather Data Reflective of Our Student's Experiences.
  • In the 2023-2024 School Year, We Plan to Expand This Survey to the Greater Lp Community.
  • Why: Creating the Perfect Community That Fully Supports Dei&B

December Liaison Meeting: Focus - The Danger of a Single Story

• Developed program planning for January - Asian Heritage and Pacific Islanders Month

• Using the data from November, Liaisons broke into teams to begin to “specialize” in DEI&B categories that the faculty designated as areas of need:

  • Religions and World Cultures - Lisa Scelsa and Jacey Diez 

  • Black History Month - Leah Khatib and Kim Hereth

  • Asian, Arab Heritage and Women’s History Months - Kim Alexander, Julie Stevener and Nicole Sandretto 

  • Students with Disabilities & Mental Health Awareness - Joy Khatib and Laura McLaughlin

  • LGBTQIA+ - Dan Behm and Laura Kimoto

January Liaison Meeting: 

• Reflection: Time to revisit our goals and 2022-2023 plans

• Develop program planning for February (Black History Month) and March (Women’s History and Students with Disabilities Months)