Colorado Springs School District 11 criticized for equity audit

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COLORADO SPRINGS – Colorado Springs School District 11 faces criticism over a fairness audit.

The district contracted with the US Research Institutes last fall to develop a comprehensive report on the district’s programs, policies, practices and results. The objective of the audit was to find inequalities in district data and develop strategies to target inequalities and improve results.

“These are a number of things that, taken together, really call into question the validity of this report,” said Joseph Boyle.

He is one of the community members who questions the intent of the fairness audit and its conclusions.

“For example, the assumptions that are apparently built into the conclusions drawn. Much of the data seems to have arrived before the data was collected. If people are wrong about that, I think it would be good for the administration for us. say why this is not the case. There are also questions about the wording of the questions to the teachers, how they were interpreted, and the conclusions that are drawn from them. They seem not to be aligned with each other, “Boyle said.

He is also concerned with how the word equity is used by the district.

“It’s explicitly called an ideology, and parents in District 11 don’t want ideology taught in public schools,” Boyle said.

The district has held a series of town halls to discuss the results, but Boyle says there is no transparency or accountability with “Equity Cafés.”

“The current Equity Cafe system doesn’t look like accountability or transparency. It is a system where questions are solicited to be written on sticky notes and pieces of paper, and it is possible for people at the cafe to answer those pieces of paper and answer citizens’ questions in real time. It’s done all over town in candidate forums and other forums, ”Boyle said. “They’re scripted, choreographed, and the one from Coronado High School included an outright refusal to answer questions. That’s concerning,” Boyle said.

Equity and Inclusion Director Alexis Knox-Miller says the meetings aren’t for questions and answers, but rather to present data and get feedback.

“I want you to be able to go to our website to read the report, read the strategies and really understand what we’re doing,” Knox-Miller said.

The research focused on the organizational and pedagogical changes that needed to be made.

“We need to make people culturally sensitive, and organizationally, we need to look at how we’ve created these inequalities. Have we allocated our funds fairly,” Knox-Miller said.

She says the funds and time spent on the report could yield lasting benefits.

“I read a slide that says our GDP will grow by about a billion dollars if we commit to focusing on equity,” Knox-Miller said.

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