Assuring that All Residents have Access to Comprehensive Educational Opportunities

The right to education is fundamental to our nation and should be to our community as well.

Education is only valuable if it meets the disparate needs of and is accessible to all seeking it. Actions include:

One - Developing and adopting a selection process

for potential candidates for open positions on the Valparaiso Community Schools (VCS) School Board that assures both the participation of key stakeholders who have been traditionally excluded in making decisions about education in our community and assures that qualified candidates are put forth to the city council for selection;

Two - Recognizing the increasing diversity

and the dramatic rise in the percentage of minority students and those on Free and Reduced Lunch, by giving priority to the development of a Strategic Diversity and Inclusion plan for VCS which will result in: (2a) a more diverse workforce, reflective of the diversity of VCS student through the strategic recruitment and retention of minority administrators, teachers and support staff in the Valparaiso Schools; (2b) equal access to participation in VCS extra-curricular and vocational programs by adopting policies that eliminate economic barriers to these programs; (2c) the adoption of curriculum and instructional materials that have been overhauled to remove existing cultural biases and give value to the history and contributions of African Americans, Native Americans, immigrants and other marginalized people in the development of this country; (2d) all school personnel trained in recognizing, confronting, and repairing harm caused by cultural and implicit biases in curriculum content, pedagogical, organizational, and personal practices; (2e) initiatives and programs that provide safety, support, empowerment, and justice to students who are bullied or disenfranchised.

Three - Implementing a system within VCS

by which community members and stakeholders can become better informed about legislative actions that would be harmful to VCS and assures that VCS administration and school board advocate locally and downstate on behalf of VCS students, teachers, facilities and finances;

Four - Creating a citizen advisory group

to improve the VCS through regular dialogue and sharing of key information about the opportunities and challenges of providing education in the community;

Five - Encouraging partnerships, sharing of resources

and open communication with alternative and adult education programs as a means to ensure educational equity and opportunity to members of the greater Valparaiso Community whose educational needs are not met in the traditional K-12 system.

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