Equity Audit: Looking Ahead To The Process This School Year

We are grounded in our Quaker values, and we know that values on their own are not enough.

To create a sense of belonging, there is work we actively participate in each day. Over the course of our history, Friends School of Portland has made important headway in our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice work. We’ve reflected on program, policies, and procedures, and accessed experts like Liza Talusan for workshops and support. 

Throughout that journey, we long ago recognized that we would benefit from a more thorough equity audit. While we’ve done internal work, all along we knew external facilitation would help us gather and analyze data that would further help us understand how inclusive we are as a school, how our belonging work feels to all members of our community, and how we are seen in the wider community. 

Pictured above: Dustin Ward of It Is Time Consulting.   

As a predominantly white institution, we have sought out a professional who would bring an outside lens and push us past our habits of mind as we tackle these large questions. We are thrilled to share that this year we have hired Dustin Ward of “It is Time” to lead us in a collaborative equity audit. Dustin comes with experience working with area schools, deep knowledge of the area, and a background in faith-based leadership.  

Here is an overview of the shape of the collaborate equity audit this year:

Dustin will guide us through three stages of the year. The first stage, Discovery, is one in which faculty, staff, and board members will be oriented to the project and have a chance to contribute their questions. Dustin has started to receive information that will provide more context, including past reports such as our NEASC re-accreditation report and our Friends Council Self Study. He will be meeting with our faculty this Friday, and meeting with our board at their September board meeting.

Later this fall, the second stage, Data Collection, will be a time for in-person community discussions and online surveys. We will have more to share soon about ways you can lend your voice to this audit.

By May, we will be able to share what takeaways and next steps have emerged in the third stage, Final Recommendations.

Thank you to the Obadiah Brown’s Benevolent Fund’s generous grant that has helped FSP make this important and long-anticipated investment. You can view below a little more information from Dustin. And stay tuned for more information, coming later this month.