The National Equity Standards
10. Parents/caregivers, community organizations, business/industry, and schools work together as partners to promote academic achievement and inclusive learning environments
Indicators:
- Outreach activities (e.g., newsletters, open houses, workshops) empower parents, partners, and caregivers to become involved in the student's education.
- Parents are aware of the effects of stereotyping and bias and its impact on educational achievement.
- Data is collected which shows the number of families involved in the school community and the growth in involvement, especially of traditionally underrepresented families.
- Schools are sensitive to work schedules and work demands of parents and create schedules to accommodate working parents (e.g., flexible scheduling of conferences, open houses, and special programs).
- Schools and social service agencies collaborate to provide services (e.g., parenting education, early childhood services, and comprehensive health and health education programs) to decrease poverty-connected inequities that may reduce a student's readiness to learn.
- Successful strategies that reduce inequities are publicized throughout the community.
- Partnerships are established between schools and all facets of the community to enhance home-to-school-to-work transitions and to ensure that all students find appropriate educational and employment opportunities.
- Community members, organizations, and businesses provide opportunities to promote equity, especially for nontraditional and underrepresented students, by serving as field trip hosts and/or becoming involved in job-shadowing and/or mentoring programs.
Work-Related Equity Standards (For Community Organizations, Business, Labor, and Industry): #3
- Workplaces or community organizations which serve as learning environments for students honor diversity and foster respect for the individual.
- Organizational recruitment and promotion policies result in a diverse workforce.
- Evaluation policies of organizations promote respect and reward productivity and work qualities, regardless of gender, disability, or ethnic background.
- Training is provided to workers, mentors, and community members to develop skills needed to work with diverse student populations.
- The highest standards for safety, including adherence to local, state, and federal requirements, are in place, especially related to gender and disability issues.
- Workplaces or community organizations reflect adherence to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related amendments of 1978, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974.
- Students are informed about the laws, policies, and procedures related to equity which are in place for their protection in the working environment.
- Students see and experience workers of both genders, varying abilities, and ethnic backgrounds at all levels of the organization and in a wide variety of job functions.
[#3 Among the educational reform efforts sweeping our country today, one of the most critical is the effort to make curriculum more relevant to the lives of students by using the community or workplace as a learning environment. Professional programs and career education programs have successfully used cooperative education, work experience, and internship experience for many years to promote student learning. Currently, the national School-to-Work and Service-Learning initiatives acknowledge and utilize the community and workplaces for relevance in learning. As more students enter external environments for learning, it is imperative that those environments also adhere to the same quality standards as traditional school environments. In addition to the relevant System-Building Standards already identified, the following standards are recommended as guidelines to those community and business enterprises who wish to promote the best quality learning for students.]
