Many school districts launched into "action" around diversity, equity, and inclusion work in the summer of 2020. This action often included official statements and promises to investigate and take future steps. Two and a half years later, I am convinced that these equity traps are real and schools must directly confront them. Now that schools are reopened, I am hopeful the sense of urgency around educational equity will return. There is this notion that schools are getting "back to normal," which may be great for the wealthy white students who make up a large portion of our district's population. Back to normal, however, is not a positive thing for many students, especially those from historically marginalized groups. Schools must take an honest and uncompromising look at what the data makes clear - where students live, their income level, race, gender, and other factors remain predictors of success. It is the mission of the public school system to eliminate this predictability by providing all students with the resources, support, curriculum, and individualized instruction they need. The effort needs to be aware of the equity traps and avoid them. It can't be superficial - it needs to be brave, coordinated, genuine, systemic, and ongoing. It can't be the work of a single leader or teacher or even a committee - it must be embedded into everything educators do. Every decision they make, every assignment they grade, every student they interact with. So how do we get there?
