Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Our mission statement is The Penn Yan School Community will engage, educate, empower, and enrich every student, every day.  To truly engage in the rigorous work to reach our vision of “every student, every day,” we need to openly and honestly reflect on equity in our systems and practices at PYCSD.  We must strive to ensure that multiple expressions of diversity are recognized and regarded as assets for teaching and learning in our community.

The NYS Education Department, and accompanying Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan clearly states that “the results we seek for all children can never be fully achieved without incorporating an equity and inclusion lens in every facet of our work.”  Additionally, research shows that all students benefit when schools implement strong diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and practices.  These benefits include academic, cognitive, civic, social-emotional, and economic. This is true regardless of a school's geographic location or the demographic composition of its students and staff.  This understanding, as well as the events taking place across the country have helped bring this need to the surface and develop a sense of urgency around promoting equitable opportunities that help all children thrive and rooting out long-existing systems and structures that create inequities in different aspects of children’s lives.  We recognize that we can always do more, or do better, through expanded professional learning and open and collaborative dialogue.  

The work of our Culturally Responsive and Equity Committee is driven by 9 goals:

• Goal I: Establish Key Partnerships to Support Our DEI Work 
• Goal II: Develop Professional Development Pathways for All Staff 
• Goal III: Develop Learning Pathways for Students, Families, and the Community
• Goal IV: Develop Additional Opportunities to Celebrate Diversity and Empower Student Leadership
• Goal V: Enhance Curriculum, Culturally Responsive Instructional Practices, and Diversity of Resources 
• Goal VI: Improve the Recruitment and Retention of a Diverse Workforce
• Goal VII: Formalize a Multi-Year Process to Assess School Climate
• Goal VIII: Examine Disciplinary & DASA Practices
• Goal IX: Expand Disaggregation of Data by Sub-Group: Address Disproportionality