The Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (SEZP) is committed to building anti-racist schools by shifting the work of equity to the individual school level with robust support from the SEZP. This work will necessitate school-based “Chief Equity Influencers” who can drive change from within by focusing on the people, policies, and practices that ensure or obstruct racial justice for all school stakeholders. The SEZP calls upon skilled and passionate educators to identify, lead, and monitor school-based goals and actions that will progressively disrupt institutionalized racism at their school and drive improved policies and practices for equity.
Job Responsibilities
Chief Equity Influencers for each school will influence one or more aspects of policy and practice from
each of the following areas:
Information Sharing:
■ Create a beginning of year strategic equity plan in conjunction with school leadership to
present to staff regarding the anti-racism work that will happen throughout the year and
identify how to measure success
■ Curate and share information, including historical context, about anti-racism and equity
regularly across multiple modes of communication (e.g,. school website, school newsletter,
school hallway walls)
■ Communicate regularly with students and families to provide information on school
initiatives and solicit feedback regarding anti-racism work to implement further changes to
honor student and family voice (e.g., be present at family events, coordinate with student
government to facilitate events)
■ Coordinate with and support the school counselor to help ensure that social-
emotional/trauma-sensitive learning processes are rooted in anti-racist policies (e.g.,
moving away from “grit” mentality)
Professional Learning:
■ Participate actively in regular SEZP-wide CEI network meetings and professional learning to
develop a personal equity lens and skills
■ Actively recruit educators from the school to participate in SEZP-hosted/supported
professional learning (e.g., Undoing Racism, Seeing the Racial Waters)
■ Facilitate school-based professional learning opportunities for staff about race and equity
(e.g., co-lead a book group with educators in the school)
■ Develop systems in conjunction with school leaders and coaches to ensure anti-racist
conversations are embedded in weekly coaching meetings
Policy Influence:
■ Participate as an active member in at least one school leadership team, ensuring that
bidirectional feedback will be communicated between the Chief Equity Officer and the
Leadership Team (e.g., TLT, ILT, weekly meetings with the school leader)
■ Participate in SEZP conversations about ways to improve the SEZP School Roadmap to
include anti-racist parameters that monitor and measures progress, strategic plans, and
resulting success in each school
■ Participate in conversations to identify the systemic problems in and across schools that are
contributing to racist policies and disparate outcomes and working toward targeted
solutions in partnership with leaders and coaches in their schools
Curriculum:
■ Participate, facilitate, support, and/or consult on anti-racism student-facing curriculum
projects at the school level that include the following:
● Foster adoption, adaptation, and/or refinement of high-quality, sustainable targets, texts,
and tasks that provide accurate historical and social science contexts while addressing cross-
cutting standards (e.g, reading informational text standards)
● Develop or refine tasks that elevate student voice and authentic student experience,
ensuring that tasks are culturally relevant and strengths-based for the current student
population
● Create or curate tools/processes for helping teachers evaluate curricula through an anti-
racist lens
■ Support implementation of equitable and anti-racist teaching by utilizing equity rubrics to
monitor execution in class and provide meaningful feedback
Chief Equity Influencer Requirements
● Prior experience unpacking racism and inequity at a small or large systems level (e.g.,
attendance at Standards Institute, research, course/degree studies, organization membership,
curriculum development, DEI committee membership)
● Evidence of a strong, persistent commitment to anti-racism and activism
● Skill in engaging stakeholders in difficult conversations, including those who may lack
background knowledge, stamina, or alignment in the anti-racist mission of the SEZP, along with
the ability to engage allies in those conversations
● Belief that we cannot effectively improve outcomes for students while racist policies and
practices exist and that both collectively and as individual activists, we can interrupt the racist
practices policies operating in our schools
● Ability to reflect on and monitor one’s own growth while simultaneously supporting others in
this work
● Confidence as a team-oriented problem solver
Benefits
Selection as a Chief Equity Influencer recognizes an individual for his/her outstanding
leadership capacity and commitment to anti-racist school communities. CEIs may work as
individuals or as a team in their schools, depending on school size, need, and budget and, as a
result, each CEI will receive a stipend ranging between $4,000, along with intensive
professional learning support provided by SEZP.
Application Process
The application is now open, and will close on Friday, July 31, 2020.
Chief Equity Influencers for each school will influence one or more aspects of policy and practice from
each of the following areas:
Information Sharing:
■ Create a beginning of year strategic equity plan in conjunction with school leadership to
present to staff regarding the anti-racism work that will happen throughout the year and
identify how to measure success
■ Curate and share information, including historical context, about anti-racism and equity
regularly across multiple modes of communication (e.g,. school website, school newsletter,
school hallway walls)
■ Communicate regularly with students and families to provide information on school
initiatives and solicit feedback regarding anti-racism work to implement further changes to
honor student and family voice (e.g., be present at family events, coordinate with student
government to facilitate events)
■ Coordinate with and support the school counselor to help ensure that social-
emotional/trauma-sensitive learning processes are rooted in anti-racist policies (e.g.,
moving away from “grit” mentality)
Professional Learning:
■ Participate actively in regular SEZP-wide CEI network meetings and professional learning to
develop a personal equity lens and skills
■ Actively recruit educators from the school to participate in SEZP-hosted/supported
professional learning (e.g., Undoing Racism, Seeing the Racial Waters)
■ Facilitate school-based professional learning opportunities for staff about race and equity
(e.g., co-lead a book group with educators in the school)
■ Develop systems in conjunction with school leaders and coaches to ensure anti-racist
conversations are embedded in weekly coaching meetings
Policy Influence:
■ Participate as an active member in at least one school leadership team, ensuring that
bidirectional feedback will be communicated between the Chief Equity Officer and the
Leadership Team (e.g., TLT, ILT, weekly meetings with the school leader)
■ Participate in SEZP conversations about ways to improve the SEZP School Roadmap to
include anti-racist parameters that monitor and measures progress, strategic plans, and
resulting success in each school
■ Participate in conversations to identify the systemic problems in and across schools that are
contributing to racist policies and disparate outcomes and working toward targeted
solutions in partnership with leaders and coaches in their schools
Curriculum:
■ Participate, facilitate, support, and/or consult on anti-racism student-facing curriculum
projects at the school level that include the following:
● Foster adoption, adaptation, and/or refinement of high-quality, sustainable targets, texts,
and tasks that provide accurate historical and social science contexts while addressing cross-
cutting standards (e.g, reading informational text standards)
● Develop or refine tasks that elevate student voice and authentic student experience,
ensuring that tasks are culturally relevant and strengths-based for the current student
population
● Create or curate tools/processes for helping teachers evaluate curricula through an anti-
racist lens
■ Support implementation of equitable and anti-racist teaching by utilizing equity rubrics to
monitor execution in class and provide meaningful feedback
Chief Equity Influencer Requirements
● Prior experience unpacking racism and inequity at a small or large systems level (e.g.,
attendance at Standards Institute, research, course/degree studies, organization membership,
curriculum development, DEI committee membership)
● Evidence of a strong, persistent commitment to anti-racism and activism
● Skill in engaging stakeholders in difficult conversations, including those who may lack
background knowledge, stamina, or alignment in the anti-racist mission of the SEZP, along with
the ability to engage allies in those conversations
● Belief that we cannot effectively improve outcomes for students while racist policies and
practices exist and that both collectively and as individual activists, we can interrupt the racist
practices policies operating in our schools
● Ability to reflect on and monitor one’s own growth while simultaneously supporting others in
this work
● Confidence as a team-oriented problem solver
Benefits
Selection as a Chief Equity Influencer recognizes an individual for his/her outstanding
leadership capacity and commitment to anti-racist school communities. CEIs may work as
individuals or as a team in their schools, depending on school size, need, and budget and, as a
result, each CEI will receive a stipend ranging between $4,000, along with intensive
professional learning support provided by SEZP.
Application Process
The application is now open, and will close on Friday, July 31, 2020.