Equity Framework

In the Verona Area School District, our mission is that each student will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve their personal goals, thrive in a diverse global society, and lead a healthy, self-fulfilling life. To meet this mission, the Verona Area School District will ensure that every individual has access to the educational, social, and emotional support they need to feel valued and affirmed in their unique identities* and experiences. We acknowledge that inequities and power dynamics exist in our system such that some individuals, on the basis of their identities*, face barriers to accessing the opportunities they need to experience success. In acknowledgment of such, the Verona Area School District is committed to disrupting these systems of inequity.

We are committed to directly addressing these barriers in alignment with our Strategic Framework Priorities by:

Student Agency

  • Supporting and uplifting students by providing opportunities for student voice while holding high expectations.
  • Cultivating transformative critical thinking, problem solving, social and emotional skills that empower students to have critically conscious discourse on diverse topics in order to become engaged, active, global citizens.

Community Collaboration

  • Amplifying and seeking the voices of students, staff, families, and community members, especially from formerly marginalized groups, to help inform decisions that support the academic, physical, social, and emotional growth of all learners.
  • Developing culturally responsive spaces where learners feel included and empowered to share and work towards VASD’s collective vision and that foster two-way communication.

Value and Belonging

  • Enhancing our curriculum and instruction by diversifying instructional materials so students see their cultures and the cultures of others valued, integrated, and represented.
  • Examining and shifting our policies and administrative rules regularly to address any practice that may be contributing to inequities and barriers to learners in our district.

Wellness and Mental Health

  • Addressing social, emotional, behavioral and mental health needs of students and staff by ensuring that mental health and wellness supports are accessible throughout the school environment.
  • Creating, implementing and maintaining evidence-based mental health and wellness programs and services for all learners that promote positive health and wellness knowledge, skills and behaviors.

Inclusive Teaching and Learning

  • Building the capacity of our staff to explore their intersectional identities; acknowledge and address their beliefs, mindsets, and biases; and engage with students and families in a culturally responsive way.
  • Cultivating a culture of curiosity in our district, so that data on student outcomes is reviewed regularly, and so that actions are taken to eliminate disparities evidenced in the data.

* Identity is unique to each individual and encompasses ability, culture, ethnicity, family background, family income, sex (as assigned at birth), gender identity or expression, language, neurodiversity, physical attributes, politics, race, religion, sexual orientation, and any other identity marker. The definition of identity is fluid.