Wenatchee Schools Equity Review Set

The Wenatchee School District is getting an equity review this year.

The examination is being conducted by the equity research group Education Northwest, which will provide results by June 30.

The group's Shannon Davidson says the process was originally called an audit, but has been relabeled as a review for a reason.

"Sometimes the word audit, we think, makes it sound as if this is a test, and that we're setting up people to either succeed or fail at the equity test," said Davidson. "And that is really not our intention."  

The equity review will determine the school district's level of fair and impartial treatment of students based on race, gender and disability.

The School Board voted 4-1 to go through the process, with only member Julie Norton voicing opposition, saying she wanted more time to determine students' needs.

Board Member Maria Iniguez says that what the district is currently doing as far as curriculum, hiring and access is not working for all their students.

Mary Martinez-Wenzl, who specializes in Applied Research and Evaluation at Education Northwest, says the review is meant to pinpoint the needs of school kids.

“We want to provide something that is useful, actionable, and at the end of the day will help children in your district, and young people, to be successful in their lives, to have equitable access to learning opportunities,” said Martinez-Wenzl.

Funding for the equity review is coming from the federal American Rescue Plan, which was earmarked to help schools across the country recover from the pandemic, but can be used in a number of ways.

The Northwest Education process will focus on several different areas:

- Curriculum policies

- Discipline policies

- Instruction policies

- Hiring and Recruitment

- Access to Learning Opportunities

It's not know whether the Wenatchee School District will adopt any policy suggestions suggested in results from the equity review.