Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
department description
The primary responsibility of the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (OEIB) is to uplift and advance the district’s mission to become an anti-racist school district. The OEIB provides leadership, coaching, professional development, student support, family engagement initiatives, and various resources to all stakeholders to eliminate racial, cultural and socio-economic opportunity gaps. The OEIB also leads district-wide equity initiatives and supports school- based equity initiatives and initiatives conceived in collaboration with educators, students and caregivers.
Established in 2021, the Building Equity Bridges (BEB) Project inspired the creation of the OEIB and paved the way for CPS to explore more deeply how to achieve our vision of an anti-racist school district while providing the social, emotional and academic supports each student needs to achieve their goals and post-secondary success as engaged community members.
Strategic Goals
- Elevate student voices and strengthen student advocacy and empowerment by supporting the Student Advisory Council, Students of Color Coalition, the annual Youth Summit and other student-designed/centered opportunities.
- Strengthen educator professional learning on issues of equity, inclusion, and belonging through choice courses and other opportunities.
- Build school and district leaders capacity to lead for equity through the Equity Leadership Model.
- Strengthen support of LGBTQ+ students and families through awareness building, professional learning, and direct service.
- Collaborate with the Communications Office to strengthen school & district translation and interpretation through the Language Justice initiative.
- Expand learning opportunities (e.g. workshops, courses, programs) for families to build knowledge, skills, and community through The Village.