Areas of Focus

Areas of focus will be refined based on public workshop findings and on Working Group discussions—they may include:

• Promoting academic excellence;

• Providing rigorous traditional public-school options for every D16 student, from 3K-12

• Ensuring D16 schools have equitable resources and supports; and

• Facilitating a comprehensive community process for D16 schools from Early Childhood to Graduation.

Process Goals

In addition to the overall goal of increasing school diversity in each of the districts, District 16 specifically hopes to achieve the following process goals: 

• Build a cohesive vision for high-performing, integrated schools in D16;

• Ensure equitable outcomes for all D16 students; 

• Bring the D16 educational community together around common challenges and goals;

• Position the student voice at the center of our work; 

• Preserve and honor the history and culture of Bedford-Stuyvesant in the legacy of this plan; and

• Prepare our students for roles as future leaders.

In order to achieve the process goals, District 16 will be embarking on the following process.

Community Engagement

There will be four (4) rounds of community engagement based on key stages for community engagement, and therefore organized as follows:

1. Framing (February 2020 – March 2020) – Present data and talk about the multiple types of diversity; gather insights from community members that will give direction to initiatives and actions; and understand community members’ priorities.

2. Project Themes, History & Best Practices (March 2020) – Understand challenges and opportunities unique to District 16; build themes based on insights from previous workshop.

3. Options (April 2020) – Present draft recommendations; gather feedback.

4. Final Presentation (May – June 2020) – During the final options presentation in Spring 2020, the Working Group will present their recommendations based on the previous public workshops. Presentation attendees will prioritize the recommendations, discuss next steps, and celebrate their community and collective work.

D16 COMMUNITY

The role of the District 16 community is to inform the diversity planning process through participation at Public Workshops or Focus Groups and through other community engagement and public outreach activities. Feedback collected from community members will serve as the foundation for the plan’s framework and recommendations.

WORKING GROUP

The members of the D16 Diversity Plan Working Group are stakeholders from across the D16 community who are guiding the planning process. They are tasked with keeping the process inclusive, accessible, and accountable to all D16 community members. This group is also responsible for generating interest in Public Workshops, reviewing and providing feedback on Workshop findings, and incorporating community input and findings into a plan framework and set of recommendations. The Working Group began meeting on December 17th, 2019.

Working Group Participants:

• District 16 Superintendent

• Central Staff – NYC Department of Education

• Principal – Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance

• Principal – PS 40

• Teacher – PS 243

• Teacher – PS 627

• Teacher – MS 35

• Teacher – MS 681

• Student – Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance

• Student – Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance

• Parent – PTA President’s Council

• Parent – Bed Stuy Parents’ Committee

• Parent – PS 627

• Member – Brooklyn Community Board 3

• Member – Brooklyn Community Board 8

• Member – Community Education Council 16

• Member – African American Clergy and Elected Officials (AACEO)

• Community Leader – Brooklyn Movement Center

The following principles were used to guide Working Group formation:

District Geography – The “district’ covers a large geographic area with several distinct neighborhoods and communities. The selection of Working Group members seeks to be representative of school communities, students, and families across the district.

Experience Working on Issues of Diversity, Equity and Integration – The selection of Working Group members seeks to engage individuals, organizations, and school community members who have been previously engaged in advancing equity and integration.

Local to the District – The selection of Working Group members seeks to engage individuals, organizations and school community members rooted in the district. The work of citywide organizations and coalitions will serve as important assets to the community planning process and will be incorporated through other mechanisms.

Diverse Representation – The selection of Working Group members seeks to include members of the school community across a wide range of races, ethnicities, cultural identities, abilities, educational backgrounds, incomes, languages and life experiences.

Anchored in History – Commitment to utilize history and the best possible research available as a tool to anchor and understand our current context and create future policies.

Community-driven processes allow community members to drive the outcomes. Based on previous community-driven diversity plans, some possible outcomes might include recommendations related to:

• Equitable access, admissions policy, resources allocation, and efforts to build academic excellence across all schools

• Culturally responsive curriculum and programming for students, parents, and school staff

• Evaluation and accountability systems to ensure progress towards school integration

The outcomes listed above are only examples, and the process aims to develop innovative and collective solutions. The D16 community-driven process will encourage dialogue that can yield outcomes that have not yet been determined and are a product of collective participatory efforts.