About 30 percent of the 10,000-student district, which enrolls from Fairfield City and Fairfield Twp. neighborhoods, are minorities.
“The Diversity Plan is an important initiative for our school district because of the makeup of our community,” said Fairfield Schools spokeswoman Gina Gentry-Fletcher.
“The plan is in its sixth year, and we continue to work toward meeting and exceeding the goals outlined in the plan,” she said.
According to the report by Fairfield Schools’ Central Office administrators, “the diverse population of Fairfield, Fairfield Township and Butler County continues to increase and we work diligently to prepare all students for diverse collegiate and professional work environments. This plan is a revised version of what was originally approved by the Board of Education in 2011. We recognize that while strides have been made over the last five years, we still have much work to do.”
Though more details regarding specific numerical benchmarks and goals will be made available later, the report outlines in general terms four main areas of emphasis.
These are in order: Recruit, hire, and retain teachers, administrators, and staff of color; increase cultural awareness of all teachers, administrators, and staff; increase outreach for diverse community engagement and parental involvement and develop student engagement and learning opportunities to increase participation of diverse students in all curricular and extracurricular activities.
Recent months have seen an increase in diversity-oriented school and after-school programs in various Fairfield Schools.
The district has also been criticized by some for alleged insensitivity to bullying issues among students.
And the school remains in litigation over the suicide of Fairfield student Emilie Olsen in 2015, which was blamed by her parents on bullying they also claim was in part racially motivated toward their Asian-American daughter.
Fairfield school officials have since ramped up their diversity and outreach to all its communities.
The report, said Gentry-Fletcher, “is the result of some very difficult and honest conversations among parents, students, staff and community members.”
“We are proud of the diversity that exists in our schools and want to provide opportunities that are meaningful for all students. We will continue to encourage our students of color to take advantage of all that our schools have to offer, both academically and with extracurricular activities.”
Moreover, said Gentry-Fletcher, “we are focused on increasing minority hiring and retaining staff members of color, and have had some gains since the implementation of the plan. Another goal is to increase and improve cultural awareness of all teachers, administrators and staff, and to encourage the community to engage and connect more with our schools, and increase learning opportunities for students.”
The report will be presented to the Fairfield school board at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 15 at Fairfield Senior High School, 8800 Holden Blvd.
About the Author