The Board of Governors is correct in one respect — public universities are, indeed, a strange platform to introduce concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion. One might argue that intervention on cultural humility and mutual respect should come much earlier. Rather than DEI implementation solely in our state’s universities, it should be folded into the foundation of K-12 public education.
Every North Carolinian, regardless of race, socioeconomic status or county, deserves the tools they need to be competitive applicants for any UNC system school. DEI is a means of providing that. A DEI-inclusive curriculum’s emphasis on belonging, justice and support would see teachers unburdened, families supported and children empowered. Many say our public schools are failing, but DEI could be their saving grace.
It will come as common sense to any educator that respectful, inclusive learning environments are beneficial to young minds. Implementing DEI measures in schools to facilitate belonging have a direct impact on student welfare and thus, academic success.
DEI measures on an institutional level are proven to succeed. Studies compiled by the think-tank Century Foundation convey that schools that value their diverse study body have nearly closed the achievement gap between wealthier students and their more marginalized classmates. The achievement gap is known as the percentage difference in test scores between financially and socially secure students and impoverished and food or housing-insecure students.
A K-12 public school district in Hartford, C.T. also offers compelling results. The regional school council introduced inter-district magnet schools, which draw proportional numbers of white and suburban students and urban, Latino and Black students. These diverse, inclusive schools had the smallest achievement gap between students, bringing all closer to college readiness. Another study shows that racially diverse groups significantly outperformed racially homogenous groups.
On the personal level, it’s been proven that students who are immersed in a diverse, inclusive learning environment show a higher capacity for critical thinking, problem-solving and hard work. Environments that foster inclusion root out bullying, preventing devastating violence in schools.
It is clear that DEI measures offer meaningful benefits on a personal and institutional level. These ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental to student success in public schools. Educators already know this, even if they don’t call it DEI.
Instructors like Thomas S. Tucker, the first chief equity officer for Kentucky’s department of education, recognized this necessity. Tucker worked with the state’s predominantly conservative culture, not against it, in applying basics without the buzzwords. Tucker took a student-first, politics-last approach; Kentucky is now unique in the South for its determined focus on equity in public schools. The Kentucky Department of Education utilizes an equity dashboard to expose inequalities across spectrums of class, rurality and religion. Kentucky also provides an equity toolkit to their teachers, so they are supported in their endeavor to nurture every child. For educators like Tucker, DEI isn’t about just benefitting one group of students, but “improving and saving the lives of all young people.” Ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion can be implemented quite unobtrusively into K-12, as the values are already conducive toward student welfare.
This model, and many like it, are all examples of DEI that have nothing to do with partisanship, and everything to do with fairly providing for and educating all students. If the promise of N.C. public education is to be fulfilled, every North Carolinian child must have the opportunity, through resources, support and encouragement, to attend a N.C. public university. The multi-colored pennants of NC universities hung up in 8th grade classrooms should be a promise of earnest opportunity for every student, in reach for all. If we can implement DEI values into our struggling public schools, we give our students not only a fighting chance at a degree from this state’s universities, but a better chance for a dignified and secure life as well.
