Editor's note: This is the third installation of a series of spotlights on the communities selected for the 2019 RWJF prize. The 2019 winners are: Broward County, Florida; Gonzales, California; Greenville County, South Carolina; Lake County, Colorado; and Sitka, Alaska. Each of the winning communities received $25,000.
The Culture of Health Prize elevates the compelling stories of community members throughout the country who are working together in new ways so that everyone can live their healthiest life possible.
To help bridge the racial achievement gap in the Broward County School District, every school has an equity liaison to ensure that each student has the same level of opportunity. Liaisons set goals and benchmarks for schools, tracking such markers as classroom performance and behavioral incidents, while also searching for patterns behind numbers that might be creating a disadvantage for students of color.
At one elementary school, an equity liaison detected a high level of disciplinary action during dismissal and, by connecting the dots, learned that the school had no after-school program. Hallways became jammed with students hurrying for rides home.
“Maybe it wasn’t the kids? Maybe it was the process,” recalls Marion Williams, an equity liaison for the district. The school began staggering dismissal and disciplinary referrals dropped by 40 percent, she says.
To improve educational outcomes, public schools have a range of initiatives, such as a Mentoring Tomorrow’s Leaders program and efforts to increase black and brown student participation in activities such as computer coding and the district’s acclaimed debate program. Graduation rates for black students have increased from 66 percent in 2013 to 79 percent in 2018, and the school district has more African American students enrolled in Advanced Placement computer classes than the rest of the state combined.
“We’re really entering this work of disparate outcomes by addressing the root cause of systemic racism,” says Kimm Campbell, director of Broward County Human Services.
Children’s Services Council—one of the anchor agencies behind the Dismantling Racism effort, along with the Florida Department of Health-Broward, Broward County Public Schools, and Broward County—conducts regular talks in the community on the local history of racism and encourages people to participate in the two-day workshop. Some public offices use a racial equity lens to improve outcomes in such areas as health, economic well-being, and mental health—and apply it to policy decisions. County commissioners, for example, approved a 10-year land use plan that included a policy to consider the environmental impact of projects on different race and ethnic groups.
Efforts to reduce racial disparities in the child welfare system have resulted in a decrease in the removal of black children from families into out-of-home care—from 749 in 2016 to 595 in 2018. Campbell says children of color stay in care twice as long as their white counterparts.
Read more at RWJF - A Space to Talk About Racism—and Advance Equity
The Culture of Health Prize elevates the compelling stories of community members throughout the country who are working together in new ways so that everyone can live their healthiest life possible.
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| Kimm Campbell |
At one elementary school, an equity liaison detected a high level of disciplinary action during dismissal and, by connecting the dots, learned that the school had no after-school program. Hallways became jammed with students hurrying for rides home.
“Maybe it wasn’t the kids? Maybe it was the process,” recalls Marion Williams, an equity liaison for the district. The school began staggering dismissal and disciplinary referrals dropped by 40 percent, she says.
To improve educational outcomes, public schools have a range of initiatives, such as a Mentoring Tomorrow’s Leaders program and efforts to increase black and brown student participation in activities such as computer coding and the district’s acclaimed debate program. Graduation rates for black students have increased from 66 percent in 2013 to 79 percent in 2018, and the school district has more African American students enrolled in Advanced Placement computer classes than the rest of the state combined.
“We’re really entering this work of disparate outcomes by addressing the root cause of systemic racism,” says Kimm Campbell, director of Broward County Human Services.
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| David Watkins directs equity and diversity initiatives for Broward County Public Schools. |
Children’s Services Council—one of the anchor agencies behind the Dismantling Racism effort, along with the Florida Department of Health-Broward, Broward County Public Schools, and Broward County—conducts regular talks in the community on the local history of racism and encourages people to participate in the two-day workshop. Some public offices use a racial equity lens to improve outcomes in such areas as health, economic well-being, and mental health—and apply it to policy decisions. County commissioners, for example, approved a 10-year land use plan that included a policy to consider the environmental impact of projects on different race and ethnic groups.
Efforts to reduce racial disparities in the child welfare system have resulted in a decrease in the removal of black children from families into out-of-home care—from 749 in 2016 to 595 in 2018. Campbell says children of color stay in care twice as long as their white counterparts.
Read more at RWJF - A Space to Talk About Racism—and Advance Equity