Johnson County Fix: Shawnee Mission East Needs More DEI?!?

The solution was looking us right in the face . . . Just before everybody started punching.

Here's a peek at advice tonight in the aftermath of felony assault charges and widespread student protest:

The urge to do better sparked the Shawnee Mission School District to hire its first-ever coordinator for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in 2019, Dr. Tyrone Bates. It implemented equity training for staff since that time.

Dr. Bates stepped down from the DEI Coordinator position in June 2023 to focus on his own consulting firm . . .

Bates says DEI should also mean including students in the process of creating equity policies from start to finish. That way, policies can take into account the nuances of student life and staff is able to use judgment in different situations.

"I think these policies operate this way and we see these outcomes because we don't have students [and parents] at the table helping us design policy," Bates said.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Former Shawnee Mission diversity, equity coordinator says East incident shows need for better representation

The former diversity and equity coordinator for the Shawnee Mission School district says the East incident shows need for better representation and improved DEI policies.

Developing . . .