Equity Resources

SCHOOLWORKS SUPPORTS DEI-FOCUSED IMPROVEMENT.

At SCHOOLWORKS®, we are committed to fostering practices that promote equitable environments for all students. See how our ongoing initiatives and services can support your organization's equity improvement journey.

New in 2024: Equity-Focused Improvement Planning Cohorts

We recognize diversity, equity, and inclusion as essential elements of organizational success and quality.

SchoolWorks is currently engaged in a multitude of efforts that directly support schools and districts in elevating the equity of learning opportunities and outcomes for all students.

Since 2018, all standard SchoolWorks reviews have provided evidence-based feedback to educators about the equity of systemic and instructional practices. We also offer specialized Equity Audits, and regularly support school and district teams in equity-focused improvement planning.

Recognizing the sensitivity of this work, SchoolWorks has built a team of specialists who are practiced in facilitating the difficult conversations that are integral to equity-focused improvement.

We also carefully track and monitor the racial diversity of our project teams in an effort to consistently reflect the demographics of student populations served by our clients.

We strive to continually develop culturally responsive mindsets among our staff and project teams.

SchoolWorks has designated an internal Diversity Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force to oversee and manage the company’s continually evolving DEI efforts.

The task force is responsible for developing and facilitating regular DEI training for SchoolWorks employees and consultants to ensure that all SchoolWorks representatives bring an equitable and inclusive lens to all of our work.

The task force also spearheads the development of tools and resources for the company’s client-facing DEI Audits and Improvement Planning supports. We regularly invest in modifying and improving these resources to reflect the most current research of effective practices linked to positive student outcomes.

We invest in developing programs and practices designed to advance equity work within the sector at large.

In 2023, SchoolWorks launched the Advancing Equity Cohort. As part of this initiative, five schools across the country are engaging in year-long equity-focused professional development rooted in needs-aligned planning and peer-supported plan implementation.

The program aimed to surface common strengths and areas of need, unpack complex systematic challenges, identify strategies to elevate equity, and provide peer-based support for strategy implementation.

To measure progress, the program was framed by two Equity Audits at each school. The first took place in the Fall of 2022 and the second in the Fall of 2023. Progress and insights from the initiative will be assembled and shared with the education sector at large with the purpose of advancing equity-improvement work. SchoolWorks offered this experience to participating schools at no cost.

Meet our Advancing equity Cohort facilitators

Dr. Sean Larry Stevens is an author, entrepreneur, educator, host, producer, and life coach. His work as an educational leader is centered around social justice, school reform, youth empowerment, and black male identity. Previously serving thousands of students in urban, marginalized areas as a principal for almost a decade, Dr. Stevens has been sought out by some of the nation’s largest school districts to improve education and life outcomes for students. A Cornell University graduate and Teach For America Alum, Dr. Stevens holds a Master’s degree in Education Leadership, Politics, and Advocacy from New York University, and a Doctorate degree in Leadership and Learning in Organizations from Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Sean Larry Stevens

SchoolWoks Advancing Equity Cohort Facilitator

Lyn Bajaj is an experienced educational leader who has successfully led large and small-scale organizational development efforts in school improvement, systems alignment, and educational equity. She engages school districts across the country in quality reviews and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) assessments, and serves as an independent consultant in the areas of turnaround leadership, systems improvement, and educational equity. Ms. Bajaj holds an executive education certificate from Harvard Law School Program on Leadership and Negotiation, as well as a certificate for Turnaround School Leadership from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Phoenix at Denver. She currently serves as a Site Professor in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado at Denver.

Lyn Bajaj