Improving Local Educator Equity Plans in Missouri

The Central Comprehensive Center (C3) at the University of Oklahoma continues to provide support to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Office of Educator Quality with onsite facilitation, peer to peer networking, and evaluation of its equity labs. The first cohort of equity labs began in January 2016. Since then, two additional cohorts have expanded to rural, suburban, and urban districts and schools across Missouri, with the goal of reaching over 100 districts by June 2019. Currently, a total of 21 equity labs have been conducted so far, with the expectation to deliver 30 additional labs during the 2018-19 school year. Equity labs provide an interactive forum for school district leadership teams to learn about Missouri’s educator equity plan, Ensuring Equitable Access to Excellent Educators. The labs encourage teams to explore statewide, district, and building-level data to identify root causes of local inequities of effective educator placement. Teams also build tailor-made strategies to address equity challenges and support the implementation of Missouri’s educator equity plan. A DESE area supervisor, who recently attended an equity lab, commented that the topic of equity includes more than just race but also, “. . . socio-economic status, gender, language, and so many other things.” 

C3 and DESE continue to support this work by partnering with past and present key organizations that include the Center for Great Teachers and Leaders, Missouri Regional Professional Development Centers, Equitable Access Support Network, Community Training and Assistance Center, Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center, and the Regional Educational Laboratory Central. “They [C3] have connected us with other research labs that have done more around the content itself, [and that] has been great,” said one DESE staff member. Expected long-term outcomes include improved access to effective educators for all Missouri students.

The contents of this website were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and are intended for general reference purposes only. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education or the Center, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Some resources on this site require Adobe Acrobat Reader. This website archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.