Achievement and Equity
What is Educational Equity?
Every student deserves an education that prepares him or her for lifelong learning and success in the world today. Educational equity means every student has access to the resources and educational rigor they need at the right moment; and that personal and social identifiers [such as ability, age, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, gender identity, language, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status] are valued as an asset.
If we are successful in driving greater educational equity, each and every FCPS student will have access to educational opportunities that meet their needs and prepares them to become empowered learners.
(The Aspen Institute, CCSSC, www.ccsso.org/equity)
Cultural proficiency is a key component of FCPS’ commitment to educational excellence and to ensure an equitable work environment for all FCPS staff. A primary goal of the Accelerating Achievement and Equity (AAE) Department’s Initiative is to promote student achievement and equity through culturally responsive classroom practices and resources that best meet the needs of a diverse student population. An accelerated and equitable learning environment enables students to become empowered learners and to understand and appreciate our community’s diverse cultures. It prepares students to live, learn and participate productively in our increasingly diverse society. Being culturally aware is a continuous, integrated, multi-ethnic, multi-disciplinary process necessary for all students to become college and career ready. Cultural factors and equity include but are not limited to ability, age, ethnicity, family structures, gender, gender expression, gender identity, language, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.
All FCPS staff will advocate in ways that honor the differences among cultures, value diversity, and interact knowledgeably and respectfully among a variety of cultural groups. This pursuit will require the recognition of any existing biases and the need for advancement towards cultural proficiency.
Download our brochure entitled Cultural Proficiency Initiative (Adobe PDF File, opens in new window).