ACCESS, BELONGING, AND COMMUNITY
Chasity Beckless
Director of Equity and School Improvement
cbeckless@usd116.org
QUICK LINKS
Equity Mission
USD116 is a community devoted to dismantling inequitable practices so that all students reach their personal greatness; and success is no longer predictable by student identity: race, class, (dis)ability, language, religion, sexuality, gender, immigration status, among others. To achieve equity (and excellence) in education, we must develop educators to be equity leaders who can…
UNDERSTAND that educational inequity is both relational and technical,
TRANSFORM our schools by eliminating inequitable practices and opportunity gaps,
CULTIVATE the unique gifts, talents, and interests of every child and
PREPARE all students for success in a complex world.
Statement of Need
The Urbana School District acknowledges that persistent racial disparities, socio-economic disparities, inequities, and academic barriers in our district are unacceptable. We are a community devoted to dismantling inequitable practices so that all students reach their personal greatness. Equity is essential to the well-being and success of our schools, our students, and our community. Previous efforts to address the inequities between white students and students of color, have historically been largely unsuccessful. This policy will ensure that efforts continue to achieve educational equity for all USD116 students.
Equity is the removal of systematic barriers and strives to achieve inclusion of all students, especially those who have historically been underserved in public education settings. The concept of educational equity goes beyond equality, where all students are treated the same, to fostering a barrier-free environment in which all students, regardless of their background or personal attributes, are extended the opportunities and resources required for success.
The purpose of this policy is to re-imagine a framework of actionable steps to eliminate institutional racism, inequities of opportunity, and academic disparities in our district. These factors affect student achievement and learning, and our ongoing work will allow us to create equitable working and learning environments that welcome, respect, and value diversity.
We acknowledge the responsibility for the disparities among our young people rests with adults, not children. We declare the following:
- We affirm our commitment to close disparities in academic performance between White
students and Black, Indigenous, Students of Color (BISOC) students. - We affirm our commitment to equalizing the disproportionate graduation percentage rates
between White students and Black, Indigenous, Students of Color. - We affirm our commitment to eliminate the disproportionate disciplinary consequences
between Black, Indigenous, Students of Color compared to White students for similar
offenses. - We affirm our commitment to eliminate all identified systemic barriers that have created opportunity gaps in access, enrollment, and success in advanced classes for Black,
Indigenous, Students of Color. - We affirm our commitment to eliminate all identified systemic barriers and inequities that
have constructed academic and social opportunity gaps for students with (dis)abilities. - We affirm our commitment to eliminate all identified systemic barriers and educational
inequities that have negatively impacted multilingual and immigrant students compared
to White, English-speaking students. - We affirm our commitment to create intentional systemic college and career readiness
pathways to assist all students in post-high school success.
This list of affirmations does not represent an exhaustive list of ways in which disparities exist
within our schools. We acknowledge that any disparity is unacceptable and directly at odds with
our belief that all students can achieve.
We recognize that the Urbana School District has a responsibility to educate, but we also acknowledge that public schools have an important role in demonstrating inclusiveness and antiracism to the community as a whole.
The District’s vision for all students is to\ ensure that all learners acquire knowledge, develop skills, and build character to achieve and succeed at high levels to reach their personal greatness. This requires the District to see each student as an individual with different strengths and needs and meet each student where they are academically, emotionally, and socially. We seek to nurture
the potential of each student. We acknowledge it is imperative that every student sees themselves, their history, and their culture reflected through their educational experience.
Urbana School District affirms that equity will not be achieved if it consists of merely inviting students and families into spaces that already exist. Instead, this Policy requires us to be intentional with our efforts to create new spaces and opportunities that are intentionally founded with the diverse backgrounds of our historically marginalized families in mind.
In order to realize equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone, equity must be applied across the following list, which includes but is not limited to:
- race
- ethnicity
- gender
- gender identity
- gender expression
- sexual orientation
- socioeconomic status
- religion
- national origin
- foster status
- housing status and/or housing security
- involvement with the juvenile justice syste
- (dis)ability
- immigration status
- or linguistic background
Urbana School District’s climate and culture are designed and operated to be reflective of
equitable policies, practices, and procedures in each building, every classroom, and all
extracurricular activities.
We, Urbana School District, are committed to disrupting and transforming the current and historical systems that have been inequitable in their existence. We recognize that our students
have various real-life experiences and personal characteristics that will require diverse pathways
to success.
In order to achieve educational equity for our students:
A. The District shall provide every student with equitable access to academically rigorous, social and emotionally responsive, and culturally sustaining education even when this means differentiating resources to accomplish this goal.
B. The District shall provide ongoing professional development in the areas of bias and culturally responsive teaching, which include adequate time for feedback and self-reflection.
C. The District shall negotiate, re-allocate and re-imagine resources, opportunities, and supports when equal distribution results in inequitable outcomes that do not adequately meet specific needs and interests of all groups of students.
D. The District shall recruit, employ, support, and retain racially and linguistically diverse and culturally competent teachers, support staff, and administrators.
E. The District shall remedy the inequitable practices that lead to the over-representation of students of color in areas such as special education and discipline and the under-representation in programs such as acceleration and Advanced Placement.
F. The District shall strengthen partnerships with and empower families, especially historically marginalized populations, which include underrepresented people of color and those with varying linguistic backgrounds, as authentic partners in the educational process, school planning, and District decision-making.
G. The District will investigate existing policies that may serve as barriers to access and full engagement for students.
Equity Audit
During the 2022-2023 academic school year, Urbana School District 116 consulted with Systemic Equity, LLC to conduct a comprehensive equity audit. The purpose of the Equity Audit was to identify those areas of strength and areas for needed improvement when it comes to our efforts to advance educational equity.
Over the course of 12 months, the consultant conducted focus groups and administered surveys to various stakeholders including students, staff, and families. Additionally, the auditor examined our historical data in critical areas of discipline, student achievement, attendance, etc. The final Equity Audit includes the recommendations for addressing educational equity within our district based on the qualitative and quantitative findings of the auditor.
Equity Action Plan
Improvement Goals
ELA Goal:
From Fall 2025 to Spring 2026, all K-Bound students at UECS will increase their overall score by at least 2 on the UECS Vocabulary Checklist or maintain at 10 and then increase their expressive labeling by at least 2 on the UECS Vocabulary Checklist when assessed in the language of instruction. (Students must have been enrolled by at least Sept. 30th through the end of May. Students must have an attendance rate of at least 85%.)
- From Fall 2025 to Spring 2026, all K-Bound students, with a focus on those who are eligible to receive special education services at UECS, will increase their overall score by at least 2 on the UECS Vocabulary Checklist or maintain at 10 and then increase their expressive labeling by at least 2 on the UECS Vocabulary Checklist when assessed in the language of instruction.
Math Goal:
From Fall 2025 to Spring 2026, all K-Bound students at UECS will increase their overall score by at least 3 or maintain a score of 9 on the modified Connecting Numbers to Quantity Tool when assessed in the language of classroom instruction. (Students must have been enrolled from at least September 30th
through the end of May. Students must have an
attendance rate of 85 percent or greater at each checkpoint.)
- From Fall 2025 to Spring 2026, all K-Bound students, with a focus on those who are eligible to receive special education services at UECS, will increase
their overall score by at least 3 or maintain a score of 9 on the modified Connecting Numbers to Quantity Tool when assessed in the language of classroom instruction.
Attendance Goal:
UECS Staff will provide tiered support to reduce the chronic absenteeism rate from 50 percent to below 40 percent by identifying new strategies and interventions.
- UECS Staff will provide tiered support, specifically focused on students who are eligible for Free/Reduced lunch, to
reduce the chronic absenteeism rate from 53 percent to 43 percent by identifying and implementing appropriate strategies and interventions.
Culture and Climate Goal:
By Spring 2026 UECS will reduce the number of students receiving Tier 3 level supports for behavior by 50 percent (10 students to 5 students).
- By Spring 2026 UECS will reduce
the number of students receiving
Tier 3 level support for behavior from 8
students to 4 students (50 percent
reduction) by focusing on our black male students and incidents of physical aggression.
ELA Goal
By the end of 2025- 2026 school year 50 percent of 2nd through 5th grade students will meet or exceed
their projected growth goal in Literacy
- By the end of 2025-2026 school year, 40 percent of 2nd through 5th grade African American students will exceed their projected growth goal.
Math Goal:
By the end of 2025- 2026 school year 50 percent of 2nd through 5th grade students will meet or exceed their growth goal in Math
- By the end of 2025- 2026 school year, 36 percent of 2nd through 5th grade African American students will meet or exceed their growth projected goal.
Attendance Goal
By the end of 2025-2026 school year King school will decrease its chronic absenteeism rate from 28 percent to 20 percent.
- Specific focus on 3rd and 5th grade students reducing the rate from 33 percent to 23 percent.
Culture and Climate Goal
By the end of 2025-2026 school year King school
will reduce the number of out of school suspensions from 55 to 23 or less.
- Specific focus on
5th grade students by
implementing MTSS supports with fidelity and strengthening classroom behavioral management.
ELA Goal
By May of 2026, 60 percent of first through fifth grade students will meet their English Language Arts growth projection on NWEA MAP. Additionally, first through fifth grades will move to the high growth quadrants, while decreasing the number of students under the 40th percentile by 10 percent or 24 students.
Math Goal
By May of 2026, 60 percent of kindergarten through fifth grade students will meet their Mathematics growth projection on NWEA MAP. Additionally, first through fifth grades will move to the high growth quadrants, while decreasing the number of students under the 40th percentile by 10 percent or 27 students.
Attendance Goal
By the end of the 2025-2026 academic year, our school will reduce chronic absenteeism rate by 14 percent (from 123 to 77 students).
Additionally, DPW will reduce the chronic absenteeism rate for Black males by 22 percent (from 50 to 24).
Culture and Climate Goal
By the end of the 2025-2026 academic year, our school will reduce the total number of incidents of physical contact by 15 percent (from 242 to 205).
ELA Goal:
By the spring of 2026, 55 percent of students will meet or exceed their projected growth in 1st-5th grade through targeted intervention and enrichment, continued implementation of CLKA, and collaboration with the CKLA coach.
By the spring of 2026, 60 percent of African American students will meet or exceed their projected growth in 1st-5th grade through targeted intervention and enrichment, continued implementation of CLKA, and collaboration with the CKLA coach.
Math Goal:
By the spring of 2026, 60 percent of students will meet or exceed their projected growth in 1st-5th grade through consistent tier 1 instruction with Illustrative Math and targeted intervention for number sense and fact fluency.
By the spring of 2026, 65 percent of African American students will meet or exceed their projected growth through consistent tier 1 instruction with Illustrative Math and targeted intervention for number sense and fact fluency.
Attendance Goal:
By May 2026, reduced the chronic absenteeism rate by 10 percent (from 22 percent to 19.8 percent) from the 2024-2025 school year, as measured by Skyward.
By May 2026, reduce the number of days missed by our Black Female students by 20 percent from the 2024-2025 school year, as measured by Panorama.
Culture Climate Goal:
By May 2026, the total number of classroom-based office discipline referrals (ODRs) will decrease by 5 percent from the 2024-2025 school year, as measured by school referral data.
By May 2026, the total number of classroom-based office discipline referrals (ODRs) for Black students will decrease by 10 percent from the 2024-2025 school year, as measured by school referral data.
ELA Goal
For the 2025-26 school year, 50 percent of students in grades 1-5 will meet or exceed their projected growth goal on MAP Reading from Fall to Spring.
- By the end of the 2025-26 school year, 20 Black students in grades 2-5 who fell below the 40th percentile will meet or exceed their projected growth goal on the Spring Map Reading.
Math Goal
For the 2025-26 school year, 50 percent of students in grades 1-5 will meet or exceed their projected growth goal on MAP Math from Fall to Spring.
- By the end of the 2025-26 school year, 30 Black students in grades 2-5 who fell below the 40th percentile will meet or exceed their projected growth goal on the Spring MAP Math.
Attendance Goal
When using Attendance reports from Panorama, increase the attendance percentage to 93 percent in May 2026.
- Increase family connections through post cards, phone contacts, quarterly activities. Provide families with attendance expectations.
Culture and Climate Goal
By May 2026, we will reduce the number of major discipline referrals by 35 percent.
- For the 2025-26 school year, decrease the number of major discipline referrals for Black students by 25 percent.
ELA Goal
Yankee Ridge Multilingual will improve student achievement in Spanish Language Arts (SLA), French Language Arts (FLA), and English Language Arts (ELA) by increasing the percentage of students meeting their individual growth goals, with the aim of reaching 50 percent or more in each area by May 2026. To achieve this, we will:
- Increase SLA growth by at least 5 percent across each grade level band.
- Increase ELA growth by at least 10 percent across each grade level band.
- Raise the percentage of students meeting their French GB+ projected growth goal from 34 percent to 50 percent.
Math Goal
Yankee Ridge Multilingual will increase the percentage of students meeting their growth goals in each grade level band by at least 6 percent, with the goal of reaching 50 percent of all students meeting their growth targets by the end of the year.
Attendance Goal
To improve attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism to 20 percent or below by the end of the 2025–2026 school year, Yankee Ridge Multilingual will implement targeted strategies focused on adult practices and student engagement.
- Recognizing that 89 percent of chronically absent students are Latine, we aim to reduce absenteeism within this group by 15 percent.
Culture and Climate Goal
Yankee Ridge Multilingual will strengthen our school’s culture and climate by consistently implementing MTSS procedures and enhancing our schoolwide PBIS systems. Through the use of CHAMPS in classrooms and targeted PBIS supports, we aim to create a positive and predictable learning environment for all students.
- Our goal is to reach 80 percent implementation fidelity on Tier I of the TFI by Spring 2026, with Tier 2 and 3 implementation guided by fall TFI data.
ELA Goal:
By June 2026, the Sixth Grade Center will increase overall student reading proficiency by 10 percent (from 19 percent in 2025 to 29 percent in 2026) as measured by Spring 2026 MAP Reading Growth assessments.
- Using MAP data from the 2025-2026 Fall to Spring MAP assessments, we will
show targeted growth of an additional 5 percent in proficiency for students of color, students with IEPs, and multilingual
learners.
Math Goal
By June 2026, the Sixth Grade Center will increase overall student proficiency in math
computation by 10 percent (from 16 percent in 2025 to 26 percent in 2026) as measured by Spring 2026 MAP Growth assessments.
- Using MAP data from the 2025-2026 Fall to Spring MAP assessments, to
intentionally address opportunity gaps, we will show targeted growth of an additional 5 percent in proficiency for students of color, students with IEPs, and multilingual learners.
Attendance Goal
By the end of the 2025-2026 school year, the Sixth Grade Center will improve overall
student attendance by reducing the rate of chronically absent students by 7 percent (from 22 percent to 15 percent)
- By the end of the 2025- 2026 school year, we will reduce chronic absenteeism in the following targeted groups by an additional 3 percent: students of color, students with IEPs, and multilingual learners.
Culture and Climate Goal
By the end of the 2025- 2026 school year,
implementation of AVID Framework strategies will be observed in at least 85 percent of each teacher’s classroom walkthrough data. From Fall 2025 to Spring 2026, there will be a 5 percent average increase in students’ sense of belonging as measured by the Panorama Student Climate Survey.
- From Fall 2025 to Spring 2026, students in each of the following subgroups will report an average of an 8 percent increase in their sense of belonging as measured by the Panorama survey: students of color, multilingual
learners and students with IEPs.
ELA Goal
By the end of the 2025-2026 school year, Urbana Middle School will increase the percentage of students achieving proficiency in informational text skills on the NWEA MAP ELA assessment from 7 percent to 10 percent, with a special focus on improving outcomes for students with IEPs and black students. UMS will monitor this data through formative assessment and the NWEA MAP data platform.
Math Goal
By the end of the 2025-2026 school year, we will increase the percentage of students achieving proficiency in math on the NWEA MAP assessment from 6 percent to 10 percent, with a targeted focus on improving fact fluency and problem solving skills. Intentional support will be given to students with disabilities and black students, ensuring instructional practices are inclusive, culturally responsive, and equitable. Monitoring will be necessary to achieve this goal.
Attendance Goal
By the end of the 2025-2026 school year, Urbana Middle School will reduce the percentage of chronically truant students by at least 10 percent, with targeted strategies to support and engage students with disabilities and students who are underperforming academically. UMS will monitor the data by using school-wide Panorama data.
Culture and Climate Goal
By the end of the 2025-2026 school year, Urbana Middle School will reduce exclusionary disciplinary actions (including out-of school suspensions and expulsions) by 20 percent for physical aggression, with a specific focus on reducing the disproportionate impact on students with disabilities and black male students. UMS will monitor this data using internal systems such as Skyward and Panorama.
ELA Goal:
From Fall 2025 to Spring 2026, the percentage of students who meet their NWEA projected reading growth goal will increase by 5 percent overall as compared to the Spring data from the 24-25 school year. We will achieve this by improving the curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices for all teachers using focused note taking strategies to support student learning.
- From Fall 2025 to Spring 2026, the percentage of 10th grade Black students,
Emergent Bilinguals, and students with IEPs who meet their NWEA projected reading growth goal will increase by 5 percent overall as compared to the Spring data from the 24-25 school year. We will achieve this by improving the curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices for all teachers using focused note taking strategies to support student learning.
Math Goal:
From Fall 2025 to Spring 2026, the percentage of students who meet their NWEA projected math growth goal will increase by 5 percent overall as compared to the Spring data from the 24-25 school year. We will achieve this by improving the curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices for all teachers while anchoring to the standards of mathematical practice.
From Fall 2025 to Spring 2026, the percentage of students with IEPs in 9th-
11th grade who meet their NWEA projected math growth goal will increase by 5 percent overall as compared to the Spring
data from the 24-25 school year. We will
achieve this by improving the curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices for all teachers while anchoring to the standards of mathematical practice.
Attendance Goal:
As of May 2025, 51 percent of students are
indicated in the chronic absenteeism attendance category (attending 90 percent or less) as seen in Panorama Student Success. By May 2026, 44 percent of students or less will be indicated in the chronic absenteeism attendance category.
- By May 2026, UHS will reduce the
percentage of students in the
chronic absenteeism attendance
category (attending 90 percent or less)
from 51 percent to 44 percent or lower, as measured by Panorama Student Success. Special attention will be given to reducing chronic absenteeism among Black students and Hispanic students by identifying root causes, strengthening family and community engagement, and implementing targeted, culturally responsive attendance interventions. The school will ensure inclusivity by partnering with students and families to co-develop attendance support plans, and promote equity by prioritizing outreach and resources for groups disproportionately affected by chronic absenteeism. As of May 2025 56 percent of Black students and 60 percent of
Hispanic students are indicated in
the chronic absenteeism attendance
category as seen in Panorama
Student Success. By May 2026, 51 percent of Black students and 53 percent of Hispanic students will be indicated in
the chronic absenteeism attendance category.
Culture and Climate Goal:
By May 2026, UHS will reduce exclusionary
discipline incidents (Out of school suspensions and expulsions) for all students by 25 percent compared to the 2024-2025 baseline, through the implementation of restorative practices, staff professional development on implicit bias, and strengthened student support systems, ensuring these students are equally engaged in the design and review of discipline practices.
- By May 2026, UHS will reduce exclusionary discipline incidents (Out of
school suspensions and expulsions) for Black students and students with
disabilities by 20 percent compared to the 2024–2025 baseline. This reduction will be achieved through the implementation of restorative practices,
ongoing staff professional development on implicit bias, and enhanced student
support systems. The school will ensure inclusivity by actively involving Black
students and students with disabilities in the design, monitoring, and review of
discipline policies, and will promote equity by disaggregating discipline data regularly to address disparities and respond with targeted interventions.
ELA Goal
By the end of the 2025-2026 school year, using the RIT
score, 70 percent of students will make their projected growth score on the MAP Literacy assessment across at least two benchmark periods.
Math Goal
By the end of the 2025-2026 school year, using the RIT
score, 65 percent of students will make their projected growth score on the MAP Math assessment across at least two benchmark periods.
Attendance Goal
We recognize that when students are out of class for social-emotional needs or behavioral circumstances, students are missing educational opportunities. Across the 2025-2026 school year, 80 percent of students will reduce minutes out of class across at least two quarters.
Culture and Climate Goal
Across the 2025-2026 school year, an average of 75 percent of students will earn
80 percent of more gold days on the Gerber behavioral system.
LGBTQIA+ Rights and Responsibilities
The mission of the USD 116 LGBTQIA+ Task Force is to support the equity, inclusion, affirmation, and safety of our students, families, staff, and community by providing unwavering advocacy, education, validation, and collaboration through the lens of intersectionality.
Discrimination, firing, retaliating against, and harassment of employees on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression, is prohibited under the IHRA, Title VII, and Title IX. The Urbana School District affirms the gender identity of all employees and supports their right to transition. Human Resources and the employee’s supervisor should work with each transitioning employee individually to help ensure the employee receives the necessary support at work. In addition. USD 116 will regularly provide training to all district staff regarding LGBTQIA+ policies, procedures, and practices.
- Provide a welcoming, inclusive, and
affirming environment for all students, family, staff, and community members. - Quickly take action if a member of our
school community is being harassed, bullied, or retaliated against. (Reach out to a trusted colleague for help, while maintaining confidentiality.) - Adjust forms and communications to
be inclusive towards all families and individuals. Example: “Parent/Guardian” rather than “Mother/Father.” - Refrain from using gendered language. Example: use students, friends, or scholars instead of “boys and girls” and “hitting isn’t safe; it can really hurt people” versus “boys don’t hit girls.”
- Never teach “appropriate” gender rules or behavior. “Young ladies sit with their legs crossed” and “Boys
don’t cry” are never appropriate. - Do not group or separate by gender or appearance. Consider dividing classes or activities by categories such as recreational/competitive, favorite color, et cetera.
- Regularly review curriculum, resources, and instructional practices. Look for biases and stereotypes that
should be eliminated. - Teach LGBTQIA+ history, including
the roles and contributions of lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender people
in the United States and the State of
Illinois.
- A safe and affirming learning environment
- Be who you are and have your identity affirmed and respected at school
- Be referred to by your affirmed name and pronouns, and not be intentionally misgendered or called by anything other than your affirmed name
- Participate on a sports team or in a club that matches your gender identity
- Express yourself with your clothing, hair, jewelry, voice, and mannerisms, even if that is different from cultural expectations based on your sex assigned at birth
Students have a constitutional right to privacy. Gender identity and sexual orientation status are protected by FERPA and Title IX.
Information should be kept secure and confidential, and may not be released or disclosed to anyone (including guardians) without the student’s explicit consent, unless it is necessary to preserve student
safety.
Disclosure or misuse of a student’s confidential information may subject them to bullying and harassment by peers, discrimination by staff, and family rejection.
Schools may not require a legal name change or change of a gender marker on a birth certificate prior to using an individual’s affirmed name or pronouns.
Intentional or persistent refusal by school staff to address an individual by their affirmed name and pronoun is a violation of our district, state, and federal harassment and non-discrimination policies.
Records should be adjusted to reflect an individual’s affirmed name, gender marker, and pronouns. These records include, but are not limited to: testing platforms, databases, attendance systems, class rosters, school IDs, yearbooks, transcripts, school issued email addresses, and technology logins.
- Immediately notify a trusted staff member, administrator, supervisor, or LGBTQIA+ Task Force member.
- Give a detailed description of the incident, including the date, who was involved, and where it took place. Make a note of who you notified and what action, if any, was taken.
- Immediately notify a trusted staff member, administrator, supervisor, or LGBTQIA+ Task Force member.
- If your concerns are not handled appropriately, you can:
- Contact the district’s Title IX coordinator, Angi Franklin: afranklin@usd116.org | 217-384-3641
- File a discrimination complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office For Civil Rights: OCR@ed.gov