The Ross Valley School District has been formally engaged in Equity work for the past six years. This work has included extensive training for certificated and administrative staff through a partnership with Epoch Education, a national leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion training. Training in areas such as recognizing implicit bias and leveraging culturally responsive teaching practices have helped to shift our collective lens towards a more inclusive experience for our students and their families. 

We are partnering with Equity Transformation Specialist Deborah McKnight to deepen our work and bring it closer to the classroom. Why have we made Equity a priority? We value and are committed to all  members of our Ross Valley community...our students, staff, and families...and are examining our policies, practices, systems, curriculum, and data and making necessary changes to: 

• Provide safe, equitable, and inclusive learning environments in which our students feel a sense of belonging and are respected, celebrated, and valued for their individual differences.  
• Affirm the identities and contributions of all groups so that students can expand their perspectives and better see themselves and others as part of the fabric and story of our district, community, region, state, country, and world.
• Ensure that our students have access, opportunities, and support and do not encounter barriers to reach their full academic and social/emotional potential and to thrive, lead, and succeed in a diverse and global society.