Red Clay board workshop outlines equity audit, expands educator affinity groups and maps HB198 rollout

Marquia Davis, Red Clay’s supervisor of equity, told the board at a March 4 workshop that the district has completed an internal staff equity audit and is working with a contractor, Equity and Beyond, to analyze results expected by May.

The audit—administered Feb. 1–23 to administrators, teachers, counselors and district office staff—asked about school culture, equitable practices and hiring and served as a baseline for district goals, Davis said. “This equity audit was internal…this was staff,” Davis said, adding that building leaders and diversity champions will receive school‑level results with identifying comments redacted as needed.

Why it matters: the district is tying the audit to measurable KPIs—discipline proportionality, professional‑development participation, staff attrition and student outcome data—to set multi‑year targets for representation and student success.

Presenters described several interlocking DEI efforts. Affinity groups launched in 2021 in partnership with neighboring districts and have grown from an initial volunteer cohort (about 14 founding participants) to nearly 40 educators districtwide. The groups operate as year‑long cohorts led by trained fellows—paraprofessionals, teachers and counselors—who receive training and, in some roles, stipends. Davis said affinity groups are intended to surface inequities, strengthen relational capacity among staff and support retention.

Student voice was another focus: Brandywine Springs and other schools are running diversity student groups. The district highlighted a civics‑integration program (the MCFA challenge) that brings middle‑school students together to propose community changes and, in some cases, to advance projects into high‑school civics courses.

Curriculum and HB198: Holly Golder, supervisor of social studies, outlined steps to implement House Bill 198 (mandatory instruction in African‑American history K–12). The district has purchased diversity library sets for elementary classrooms, developed model lessons aligned to social‑justice standards and partnered with groups such as History UnErased and Learning for Justice for teacher professional learning.

Staff emphasized professional development to build teacher content knowledge, particularly in elementary grades. The district has worked with Donovan James (Center for Teaching Black History) to deliver in‑person PD and is embedding model lessons into pacing guides. Golder said AP African‑American studies is most likely to be offered as an 11th–12th grade elective, while other AP access work focuses on pre‑AP preparation and AP Capstone pathways.

Board members raised two practical concerns. First, several members noted that House Bill 198 passed without state funding and asked how the district will sustain training and curricular materials; a presenter said the district is seeking state and free resources where possible while prioritizing high‑quality, ongoing PD. Second, board members pressed for quantitative baselines to measure progress beyond the audit; Davis said KPIs tied to the strategic plan and audit will form the district’s approach.

Other notes: the district is developing a harassment survey and is monitoring incidents raised to the Office for Civil Rights; staff said they aim to minimize legal exposure while using community resources where appropriate.

What’s next: Davis said the district expects audit results by May, plans a summer launch of a Diversity Champion workbook as an accountability tool, and will engage school leaders in goal‑setting informed by audit findings. Board members thanked the presenters and the workshop concluded with an agreement to review the forthcoming data.