Community Engagement

There will be four (4) rounds of community engagement over the 2019-2020 school year:

There will be four (4) rounds of community engagement based on key stages for community engagement, and therefore organized as follows:

1. Framing (December 2019 – January 2020) – Present data and talk about the multiple types of diversity; gather insights from community members that will give direction to initiatives and actions; and understand community members’ priorities.

2. Project Themes, History & Best Practices (February-April 2020) – Understand challenges and opportunities unique to District 9; build themes based on insights from previous workshop.

3. Options (April-May 2020) – Present draft recommendations; gather feedback.

4. Final Presentation (June 2020) – During the final options presentation in Spring 2020, the Working Group will present their recommendations based on the previous public workshops. Presentation attendees will prioritize the recommendations, discuss next steps, and celebrate their community and collective work.

D9 Community

The District 9 community plays an important role throughout the planning process to create the D9 Diversity Plan. If you live, work or go to school in District 9, we actively seek your input in public workshops and through other community engagement and public outreach activities. Feedback collected from community members will serve as the foundation for the plan’s framework and recommendations.

Working Group

The members of the D9 Diversity Plan Working Group—stakeholders from across District 9—are guiding the planning process. They are tasked with keeping the process inclusive, accessible, and accountable to all D9 residents. This group also works to generate interest in public workshops, review and provide feedback on community findings, and, to use these findings to shape the plan’s framework and recommendations. The Working Group began meeting on December 9, 2019.

Working Group Participants:

• Student – Comprehensive Model School Project (CMSP) 327 (6-12)
• Student – Bronx International Middle School (M.S. 593)
• Parent – Grant Avenue (E.S. 449)
• Teacher –The New American Academy (P.S. 274)
• Teacher – Leadership and Community Service (I.S. 303)
• Principal – Mount Hope (P.S. 028)
• Principal – Garret A. Morgan (P.S. 132)
• Principal – Benjamin Franklin (P.S. 055)
• Member – Community Coordinator – 09×011
• Community Education Council District 9
• District 9 Superintendent
• Central Staff — New York City Department of Education
• Member – Parent Advisory Committee (PAC)
• Member – South Bronx Rising Together
• Member – FIERCE!
• Member – African Advisory Council

The following principles were utilized to guide Working Group formation:

District Geography – The “district’ covers a large geographic area with several distinct neighborhoods and communities. The selection of Working Group members seeks to be representative of school communities, students, and families across the district.

Experience Working on Issues of Diversity, Equity and Integration – The selection of Working Group members seeks to engage individuals, organizations, and school community members who have been previously engaged in advancing equity and integration.

Local to the District – The selection of Working Group members seeks to engage individuals, organizations and school community members rooted in the district. The work of citywide organizations and coalitions will serve as important assets to the community planning process and will be incorporated through other mechanisms.

Diverse Representation – The selection of Working Group members seeks to include members of the school community across a wide range of races, ethnicities, cultural identities, abilities, educational backgrounds, incomes, languages and life experiences.

Anchored in History – Commitment to utilize history and the best possible research available as a tool to anchor and understand our current context and create future policies.