Kim Ruud

Diversity Action Plan

Part 1: My Current Understanding of Diversity
My understanding of diversity is that it simply means that we are
all different. In education, that means that there are no two students a
like. Some may appear to look like another, but that does not show
what we cannot see. I believe that educators (and people) must ask
question to learn more about our diverse world. Diversity is all around
us. It is not until we understand those who are quite different than us
when we learn more. I have become familiar with a lot of the
populations on the EDL Diversity Wheel. The way I was raised and the
experiences I had growing up (in and out of school) are quite different
from that of my students. I have worked at two Title 1 schools, yet are
different in terms of where the needs lie. The first building I worked in
needed a lot of support for our high ELL population. My current
building has a high population of special education students as well as
students of poverty. Both buildings have a variety of cultural, racial,
and ethnic differences. My current building has a variety of family
structures, including the GLBTQ community. The population I know
least about is the Rural/Small Town.
My definition and understanding of diversity was truly impacted
after I saw Filmmaker, Educator, and Author Lee Mun Wah at the
beginning of the 2014 summer. He made me uncomfortable in order
for me to understand that I must recognize the differences of others in

a respectful manner, and acknowledges these differences in a positive

manner. My feelings are constantly reaffirmed during class discussions
and presentations. Specifically, the presentation by TJ McDowell and
his experiences of prejudice reiterated what I learned from Lee Mun
Wah. His words resonated with me; I do not want to have a student
ever feel that level of hurt because of me. It is these classroom
experiences that alter my mindset and ultimately will make me a
better educator and leader.

Part 2: Description of my Current School Setting

Saratoga Elementary School is one of Lincoln, Nebraskas most
diverse high needs schools. Located in south central Lincoln, we serve
a traditional urban community. Our most recent data shows the total
student population is 290. We serve Early Childhood Special Education
and ExCITE through 5th grade. 86% of these students are on Free and
Reduced lunches; 52% are minority; 11% are ELL; 29% are Special
Education; 2% are Gifted. I do not have statistics to show it, but
multiple parents of our students represent the GLBTQ community. The
student population is fairly mobile: at the beginning of the 2013 school
year statistics showed mobility at 21%. Our staff is mostly Caucasian
females. We have four males. Two of our staff members are not
Caucasian; one is Hispanic, the other is African American.

Parental involvement and support is not what our staff would like
it to be. Although we have a high amount of parent participation in
parent teacher conferences, very few parents participate in school
programs and activities. We have a supportive community and many
dedicated volunteers who are in our building regularly. An issue that is
very important to our school is mental health. The amount of our
students with serious mental health issues is increasing year by year.
Issues with mental health in our building impact all staff due to
outbursts and the need for one-on-one supervisions. Because of the
location of our elementary setting, a strand of diversity that is not
reflected in my school is Rural/Smalltown.
Part 3: Diversity Action Plan
My learning goal for the fall and spring practicum is to learn more
about mobility. Mobility is a trend in diversity and it encompasses
many of the strands in our EDL Diversity Wheel. The resources that I
will need are the rest of my School Improvement Team, as well as the
resources myself and the team has developed to implement a mobility
plan for our school. I will be reading the doctoral book written by
Lincoln Public Schools Associate Superintendent of Instruction, Dr. Jane
Stavem. I will be reading this in order to teach the staff and myself
more about mobility. The purpose of leading the staff through this text
is to understand why we are putting the mobility plan into place. It will
be necessary for me to read and understand Dr. Stavems text in order

to understand and accurately teach my schools staff. The resistance

that I might encounter is staff members who do not want to implement
these new processes. That is the risk. I will use data and logic to
affirm why this process is important.