Case Study: Worthington, Minnesota

MnEEP engaged in the equity action planning process with Nobles County from 2015 to 2018.

In early 2015, the Director of the Nobles County Integration Collaborative and local community leaders reached out to MnEEP for assistance in developing an Equity Action Plan and learning process.

A local equity planning advisory committee was developed, which included community leaders, school bilingual outreach staff, students, and staff. Monthly, MnEEP staff and consultants met with this advisory to learn about education equity case studies and critical racial equity framework concepts and to review school equity policy and plan community visioning sessions.

Through the support of a Bush Innovation grant, key cultural visioning sessions and an adult ESL class were completed to gather critical input from families and students–in their specific languages–on their equity visions for the Worthington school districts.

Community visioning sessions were held in Spanish with the Latinx community, Karen for the Karen community, and Somali for members of the African immigrant community. An additional session was held with immigrant parents and community members in an adult ESL course.

One of the key questions to start these sessions is, “What are your dreams for your children?” The responses to this question are awe-inspiring, and challenge the school system to think critically about ways to incorporate more racially equitable practices, equitable curriculum, and equitable inclusion and treatment of immigrant parents in the school system.

The community visioning responses were compiled by MnEEP researchers, discussed in a strategic retreat with the Worthington board, advisor, and students, and then documented in the final Nobles County Equity Action Plan. A community-wide Plan “release event” was held in the spring of 2017 to showcase the community-infused equity strategies and policy recommendations.

Read the full report here: mneep-nobles-county-equity-action-plan