Equitable Practices

Springfield Township School District continues to advance its 2025–2028 Equity Action Plan by focusing on student belonging, equitable access, and inclusive learning opportunities across all schools. District leaders are analyzing patterns in advanced course enrollment, extracurricular participation, and student survey data to identify barriers and strengthen access for all learners. The plan places particular emphasis on supporting student groups that have historically reported lower feelings of belonging, while also expanding opportunities for student and family voice through advisory groups, surveys, and affinity-based feedback sessions.

The district is also deepening its commitment to professional learning and student achievement through the use of research-based instructional practices aligned with PDE’s Common Ground Framework. Ongoing work includes strengthening Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), expanding trauma-informed practices, and using data teams to guide instructional and programmatic decisions. Springfield Township educators continue to engage families through newsletters, advisory groups, and community information sessions while exploring new ways to improve communication and accessibility for all stakeholders.

In addition, the Equity Action Plan highlights the district’s efforts to increase accessibility and inclusivity by promoting career readiness, expanding extracurricular awareness, and strengthening post-secondary pathways for all students. Programs such as Unified Bocce, leadership clubs, and work-based learning experiences are helping students build connections and explore future opportunities. The district is also reviewing communication practices, increasing visibility of students with disabilities in the school community, and aligning career readiness standards with Springfield Township’s Profile of a Graduate to ensure all students are prepared for success beyond graduation.

Recognizing the diversity of our community, The School District of Springfield Township is committed to and accountable for advancing equity and excellence for all of our students. We, in the School District of Springfield Township, endeavor to provide equitable opportunities for high level, meaningful, and engaging learning experiences for each and every student, regardless of racial/ethnic background, economic condition or other dimension of identity or difference.

We recognize that in order to achieve Educational Equity we must apply principles of fairness and justice in the allocation of resources and work toward the elimination of institutional barriers to access and opportunity. We aim to ensure that funding, policies, practices, and initiatives will enable every student to receive what they need to maximize their success. In order to foster growth toward equity, we must engage in continuous reflection and ongoing measurement of our efforts.

School Climate and Culture

Expand access and engagement of students in educational and extracurricular programs with the goal of improving belonging data for all subgroups of students, with emphasis on those who have reported the lowest belonging results across surveys over the last four years.

Areas of Specific Focus

• Analyze patterns and trends in course enrollment and extracurricular participation to determine and mitigate any barriers that exist in students accessing high level and engaging learning opportunities.

• Identify trends in district and school-based belonging surveys and student groups over the past four years to implement strategies for growth in meeting the needs of all students and families to feel welcome, safe and supported at school.

• Design K12 opportunities for field trips, in order to ensure that all students are exposed to and educated about the richness of our local, regional, and national history and the contributions of many cultures and communities to our nation.

Recommended Practices for Reinforcement

• Maintain regular meetings with groups of students and families, who provide feedback and input into our practices, policies and programs.

• Continue the administration of student belonging surveys annually and ensure that they coincide with annual family surveys.

• Disaggregate data at the district and building level to make informed instructional and programmatic decisions.

Professional Development

Faculty will utilize research-based strategies that have the greatest impact on student achievement and belonging, as defined by PDE’s Common Ground Framework.

Areas of Specific Focus

• Train all staff on PDE’s Common Ground Framework in order to provide all learners with equitable and differentiated opportunities to learn and succeed.

• Collaborate with families and communities through authentic engagement practices.

• Promote trauma-informed classroom practices in order to develop and strengthen student resiliency.

Recommended Practices for Reinforcement

• Disaggregate data at the district and building level to make informed instructional and programmatic decisions.

• Continue the district’s commitment to recruiting and retaining a highly qualified workforce that possess the necessary skills to meet the needs of a diverse community of learners.

Student Achievement

Utilizing intervention periods across our schools, raise the achievement level of students on standardized assessments using strategies promoted through PDE’s Common Ground Framework.

Areas of Specific Focus

• Raise the achievement level of students with socio-economic needs on standardized assessments by improving daily attendance rates for this subgroup.

• Strengthen multi-tiered processes and systems of support (MTSS).

• Reinforce high expectations for each learner and treat them as capable and deserving of achieving success.

Recommended Practices for Reinforcement

• Embed equitable practices into building-based professional development and induction sessions.

• Continue the district’s commitment to recruiting and retaining a highly qualified workforce that possess the necessary skills to meet the needs of a diverse community of learners.

• Reaffirm the district’s Equity Vision Statement.

Accessibility and Inclusivity

Strengthen and promote pathways to post-secondary programs for all students that uplift and affirm the array of opportunities available from elementary through high school using PDE’s Career Readiness Standards and SDST’s Profile of a Graduate.

Areas of Specific Focus

• Promote the visibility and engagement of students with disabilities in the school community.

• Strengthen and expand exposure to career pathways through programs and experiences that provide opportunities for all students to explore their assets.

• Ensure that PDE’s Career Readiness Standards are aligned to the development of skills articulated in our district Profile of a Graduate.

Recommended Practices for Reinforcement

• Integrate the Career Readiness Benchmark and Profile of a Graduate skills at the district and building level to make informed instructional and programmatic decisions that support these goals.

• Utilize multiple forms of communication for clubs, activities, and athletics to promote broad student awareness and participation.

• Continue the district’s commitment to recruiting and retaining a highly qualified workforce that possess the necessary skills to meet the needs of a diverse community of learners.

The following information is shared with families to help strengthen equity conversations in the home. Please note that these resources are not shared in the schools. However, we encourage families to use these resources to engage your children in conversations around equity in the home.

From Learning for Justice:

Learn more about immigrant students’ rights, public schools’ obligations to immigrant students, and resources for families.

• Protecting Immigrant Students’ Rights to a Public Education
• We Have Rights
• Protecting Our Students | American Federation of Teachers
• How to Support Immigrant Students and Families
• Re-Imagining Migration
• ImmSchools
• Supporting and Affirming Immigrant Students and Families
• Higher Ed Immigration Portal
• Civil Rights Principles for Multilingual Learner Education
• Teaching About Immigration
• Best Practices for Serving English Language Learners and their Families