Understanding the Work and Strategic Considerations of District Equity Officers

• In Event: Centering Diversity in School Improvement: Illuminating Equity in Educational Spaces

Abstract

Heeding the AERA 2022 call, this research project addresses one increasingly common way P12 districts are attempting to create more equitable education systems: the creation of senior-level Equity Officer (EO) positions. Drawing on 23 individual interviews with district equity officers from around the country conducted throughout the 2021-2022 school year, this research asks, how do equity officers understand their work and what strategic considerations do equity officer identity as central to their work? Findings demonstrate that district equity officer work is (1) increasingly racial equity work, (2) often sustained and sequential work, and (3) political work with a hybrid internal and external focus.

Author

• Andrew Matschiner, University of California - San Diego