Racial equity initiatives are not new to University Place School District- but they are expanding and changing. 
Over the past decade, our efforts to achieve racial equity have focused primarily on academic achievement, graduation rates and discipline disproportionality for student populations who have been poorly served by school systems and other institutions throughout our nation’s history. Much has been accomplished during this time, but there is clearly more work to do and a clear urgency to see progress.

Recent events in our country and many voices in our community have clarified that the work of fighting racism, building deeper understanding and making schools more representative and inclusive is more important and more urgent than ever before. To this end, we hope to continue- and deepen- our commitment to racial equity in University Place schools.

We also want to ensure that our work in pursuit of equity and racial equity is known and understood by parents and others in our community. Transparency and openness are very important to us and it is essential that stakeholders know what, specifically, we mean when we use the phrase “equity work”.  The REI page has been designed to provide this transparency.  The page is updated several times per year to capture the work as it unfolds.

Equity work is part of everything we do in UP schools.  However, new and renewed efforts focus  eight general areas: 

School Board Policy & Development
Staff Professional Development
UPSD Equity Advisory Teams
Improving Our Curriculum
Strong, Results Driven Academic Programs
​​​​​​​Parent & Community Partnerships
​​​​​​​Workforce Diversity & Cultural Competence​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​Social Justice, Anti-Racism, and Equity Resources