Dr. Laurie Fiorenza, director of student learning for Oak Park and River Forest High School | Oak Park River Forest High School
Dr. Laurie Fiorenza, director of student learning for Oak Park and River Forest High School | Oak Park River Forest High School
The Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies is lodging a complaint against Oak Park River Forest High School for violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
"At a school board meeting on May 26, 2022, District 200's Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning, Dr. Laurie Fiorenza, presented PowerPoint slides attributed to 'Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200,'" according to a release from the organization. "As part of its 'Transformative Education' plan, the slides indicate that District 200 will implement a strategy, by Fall 2023, to 'consistently integrate equitable assessment and grading practices into all academic and elective courses.'"
"In the presentation, District 200 describes a years-long review of grading and assessment conducted by a team of its teachers and administrators, including examination of texts such as Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman and participation in a 'learning opportunity' with 'equity' advocate Dr. Douglas Reeves."
The release also noted that: "Leaving no doubt as to the inclusion of racial bias in its definition of 'grading with equity', District 200 states that its personnel will use 'evidence-backed research and the racial equity analysis tool' to review grading practices across its courses. District 200 explains that, as part of this process, it will require administrators and teachers to 'clearly define' the '[p]urpose for grading' and '[p]roficiency' as it creates a 'Philosophy of Grading' at the conclusion of its review process."
The complaint came after Oak Park and River Forest High School decided to update the curriculum to account for differences in outcomes based on ethnicity and race.
According to a slide in the PowerPoint deck outlining its rationale and goals, the grading policy will do away with traditionally accepted grading standards.
"Traditional grading practices perpetuate inequities and intensify the opportunity gap," the slide reads.
According to its website, the Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies provides solutions is a non-profit institute Providing "conservative solutions to the challenges presented by education, workforce, labor, and employment issues."
The Defense of Freedom Institute noted on Facebook that OPRF's changes would "end penalties for minority students for missing class, misbehaving and failing to complete assignments."
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