The Action Plan: This school wide action plan will serve as a guide for the school as it moves forward with the school improvement plan. A guiding principle of this plan is that Xavier College Preparatory is committed to continuous improvement focused on equity and inclusion for all students.
- Hold trainings with outside professionals with national expertise at least once per year on implicit bias, equity, and inclusion for Xavier faculty and staff. In order to fully commit to foster an inclusive and equitable environment for students, faculty and staff must continue to learn, grow and challenge their own perceptions and biases. We recommend working with Race Forward's trainings on Racial Justice.
- Invite speakers to present the topics of Black Lives Matter, racial injustice, and white privilege to Xavier’s student body at events like Traditions Week, the student assembly after X-Breakfast, and Kairos. This action will offer a platform for addressing racial injustices and the work in progress confronting that. We suggest a speaker's bureau that amplifies underrepresented voices and perspectives like the Lavin Agency or Capital & Main.
- Add anti-racism and racial justice articles and/or books to the curricula of Xavier’s theology, U.S. history, and/or English departments, in summer reading lists or academic year syllabi. Use these works to facilitate in-classroom conversations around race, faith, privilege, allyship, and justice. For either all-school summer reads or specific class summer reading, we suggest these books: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, The Hate U Give, Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, and The New Jim Crow.
- Allow students of color, indigenous students, and Black students to form their own student affinity groups, with an invitation for allies, on campus in order to facilitate a sense of community and allow them to share their experiences together. Supporting a student of color in a predominantly White community is integral to the success of the student, and affinity groups can provide this support. This action will build community by reducing isolation, identify issues, share successes, and have honest cross-cultural dialogues about the everyday school experience.
- Undertake a third-party, holistic review of Xavier’s curriculum, admissions, hiring process, and student body administration to search for areas of potential improvement in the fields of equity, inclusion, and diversity. Complete a comprehensive examination of data/evidence related to the school's practices of equity and inclusion in relation to the areas of Catholic identity, Organization, Curriculum & Instruction, Support Services and Resources (enrollment, finance, development).
