By Steve Lancaster and Dr. Gary Plano

Mercer Island City Manager and School District Superintendent

The Mercer Island School District and the city of Mercer Island are committed to building and sustaining a welcoming community that values and embraces diversity, equity and cultural awareness.

We are joining the Mercer Island PTA Council to co-host an important community discussion on “Excellence Through Equity” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, in the High School’s Performing Arts Center, featuring nationally renowned professor and author Dr. Pedro Noguera.

What is excellence through equity? In our schools, it means raising the achievement of all students while narrowing the gaps between the lowest and highest-performing students. It also means eliminating the racial or cultural divide that can exist between our students, as well as enhancing access to certain district or city programs. For our city, it means creating greater opportunities for every citizen to participate fully in all aspects of community life, and assuring that all voices are heard and represented.

In their recent book on the subject, Noguera and co-author Alan Blankstein build the case that equity is the most powerful means we have to lift all children to higher achievement and to benefit society at large.

Noguera has said that inequity is deeply ingrained in the U.S. education system because, in American society, the pursuit of excellence is often seen as being “at odds with equity.” When that dichotomy exists, he said, “equity always loses.”

We are working to ensure that doesn’t happen on Mercer Island, whether in the schools or in our community programs.

Nearly two years ago, the school district launched the Diversity Advisory Committee in response to the growing diversity in our student body and community at large. The committee is comprised of racially and ethnically diverse parent and community representatives, including the chief of the Mercer Island Police Department. The district’s superintendent desires to expand the committee membership with individuals from the school community who represent additional areas of diversity, such as disability, socio-economic and gender expression.

Recent changes in the demographics of the city of Mercer Island and the school district show fewer students who identify as Caucasian and growing numbers of families from around the world. The population of white students has declined by 10 percent over the last decade. Both the city and the school district need to respond and examine how to best serve the needs of our increasingly diverse population.

Valuing diversity requires inclusion, mutual respect and multiple perspectives. The city and the school district are committed to increasing the recruitment and retention of highly qualified diverse staff to serve the students and residents of our island. We are committed to hiring the best employees of all racial and ethnic backgrounds who will bring their unique talents and skills into our community. The private sector, which includes major employers such as Amazon, Boeing and Microsoft, has shown us the value of having a diverse work force.

Equity also requires mutual respect as we strive for fairness and justice in the way people are treated. Our objective is to create a climate on Mercer Island that fosters respect, belonging, and a genuine value for all, while encouraging participation and connection.

We are honored to host Dr. Noguera, a distinguished professor ofeducation at UCLA, and one of the most sought-after speakers on the state of education in America. His research focuses on the ways in which communities are influenced by social and economic conditions, as well as by demographic trends. We hope you will join us on March 23, to hear his presentation. This is a free event — please come early to secure a seat.

Steve Lancaster is interim city manager for Mercer Island. Dr. Gary Plano is superintendent of the Mercer Island School District. Lancaster can be reached at steve.lancaster@mercergov.org and Plano can be reached at gary.plano@mercerislandschools.org.