Excellence and Equity Initiative

This initiative challenged school leaders in the USA to consider how to elevate the conversation about what is academically possible for low-income students and students of colour. The focus goes beyond proficiency, with a wider focus on preparing all students to graduate with the skills and tools needed for post-secondary education and lifelong learning. Research indicates that less than 1% of diverse schools nationwide have advanced programmes in which their students reflect the diversity of the overall school population. The E2 Initiative aimed to change this statistic.

Through the E2 Initiative, leadership teams at IB World Schools learned how to promote the inclusion and success of under-represented students in the Diploma Programme (DP) and the Career-related Programme (CP).

The mission of this collaboration was to support secondary school leaders and faculty in their work to remove barriers to DP or CP participation for under-represented students, to create pathways to the DP or CP, and to deliver services to schools that are designed to positively impact the success of under-represented students enrolled in the programmes. The first cohort of IB World Schools participating in this initiative started in 2017 and was slated to run through the 2019 school year.

How did we ensure diversity is reflected in DP and CP?

In November 2017, schools were selected to participate in E2 to create changes that open access to DP and CP programmes for all their students, especially low-income students and students of colour.

The IB had developed online professional development for school leaders, coordinators, counsellors and teachers to enable them to remove barriers to DP and CP participation for under-represented students and deliver services to schools that are designed to achieve success. These support services included:

• a series of equity focused webinars designed to support school goal setting efforts
• access to an interactive online tool, the E2 (Excellence and Equity) Framework, a tool that helps schools evaluate current equity practices and policies and identify school-specific goals. Download the E2 Framework document here  [1.7 MB]
• sixteen registrations for four online workshops focused on achieving equity and success in DP and CP enrollments. These workshops were launched in February 2018 and will focus on addressing core areas of practice that have the greatest impact on participation and success of low-income students and students of colour in the DP and CP. Administrators, counselors and teachers will participate in these online workshops.
• two years of marked IB exams (May 2017 and May 2018) for professional development purposes.
• an action-planning process embedded within online professional development to improve school practices, policies and culture to ensure that all students are provided with an equal opportunity for advanced education.
• access to case studies and webinars that highlight best practices for access and success from around the USA.

Learn more about how to increase access and equity in your school

The Excellence and Equity Initiative took place in many schools around the country from 2017-2019. Schools who participated continue to work towards providing a more equitable IB experience for students on their campus. The IB World Schools department works closely with all authorized schools to incorporate the strategies and tools used in the E2 Initiative. If you’d like to learn more about these tools, please contact your IB World Schools manager, or email IB Answers at [email protected].