On Outreach & Training: Doing Right by All Students
By Sandra Kwasa
The Illinois Association of School Boards has refreshed its educational equity offerings with a new in-district workshop, Doing Right By All Students
It’s one of 15 in-district workshops available to IASB member boards looking to strengthen their governance roles, including many that are new or updated in 2026.
Doing Right By All Students supports school board members in leading with care, integrity, and a shared commitment to all learners. This workshop explores educational equity, the thoughtful use of data to guide decision-making, and meaningful engagement with community stakeholders, helping boards strengthen trust and make informed choices that serve every student well. Participants will leave with a vision to guide their work moving forward.
Although each workshop presentation is customized for the participating board, topics will include unconscious bias and how to interrupt it, the complex concept of guilt versus shame, historical perspectives on educational equity, and data and analysis available for districts to use moving forward in their equity work.
Unconscious bias, also known as implicit bias, refers to the attitudes, assumptions, and stereotypes that influence our perceptions, decisions, and interactions without our conscious awareness. These biases are shaped by experiences, cultural influences, and social environments, and they can affect how we evaluate people, opportunities, and situations. Recognizing that everyone has biases is the first step toward creating an inclusive environment.
By increasing self-awareness, seeking diverse perspectives, and using objective, unbiased decision-making processes can help reduce the impact of unconscious bias and promote fairness, respect, and equal opportunity for all.
Guilt and shame are feelings that, in the equity sphere, deal with our reactions to harm we have caused. Guilt is the feeling that arises when we recognize that an action, decision, or assumption may have caused harm or contributed to inequity. Guilt focuses on behavior and may motivate reflection, learning, and positive change. Shame is a belief that there is something inherently wrong with who we are as a person.
In equity work, shame can lead to defensiveness, withdrawal, or fear of making mistakes, hindering meaningful dialogue and growth. Understanding the distinction between guilt and shame helps create a culture where people can acknowledge mistakes, take responsibility, and continue learning without being defined by mistakes.
Unconscious bias and guilt versus shame speak to an individual’s personal relationship with educational equity work. These difficult concepts, often leading to challenging conversations and internal deliberations, are brought to the forefront in Doing Right By All Students.
The new workshop also delves into the “Collective Why,” answering questions about why educational communities, including your local board of education and district, work on educational equity.
Educational equity has been part of the national conversation for centuries, from the arrival of slavery in Virginia in 1619 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, up through “separate but equal,” then the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Coleman Report of 1966, the signing in 1975 of what would become IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to current events centering on discipline, citizenship, and funding disparities, with many U.S. Supreme Court cases, Illinois laws, and local histories impacting students.
A statewide commitment to educational equity through the Illinois State Board of Education’s Equity Journey Continuum, and the local data and resources that can be gathered from the Continuum, are among the tools school districts can use in their local efforts to identify and address gaps and why they exist.
The Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) defines educational equity as follows:
“Educational equity means that every student has access to the educational resources and rigor they need at the right moment in their education, and students’ needs are not going unmet due to race, ethnicity, dominant language, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion, family background, and/or family income.”
The importance of this work cannot be understated. Doing Right By All Students encourages boards to be prepared for pushback, incorporate equity and inclusion into goal-setting with tangible and actionable steps, and consider the success of all students as the paramount obligation of the school district.
Sandra Kwasa is Director of Training Development with IASB. For more information on Doing Right By All Students or to schedule a workshop, contact an IASB Director of Outreach & Training.