DEI Hiring: Lower Merion School District

A document titled Exploring workforce diversity and hiring practices in Lower Merion School District, a part of Lower Merion School District Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Continuous Improvement Project Research Brief study, states that the district “interviewees noted the importance of intentionally selecting candidates who have an aptitude for diversity, equity, and inclusion to improve the school’s racial climate.” It continues by stating that the district “had made progress toward intentionally screening for educators with equity skills.”

According to the report, interviewees experienced “microaggressions within the interview process” and that the “researchers have documented the lack of support, microaggressions, and biases present in a predominantly white profession.”

In a section titled “Cultural taxation,” it shares that “BIPOC educators are tasked with an overwhelming amount of racialized labor by the district and other staff members” and that “racialized labor” is “imposed on BIPOC educators” through “school activities related to diversity and anti-racism.”

Recommendations from the consultant include administrators “reaching out to recruit candidates of color,” support for “educators of color throughout the hiring process,” and “develop affinity groups for educators of color.”