The following is submitted by Ryan Howland, OSD director of projects and grants. Howland supports the work of the Equity Policy Steering Committee along with Facilitator Kimberlee Armstrong, Ed.D.

District policy is the cornerstone of implementing systemic change within a school district. We are closer to creating a district Equity Policy that uniquely represents all students, staff and families in Olympia.

The OSD Equity Policy Steering Committee (EPSC) is launching student-first and community-driven Equity Policy Focus Groups, starting with student-first focus groups in early November. Students, employees or community members who would like to host a focus group and share the information collected with the district have three options:

1. Invite District Equity Focus Group Team members to moderate a focus group at a mutually agreed upon time and location;
2. Invite District Equity Focus Group Team members to co-moderate a focus group on-site; OR,
3. Self-facilitate a focus group and share data gathered with OSD.

Self-facilitated focus group moderators will have access to an EPSC Focus Group Toolkit, which provides an outline for how to lead a focus group along with important considerations from subject matter experts. Focus group moderators may also attend evening sessions with facilitator Kimberlee Armstrong, Ed.D., to receive additional training and preparation and have questions answered before their focus group takes place.

Stay tuned for more information about the Equity Policy Development process, including how to sign up for a focus group. Information is also available on the Equity Policy Development webpage on the district website.

Please send questions to equity@osd.wednet.edu and someone will contact you as soon as possible.

The Olympia School Board has unanimously agreed to appoint Talauna Reed to fill the District 2 board director position vacated by Justin McKaughan, who resigned effective August 31, 2022. The board voted on the appointment following an executive session at the October 13, 2022 board meeting. 

Reed will take the oath of office during the next board meeting on Thursday, October 27. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Knox Administrative Center, 111 Bethel St. N.E., Olympia, WA, 98506. She will serve a one-year term through December 2023. 

Reed is the Lead Outreach and Advocacy Navigator at Interfaith Works where she works with unhoused community members. In that capacity, Reed facilitates training in Cultural Diversity, de-escalation, restorative justice models, anti-racism and trauma-informed care across multiple organizations and in collaboration with other Thurston County providers. She facilitates meetings in the community where she educates audiences with tools for dismantling white supremacy in order to create a more equitable society. 

Reed has two children who attended Olympia schools. She has a bachelor’s degree in organizational management and was named a YWCA “Womxn of Achievement” in 2020 as part of the organization’s annual Olympia event. The YWCA describes the award as a way to amplify and celebrate inspiring South Sound community members as part of its collective work to bring about racial and gender justice.