Conference Presentations

“Is my School District Equitable? Creating a Shared Equity Vision.” CT SERC (State Education Resource Center): Dismantling Systemic Racism Conference 2023, May 5, 2023

“They Will (and Should) Ask Questions: Transparency and Equitable Schools.” Pennsylvania Department of Education Annual Data Summit · Mar 2022

“Power and Privilege in corporate-school district relationships: How to successfully navigate and thrive in your partnership.” The Forum on Workplace Inclusion Annual Conference. March 3, 2022 (In partnership with Moore Strategic Consulting, LLC)

“The ABCs of Equity Audits.” Essex County (MA) Learning Community Summer Institute · Aug 4, 2021

“The Teacher Role in Equity Audits: Ensuring the voices of those closest to the student is amplified when structuring for equity.” ACSD Annual Conference: Empowered and Connected · Jun 23, 2021

“Data: The Fuel for Equity.” Pennsylvania Department of Education Annual Data Summit · Mar 23, 2021

“How to use Data-Driven Equity Audits to Support District Equity Goals.” Pennsylvania Department of Education Annual Data Summit · Mar 23, 2021

“Closing the Achievement Gap using an Equity Audit.” CT State Education Resource Center(SERC): Dismantling Systemic Racism Conference 2018 · May 1, 2018

In the News!

“Employee ‘Belonging’’’ Letter to the Editor, New York Times, May 30, 2023. (Scroll down through the letters). In this letter to the Editor, Regis Shields responds to a New York Times article on the workplace trend of organizations moving from concentrating on “Diversity and Inclusion” to “Diversity and Belonging.” The letter emphasizes that the terms are not interchangeable; the work of inclusion fosters an environment where employees feel that they belong.

Employee “Belonging”

To the Editor:

Re “The D.E.I. Movement Picks Up a Word: Belonging” (Sunday Business, May 14):

Many of the organizations featured in the article misunderstand the importance of both “inclusion” and “belonging” as goals to achieve an equitable workplace. Belonging and inclusion are not interchangeable. Inclusion is the how. It is the hard work of transforming systems, practices and policies to acknowledge and integrate the norms, values and experiences of the diversity of employees.

When inclusion is done right, employees, especially those who identify with traditionally marginalized identity groups, feel appreciated, accepted and treated fairly. They feel they belong. Employee belonging is the outcome of an inclusive workplace. A more helpful article would have dug deeper into the workplace changes needed so that all employees, especially those who identify with traditionally marginalized identity groups, can bring their “whole self to work.”

Regis Anne Shields

Cambridge, Mass.

The writer is a Principal and co-founder of Equity Journey Partners, which works with school districts on D.E.I./Belonging issues.

“Student Voice is the Most Important One in the School.” ASCDExpress. May 13, 2021. An interview with Rosemarie Powers, a high school junior, by Funmi Haastrup.

“I need more from my daughter’s school than lip service about racism”  EdWeek. June 11, 2020 An opinion piece by Funmi Haastrup, Principal and Co-Founder. Reprinted or referenced in:

• Illinois Association of School Boards Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resources List (November 2020).

• Washington Association of School Administrators’ list of resources on Equity and Racial Justice

• Marshall Memo, “a weekly roundup of important ideas and research in K-12 Education” (June 2020)

• The Wisconsin Association of School Boards August edition of School News!

“Controversy could have been avoided and eased” Letter to the Editor, The Boston Globe. February 14, 2019 Regis Shields, Principal and Co-Founder responds to “Saying the N-Word” controversy at Cambridge (MA) Rindge and Latin High School.