The Delco Equity Coalition continues its work in building opportunities for Equity and Diversity engagement for students and educators in Delaware County. The second meeting of the Student Equity Forum was held on April 15, with the students digging into deeper discussions after a productive introductory first session.

For the breakout session activity, groups were assigned a topic and had to create a Public Service Announcement based on what they thought was important messaging for their topic. Topics were wide-ranging and included inclusivity and diversity, LGBTQA+, mental health, substance use, racism, and social justice. Students needed to develop their PSA with the goal of providing facts and statistics, opinions, and personal stories. The final PSAs were impressive as students shared their ideas and concepts behind the message. They also tied in with the advocacy component that was discussed in the forum. Many students in the group participate in some form of advocacy and students discussed ways to stay involved and grow their participation.

On May 5, the Delco Equity Committee met and also discussed advocacy efforts and key elements to successful advocacy. Darryl Hawkins led discussions on microaggresions and implicit bias. Participants watched a short video and analyzed how the characters in the video were engaging in microagressions and bias. The group shared ways to be mindful of this behavior in the classroom and how to create a more inclusive environment. As the school years wraps up, the committee looks forward to a final opportunity to bring together the Student Equity Forum before the summer break.