Safe Route to School Racial Equity Analysis Workplan
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SAFE ROUTE TO SCHOOL RACIAL EQUITY ANALYSIS WORKPLAN 5/3/18 OVERVIEW The Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) RET process (RSJI) is a citywide effort to end institutional will: racism and race-based disparities in City 1) Set racial equity outcomes for the SRTS government. The Racial Equity Toolkit (RET) lays program out a process and a set of questions to guide the 2) a. Involve stakeholders impacted by the development, implementation, and evaluation of SRTS program, b. Analyze available data, policies, initiatives, programs, and budget issues and c. Identify root causes creating these to address the impacts on racial equity. racial inequities 3) Assess alignment of the SRTS program Safe Routes to School is a local, state, and with racial equity outcomes national movement to make it easier and safer for 4) a. Develop strategies to create greater students to walk and bike to school. The Seattle racial equity, b. Document unresolved Department of Transportation uses a combination issues of strategies to work toward this goal: 5) Identify evaluation metrics and reporting • Education: ensuring that everyone learns mechanisms how to travel safely 6) Share the RET document with Department • Encouragement: promoting walking and Leadership, Change Team, and community biking in the school community members • Engineering: building projects like new sidewalks, safer crosswalks, and improved RET STEERING COMMITTEE streets for biking A committee of City staff will meet monthly • Enforcement: partnering with the Seattle to guide the RET process including workplan Police Department to enforce traffic safety development, outreach methods, and strategy laws development. The Steering Committee is • Evaluation: tracking progress toward our comprised of the following staff: shared safety goals 1) Allison Schwartz, External Outreach • Empowerment: providing resources to Advisor school champions 2) Kristen Simpson, Capital Development & Special Projects In 2015, the Safe Routes to School program 3) Stephen Barham, Data Scientist launched Safe Streets, Healthy Schools and 4) Naomi Doerner, Transportation Equity Communities: A Safe Routes to School 5-Year Program Manager Action Plan for Seattle. This plan directs us to 5) Ben Smith, Strategic Transit Planner, SDOT apply the RET to our program in 2017 to make Change Team Member sure that the Safe Routes to School program 6) Elise Rasmussen, Transportation Planning delivers services equitably. Intern 7) Kyana Wheeler, RSJI Strategic Development Specialist, Seattle Office for Civil Rights 2 | SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL RACIAL EQUITY ANALYSIS WORKPLAN WORKPLAN 1. SET RACIAL EQUITY OUTCOMES Phase II: Strategy Identification Objectives FOR THE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL 6. Learn what new strategies may be helpful PROGRAM for communities to address those safety In consultation with the RET Steering Committee, concerns Departmental Leadership, and Change Team, we 7. Identify the most effective and cost- will identify the racial equity outcome for the Safe efficient solutions Routes to School program. 8. Develop innovative policy options and test new ideas 2A. INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS 9. Develop new partnerships with schools and IMPACTED BY THE SAFE ROUTES TO community organizations to implement SCHOOL PROGRAM those strategies Outreach Objectives We used the Inclusive Outreach and Public Public Role Engagement Guide to develop an Inclusive Public 1. Inform: educate the public about the Engagement Plan. We have several objectives for rationale for the project, how it fits with the RET outreach process that we aim to achieve City goals and policies, issues being through two phases: I) Problem Identification, and considered, where public input is needed II) Strategy Identification. 2. Consult: gather information and ask for advice from residents to better inform the Phase I: Problem Identification Objectives City’s work on Safe Routes to School 1. Reach out to and build relationships 3. Collaborate: create a partnership with with communities the Safe Routes to the public (key stakeholder groups) to School program hasn’t traditionally work along with the City in developing heard from, including communities of and implementing the SRTS program as color, immigrants, refugees, and English much of SRTS is community implemented; Language Learners rely on parents, teachers, and community 2. Hear from as many different perspectives groups to lead programs at each school as possible 3. Set expectations for what is inside and Outreach Methodology outside the scope of this process Phase I: Problem Identification 4. Gain valuable information regarding needs The first phase of our outreach process is and wants for getting kids safely to school Problem Identification. We will use two main 5. Better understand current school travel methods to uncover the issues and concerns of patterns in relation to race and gender and families in getting their kids to school: focused how demographics relate to different types outreach and citywide survey. of safety concerns SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL RACIAL EQUITY ANALYSIS WORKPLAN | 3 Focused Outreach • Coffee chats The purpose of our focused outreach strategy • Attending existing community meetings is to gain in-depth knowledge and perspectives • Meetings with school-based Racial Equity on traveling to and from school from a select Teams number of people and groups that represent people of color, immigrants, refugees, and Citywide Survey English Language Learners. The purpose of the citywide survey is to gain information from as many people as possible on We identified the broad landscape of groups their experiences with traveling to and from school. that we could reach out to who are working with communities of color, immigrants, refugees, The survey will help us uncover school travel and English Language Learners. From there patterns in relation to race and gender, such as: we narrowed down to a manageable list the key • Are students of color more or less likely to groups to engage with by obtaining feedback from walk or bike to school? the RSJI Change Team, RET Steering Committee, • Are kids of color more likely to walk alone? Department of Neighborhoods Community Liaisons, • Are boys more likely to walk than girls? and the Seattle Public Schools Equity & Race • Are families of color more or less likely to Advisory Committee. This information is included in feel that it’s safe for their kids to walk or Appendix A. We will employ the use of interpreters bike to school? and translators during outreach events. • How do demographics relate to specific types of safety concerns, whether public Our focused outreach strategy will have three safety or transportation safety approaches: 1. School-based approach: we will identify Survey outreach methods will include: a set of specific schools to reach out to, 1) Direct mail prioritized based on their demographics 2) Online survey and with feedback from the Seattle Public 3) Online open house Schools Equity & Race Advisory Committee. 4) Ethnic media promotion1 We will engage with the Principal, PTSA, 5) Social media promotion and/or Racial Equity Team at these schools. 6) School Friday backpack mail 2. Geographic-based approach: we will 7) School communications to parents identify a set of community groups that 8) Department of Neighborhoods newsletter work in specific neighborhoods of Seattle 9) Presence at existing City and community where diverse communities live, such as events Rainier Beach, Chinatown-International 10) Community conversations hosted by the District, South Park, etc. Vision Zero program and the Department of 3. Racial/Ethnic group-based approach: we Neighborhoods Community Liaison program2 will identify community groups that work 11) Promotion by community groups identified with specific racial and ethnic groups, in our Inclusive Public Engagement Plan regardless of the geographic areas within the city where their communities live. 1There will be a concerted effort to reach out to a wide We will identify appropriate outreach methods variety of media outlets (see Appendix B) to capture for each key group once identified. Methods may Seattle’s diversity and present the public with multiple civic include: engagement opportunities. • One-on-one interviews 2Vision Zero’s 2018 MOU will be funding the Liaisons to do • Focus groups this SRTS work via Events/Community Conversations. 4 | SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL RACIAL EQUITY ANALYSIS WORKPLAN We will consider providing an incentive to how well those strategies will meet their needs participate, such as a chance to win a grocery gift and if there is anything else we haven’t thought of. card. In meeting with the community organizations, our goal will be to identify and develop the community We will work with the Department of partnerships that will be necessary for us to move Neighborhood Community Liaison program. forward with the identified strategies. We will host a focus group with key Community Liaisons to review our outreach methodology, 2B. ANALYZE DATA TO UNDERSTAND identify key groups to reach out to, and provide EXISTING RACIAL INEQUITIES feedback on our survey questions. At the First, we will identify racial demographics of focus group, the Community Liaisons will also public and private schools. This data is readily represent their communities and provide us with available from the Office of Superintendent information about their challenges and needs in of Public Instruction. Then we will evaluate getting their children to school. the reach of the SRTS