Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee

The mission of the CSSP DEIC is to advocate for school communities and systems that promote equity and fairness through social justice and culturally-responsive professional practices that honor the rights, dignity and worth of disempowered populations. 

Our vision is to empower Colorado school psychologists and other key stakeholders to lead critical conversations and take necessary actions to achieve greater equity and inclusivity in school communities. 

Rationale for Committee: The idea originated from a leadership conversation around the representation of CSSP membership and possible extensions beyond the multicultural work of our bilingual school psychologists. Consideration of shifts in practice, current discussions around equity and diversity in our field and schools served as points of interest. In turn, the CSSP President began an ad hoc DEI committee. Initial informal discussions occurred in July of 2021, and an announcement to seek interested participants in the committee through an advertisement shared in the CSSP newsletter in August of 2021. Those interested were organized by the CSSP President, Ron Glazier and began formally organizing in September of 2021. In November 2021, a formal motion was made by the CSSP President to formalize the committee and the name was changed to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Paige Powers continued to serve as the CLD representative on behalf of CSSP leadership. 

Membership: The DEI Committee began meetings in September of 2021. Participants quickly began to identify the roles and functions needed to sustain the work of the committee. The following roles were identified. Elections occurred in October of 2021. 

• Committee Chair: Facilitate meetings, coach and support onboarding of new members, set agendas, call meetings, and drive the agenda and committee work to align with the committee mission/vision and objectives. 

• Committee Co-Chair: Co-chair with Committee Chair to support Committee Chair responsibilities and support recruitment and retention efforts on behalf of the committee. 

• Committee Secretary: Maintenance of committee agendas and minutes and support coordination of access to meeting modality. 

• Committee Organizer: Maintenance of meeting invites and development/implementation of questionnaires and surveys.

• Culture and Equity Member:  Designated advocate for Culture and Equity on committee and help ensure the committee work is grounded within Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through a culturally responsive lens. 

• Culture and Diversity Chair for CSSP: Designed CSSP position to serve as the communicator of the committee work to the CSSP Board. 

• Member at Large: Participate in committee and subcommittee tasks that may include research, information gathering, and resource/training development. 

Objectives: The workgroup finalized objectives that reflect a focus on Past, Present, and Future practices as they relate to the themes of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. 

• Give voice and reflect on prior professional practices and thinking that have influenced the current status of professional practices with intent to heal and repair harm.

• Acknowledge the lack of diversity and inclusion within professional practices and use data-informed decision making to inform training and professional practice recommendations. 

• Work to ensure proportionate diversity representation of school psychologists is reflected by student demographic data in Colorado schools. 

DEI Committee Members