Equity
Every CPS undertaking shall be pursued with equity as a goal. Equity can be achieved at the district and school level through education, financial resources and the physical environment. CPS recognizes that providing the same amount of resources to students and schools with different life experiences, assets, and challenges will maintain the status quo of unequal achievement. (Chicago Public Schools (November, 2019). Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Equity Framework: Creating and Sustaining Equity at the Individual, School and District Level, Chicago, IL.) The equity goals outlined in the CPS 5 Year Vision Core Values are to eliminate barriers to success and ensure equitable opportunities for all students.
The range of conditions in CPS existing facilities is vast. New construction and renovation projects should strive to bridge the divide. Planning efforts for new construction and renovation should consider a school’s needs relative to the standards applied to the entire district as a whole as well as additional needs to elevate a school to align with facilities that have more and/or better resources. The new construction and renovation guidelines are meant to foster equity.
Diversity
- Diversity is the presence of difference within a given setting. The student and staff population across the district comprises a range of ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, cultures, gender, religions, abilities and sexual orientations. Chicago Public Schools finds strength in this diversity and seeks to bolster its existence.
- Architecture offers many opportunities for supporting the district’s diverse population. The built environment can create the space to physically express diversity. Consider the communities represented in a school and how that might be represented in a project.
- The architect should provide recommendations to CPS for best practices based on past project experience and cutting edge industry research and design advancements that acknowledge and welcome diversity.
- While diversity can create opportunity for expression, it also dictates a responsibility to respond to the various needs of diverse populations. Privacy, inclusion, equity and safety must always be considered for spaces ranging from the typical classroom, to the lunchroom and locker room.
Provisions for inclusivity have been added to these guidelines including the following:
- Accessibility
- Gender neutral design approaches for toilet and locker room facilities
- Expanded student services for students in temporary living situations
- Spaces to support pregnant and parenting staff and students and
- Those needing privacy to manage medical conditions