Shameeka Browne, Abington School District Board President, was named a winner of the second annual Excellence in Equity Awards program in the Champion of Equity – District Leadership category.
The program, presented by the American Consortium for Equity in Education, includes 12 award categories which recognize contributions across PreK-12 and higher education.
The awards “acknowledge, spotlight, and celebrate high-impact work at all levels in education, as well as expand and enhance the discussion around educational equity,” the district said.
From the May 2024 issue of Equity & Access:
When Shameeka Browne was first elected to the Abington School District School Board in 2019, she ran on several core beliefs that are rooted in educational equity: (1) It takes a community to produce positive change; (2) All students are able to learn and show growth when provided proper support and resources; and (3) High-quality education is a right, not a privilege. Now as Board President, she uses her leadership platform to echo those beliefs, and they are central to each decision she makes as a voting member of the School Board.
Shameeka Browne has helped champion Abington School District’s 2022-2025 Comprehensive Plan, which has a mission and vision rooted in equity, and values that mirror the ones on which she campaigned. Under her Board governance, the values outlined in the Administration’s Comprehensive Plan emphasize the importance of equity not just among the student body, but across the District’s 1,100+ employees as well, highlighting that diversity is both a strength and an asset, and that learning occurs in different ways and at different rates. Through allocation of appropriate resources, development of the whole student is promoted, with emphasis on social/emotional learning as well as academic achievement.
Since Mrs. Browne joined the Board, the District has made tremendous accomplishments. They have launched a new high school educational program, which includes the implementation of a Pathways Program, focused on preparing students for college and careers through elective courses and hands-on job experiences that allow them to explore potential career fields earlier in life. At the elementary level, they now offer a creative studies course called “Explorations,” where K-5 students engage in project-based and inquiry-based units of study, designed for students to explore challenges, make meaning, and evaluate solutions. They have hired a middle school Climate Officer to foster a safe and positive school environment. They have established a Senior Citizen Tax Rebate program, which provides tax relief to senior citizen homeowners. And in 2022, Abington School District was accepted into the League of Innovative Schools, a national coalition of forward-thinking K-12 school districts organized by Digital Promise, a global nonprofit working to expand opportunity for every learner by bringing together solutions across research, practice, and technology.
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Photo: Equity & Access