Regional equity assistance center at IUPUI awarded $8.5M in federal funding to continue its mission - IU Newsroom

INDIANAPOLIS — With an $8.5 million, five-year cooperative statement from the U.S. Department of Education, the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center astatine IUPUI volition proceed providing equity-focused method assistance and grooming to nationalist pre-K-12 acquisition systems crossed a 13-state region.

The MAP Center, 1 of 4 regional Equity Assistance Centers successful the U.S., is simply a task of the Great Lakes Equity Center successful the Indiana University School of Education astatine IUPUI.

The Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center helps schoolhouse districts successful Indiana and 13 Midwestern states code acquisition injustices successful schoolhouse curricula and programming. Photo by Liz Kaye, Indiana University

Authorized nether Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Equity Assistance Centers supply no-cost method assistance related to race, sex, nationalist root and religion desegregation to nationalist acquisition systems and different liable governmental agencies passim each 50 states and U.S. territories to beforehand equitable acquisition opportunities for each students.

Kathleen King Thorius, Great Lakes Equity Center founding enforcement manager and subordinate prof of peculiar and municipality education, is the MAP Center’s enforcement manager and main investigator. Through her leadership, the Great Lakes Equity Center has secured astir $25 cardinal successful outer funding. Seena Skelton, a nationally recognized adept connected contention and disablement equity, continues to service arsenic MAP Center director.

“For 11 years, the Great Lakes Equity Center has worked with local, determination and nationalist partners to forestall and respond to acquisition injustices, and to make resources for systems that payment each students,” Thorius said. “The adjacent 5 years of backing volition bolster our services and resources to code the progressively challenging contexts successful which we prosecute successful societal and radical justness work. We are anxious and prepared to conscionable existent opportunities and challenges with our partners.”

Building connected high-impact enactment from the past 5 years, the MAP Center volition connection an expanding array of equity-focused supports to authorities and section acquisition agencies successful Indiana and the 12 different states that marque up Region 3 of the Equity Assistance Center network: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

“The MAP Center squad is an astonishing radical of scholars, practitioners and thought leaders who exemplify excellence successful method assistance resources and services,” School of Education Dean Tambra Jackson said. “The interaction of their enactment for much than a decennary has been remarkable, and I americium excited to spot it continue.

“It is an implicit grant for the School of Education astatine IUPUI to beryllium location to the MAP Center. There is nary amended spot for this enactment to unrecorded and beryllium supported. The MAP Center embodies the tone of our ngo to amended the quality information and positively interaction youth.”

Public schools, districts, authorities departments and different funny nationalist organizations tin link with the MAP Center by submitting a request for services oregon pursuing the halfway connected LinkedIn, Facebook oregon Twitter. Nonpublic agencies, oregon nationalist acquisition agencies extracurricular the MAP Center’s 13-state region, tin besides taxable a petition for contracted services done the Great Lakes Equity Center website.