August 30, 2019—The Shaker Heights City School District is pleased to announce a partnership with Erica Merritt, founder of the organizational development firm Equius Group, to support and implement our District-wide equity and inclusion efforts.
As part of her work, Ms. Merritt will support the District in our efforts to:
Draft an implementation plan for our Equity Policy.
Facilitate community conversations on equity with stakeholders across the District.
Provide equity and inclusion training and professional development support District-wide.
Determine the need for an internal equity and inclusion role.
Lay the groundwork for a diversity recruitment and retention plan to help ensure the District has diverse and well-qualified candidates for future vacancies.
Identify an equity tool for the District.
Currently, we expect Ms. Merritt to serve in this capacity through the beginning of December. Ms. Merritt will be on-site at the Administration Building one day a week and will be working with the school community the rest of the week.
“I’m thrilled that Erica and Equius will be joining us to continue guiding our equity work and to help us implement equity practices District-wide,” says Dr. David Glasner, Superintendent of Shaker Heights Schools. “We already know the lasting impact her prior work has had on the District and we look forward to partnering with her as we work to ensure that we are meeting the needs of all students.”
Ms. Merritt has worked with the District for the past two years on important equity initiatives beginning with the Equity Task Force and hosting Let’s Get Real workshops. She has more than 15 years of experience in organizational and leadership development and her background in diversity management drives her commitment to applying an equity lens to all client work. Ms. Merritt holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Ursuline College and a master’s in psychology from Cleveland State University.