Voters throughout metro Colorado Springs spoke loud and clear in November by electing school board majorities to fix our public schools. We’re seeing swift and impressive progress in District 11, the city’s central school system that serves some of the community’s lowest-income, least-privileged families. They deserve good schools, not fashionable politically charged excuses for poor performance.

We saw progress Tuesday when the Colorado Board of Education approved the D-11 board’s comprehensive plan for improving student outcomes at Mitchell High School. The school’s performance, in terms of student proficiency, has been so consistently poor the district stands in jeopardy of state officials commandeering it.

When schools rate in one of the bottom categories of proficiency for more than five years, the state takes “direct action” to mandate improvement. State options include turning over the school’s management to an outside agency, closing it, or converting it to a charter.

By obtaining the state board’s approval of the corrective action plan, D-11 has a two-year reprieve from the prospect of a state takeover.

Principal George Smith, who began in the fall, wants a “culture of trust.” He instructs teachers and staff to quickly establish and achieve high expectations of themselves, each other and students. That won’t include excuses for poor outcomes.

Mitchell isn’t alone. Schools throughout much of Colorado Springs and the rest of the state have devolved into producing abysmal proficiency outcomes in key subjects such as math, science, English, history and most other disciplines essential to success in a competitive world. The scores are bad for all demographics, but most troubling among nonwhite students who account for a disproportionate number of children from low-income households.

New agendas that focus attention on the skin tones, ethnicities and sexual orientations of students have only exacerbated problems. Instead of serving all children with the benefit of high standards and expectations, instruction under the umbrella of “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” have sent a reckless message. Boldly or with cleverly veiled verbiage, this movement tells minority children they can’t compete in a world controlled by oppressive whites.

Yes, the world is unfair. Wealth makes life easier than poverty. For that reason, we should strive for a society in which non-white demographics succeed economically and academically at the same rate as our country’s Asians, Indians and whites.

We won’t achieve “equity” or equality by telling children they are oppressed. We will achieve this by forcing our schools to produce high competency outcomes – in basic subjects essential to prosperity – among children without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, color, gender, sexual orientation or socioeconomic plight.

In observing typically woke Department of Equity and Inclusion programs, we see the soft racism of low expectations. We hear the message that underachievement is the fault of legacy advantages of oppressors. Even if true, this discourse doesn’t help an oppressed child learn to read and write. It excuses underperformance, which further oppresses those labeled as oppressed.

Understanding this, the D-11 board – with a majority comprised of a majority of minorities – voted 4-2 last week to dissolve the district’s disastrous new Department of Equity and Inclusion. The district will redirect departmental funds to ensure classrooms properly educate children.

Former Superintendent Michael Thomas launched the Department of Equity and Inclusion office, the first of its type in the region. During his four-year employment, outcomes continued declining especially among minority children. The board majority pressured Thomas to resign in March.

By changing directions, the new board majority is doing what the voters elected them for. They are turning the district’s trajectory from downward to upward. They have no time to dally. A semester is a terrible thing to waste. Any mind in any color skin is a terrible thing to waste.

Although the board abandoned the Department of Equity and Inclusion bureaucracy, it should strive to see equitable inclusion of children from all backgrounds. The D-11 majority and other school boards throughout Colorado should take back the concept of Department of Equity and Inclusion. They should demand high expectations and achievements from all teachers and students, without regard for any person’s immutable traits. They should never label students – whether advantaged or oppressed – while working for equitable outcomes.

Follow the lead of the D-11 board, which is off to a promising start. Demand our schools teach all children to read, write and enjoy the rewards of success.

Colorado Springs Gazette editorial board