Tyrone Bates, the Shawnee Mission School District’s first-ever administrator devoted to diversity and inclusion issues, is resigning to focus on his own consulting business.
Bates, Ed.D., has been the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion (or DEI) coordinator since 2019 and plans to formally step down this summer at the end of the school year.
He plans to remain in the DEI field with a consulting company he founded called True Empowering LLC.
Parents’ concerns prompted Bates’ hiring
- In summer 2019, Shawnee Mission hired Bates, who had previously led DEI efforts as a teacher and building administrator in Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools.
- The position was placed under Family and Student Services, and Bates reported to that department’s director, John McKinney.
- Bates’ hiring came after years of a Shawnee Mission parent group urging the district to improve how it tried to meet the needs of a student body that was increasingly diverse, both racially and socio-economically.
- The creation of a new DEI coordinator position was one of 13 of the parent group’s demands, including others like developing a diversity office and hiring a diversity consultant.
Critical race theory, diversity were top concerns during Bates’ tenure
- During his four years, national trends like the George Floyd protests and opposition to critical race theory found their way to Shawnee Mission.
- Bates participated in a June 2020 educators’ march for social justice in Johnson County, where he shared historical background on American law enforcement.
- Critical race theory turned out to be a key issue during the 2021 election in which three Shawnee Mission school board seats were on the ballot.
- All three races that year featured candidates who criticized the district’s approach to diversity, but all three lost either to incumbents or a candidate endorsed by an outgoing board member who defended the district’s diversity initiatives.
Bates said he is following his DEI passion
- Bates said it’s time for him to take the next step in his professional journey “by fully investing in” his consultancy True Empowering.
- The firm offers “tailored solutions for intercultural, organizational and professional development,” Bates told the Post in an emailed statement Monday.
- “We live at the intersection of culture and communication,” Bates wrote. “We provide tailored DEIB [diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging] professional development for leaders and organizations in the health and service professions.”
- True Empowering has worked with the Jasper County, Mo., School District, as well as Corwin Publishing, among other clients, according to its website.
Each Shawnee Mission school building now has its own DEI team
- That is one of Bates’ biggest accomplishments, he said in an email to the Post, along with the creation of so-called “Affinity Groups” in the district, which help recruit and retain staff who may come from marginalized backgrounds.
- Bates also highlighted another accomplishment of his: the Student Equity Leadership Teams at the district’s high schools, which “support the creation of spaces at decision-making tables for student voices.”
- The Student Equity Leadership Teams are one area the district is exploring, Bates said. He thinks efforts by the district to include student voices at decision-making tables should continue after he officially steps down.
District plans to conduct search to fill Bates’ role
- David Smith, Shawnee Mission’s chief communications officer, told the Post the district will announce Bates’ replacement once the district finds “the right person to fill the position.”
- In the meantime, Bates said his focus is on “a transition plan that seamlessly shifts the work to the new coordinator of DEIB.”
- “It has been an honor and a blessing to serve SMSD,” Bates wrote. “We have implemented initiatives to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging systems to support our students and colleagues in strengthening the learning environment.”
