Dei slides
- 1. Viewing the World through an Equity Lens Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training Series Module 1
- 2. Directions 1. Crumble your piece of paper 2. Remain in your seat 3. Throw the paper into the recycling bin at the front of the room
- 4. Objectives I. Define Diversity, Equity and Inclusion II. Understand Historical Events and Legislation Related to Inequities in Education III. Acknowledge Bias and Identify Strategies to Confront Bias and Racism IV. Develop an Equity Mindset to Serve in Diverse Schools and Communities V. Set the tone for ongoing Professional Development in the areas of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- 5. Ground Rules and Group Agreements Rules & Agreements • Be respectful • Assume positive intent; seek to understand first • Speak from the “I” perspective (Speak for yourself and not others) • No one person is the sole possessor of knowledge • “Platinum Rule” - treat others the way they want to be treated! • Respect “air time” -What do you expect from the facilitator during this session? -What do you expect from your peers? -What should others expect from you?
- 6. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) • Define the following terms: • (1) Diversity • (2) Equity • (3) Inclusion • Is there a difference between these terms? • If so, what is the difference?
- 7. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Equity Recognizes advantages and barriers, and ensures everyone access to the same opportunities. Diversity Presence of difference in a setting. Inclusion Individuals of all identities feeling and/or being valued, leveraged or welcomed within a given setting.
- 8. Why Equity and not Equality? Equality sounds fair. All students are treated the same and have access to the same or similar resources Equity is fair. All students receive access to the resources that they need in order to be as prepared as their peers.
- 9. Where Do We Start? In order to have a better understanding of the students and community we serve, we have to begin with acknowledging the extensive history of social and educational inequities within the United States. With each major societal shift, there have been significant implications for students’ access to inclusive and equitable opportunities.
- 11. Historical Background • Colonization of North America • Native Americans were forced out of their land and pushed into secluded communities by the English • The Encomienda System was created as a way to enslave Native Americans • Schools were created to forcefully acculturate Native American’s to Eurocentric culture • Slavery of African people • Segregation & Racism • In 1865 Slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment (Discrimination persisted) • Schools and neighborhoods were segregated • In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson case determined that equal but separate accommodations for Blacks and whites was lawful. • In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education abolished all legally enforced public segregation
- 12. Historical Background • Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin was outlawed in the United States • Prohibited unequal applications of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations • De facto Segregation • Racial, ethnic, or other segregation that occurs without institutionalized legislation intended to segregate as a result of societal differences between groups • Socioeconomic status • Politics • Hyper segregation • Redlining • The Fair Housing Act of 1968 • White Flight • Gentrification
- 13. Timeline of K-12 Public Education Legislation 1970 Standardized Testing Although standardized testing was used in the 1800s, in the 1970s public schools became heavily reliant on standardized testing to allocate funds in an effort to close the minority/non-minority educational gap. 1972 Title IX An amendment of the Education Amendments act of 1972, which states that "No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. 1954 Brown V. Board of Education The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that American state laws that supported and established racial segregation in public schools were unconstitutional, even if they were established with "separate but equal" in mind. 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESSA) Established by Lyndon B. Johnson, the act was a part of a national program to remove poverty through equal access to quality education. The act ensures that funds are provided in support of educational programs.
- 14. Timeline of K-12 Public Education Legislation 2001 No Child Left Behind This act established law that secures money for additional education assistance for disadvantaged children in return for educational achievement. Essentially, it rewarded schools that showed improvement and penalized schools that did not. 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) IDEIA mandates equity, accountability, and excellence in education of children with disabilities. It is a reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1973 Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act The first disability civil rights law in the U.S. It prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in programs that receive Federal financial assistance. Predecessor of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act This act required all public schools accepting Federal funding to provide equal access to education for children with physical and mental disabilities.
- 15. Timeline of K-12 Public Education Legislation 2010 Race to The Top (RTT) Race to the Top was a $4.35 billion competitive grant that was created to encourage reform and innovation in both state and location K-12 education. States competing for the grants were awarded points for enacting various educational policies and evaluation criteria. 2015 Every Student Success Act (ESSA) Replaced No Child Left Behind and purposed with the goal of providing all "children with significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps."
- 16. Challenge Oppression and Inequities If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. – Desmond Tutu • 1676. Bacon’s Rebellion. Poor white workers joined together with Black and white indentured servants and slaves in protest against wealthy planters and their colonial lawmakers. The Colony moved quickly to drive a racial wedge between white and Black servants, making legal and social distinctions between ‘servants’ (white) and ‘slaves’ (Black). • 1963. March on Washington. This was a key moment in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The Civil Rights Movement gave momentum and inspiration to many other liberation movements: women, Chicano, American Indian Movement, farmworkers, anti-war, environmental, and LGBT.
- 17. Racialization Racialization shapes an institution so that as part of its normal functioning, and without anyone having a consciously racist intention, it produces disparities in outcome by race. Examples of racialization: • Profiling • Sentencing and over-incarceration of minorities
- 18. Confronting Bias and Racism
- 20. Confronting Bias and Racism Because of our country’s history and our life experiences, we have all either consciously or unconsciously developed preconceived or unreasoned trends, inclinations, feelings, or opinions towards people or things. These preconceptions are called Biases.
- 21. Confronting Bias and Racism 40 11,000,000 ● Pieces of information that are entering your brain per second ● Pieces of information that the brain can process per second
- 22. Confronting Bias and Racism ● Implicit Bias (Unconscious) ○ Implicit Bias is present when we have attitudes towards people or associate stereotypes with them unconsciously ○ Our implicit biases often predict how we will behave more accurately than our conscious values ● Explicit Bias (Conscious) ○ Refers to the attitudes and beliefs we have about a person or group on a conscious level ○ People are more likely to express explicit biases when they perceive an individual or group to be a threat to their well-being
- 23. Confronting Bias and Racism • Interpersonal: When one group displays prejudices and discriminatory behavior against another group and makes assumptions about their abilities, motives and intents based on race. • Internalized: When members of a stigmatized group internalize negative messages about their own abilities and intrinsic self-worth that are portrayed in the dominant culture. • Institutional: Assumptions about race are structured within the social and economic institutions of our society, like schools, police departments, and businesses that deliberately or indirectly discriminate or limit the rights of certain groups of people. • Structural: Long-standing radicalized practices that have been embedded within our social and economic structures.
- 25. Why This? Why Now?
- 27. Disadvantaged Students: The 4 Key Groups in Districts We Serve Socioeconomic Status 43.9% of students in Virginia public schools are identified as economically disadvantaged. Reading Proficiency 65% pass rate for economically disadvantaged students in Virginia public schools. Minorities 51.6% of students in Virginia public schools identify as non-white Reading Proficiency - AAPI: 89% pass rate - Black: 65% pass rate - Hispanic/Latinx: 66% pass rate - White: 85% pass rate
- 28. Disadvantaged Students: The 4 Key Groups Districts We Serve Special Education 8.76% of all students in Virginia public schools. Reading Proficiency 47% pass rate across all Virginia public schools. English Language Learners 8.36% of all students in Virginia public schools. Reading Proficiency 35% pass rate across all Virginia public schools. *Special education includes students with the following disabilities: autism, deaf-blindness, development delay, emotional disturbance, hearing Impairment, intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, specific learning disabilities, traumatic Brain Injury and visual impairments.
- 29. Implications of Low Literacy Skills Low-income children are more than 4x less likely to enter Kindergarten with school-ready reading and language skills than their higher income peers. A er grade 3, the curriculum requires students to reading to learn. Children that have not yet learned to read are le behind. Students who cannot read on grade level are 4x less likely to graduate from high school. Without a high school diploma, chances of leading a fulfilling life as a productive member of society are dramatically reduced. Unemployment rates for people with low literacy levels is 2-4x higher. Between 2009 and 2013, 51% of individuals were unemployed for a full 2 years prior to incarceration
- 30. What Is My Role in Ending Educational Inequity?
- 31. Educational Equity Educational Equity concerns the measure of achievement, fairness, and opportunity in education. Specifically, equitable education is essential to determining the outcomes of disadvantaged students categorized by four key groups: • Low socioeconomic status • Minorities • Special Education • English Language Learners
- 32. Our Mission Each historical moment that we discussed, has contributed to the varying outcomes of student success that plague our education system. Understanding these historical challenges creates a framework for the work that you will do over the next 10 months and provides an opportunity for you to be equity practitioners in education. At the Literacy Lab we operate with great urgency to provide low-income children with individualized reading instruction to improve their literacy skills, leading to greater success in school and increased opportunities in life.
- 33. ACTIVITY: Building a Social Justice Wall
- 34. Check Your Biases Steps that you can take to confront your biases: ● Acknowledge and accept that we all have them. ● Increase your awareness by seeking knowledge! ● Evaluate which life experiences may have contributed to their development and avoid these experiences in the future. ● Engage in intentional interactions with others who are different from you (i.e., different lived experiences, opinions, race, gender, etc.) ● Be an advocate for dispelling biases
- 35. At Your School Site... • Understand that schools are made up of different learners. Children learn differently but that does not mean that they’re deficient. Define goals and expectations for your students based on individual differences. • Be intentional about engaging in equitable practices. For example, identify reading passages that represent identities and experiences of your students. • Get to know school staff and show respect for their profession (Teachers, front office staff, custodians, librarians etc.). Treat everyone fairly! • Get to know parents. Parents don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Getting to know families show that you care about their children.
- 36. In Your Community... • Research and learn about the the history of your community to be informed about how things came to be. • Be present in the community that you serve in by volunteering at a local library or community center, attending social events, etc. • Build connections with organizations that could be a resource for your students. • Attend community conversations that invite residents of the neighborhoods to discuss ideas regarding social justice and a more equitable future.
- 37. Resources • Project Implicit: Implicit Bias Test • Book: The Flat World and Education – How America’s Commitment to Equity will Determine our Future by Linda Darling-Hammond • Book: The Latino Education Crisis – The Consequences of Failed Policies by Patricia Gándara and Frances Contreras • Book: Their Highest Potential by Vanessa Siddie Walker • Book: The Education of Blacks in the South: 1860-1935 by James Anderson • Book: We Want to Do More than Survive - Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom by Bettina Love • NPR: Why America’s Schools Have a Money Problem • Short Film: I was born in Mexico, But… • TED Talk: Bettina Love’s Hip-hop, grit and academic success • White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack