Leading for Equity: 8 Steps to Creating and Sustaining Equitable Best Practices in Your School/Program

Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

The Cambio Group

Second Presenter's Institution

NA

Third Presenter's Institution

NA

Fourth Presenter's Institution

NA

Fifth Presenter's Institution

NA

Strand #1

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Strand #2

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Relevance

Through a framework that focuses on the equity domains of school/program environment, curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, structures, and partnerships, this workshop will support school and program leaders in creating a customized equity roadmap with evidence-based best practices to reduce opportunity gaps for student groups that have been disenfranchised and traditionally marginalized. The workshop will also provide case study examples of schools and programs using equitable frameworks to increase opportunities to learn for learners who have traditionally struggled within existing systems and programs.

Brief Program Description

Through a framework that focuses on the equity domains of school/program environment, curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, structures, and partnerships, this workshop will support school/program leaders in creating a customized equity roadmap with evidence-based best practices to reduce opportunity gaps for student groups that have been disenfranchised/traditionally marginalized. School/program leaders will leave the session with an 8-step framework for building out/improving their equity plans, tailoring resources to align with other site/district initiatives, and building capacity and sustainability across all areas of their schools/programs.

Summary

Effectively leading the PD charge in schools and districts has become critical in supporting teachers as they navigate new challenges. This course offers key concepts, structures, and templates to help school and district leaders build equity roadmaps and design equity professional learning experiences that inspire, inform, and achieve meaningful results.

Through a framework that focuses on the equity domains of school/program environment, curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, structures, and partnerships, this workshop will support school/program leaders in creating a customized equity roadmap with evidence-based best practices to reduce opportunity gaps for student groups that have been disenfranchised/traditionally marginalized.

School/program leaders will leave the session with an 8-step framework for building out/improving their equity plans, tailoring resources to align with other site/district initiatives, and building capacity and sustainability across all areas of their schools/programs.

This session will give school and program leaders an opportunity to take a critically reflective look at where they are -- both individually and collectively -- in their equity journeys and how this assessment can be used to lead with purpose and set goals for the work ahead. Participants will leave the session with a clearer understanding of how to align the vision and goals of equity work to existing policies, programs, and practices. Participants will also have a working framework for their equity leadership work, including self-generated project goals, a clarity statement, and a focused plan of action.

Session participants will also leave with an increased understanding of the connections between individual beliefs, values, and behaviors and school/program policies and practices, opportunities, and outcomes, how an equity vision informs our daily work, and how to better recognize and deconstruct systemic inequities in their leadership.

Evidence

This work is based, in part, on the comprehensive, job-embedded equity work we've been doing in school districts throughout the country over the past 4-5 years. Initial benchmark data and mid-project and end-of-project reporting from equity walks and our successful schools framework (school-wide equity continuum and teaching & learning equity continuum) shows growth across a wide range of metrics, including improved classroom and school environments, greater sense of belonging and connectedness to school, increased attendance, and decrease discipline referrals of students who have been traditionally underserved.

The work is also rooted in research around the domains of social justice in education, critical race theory, sociocultural approaches to learning, and culturally responsive pedagogy. A partial reference list includes the following:

Banks, J. A., Cookson, P., Gay, G., Hawley, W.D., Irvine, J.J., Nieto, S., Schofield, J.W., Stephan, W.G. (2001). Diversity within unity: Essential principles for teaching and learning in a multicultural society. Phi Delta Kappan, 83(3), 196.

Cochran-Smith, M. (2006, March). Ten promising trends (and three big worries). Educational Leadership, 20-26.

Ladson-Billings, G. J. (2005). Is the team all right? Diversity and teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 56, 229-234.

Moll, L., & Arnot-Hopffer, E. (2005, May). Sociocultural Competence in teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 56(3), 242- 247.

Nieto, S. (2005). Public Education in the Twentieth Century and Beyond: High Hopes, Broken Promises, and an Uncertain Future. Harvard Educational Review, 75(1), 43-64.

Villegas, A.M. & Lucas, T. (2002). Preparing culturally responsive teachers: Rethinking the curriculum. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(1), 20-32.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

  • Gain a clearer understanding of how to align the vision and goals of equity work to existing policies, programs, and practices.
  • Develop a working framework for their equity leadership work, including self-generated project goals, a clarity statement, and a focused plan of action.
  • Have an increased understanding of the connections between individual beliefs, values, and behaviors and school/program policies and practices, opportunities, and outcomes, how an equity vision informs our daily work, and how to better recognize and deconstruct systemic inequities in their leadership.

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Marina Gillmore is an educator, author, and social justice thought leader who has built her career around working with youth and teaching, training, researching and writing about equity, social justice, belief and value exploration, and self-efficacy. She holds a doctorate in Leadership for Educational Justice and has conducted award-winning research on the underserved youth in urban environments. Her work as a scholar-practitioner in the field of social justice comes from her passion for deconstructing the complexities of injustices in our society and using the power of the personal story to incite deep conversations and transformations centered around how our perceptions and belief systems impact everything we do. A teacher at heart, Dr. Gillmore has taught extensively in traditional and non-traditional settings at the K-12 and university levels.

Presentation Year

2021

Start Date

3-10-2021 3:00 PM

End Date

3-10-2021 4:00 PM

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Mar 10th, 3:00 PM Mar 10th, 4:00 PM

Leading for Equity: 8 Steps to Creating and Sustaining Equitable Best Practices in Your School/Program

Through a framework that focuses on the equity domains of school/program environment, curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, structures, and partnerships, this workshop will support school/program leaders in creating a customized equity roadmap with evidence-based best practices to reduce opportunity gaps for student groups that have been disenfranchised/traditionally marginalized. School/program leaders will leave the session with an 8-step framework for building out/improving their equity plans, tailoring resources to align with other site/district initiatives, and building capacity and sustainability across all areas of their schools/programs.