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Equity and Social Justice

Growing Your Understanding of Race/Anti-Racism

Web Portal: Talking About Race - The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture 
Online portal designed to help individuals, families, and communities talk about racism, racial identity and the way these forces shape every aspect of society, from the economy and politics to the broader American culture.

Article: When Educators Understand Race and Racism 
Information to help teachers feel empowered to tackle conversations about race and reflect on their own feelings, expectations, and fears.

Article: White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
A foundational article on the concept of white privilege, originally published by Peggy McIntosh in 1989.

Podcast: On How to Be an Anti-Racist - Unlocking Us with Brene Brown
Host Brene Brown talks with author and scholar Dr. Ibram X. Kendi abbott racial disparities, policy, and equality, with a focus on How to Be an Antiracist, a groundbreaking approach to understanding uprooting racism and inequality in our society and in ourselves.

Talking to Children/Students About Race

Website: EnbraceRace.org
Multiple resources to help parents discuss racial differences and bias in children and the effects of inequality. Includes guidance, recommended books, and conversation starters.

Article: Race Talk: Engaging Young People in Conversations about Race and Racism
Strategies and considerations for educators looking to facilitate productive conversations about race and racism with students

Resources for Creating Equitable School Environments

School Leadership

Article: Promoting Culturally Responsive Leadership Practices by Muhammad Khalifa
Shining a light on marginalized children with humanistic practices and data scrutiny; culturally responsive school leaders must establish trust, credibility, and rapport with students and community by listening and engaging their voices.

Guidance: The Principal’s Guide to Building Culturally Responsive Schools - National Association of Elementary School Principals
This resource, developed by the NAESP Diversity Task Force, presents recommendations for four leadership competencies that are meant to guide school leaders in their work to ensure equity for all students. The guide was

Teaching and Learning

Articles: Why teaching Black Lives Matter... matters PART 1 and PART 2
Guidance for teaching students about the BlackLivesMatter civil rights movement.

Book: Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond
Hammonds explains the neuroscience behind why culture is critical for learning. She discusses a framework -details the connection between brain-based learning and rigorous culturally responsive teaching that will help educators create relationships and apply strategies and optimize learning for students of color.

Podcast: Unconscious Bias in Schools - Harvard EdCast
Many educators struggle with unconscious bias in their roles at school -- often in ways that can unknowingly perpetuate racism and negatively affect students. In this episode of the EdCast, Tracey Benson and Sarah Fiarman offer ways to address these issues directly and outline how educators can start this work in their schools.

Behavior Support

This article explains the process of criminalizing youth that is carried out by disciplinary policies and practices within schools.
 
Article: 5 Questions Every Team Should Ask About Racial Disproportionality
Grounded in the PBIS framework, this article presents five critical questions to understand why disproportionate discipline occurs for certain groups of students in their systems.

Guidance: A Framework for School Discipline - National Association of School Psychologists
An evidence-based framework for effective school discipline policies and practices that promote a positive school climate, reinforce positive and prosocial behaviors, promote school safety, keep students in the classroom and out of the juvenile justice system, addresses and reduces disproportionality in exclusionary discipline practices.

Special Education

Podcast: Racial Differences in Special Education Identification - Harvard EdCast
Harvard Lecturer Laura Schifter explains disproportionality and why so many students of color are placed in special education, often in separate classrooms from their peers. While income status is sometimes accepted as the reason behind this phenomenon, Schifter says that doesn't tell the full story. In this EdCast, Schifter shares recent research into this issue and discusses the challenges facing special education.

Supports and Resources for Families

Article: Raising Racially Conscious Kids 
Steps for white parents to help their children develop a racial equity mindset and actions they can take to be “upstanders” for their peers. 

Article: Talking with Children About Racism, Police Brutality, and Protests 
Recommendations for talking to children of various ages about racial injustice, police brutality, and protests.