[Cross-posted from the BELE Network Medium]

By The BELE Network

[Cross-posted from the BELE Network Medium]

By The BELE Network

Ensuring that tens of thousands of students have access to meaningful, continuous learning (when kids have varying access to technology) is no easy task, even without a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. But that’s what Detroit Public Schools Community District and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District pulled off in just a week, in partnership with EL Education. In simpler times, EL Education is a national organization that empowers teachers to unleash the potential of their students through their Language Arts curriculum, professional development and school model. But in the face of COVID-19, the EL Education team and its district partners quickly shifted gears, creating ten weeks’ worth of digital videos and paper packets topically aligned to the curriculum. Educators at Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District also partnered with EL to help format and revise the lessons and modules. These materials are freely available to students on YouTube and open source for educators across the country who are encouraged to use and adapt the material for their own classrooms.

The digital divide is already a formidable obstacle, but how can open source curriculum be developed for the vast and wide-ranging needs of students across and within grade levels? Sometimes the most equitable approaches are standardized — EL Education designed the curriculum so that every student received access to the same content and ensured that the prompts were simple enough so even the busiest caretakers could help students with their work. In addition, the overarching framework that guided the development of all the lessons means that a high school student in 11th grade could easily help their younger sibling in 3rd grade with their learning.

Though it’s not a perfect solution, living in imperfect times means that districts’ and EL Education’s ability to adapt quickly and equitably has ensured that thousands of students in Detroit and Charlotte are able to keep up with their learning and are encouraged to read, write, talk and think every day. And their broad applicability means that overburdened educators from all over can add these tools to their instructional toolkit.

The daily lessons are available on the EL Education website here. To learn more about the Detroit Public Schools Community District curriculum and download lesson packets or view videos, click here. For more information about the Charlotte-Mecklenburg curriculum and access to their learning materials, click here.

EL Education is a national nonprofit partnering with educators to transform public schools so that students “get smart to do good” and a partner of the BELE Network. For more resources to make your learning environments more equitable, visit the BELE library. To see what equitable education focused organizations are working in your neighborhood, check out the BELE Network Map.

[Cross-posted from the BELE Network Medium]

By The BELE Network

Every day, educators are going above and beyond to support their students in this time of uncertainty and crisis. While we always place tremendous value on the good work done by teachers, the BELE Network wants to extend extra gratitude as Teacher Appreciation Week kicks off nationwide. Many educators are quite literally on the front lines serving during the COVID-19 pandemic, including those at Renaissance West STEAM School in Charlotte North Carolina:

“I have been delivering the work packets to one of my homeless students and in addition to the work I’ve included some fun activities like a puzzle, cards, art supplies, snacks and a pair of binoculars. He’s been cooped up and bored inside a hotel room all day. It gave me a chance to lay eyes on him and say hello. It made me feel really good to hear his mom say, “Thank you for making this fun for us. He misses you.” — Stephanie Logan, 2nd Grade Teacher

“Covid-19 provided me an opportunity to go through full circle with raising money for local, Charlotte, food banks in August and then this March I was honored to volunteer with my school and immediate family passing out food to the families we serve. Talk about heartwarming and joy producing work!” — Cynthia L Dey, STEAM Facilitator, Grades K-5

“I have delivered hotspots and chromebooks to several students’ residents. Before I leave I ensure that our students can connect to the internet, log into their chromebook, and access their school work. Immersing myself into giving back to my students during this pandemic is one of my top priorities.” — Tawander Whittington, CTE Business Education Teacher, Grades 6 & 7

Let’s hear it for our teachers — this and every week.

— — —

All across the United States, schools and districts are navigating a bumpy transition to distance learning in response to COVID-19. The move from classrooms to remote-learning environments has exposed countless inequities in our society. As educators and policymakers race to provide students with the tools they need to continue learning, flexibility, speed and creativity have never been needed more in the education environment.

These aspects are especially critical to bridging the gap for students of color and low-income students. Many students were already overcoming insurmountable hurdles, and without flexibility, speed and creativity we risk leaving a generation of young people further behind — academically, socially, and emotionally. Due to COVID-19 closures of schools, libraries, and other support systems, there is a major gap in filling basic needs so students have the opportunity to learn. Fortunately, we are seeing schools and districts leveraging age-old assets to solve unprecedented problems. Who knew school buses could be converted into literal bridges (on wheels) to help ensure students still have access to the basics — even during social distancing.

As districts navigate school closures and the adjustment to distance learning, many for the rest of the school year, some districts are deploying school buses to deliver support to students in need. Given an estimated 12 million children do not have broadband internet access at home, districts such as those in Austin, Texas and across South Carolina are equipping school bus fleets with Wi-Fi routers and parking them in underserved communities so students can access their online classes and curriculum. This is just one example of how districts can rethink and reconfigure the tools at their disposal to equitably address students’ needs.

Additionally, districts like those in Minnesota and Oregon are rallying their staff and infrastructure to prepare anywhere from hundreds to thousands of meals a day to be delivered to students and their families along existing school bus routes. One example comes from McGregor High School in rural Minnesota, where each week paraprofessionals deliver five breakfasts and lunches to over 250 students along bus routes.

Cheryl Meld, the school’s student support grants administrator, says that in addition to ensuring every student gets a meal, there have been other pervasive difficulties. “Internet connectivity has been a challenge. Coverage can be spotty,” Meld added. “We’ve loaned out all available school hot spots and additional ones have been provided by a local non-profit and a tribal agency. Yet even with enough units for each household, there is not always connectivity in remote areas.”

Never before have schools been forced to adapt so quickly by bringing the education to the students, instead of vice versa. Fortunately, this approach has had a positive ripple effect that extends beyond academic success and into the overall wellbeing of families in their community.

While we draw inspiration from those boldly and innovatively taking action to fill the gaps in our education system exacerbated by COVID-19, it’s important to remember that these gaps are far broader than academic curriculum alone can address. If we are to truly support our students, we must support them intentionally and holistically — or risk widening the equity gap even further. However, in this time of urgent and immediate need, we applaud the creative problem solving that is making a concrete, positive difference in the lives of students across the country. We hope that more and more districts continue to adopt measures like these to utilize existing infrastructure and bring support to their students.

The BELE Network is dedicated to reimagining our inequitable school system that has failed too many for too long, and is committed to transforming our classrooms into learning environments that nurture the intellectual, emotional and cultural growth of all students — especially students of color.

Learn more about BELE on our website, and access our resource library to make your learning environments more equitable.

[Cross-posted from the BELE Network Medium]

By Dr. Sasha Rabkin, Chief Strategy Officer, Equal Opportunity Schools

Spring is typically filled with rites of passage for high school students, from prom, to AP tests, to college acceptances and graduations. But for millions of students this year, all this was put on hold as educators rushed to scale teaching and learning in a remote, online environment amidst a global health crisis. Many schools around the country are grappling with how to locate and engage students who have gone radio silent, while others, like Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Baltimore, have been laying the groundwork for equitable learning for a while, and are better prepared to navigate the student “visibility” crisis.

Seeing vs. Knowing

Undoubtedly, education’s preexisting condition is inequity; and if we don’t solve for it now, it may just kill us. The varied school and district responses to COVID-19 have thrown into sharp relief the depth of inequities in education — from data, to instruction, to basic access — when something as simple as not having an updated address or phone number on file for a student can mean they disengage from their education at a time when they may need more adult support, not less. Crises, as we’ve learned from countless medical reports, exacerbate pre-existing conditions.

Invisibility preconditions inequity in our education system, and the education system can only be successful when every single student is seen, empowered and supported. This has been a challenging promise to fulfill even during the best of times for students of color who have experienced decades of systemic isolation and invisibility, and it is something the education system will struggle with even more so now.

But this visibility gap goes much deeper — it’s one thing to see a student and another to know them. The initial response to this crisis from some of our partners shows that districts who have a history of prioritizing equity and student visibility, and who’ve learned to take advantage of tools and technology to beget equitable learning environments, have been more prepared to respond to this crisis. And while tools and technology are necessary, they are an insufficient answer. The powerful match of transformational leaders and the right toolbox can and will produce better outcomes for our students.

We have built the current education system on two fundamental truths: proximity and observation. We may have dressed them up with assessments, grades and standards, but at its root education is a relational experience — and it almost always happens in physical proximity. Now that these truths have been shaken, what more might we question? We’ve already seen the SATs lose their mojo, and grades appear particularly tone deaf now. What is next? Can we also start to question the biased assumptions that have helped prop up an inequitable education system and instituted barriers to equal opportunity?

The Student “Baseball Card”

For years, Equal Opportunity Schools has partnered with districts to create “Student Insight Cards” for each student. A tool our school partners affectionately call the ‘baseball card’, the Student Insight Card is a full page, easily digestible, 40+ data point illustration of student experiences and assets that goes well beyond GPA and test scores. Student Insight Cards are made in real time via an intentionally designed 20-minute survey that collates not just a student’s academic performance, but their most trusted adults at school, their dreams and aspirations, mindsets and barriers, and what kind of support they need to thrive.

This tool was designed to identify students of color and low income students who are ready right now to excel in advanced high school courses, but have been excluded — because of implicit and explicit biases, racism and gatekeeping. This tool ensures that each student is more holistically seen and known to the adults around them, and then placed in the classroom environments that will challenge them and stretch them academically — while also provoking a bit of cognitive dissonance for us as educators about all the things we think we know about students.

But these tools, like many things during a crisis, can change and adapt depending on who is wielding them. Right now, partners are innovating to use the Student Insight Cards to tackle the visibility crisis head-on. They are proving that their investment in collecting unique student data and challenging their mindsets about equity and access has paid off.

At Baltimore’s Dunbar High School, principal Dr. Yetunde Reeves has been able to ensure her students and school remain resilient during the crisis. Dunbar serves a student population that is 90% African American, with all students receiving free and/or reduced lunch. But because of Dr. Reeve’s leadership in introducing equitable tools like the Student Insight Cards, Dunbar was better prepared and better able to respond to the crisis. Dunbar deployed the trusted adults identified by each student in the EOS survey to connect with students, and staff are using Student Insight Cards to help “get to know students” in their absence, as they plan ahead for the next school year. Dunbar High School’s foundational work to integrate equity has allowed them to respond to immediate needs, while not losing sight of the need to actively plan for an equitable future for the school and students.

Countless other schools, from Oregon to New York to the California Bay Area, are using our toolbox of data and insights (as well as powerful remote professional learning) to think differently about students, equity, engagement, and the urgent need for connection, encouragement and support. Few of our school partners would say they were “ready” for this crisis, but those who embraced the realities of a deeply inequitable system, and who had been building equitable foundations prior to COVID-19, appear most resilient and able to face this current crisis head on.

Efficiency vs. Efficacy

This approach and mindset of making sure that every student feels supported and moored to their education can be replicated in a host of diverse ways, no matter where a school is located. However, we’re aware that educators and parents are currently being inundated with resources and list after list of tools that promise to help mitigate the transition to virtual learning. How can educators and administrators make sure that they’re addressing the visibility crisis in an equitable way?

There are two critical points to consider at this juncture. The first is that technology is not a panacea. It can not fix deeply embedded issues that have been caused by decades of systemic racism against Black and brown students. The second is that there’s a difference between a tool that makes processes efficient for educators and one that makes education more effective for students. The promises of the former are alluring, especially for stressed and overburdened educators who have been given a Herculean task with varying (low) levels of support. But efficiency tools can lull educators and systems into complacency. Instead, intentional data collection and tools that maximize effectiveness over efficiency are the types of short and long term investments that can bring about the equitable future we want to see. Truthfully, it will take hard work and a deep commitment, but as we’ve seen so far, preventative measures are far more impactful than reactive ones.

An Equitable Future Requires a New Normal

So where do we go from here? Never before has our education system experienced such a shock, and COVID-19 has exposed many fault lines. It’s clearer than ever that schools need to empower every student, especially Black and brown students, to not just survive this world, but reconstruct it to be wiser and more equitable so that crises like this don’t ever have the same devastating, inequitable, large-scale impact. But this can’t be done by going “back to school,” because frankly, what we had in place pre-COVID-19 wasn’t delivering on any metrics, from graduation rates, college completion, or upward economic mobility for students of color and low-income students. This can only be done by going forward to new, more equitable learning environments.

Educators and advocates are taking the time right now to respond, process and even grieve, but I hope that we can earnestly and honestly prepare for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. The coming years are a time to disrupt, innovate and reject the status quo that we previously thought was unshakeable. Countless people will come at us with ideas and solutions. We will have to be resolute in our insistence that the only solutions we will accept are those that prioritize the experiences, genius and talents of students of color and low income students. There will be lots of talk in the coming months about a budget crisis; but if there is money for corporations, we must also insist there is money for our children.

We’re here to partner with educators who are leaning into letting go of the comfort zone and the temptation to return to old systems and processes, because deep down, we know that there’s no such thing as “normal” post-COVID-19. Now is the time to prioritize effectiveness over efficiency, reminding ourselves that our students deserve an education system that knows them as unique individuals with hopes and dreams. Before the dust settles, we must collectively acknowledge the importance of inclusive, equitable design. As our friends at the National Equity Project recently noted, now is the time for Rebel Leadership. Schools like Dunbar in Baltimore that prioritize equity are better prepared for crises that demand responsiveness because it’s already been built into how they operate.

It won’t be an easy road, but the choices school, district, and organization leaders make now have the potential to transform the educational landscape for generations to come, so that we can finally deliver on the promises we’ve made to students.

Dr. Sasha Rabkin is the Chief Strategy Officer at Equal Opportunity Schools, a national non profit headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and dedicated to ensuring students of color and low-income students have equitable access to America’s most academically intense high school programs and succeed at the highest levels. EOS is also a partner of the BELE Network.

For more information about where EOS and all of our BELE Network partners work, visit our map. For more tools and resources on how to build equitable learning environments, visit our Equitable Learning Library.

There’s a lot of people on the planet that know exactly who you are, but do you know who you are?
We actually know who you are, we see you, we love you.
-Introduction (Kings in the Making)

Source: Kingmakers of Oakland

Earlier this month, the Kingmakers of Oakland released Kings in the Making, a collaborative album that features the voices of Black boys delivering a message of love and community. It’s an extraordinary use of music and digital tools that centers the perspective of Black male students in the midst of nationwide school closures. By fostering a dialogue between the artists (referred to as Kings) who are also Kingmakers alumni, and an audience of current students, Kingmakers encourages Black boys to communicate with each other creatively and cultivate a sentiment of mentorship and accountability among each other.

The album creation process reflects the level of engagement with which Kingmakers activities spark ownership in Black boys, as every aspect from recording, production, art direction, product development, and promotion was owned and executed by talented current and former Kings. Other Kingmakers activities led by Kings include podcasting, merchandising, empowerment workshops, music production, content creation and team-building exercises. In these creative spaces, Kings are empowered to communicate with their teachers (known as facilitators) and with each other what they are experiencing in the classrooms, at home, and in their daily lives. Further, and perhaps more importantly, Kings develop into leaders who provide and seek mentorship to and from one another.

With high levels of engagement on Facebook and Instagram, Kingmakers continues to influence narrative change and build an intergenerational community on social media. On top of promoting the music and merchandise creations of alumni, their social media pages showcase portraits of current students alongside quotes from Black artists, thought leaders and historical figures. The accomplishments of staff and community partners are celebrated in the same space, creating a thread of excellence from administrators all the way down to students. This exchange of energy and camaraderie emanating from all age groups creates a positive feedback loop for everyone in the Kingmakers community to keep excelling in their work.

The culture of Kingmakers was influenced by a founding team of leaders with experiences growing up as Black boys in a white-centric school system. They learned that cultural esteem, leadership development and deep mentorship are key to inspiring confidence in young Black male students today. The success of Kingmakers’ student-centered culture is rooted in an unapologetic commitment to engage, encourage and empower each student. The love and enthusiasm from the adults is reciprocated in the energy that students have for each other and back to the adults. CEO Chris Chatmon echoes these same sentiments in the album’s opening monologue: “There are thousands of men that have your back. In the spirit of all those that came before us, we pour into you.” As school culture evolves dramatically in the midst of school building closures, educators have an opportunity to focus on carving out intentional learning communities — one in which students are creatively inspired to lead and hold each other accountable to excellence.

Kingmakers of Oakland originated in the Oakland Unified School District’s Office of African American Male Achievement (AAMA). After 10+ years in the district, the independent non-profit now supports school districts across the country to improve the educational and life outcomes of Black boys by “healing the fish while treating the toxic ecosystem.” This multi-faceted approach is rooted in a desire to collaborate, coordinate and convene folks who are inspired to create a healthy, affirming learning environment for Black boys in the public school system. Through professional development, narrative change resources, curriculum and more, Kingmakers helps each unique district transform their school environment.

You can learn more about Kingmakers of Oakland at kingmakersofoakland.org. To learn more about how Kingmakers engages its community on social media, you can check out their Facebook and Instagram.

For more resources to help make your learning environments more equitable, you can visit the BELE (Building Equitable Learning Environments) resource library. You can also visit the BELE Network Map to learn what organizations are doing good work in your neighborhood already.

[Cross-posted from the BELE Network Medium]

By Dave Paunesku and Sarah Gripshover

As school districts and teachers across the country grapple with the implications of COVID-19, there is a voice noticeably missing from the conversation: the students. In our experience, their perspective is not just “nice to have.” It is absolutely essential to ensuring that we are, in fact, meeting the academic and emotional needs of our students. If we don’t hear directly from them, how can we know? 

When we think of how we can better elevate the voice of our students, an example that comes to mind is an inclusive approach taken by Jennifer Maichin, a Professional Development Specialist and teacher in Mineola, New York. Jennifer used a free tool called Copilot to incorporate student voice into professional development. Copilot offers teachers confidential feedback from students about the experiences that shape engagement — like feeling cared for by teachers, receiving feedback for learning and growth, and doing work that feels meaningful. Receiving this student feedback can be a humbling experience for teachers who care about serving their students. “Yes, this may make us feel vulnerable, but at the same time, getting feedback from our students is essential to our growth as teachers,” says teacher Kerry Murphy of Mineola Middle School.

Maichin’s team found it important to say directly to their students “I’m doing this because I care about you, and I want to improve myself, so that we can improve together.” Through analyzing the data and thoughtful discussions, the team created strategies to help students understand that constructive feedback goes both ways: from teachers to students AND from students to teachers. These intentional shifts in communication helped students perceive feedback and suggestions on assignments and behaviors as more than just a grade or a critique, but as evidence of their teachers’ investment in them. 

Even under the best of circumstances, it takes courage to try new approaches and open yourself up to feedback in service of creating a more engaging and equitable learning environment. But in these times of heightened uncertainty and instability, student voices need to be at the forefront of the conversation about how educators respond to COVID-19.

Studies have shown that an open line of communication and feedback between students and educators creates learning conditions that are more academically successful AND more equitable. When we prioritize open communication and personal connection, students — particularly students of color — are 30% to 50% more likely to do well in their classes and have the confidence to succeed in future endeavors. 

Source: perts.net/creating-learning-conditions

Unfortunately, the social distancing measures of COVID-19 have left many students feeling isolated from their peers and educators, and unsupported by their schools. Creative solutions are blossoming from all corners of the education system, and many are working to prioritize the authentic connection and support that students need now more than ever.

We developed Copilot in order to support such connection and communication. We know that socio-economic inequities are built into our education system, and that is why we designed Copilot to connect students and teachers through a constant cycle of feedback and communication that elevates student needs and, thereby, empowers educators to recognize and mitigate inequities. Copilot helps educators learn how to deepen their bonds with their  students, resulting in a learning process that is more receptive to student needs. Now that COVID-19 has exacerbated the inequities inherent in our education system, tools that create more inclusive and receptive learning environments are even more critical. 

Through feedback from their students through Copilot, teachers gain insights about themselves, their teaching, and their students’ experience that might have otherwise gone overlooked. These learnings are incredibly valuable, and can be incorporated into near-term COVID-19 planning, especially now that learning environments and student needs differ widely in districts and schools across the country. From a longer-term perspective, these insights take us beyond academic results, and point the way towards filling a larger gap that can be addressed: a student’s need for educators who understand them, care about them as people, root for their success, and commit to a journey of growth alongside them.    

As we collectively navigate new challenges posed by COVID-19, it’s crucial to acknowledge that we are working within an education system that wasn’t built to empower every student. However, this crisis affords the opportunity to invest in the students who need our support most. We will only realize that opportunity if we invite students to the table, listen to them, and value their perspective as we navigate uncharted waters towards a better tomorrow. 

Dave Paunesku and Sarah Gripshover are, respectively, the Executive Director and Director of Research of the Project for Education Research that Scales (PERTS), a nonprofit organization that helps educators apply evidence-based strategies in order to advance educational excellence and equity on a large scale. You can learn more about Copilot and the other work that PERTS is doing at PERTS.net

For more resources to help make your learning environments more equitable, you can visit the BELE (Building Equitable Learning Environments) resource library. You can also visit the BELE Network Map to learn what organizations are working in your neighborhood already.