Foundations: Building Equitable School Communities
Tending to Growth
Before we begin
The following reflection pages encourage you to consider educational equity at the instructional and structural levels. It is designed to get you thinking about your role in creating change and what moves you. We recommend that you complete this reflection prior to the first training.
What you pay attention to grows.
-adrienne maree brown
Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Photo: California State University
“We need to make sure that every child in the U.S. has access to an education that teaches them that inequality is unacceptable.”
-Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Ph.D.
Equity in Education
Educational equity is the intentional development and alignment of policies and practices to promote psychological safety and physical, intellectual, and emotional well-being. Advancing educational equity ensures every learner has access to resources and opportunities that are both aligned with their needs and support their academic and social-emotional success.
This definition was inspired by the Principles of Harm Reduction from the National Harm Reduction Coalition
Pualo Freire, Photo: Leandro Melito
“There’s no such thing as neutral education. Education either functions as an instrument to bring about conformity or freedom.”
- Paulo Freire
The Forest
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory posits that an individual’s development is influenced by a series of interconnected environmental systems, ranging from the immediate surroundings (e.g., family) to broad societal structures (e.g., culture).
These systems include the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem, each representing different levels of environmental influences on an individual’s growth and behavior.
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model
chronosystem macrosystem exosystem mesosystem microsyst e m the individual
microsystem
Closest to the individuals everyday life, such as parents, peers, teachers, etc. mesosystem
How people in the different microsystems around the individual interact and are connected with each other, such as parents and schools. exosystem
The individuals broader community, including systems the individual doesn’t have direct contact with, such as mass media or the healthcare system.
macrosystem
Covers things going on at a bigger societal level and how these influence the other systems around the individual, such as cultural beliefs and values.
chronosystem
How people experience things over their lifetime and the historical context of the time period the individual is living in currently.
Giovannini, J. (2023, March 6). Bioecological Systems Theory. Pressbooks. https://rotel. pressbooks.pub/children-families-schools-communities/chapter/bioecological-systems-theory/
“We
all have a sphere of influence. Each of us needs to find our own sources of courage so that we can begin to speak. There are many problems to address, and we cannot avoid them indefinitely. We cannot continue to be silent. We must begin to speak, knowing that words alone are insufficient. But
I have seen that meaningful dialogue can lead to effective action. Change is possible.”
-Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D.
Cross-Cultural Solidarity
Building bridges across difference
Historical Spotlight
In 1968, the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) was formed between the Black Student Union and other ethnic-racial affinity student groups at San Francisco State University. In solidarity, they demanded culturally relevant curriculum and more equitable admissions processes. The TWLF lead a five month strike on campus which resulted in the eventual founding of the College of Ethnic Studies at SFSU and the departments of Ethnic Studies and African American Studies. This movement catalyzed other colleges and universities to follow suit and implement Ethnic Studies.
Solidarity means making meaningful connections between struggles and thinking and working intersectionally to unravel intertwined oppressions.
Cross-cultural solidarity requires a commitment to just and equitable relationships and ways of being that will transform the ways we connect and care for our communities.*
Dr. Elmer Cooper, Tony Miranda, and Bridges Randall during march Photo: Nacio Jan Brown
*Social Justice Solidarity Circles. (n.d.-b). Emerson College
Critical Hope
Jeff Duncan-Andrade’s concept of “critical hope” illustrates three essential elements of educational practice that produce and sustain true hope in schools that face compound inequities.
Material Hope
Creates impact, allocates resources, sparks advocacy
“[T]eachers who want to build material hope must understand that quality teaching is the most significant ‘material’ resource they have to offer youth. The best of the research in our field defines ‘quality’ in teaching by our ability to produce student growth across assessment measures (grades, social development, test scores, student engagement, etc.). To accomplish this, we have to bust the false binary that suggests we must choose between an academically rigorous pedagogy and one geared toward social justice.”
Excerpts from “Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete” by Jeffrey M.R. Duncan-Andrade
Socratic Hope
Activates solidarity, criticality, moves through growing pains
“Socratic hope requires both teachers and students to painfully examine our lives and actions within an unjust society and to share the sensibility that pain may pave the path to justice… To show the sermon, rather than preach it, is the essence of Socratic hope.”
Audacious Hope
Healing-centered, equity-focused, justice-oriented
“[Audacious hope] boldly stands in solidarity with urban communities, sharing the burden of their undeserved suffering... defies the dominant ideology of defense, entitlement, and preservation of privileged bodies at the expense of the policing, disposal, and dispossession of marginalized ‘others’ ...[and] stares down the painful path; and despite the overwhelming odds against us making it down that path to change, we make the journey again and again.”
Session 3: Uncovering the Roots of
Sonya Renee Taylor, Photo: sonyareneetaylor.com
“We can learn what we did and why it might have caused some offense. When we’re called on, we’re being trusted that we desire to be in right relationship with other human beings on the planet. We can name that we have been harmed and we can be accountable to the harm that we cause, and we can do that by choice — not by force or by handholding but simply by desiring to be better human beings to other human beings. We can call on each other.”
– Sonya Renee Taylor
Navigating Emotional Activation
When dealing with conflict, we can become emotionally activated. Our hearts pump faster, our faces might become flushed, and we may find ourselves stumbling to find the right words. Sometimes, under these activated conditions, our responses communicate defensiveness, justifications, denial, conflict aversion, or projections onto others.
So you made a mistake and you’re being called out/in/on.
How you choose to respond can be just as impactful. While you may be emotionally activated, remember to pause and assess before responding.
Use the following strategies:
• Take a breath
• Don't make it about you
• Listen
• Sincerely apologize
• Seek to understand on your own time
• Consider following up
I only said it because... it's not that big of a deal
you're the one who...
I don't care about being politically correct
you’re making me feel guilty
what are you insinuating?
you don't have to be so sensitive about it why are you singling me out?
Tending to Growth
Post-series reflection
Now that you have completed the series, we encourage you to re-engage with the prompts from the “Before we Begin” section in the introduction. Where are you now? What has changed or grown?
Use the prompts on the following pages to guide your reflections on the year.
This workbook is your guide to understanding key concepts that support building and sustaining equitable environments. Whether you’re beginning your equity work journey or have been engaged for years, this guidebook encourages you to question your practice, reflect deeply, and explore equity further.
Designed for educators, leaders, and community members, each section invites you to learn, dream, and reflect, ensuring meaningful engagement with the material. What sets this workbook apart is its unique use of art and design to engage users. It employs colors, typography, and imagery to convey powerful messages that resonate emotionally and intellectually.
Use this workbook before, during, and after training sessions to maximize your learning experience. With additional resources for continued practice, every element is creatively designed to inspire social change and transform your approach to equity.