Equity Beyond Black & White

A Necesesary Conversation

Trainers

Karen Liddell-Anderson

Training

Equity Beyond Black and White: A Necessary Conversation

Training Length

90 mins.

Targeted Participants

Participants responsible for supporting sustained school improvement efforts specific to positive student outcomes (i.e., achievement, attendance, behavior, climate, disproportionality, gap closing, growth, graduation rate, family engagement, proficiency, progress, and others…)

Why

If you walk into a school or a classroom (setting), how do you know if there is an equity need/problem, and what will you see that tells you there is a need/problem (what are you looking for)? The response to these questions is likely to vary from person to person. An understanding of equity, what “it” looks like, how to quantify/measure and assess “it”, what observable practice/strategies (based on educator-student interactions) promote and positively impact “it”, and how to bring about sustainable systemic positive changes related to “it”; can differ from person to person. Herein lies the challenge educators face when addressing equity; and its impact on student outcomes. Without a shared understanding, expectations, and or approach to address equity issues, it becomes difficult to consistently and systemically impact sustainable positive outcomes related to equity at the district, school, or classroom/setting levels.

Of the various student groups identified at the federal level, there has been an intense focus and comparison of the performance of the Black and White student groups. This focus has contributed to the polarization and narrowing view of equity to that of race. By having a polarized, and or narrow view of equity (race), the broader view of equity and its impact on all students and their performance, achievement, and outcomes can easily be overlooked or missed.

What

Participants will receive training in establishing the “why” related to their work (purpose), “what” approach will be taken to address the work, “what” they are specifically looking for (indicators), “how” to measure/quantify the work by first establishing a baseline and developing S.M.A.R.T. goals; and finally, the “now what” or specific next steps.

Participants will receive training on the utilization of the Ohio Improvement Process (OIP) as a tool to address and support their equity work, and aid in the identification of their equity WHO, WHY, WHAT, HOW, WHEN, WHERE, and NOW WHAT.

Session Focus

The session will focus on the following as it relates to the equity work at the Boards, District, School, Classroom, and Setting levels:

Ohio Improvement Process Review
Establishing Your Equity WHO, WHY, WHAT, HOW, WHEN, WHERE, and NOW WHAT
Equity Goal Alignment with District/Building Level Action Plans
SMART Goal Development
Support and Monitoring Alignment of across DLT, BLT, and TBTs

Guiding Questions

Participants must be able to answer the following guiding questions related to equity work and continuous school improvement efforts:

What is the purpose of your student equity work?
What does student equity mean in your district/school?
What does student equity “look like” or the equity in what, what is the “it”?
How do you know if you have a student equity problem/need?
How did you identify/determine your student equity problem/need?
How will you quantify/measure your student equity problem/need?
How will you know if your student equity need is improving or getting worse (S.M.A.R.T Goals)?
If your student equity need is improving, what led to the improvement, and can it be replicated?
What evidence-based strategies have been identified to address your student equity problem/need?

Who is leading your equity work and what approach is being used?