A Process to Follow?

No doubt, you have a process for getting things done and insights. Here are mine. As you read it, compare it to what you do and ask, “What’s missing from the approach written below?” As I re-read it now, a few days after having written it, I recall how my younger self would have reacted to the process–with a groan of impatience. 

When implementing any new initiative or program, follow these steps:

That’s a process that any initiative should follow, but one such as DEI is critically important.

• Seek approval and support through district channels; invite collaboration in planning
• Form an organization-wide community of stakeholders (e.g. teachers, students, parents, district level staff, admin)
• Speak tentatively and try to develop a canon of books, articles, podcasts you can all process together
• Remember that this act is political and there may be repercussions if done wrong, or right
• Draft a memo of understanding that addresses what the goals, vision, resulting product/actions will be and how it will affect each of the stakeholders
• Present your findings and resolutions to the school board or governing agency. Be prepared for failure (non-adoption of materials), but also for success (seek out community businesses that can fund the program, get feedback on implementation steps)
• Implement in small, measurable steps and meet regularly to process results together, then share those in video/audio format in positive ways online

Addressing the Question

One of the points that Zaretta Hammond, author of “Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain,” makes is that we teach the dominant culture in our schools. Unfortunately, that culture is not representative of the many cultures that appear in our classrooms. When you realize “culture” is another term for “schema,” which fills in the gaps and governs our behavior and value-driven actions, then it becomes all important to teach with culture in mind.

One of the pillars of her approach is increasing Awareness, a process of educating oneself. For that reason, I would suggest taking the time to read up on what constitutes DEI and build up a school community awareness. 

When you mess with culture, with what’s approved or not in a school setting, affecting so many stakeholders (e.g. students, parents, educators, politicians), you are playing with fire. If you have any doubts on that, simply read this article on Carroll ISD’s Cultural Competence Plan, their diversity, equity, and inclusion plan:

The district recently attracted national attention after an administrator advised educators to teach students about the Holocaust from “opposing” perspectives, according to an audio recording obtained by NBC News.

Trustees also recently voted to reprimand a teacher who gave one of her students a book about anti-racism entitled This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell. The book is a New York Times bestseller.

Carroll ISD has been embroiled in controversy that started with the district’s proposed diversity and inclusion plan, called the Cultural Competence Action Plan. The plan — intended to make the district more inclusive for students of color — was drafted by a council of more than 60 parents, students and staff after videos of Carroll students chanting the N-word went viral in 2018 and 2019.

The proposed plan included a wide-ranging set of recommendations such as: hire a director of equity and inclusion; establish a grievance system through which students can report discrimination; require cultural competency training; and audit the district curriculum through an equity lens.

A vocal group of families rallied against those ideas, launching a broader revolt in the district. Parents crowded in tense board meetings for months, with some accusing the district of promoting a “left-wing agenda” and creating “diversity police.”

A mother in the district sued over the plan, halting any work on it for the time being. Two trustees were later indicted on charges of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act by privately discussing the district’s diversity work.

Heated trustee elections — powered by huge infusions of cash from a conservative PAC — resulted in major changes on the school board recently, as candidates opposed to the diversity plan swept into office. Source: Dallas News

A Vehicle for Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity?