Why systemic change is critical towards building equitable learning environments.

Description

Alongside supporting the social and emotional learning of our students, we have to make sure that the education system we’re working within can implement the policies and practices that are proven to best support our students. COVID-19 has exacerbated inequities that have long been present in our system — this is an opportunity to address these inequities head on and build more equitable and inclusive learning environments for our students.

Find here foundational resources that outline the importance of systemic change, including actionable steps towards creating equitable change in your community.

Required Materials

Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)

Great for: Superintendents or systems leaders, District leaders, School leaders
CCSSO has recently released Restart and Recovery: Considerations for Teaching and Learning, a full suite of vetted, customizable resources that education leaders everywhere can leverage to meet the needs of the educators and students they support. CCSSO’s resource details how well-being and connection, academics, systemic conditions, and state policies and actions each play important and distinct roles in shaping the student experience. At a time when student experiences have the chance to be more inequitable than ever before, omitting these considerations risks leaving students behind. CCSSO offers an invaluable resource at a critical time — learn more at ccsso.org/coronavirus.

The Alliance for Resource Equity

Great for: District leaders, School leaders, Community Members & Advocates
Transforming a system as long-standing and established as our current education system is no small task, and change at any one level cannot create the holistic, systemic transformation that is desperately needed. The Alliance for Resource Equity recognizes the need for equity and student centric practices and policies at all levels of the system, and so they have released their 2020–2021 Equity Guides. These guides target three levels of our current education system: school leadership teams, district leadership teams, and community members and advocates.

Transcend Education

Great for: School leaders
Acknowledging the heavy burden placed on school leaders and educators, Transcend Education has released the Recovery to Reinvention Playbook — a set of tools and guidance designed to lighten the load and allow schools to prepare for the fall and beyond. This playbook walks step by step from how you can lay the foundation for reinvention in your own community to how you can build out a comprehensive plan for reentry, including examples for elementary school, and middle/high school.

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