executive summary: the equity movement: implementing the school climate bill of rights

8/12/2019 Executive Summary: The Equity Movement: Implementing the School Climate Bill of Rights

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Once a social change has begun

it cannot be reversed. You cannot

un-educate the person who has

learned to read. You cannot

humiliate the person who feels

pride. You cannot oppress the

people who are not afraid anymore.


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SCHOOL TOOLSREIMAGINE MISSION STATEMENTS

AS AC TI ON STATEMEN TS

DEVELOP A SCHOOL-BASED

AC TI ON PLAN

DEVELOP SCHOOL CLIMATE

LEADERSHIP ROLES

FOR TEACHERS

DISTRICTTOOLS

GIVE SCHOOLS A SCHOOL

CLIMATE FLASHLIGHT

INVEST IN CULTURALLY

RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY

INVEST IN

RESTORATIVE

JU STIC E

STATETOOLS

INVEST IN DATA

INVEST IN RECOGNIZING

EXCELLENCE

Improving school climate

is a whole-team effort; and

it cannot be a topdown

mandate. When students

cry out, as they have in Los

Angeles, for higher-quality

school climates, all levels of

our education system must

respond with the support,

funding, information and

accountability these

efforts require.


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STATE SOLUTIONS:EMPOWERING DISTRICTS

WITH INFORMATION AND BEST PRACTICES

THE STATE SHOULD INVEST IN DATA

Tackling this problem requires our state to prioritize and

monitor the persistent performance gaps for our boys ofcolor. In a recent and seismic budget reform, the governorand legislature of California made school climate one ofits eight priorities for helping to determine how localdistricts should spend dollars. The state should signal itscommitment to this priority by providing the necessarytools for districts to make data-based spending decisions.The state already has examples of these kinds of toolsthrough its Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) grantprogram, which provided dollars for schools that proposedinnovative plans or expansions on current practices to

improve school climate. California should expand its S3database to include more schools and make it searchableby demographic information. Making data searchableby school size, level or type would help schools moreefficiently narrow their focus on the examples and toolsthat are most relevant to them and their context.

More than simply sharing statistics, this database shouldequip school and distr ict leaders with an instant menufor improving school climate. As leaders nd schools anddistricts with similar demographics seeing greater success,they can reach out to learn more about what practices are

working best and implement similar strategies in their owncommunities or campuses.

THE STATE SHOULD INVEST INRECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE

We need to very publicly highlight examples of schoolsthat have transformed or consistently maintained strongschool climates. Schools that effectively improve schoolclimate measures for boys of color frequently employsignicant resources and energy to lift culture, achievementand opportunity for students. These schools should be

recognized for their success and given a platform forsharing their best practices. Given the states eight priorityareas and the need to publicly highlight models of success,California should create a recognition program for schoolclimate. This could build upon the federal Blue Ribbonprogram, which highlights schools that are making ormaintaining signicant academic gains, but focus inon school climate, which will elevate this often under-discussed element of high-quality schools.

DISTRICT SOLUTIONS:EMPOWERING SCHOOLS WITHINFORMATION, STRUCTURES

AND PRACTICES

THE DISTRICT SHOULD GIVE SCHOOLSA SCHOOL CLIMATE FLASHLIGHT

LAUSD already collects massive amounts of data on schoolclimate. To make this data more integrated and usable,the district should revise the current school report cardto include disaggregated school climate data in a parent-friendly format. In addition to the current years data, theprevious years data as well as comparisons to districtaverages should be reported on the report card. This would

allow teachers, administrators, families and even students toengage in data-grounded conversations on how to improvetheir schools climate.

THE DISTRICT SHOULD INVEST IN CULTURALLYRESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY

Knowing students cultural norms and frames of referenceand leveraging them in the classroom makes learningmore relevant and effective. 4 With that in mind, thedistrict should invest in providing training for andmeasuring the implementation of Culturally ResponsivePedagogy. Here, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy is denedas practices that acknowledge students culture and itsrelevance in the world. This pedagogy empowers studentsand fosters reectiveness among practitioners to eradicateracial and ethnic inequalities in education opportunities. 5

Investment in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy shouldcome in three phases. First, the district will use the SchoolClimate Bill of Rights to dene Culturally ResponsivePedagogy as a strategy for meeting specied school climateand achievement goals. Second, the district should createprofessional development around Culturally ResponsivePedagogy that includes training, classes, observations andconnections with a mentor teacher. Third and nally, thedistrict should expand the framework for the teacher

When we improve our education system,

including our very own classrooms,for boys of color, we create a more

equitable system for all of our students.


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evaluation system, the Teacher Growth and DevelopmentCycle (TGDC), to explicitly integrate CulturallyResponsive Pedagogy.

THE DISTRICT SHOULD INVESTIN RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

Restorative Justice (RJ) is an alternative discipline model

that focuses on restoring the community when some formof wrongdoing or injustice has occurred. In addition tofocusing on solutions rather than punishments that ofteninvolve removing students from instructional settings, thismodel forces communities to understand the root causesof student infractions by examining external and internalfactors that inuence student choices and behaviors, aswell as the factors that inuence how school staff andparents perceive and respond to student behavior.

The district should invest more widely in Restorative Justice by hiring RJ coordinators for every school withdisproportionate rates of suspension for students of color,students with disabilities and English Language Learners,as dened by the School Climate Bill of Rights. Underthe School Climate Bill of Rights, all schools are requiredto use Restorative Justice practices by 2020. By puttingan RJ coordinator at each of these schools, the districtwould work toward that goal faster, with a concentrationof resources for the students most adversely impactedby current school discipline models. Given the newnessof this practice, RJ roles and strategies should be closelymonitored for efficacy.

SCHOOL SOLUTIONS:EMPOWER PRACTITIONERSTO OWN SCHOOL CLIMATEPROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES

SCHOOLS SHOULD REIMAGINE SCHOOL MISSIONSTATEMENTS AS ACTION STATEMENTS

Too often, mission statements are mere soundbites insteadof operating values for a school. When collectively setby a community, missions tend to be implemented morefaithfully and consistently. 6 Schools should align theirmission statements with the School Climate Bill of Rights.Mission statements should codify clear values, systems andprotocols to meet these school climate and achievementgoals. Schools should set up or integrate in existing

governing councils a committee of students, parents,teachers and administrators to serve as the monitor andevaluate how the school is implementing and "living" itsmission

SCHOOLS SHOULD DEVELOP A SCHOOL-BASEDACTION PLAN

School climate report cards should capture both qualitativeand quantitative data and be actionable. The distr ictshould require schools with metr ics marked as failingon the School Report Card to develop an action plan toaddress disproportionate rates of achievement, suspension,expulsion and/or citation. The action plan should includedata-driven professional development and a plan to investin teacher leaders on school climate. Clearly, our schoolsshould aim to do more than simply avoid suspensions success will be empowering students, particularly our blackand brown youth, to be positive leaders of their academic

futures, peers and schools. For this reason, the plans shouldalso include systems for elevating student leadership ontheir campuses.

SCHOOLS SHOULD DEVELOP SCHOOL CLIMATELEADERSHIP ROLES FOR TEACHERS

A key way to invest in lasting change is to invest inthose who can lead that change. Schools should developleadership roles for teachers that relate to improving schoolclimate. Examples of these might include PD leaders, dataanalysts, Restorative Justice teacher-leaders, or parent and

community liaisons. This strategy is integral to securingpeer buy-in and support needed to truly transformproblems with school climate into opportunities.

CONCLUSION

As teachers, we believe passionately in the constitutionalright of every child, regardless of race, gender or zipcode,to a high-quality education. We also know that ourstudents are watching and learning from our leadership.In violating this right for some of our children, we havefallen short for all of our future citizens. Our studentsare watchinglet them be a witness to actions that showthat fullling the constitutional right of every student isfullling the promise of public education.

4 Gay, Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research and practice, Columbia Teachers College Press, 2000.5 Howard, Why race and culture matter in schools: Closing the achievement gap in Americas classrooms, Columbia Teachers College Press, 2010.6 Karami, Business strategy, environment analysis, and company performance: The evidence from the UK electronic industry, International Business andEconomic Research Conference, 2001.


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For far too long, education policy has been createdwithout a critical voice at the tablethe voice of classroom teachers.

Educators 4 Excellence (E4E), a teacher-led organization, is changing

this dynamic by placing the voices of teachers at the forefront of the

conversations that shape our classrooms and careers.

E4E has a quickly growing national network of educators united by

our Declaration of Teachers Principles and Be liefs. E4E members

can learn about education policy and re search, network with like-

minded peers and policymakers, and take action by advocatingfor teacher-created policies that lift student achievement and the

teaching profession.

Learn more at Educators4Excellence.org.


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executive summary: the equity movement: implementing the school climate bill of rights

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