Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Self-Awareness
and Relationships to Others - Culturally responsive teachers and leaders are
reflective and gain a deeper understanding of themselves and how they impact
others, leading to more cohesive and productive student development as it
relates to academic and social-emotional development for all students. The
culturally responsive teacher and leader will:
1) Understand and value the notion that
multiple lived experiences exist, that there is often not one "correct" way of
doing or understanding something, and that what is seen as "correct" is most
often based on our lived experiences.
2) Approach their work and students with an
asset-based mindset, affirming the validity of the students' backgrounds and
identities.
3) Know about their
students and their lives outside of school, using this knowledge to build
instruction that leverages prior knowledge and skills.
4) Include representative, familiar content
in the curriculum to legitimize students' backgrounds, while also exposing them
to new ideas and worldviews different from their own.
5) Engage in self-reflection about their own
actions and interactions and what ideas and biases motivated those
actions.
6) Explore their own
intersecting identities, how they were developed, and how they impact daily
experience of the world.
7)
Recognize how their identity (race/ethnicity, national origin, language, sex
and gender, gender identity, sexual orientation,
physical/developmental/emotional ability, socioeconomic class, religion, etc.)
affects their perspectives and beliefs about pedagogy and students.
8) Educate themselves about students'
communities, cultures, and histories.
9) Critically think about the institutions in
which they find themselves, working to reform these institutions whenever and
wherever necessary.
10) Assess how
their biases and perceptions affect their teaching practice and how they access
tools to mitigate their own behavior (racism, sexism, homophobia, unearned
privilege, Eurocentrism, etc.).
b) Systems of Oppression - Culturally
responsive teachers and leaders understand that there are systems in our
society, especially, but not limited to, our school system, that create and
reinforce inequities, thereby creating oppressive conditions. Educators work
actively against these systems in their everyday roles in educational
institutions. The culturally responsive teacher and leader will:
1) Understand the difference between
prejudice, discrimination, racism, and how to operate at the interpersonal,
intergroup, and institutional levels.
2) Collaborate with colleagues to determine
how students from different backgrounds experience the classroom, school, or
district.
3) Know and understand
how the system of inequity has impacted them as an educator.
4) Understand how current curriculum and
approaches to teaching impact students who are not a part of the dominant
culture.
5) Be aware of the effects
of power and privilege and the need for social advocacy and social action to
better empower diverse students and communities.
6) Understand how a system of inequity
creates rules regarding student punishment that negatively impact students of
color.
7) Understand how a system
of inequity reinforces certain suppositions as the norm.
c) Students as Individuals - Culturally
responsive teachers and leaders view and value their students as individuals
within the context of their families and communities. The culturally responsive
teacher and leader will:
1) Learn from and
about their students' culture, language, and learning styles to make
instruction more meaningful and relevant to their students' lives.
2) Engage with students' families and
community members outside of the classroom to develop a more holistic
understanding of the students' lived experiences.
3) Develop positive, strength-based
partnerships with students and their families by learning about them,
soliciting their opinions, and valuing their expectations, especially with
those marginalized by schools in the past.
4) Provide parents with information about
what their child is expected to learn, know, and do at his or her grade level
and ways to reinforce concepts at home.
5) Share the classroom systems and policies
(expectations, agreements, recognition and incentive practices, etc.) used in
the classroom with students' families and align them to the values and cultural
norms of those families.
6) Provide
multiple opportunities for parents to communicate in their language and method
of preference, to the greatest extent possible.
7) Set holistic goals for students that
accommodate multiple ways of demonstrating strengths and success (e.g.,
alternate academic achievement metrics, growth indicators, leadership,
character development, social-emotional learning competencies, and school
values).
d) Students as
Co-Creators - Culturally responsive teachers and leaders (who fundamentally
believe all students are capable) center learning around students' experiences
and position them as co-creators, with emphasis on prioritizing historically
marginalized students. The culturally responsive teacher and leader will:
1) Encourage and affirm the personal
experiences (family, community, culture, etc.) students share in the
classroom.
2) Make authentic
connections between academic learning and students' prior knowledge, native
language, culture, and values.
3)
Consistently solicit students' input on the curriculum (e.g., interests,
people, or concepts).
4) Co-create,
with students, the collective expectations and agreements regarding the
physical space and social-emotional culture of the classroom and
school.
5) Create and embed student
leadership opportunities into the student experience (e.g., peer-led
discussion, student-led workshops, and student-run schoolwide
initiatives).
6) Persistently
solicit student feedback, value that feedback (resist defensiveness), and
adjust based on that feedback.
e) Leveraging Student Advocacy - Culturally
responsive teachers and leaders will support and create opportunities for
student advocacy and representation in the content and classroom. The
culturally responsive teacher and leader will:
1) Emphasize and connect with students about
their identities, advocacies, and self-interest.
2) Offer guidance to students on how to
develop a self-advocacy plan to inform decisions and choices.
3) Include students in the creation of an
inclusive learning community with more opportunities for student
expression.
4) Help students
identify actions that can be taken to apply learning to develop opportunities
and relationships for alliances.
5)
Create a risk-taking space that promotes student advocacy.
6) Research and offer student advocacy
content with real world implications.
7) Communicate high expectations to which all
students can be held and urge students to lead as student advocates appropriate
to the students' age and development.
8) Give students space to solve their own
problems, negotiate their advocacy needs, and present their
perspectives.
f) Family
and Community Collaboration - Culturally responsive teachers and leaders will
partner with families and communities to build rapport, form collaborative and
mutual relationships, and engage in effective cross-cultural communication. The
culturally responsive teacher and leader will:
1) Regularly interact with students,
families, and communities in both English and home language through methods of
their preference.
2) Actively seek
multiple perspectives and contribution from families and the community and
invite them to actively share their opinions, feedback, and concerns that
impact the school community.
3)
Forge ongoing participation with families and community members to meet the
diverse needs and interests of students.
4) Continuously learn and build cultural
knowledge that families and the community bring to the school community to
nurture and foster relationships and inform student learning
experiences.
5) Use best practices
that are culturally responsive to value students and their families' cultural
traditions when recognizing, motivating, encouraging, and supporting student
success and growth.
6) Develop
relationships with families and the community outside of the classroom
setting.
7) Foster students'
cultural understanding and connection to the surrounding community.
8) Invite family and community members to
teach about topics that are culturally specific and aligned to the classroom
curriculum or content area.
9)
Welcome communication from parents and reply in a timely manner.
10) Communicate and provide appropriate
techniques and materials to support and enrich student learning at
home.
11) Collaborate effectively
over time with the local community and community agencies, when and where
appropriate, to promote a positive environment for student learning.
g) Content Selections in All
Curricula - Culturally responsive teachers and leaders intentionally embrace
student identities and prioritize representation in the curriculum. In turn,
students are not only given a chance to identify with the curriculum, they
become exposed to other cultures within their schools and both their local and
global communities. The culturally responsive teacher and leader will:
1) Curate the curriculum.
2) Identify and articulate the purposeful
ways in which marginalized communities are represented in curriculum, including
print, digital media, and other classroom resources.
3) Employ authentic and modern technology
usage inspiring digital literacy through an equity lens.
4) Ensure assessments reflect the enriched
curriculum that has embedded student identities.
5) Embrace and encourage a balance of
viewpoints and perspectives that leverage asset thinking toward traditionally
marginalized populations.
6) Assess
one's story through multiple vantage points to gain a whole narrative that
includes all sides of parties involved.
7) Implement and integrate the wide spectrum
and fluidity of identities in the curriculum.
8) Ensure text selections reflect students'
classroom, community, and family culture.
9) Ensure teacher and students co-create
content that encourages critical thinking about culture and includes
counternarratives to dominant culture.
10) Use a resource tool to assess the
curriculum and assessments for biases.
11) Promote robust discussion with the intent
of raising consciousness that reflects modern society and the ways in which
cultures and communities intersect.
12) Consider a broader modality of student
assessments, such as performance portfolios, essays, multiple choice, State
exams, oral examination, community assessments, work experiences, social
justice work, action research projects, and recognition beyond
academia.
h) Student
Representation in the Learning Environment - Culturally responsive teachers and
leaders ensure the diversity of their student population is equally represented
within the learning environment. In turn, all members of the student population
feel seen, heard, and affirmed. Exceptionally well-versed culturally responsive
teachers and leaders provide exposure to underrepresented or misrepresented
minority groups, even when they are not present within the population of their
school and community at large. The culturally responsive teacher and leader
will:
1) Uphold systems of support that
create, promote, and sustain a welcoming and inclusive community.
2) Ensure linguistic diversity is represented
throughout the building and seek ways to reflect representation of world
languages.
3) Verify that course
materials are representative of all students, including materials for centers,
stations, labs, classroom libraries, etc.
4) Ensure classroom and building decorations
are inclusive of all students throughout the building or within the community
or city at large.
