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Culturally Responsive Practices
The first C is culturally responsive practices. Culture impacts our attitudes, values, and behaviors (Krasnoff, 2016). Culturally responsive teachers view cultural differences as assets. They leverage students’ cultures as vehicles for learning while holding high expectations for all students, and cultivate positive, mutually respectful, and affirming relationships (VDOE, 2020). Additionally, these teachers challenge negative stereotypes and any form of intolerance and injustice in the classroom (VDOE, 2020).
One example of a culturally responsive classroom practice involves structuring learning opportunities in ways that actively seek and present multiple perspectives (Krasnoff, 2016). As you design your lessons, consider how you are offering opportunities for students to share their views. Make sure you validate all students’ perspectives by acknowledging their thoughts and lived experiences. It is not necessary to agree with a given point of view, but acknowledgments and validations encourage students to engage in dialogue, build listening skills, and foster interpersonal communication. You will likely need to model these communication skills first and provide some affirming conversation stems for your students. Affirming interview from Learning for Justice (2021) is one activity that you may find useful for structuring student discussions.
Courageous Leadership
The second C is courageous leadership. According to #EdEquityVA, courageous leaders are educators who steer and encourage others through uncomfortable situations (VDOE, 2020). They willingly make difficult decisions that benefit others and challenge the status quo as they seek to cultivate and promote equity. They speak up when they witness injustice and actively pursue ways to include those who are vulnerable, marginalized, or ignored. Courageous leaders are aware of their own shortcomings and seek to understand individual and institutional biases as it relates to inequity and oppression in terms of race, class, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, language, religion, and immigration status (Equity Literacy Institute, 2021).
Courageous leadership is possible even if you are not in a position of authority. According to Virginia’s Equity 5 Cs, we are all called upon to be courageous leaders within our buildings and classrooms. To foster your courageous leadership, we invite you to explore the following resource from Equity Literacy Institute, in which Gorski (2020) outlines seven actionable principles for achieving equity: Basic Principles for Equity Literacy.
Curriculum Reframing
The third C, curriculum reframing, can be a potent means of challenging and dismantling structural injustices (Luckett & Shay, 2017). As teachers, we have the power to evaluate, modify, and change the materials we use to support our curriculum. We need to review materials currently in use by asking, Who is represented? How are they represented? Who has been left out?
Our classrooms need to be spaces where everyone is affirmed and included. For example, it is important for our students to see themselves and their personal lived experiences represented and portrayed accurately in the fiction and nonfiction they read. Teachers can take action by auditing their classroom libraries and teaching materials to determine if and how diversity is represented. One example of a quick library audit is Bookshelf Bingo (Fishman-Weaver, 2019). A more comprehensive audit might be undertaken using the Classroom Library Questionnaire (Seed the Way, 2018).
Compassionate Student & Family Engagement
The fourth C addresses compassionate student and family engagement. Compassionate student and family engagement is a way to involve all stakeholders with a particular focus on students and their families. According to #EdEquityVA, the following are ways in which schools can foster compassionate student and family engagement: intentionally engage non-English speaking families; ensure that students, their families, and caregivers have access to information and understand the school’s expectations for students; finally, be sure to engage in purposeful collaboration with families and community stakeholders (VDOE, 2020).
The key to compassionate student and family engagement is not only to be intentional but to leverage and honor students’ and families’ strengths in building authentic partnerships. Such partnerships are inclusive and welcoming of families’ voices. As you start the new school year, consider how Cultural Synchronization Questions, developed by the National Equity Project (2021), can help build rapport and relationships with all of your students and their families. For supporting your students and families with linguistic diversity, the VDOE resource Social Emotional Wellness: Considerations for English Learners (Family Tips) may be useful. Schools can implement the suggestions at any point in the school year and should continue to reflect on ways to foster compassionate student and family engagement.
Continuous Reflection
Finally, the last C is continuous reflection. What is continuous reflection? #EdEquityVA defines it as “the ability to reflect on actions, strategies, outcomes, and processes to achieve desired results and goals” (VDOE, 2020, p. 31). For classroom teachers, continuous reflection involves embedding cultural responsiveness in all areas of learning; examining our own biases and the ways they impact our classroom practices; and identifying equity gaps in our data. Continuous reflection is essential to creating an equitable school environment for all. As you gather data in your classroom this school year, we encourage you to apply the equity lens to your data analysis. Specifically, consider if achievement gaps exist between groups of students or if any group is over- or underrepresented in behavior, academic, or other data areas. One helpful support for such data analysis is the Data Equity Walk toolkit from The Education Trust-West (2021).
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