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In the spring of 2021, the Link Lines Administrator’s Corner focused on courageous leadership, one of Virginia’s EdEquity 5Cs (i.e., courageous leadership, continuous reflection, curriculum reframing, compassionate student & family engagement, and culturally responsive practices). In this edition’s Educators’ Lesson, Building Inclusive Classrooms With EdEquity 5Cs Framework provides a broad overview of the 5Cs at the classroom level. In order to ensure that students and families experience inclusive classroom learning environments, school leaders must engage in practices that center equity and build capacity among staff.
An important practice for courageous leaders is using data to “make inequities visible” (VDOE, 2020a, p. 24). Every layer of the school community should be vigorously examined in order to identify any potential biases or inequities. To do so, school leaders should review mission statements, symbols, traditions, academic programs, extracurricular programs, code of conduct policies, dress codes, assessment results, and other resources with a critical lens focused on:
- Race/ethnicity
- Gender
- Native language
- Ability/disability
- Gender identity
- Sexual orientation
- Socioeconomic status
(VDOE, 2020b, p. 2)
School leaders can use the Navigating EdEquity: Equity Audit Tool developed by the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Equity & Community Engagement (VDOE, 2020b) to engage in a robust examination of their school communities.
Once they have used data to “make inequities visible” (VDOE, 2020a, p. 24), they must carefully consider how to “normalize conversations about race, racism, and inequity” (p. 24). While these topics can be uncomfortable for some stakeholders, establishing an equity baseline is an important part of creating conditions that enable meaningful and continuous reflection.
The EdEquityVA webinar series episode Continuous Reflection for Equity (VDOE, 2021, April 29) introduces school leaders to a continuous reflection cycle that helps them engage in practices that “eliminate the predictability of student outcomes based on race, gender, zip code, ability, socioeconomic status, or language spoken at home” (slide 5).
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