Backtalk: Toward racial equity in public schooling: Less talk,more action

Abstract

As education leaders become more aware of inequity and racial injustice, they have a responsibility to take action to address those issues as in their schools. Nancy Gutiérrez and Gislaine N. Ngounou explain that putting that learning into action will require leaders to follow four principles that they call the ABCDs: Awareness, Bravery, Community voice, and share Decision making.

Keywords

equity justice racism awareness professional learning

For years, we have worked with education leaders to help them recognize and dismantle pervasive inequities in the nation’s public schools and school systems. But recent events, such as the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, the COVID-19 pandemic, and pervasive anti-Black racism, have made it more evident than ever that we must examine how we support and hold leaders accountable for not just their learning, but also their actions.

In a recent Kappan article (Ngounou & Gutiérrez, 2017), we argued that if the goal is for education leaders to rethink deeply held beliefs and assumptions about race and equity, then the designers of professional learning programs should keep four key principles in mind: Such work requires a systems-thinking approach, requires some willingness to experience discomfort, requires educators to tell their own stories, and rarely leads to closure. It’s never a simple matter to engage educators in honest, open conversations about such emotionally and politically charged issues, and nobody who does that work should expect to it be simple or quick.

However, while we stand by those four principles, we also see the need to expand upon them. Recently, as communities of color have endured a slew of overt, well-documented acts of violence and aggression — from police brutality to voter suppression to hateful encounters in hotels, parking lots, and grocery stores — education leaders have become increasingly aware of the pervasive and systemic nature of racism, and many have spoken out against biased school disciplinary practices, dress codes, academic tracking, teacher assignments, funding formulas, and on and on. For the many leaders who’ve explicitly embraced the goal of making public schooling more equitable, the challenge now is to put their beliefs into action. Thus, while we continue to support professional learning about race and equity, we’ve also been focusing on how best to help education leaders put what they’ve learned into practice. And, as we’ve found, that requires an additional, complementary set of principles, which we refer to as our ABCDs: Awareness, Bravery, Community voice, and shared Decision making.

Awareness

Moving from talk to action requires, first of all, a realistic understanding of where things stand. Many educators have no idea how equitably or inequitably students have been treated in their own school or district, and when they see traditionally marginalized students struggling to meet the school’s (often biased) academic standards, many teachers and administrators are quick to blame factors external to the school (e.g., parenting styles, community influences, and even genetics), rather than considering how their own beliefs, practices, procedures, and policies might disadvantage some students and benefit others (Groenke, 2010). Thus, a crucial first step for equity-minded leaders is to conduct a robust diagnostic assessment (sometimes called an “equity audit”) that can help them identify specific patterns of bias within their school or district. Such an assessment might reveal, for example, that the process of assigning students to honors classes has been grossly unfair, or that students of color have been disproportionately suspended for minor incidents, or that few efforts have been made to communicate with non-English-speaking parents. Highlighting and publicly acknowledging such problems can not only help leaders determine where to focus their efforts but also validate the concerns of stakeholders who’ve been ignored, which is essential for improving school and community outcomes (Green, 2017).

Bravery

Deep learning and genuine growth often involve discomfort, particularly when they require people to recognize and reflect on their own biases. That’s why education leaders are often tempted to make surface-level adjustments to school policies and practices rather than pursue meaningful changes — if they can distract people with a small, symbolic gesture, then maybe they can avoid the pain and conflict involved in pushing for real solutions to racial inequities. For instance, we’ve seen school boards adopt and publish equity statements but then oppose racially and culturally responsive trainings, restorative practices, or even the use of language that directly calls out racism and white supremacy. When current events (such as the killing of George Floyd) create powerful teaching moments, we’ve seen district leaders dodge these opportunities, insisting that teachers and staff “leave politics at the door” and stick to their regularly scheduled meetings about math assessment, academic standards, or some other topic. And after racist incidents have occurred in their schools, we’ve seen district leaders respond by announcing the appointment of equity officers, only to provide those officers with inadequate budgets and staff resources.

The impulse to avoid taking significant steps can be powerful. Deep and serious discussions about equity often raise people’s anxiety about offending others, appearing angry, or sounding ignorant (Singleton & Hays, 2008), as well as triggering conflicts over scarce educational resources. But by modeling vulnerability and emphasizing that discomfort and resistance are inevitable when addressing issues of racism, leaders can help others overcome those fears and encourage them to take risks in exploring and sharing their own feelings and actions (Sue et al., 2009). And, in turn, that can help teachers, staff, and community members develop the courage to follow through and take meaningful action in response to the problems they see.

Community voice

It’s critical for leaders not only to express their own views and grow their willingness and capacity to host difficult conversations, but also to amplify the voices of students, parents, and community members, who should be partners in naming concerns and defining solutions. When educators truly listen to their communities and create learning experiences that take local needs, interests, and experiences into account, students tend to respond with greater engagement. Thus, education leaders should solicit input proactively from a wide range of stakeholders, while also being transparent about policies and practices that are open to community influence (rather than, say, mandated by the federal government). They should welcome local advocacy and organizing, and they should create dedicated times and structures that allow for open and honest discussion (Benner, Brown, & Jeffrey, 2019).

In places where such conditions are in place, local advocates have often succeeded in bringing about positive changes. For example, we’ve seen students push their legislature to support mandatory ethnic studies programs, persuade their schools to stop criminalizing students through harsh disciplinary practices, and create professional development programs meant to reduce bias among the teachers and staff who serve them. In short, when education leaders make serious efforts to amplify youth, family, and community voice, their legitimate calls for equity can more easily be heard and actualized.

Decision making that is shared

Although the education profession remains primarily white, all sorts of promising efforts are underway to increase diversity among teachers, staff, and school and district leadership. For example, The Leadership Academy partners with the state of Massachusetts to support a fellowship to diversify the state’s superintendent pipeline. Similar programs are growing rapidly, and as a result, we are starting to see more people of color appointed to senior leadership roles in public education.

Too often, however, these efforts amount to little more than tokenism, in which school and district officials take steps to ensure greater diversity on their leadership teams, without giving those people real power or influence. Such limited involvement only undercuts trust and relationships, particularly among historically underrepresented groups (Hawn Nelson et al., 2020). In short, it’s not enough just to call for the hiring of more teachers and education leaders of color. Those teachers and leaders must have genuine opportunities to make consequential decisions, design programs, create policies, and develop and implement strategies for solving the most pressing problems that confront our schools (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2014). It’s one thing to offer people a seat at the table; it’s something else entirely to share power with them.

References

Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2014). Embracing racial equity: 7 steps to advance and embed race equity and inclusion within your organization. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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(2019). Elevating student voice in education. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress.

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T.L.

(2017). Community-based equity audits: A practical approach for educational leaders to support equitable community-school improvements. Educational Administration Quarterly, 53 (1), 3–39.

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(2010). Seeing, inquiring, witnessing: Using the equity audit in practitioner inquiry to rethink inequity in public schools. English Education, 43 (1), 83–96.

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