After a white supremacist rally turned into a riot on Charlottesville, Virginia, the local油Albemarle County School District油turned to its students to begin work on油one of the state’s first油anti-racism policies.
The effort also jibed with the division’s commitment to project-based learning, as students trained油with community experts油to write policies and油regulations, gather油community油input油and interpret achievement gap data,油Assistant Superintendent L. Bernard Hairston says.
We have not been able to affect the achievement油gap,油Hairston says.油With the rally, we took adversity and turned it into an油opportunity.
covers a wide range of issues. On the dress code,油for instance,油it prohibits the油wearing油of油Confederate and Nazi symbols.
The district has also promoted the policy widely, including on posters at every school and through a student advisory group that is helping the school board implement the regulations.
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The students recently held a virtual town where they油examined油three types of racismstructural, institutional and personal. They also discussed how and油why the油COVID pandemic has done油disproportionate油harm in油communities油of color, Hairston says.
The division also provides summer professional development to guide teachers in油identifying equity gaps油and油culturally油responsive油practices, such油not油trying to油predict how students油will油perform based on racial or socio-economic factors.
There are some things that油people油don’t油always油realize油about油their daily油practices and油the油impact油race is having on油themselves油and others, Hairston says.
The anti-racism policy also contains a checklist by which all other油school油policies can be evaluated through an equity lens to determine if it might have unintended impacts of certain groups.
Oftentimes油you油don’t see油racism油unless油you’re油looking油for it, and you can’t see油it油unless you know what you’re looking for, Hairston says.油You can’t change structures and practices油without油changing油behavior油and that is a slow process.
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