Virtual Backpack for Developing Diverse, Equal and Language Aware Schools

Challenges identified in schools and districts related to developing diversity, equity and language awareness

Challenge 1: Implementing Bilingual Education, Dual Language Immersion Programs, and Supporting the Use of Native Language

• Finnish Approach - Developing Diverse, Equal, and Language Aware Schools from Leadership Perspective
• Housed at the University of Turku, DivED was a partnership among the Universities of Turku, Tampere, Oulu, Lapland and Åbo Akademi (Swedish), as well as two Universities of Applied Science – DIAK in Helsinki and HAMK in Hämeenlinna. DivED was one of several projects funded by the Finnish Ministry of Culture and Education in response to changes in the Finnish national curriculum adopted in 2014, specifically in the areas of language awareness and cultural responsiveness. DivED was also collaborating with advisory partners from other universities in Europe, the U.S. and Canada. What united us all is seeking to understand how to prepare all teachers to work in the linguistically and culturally diverse world they live in.

Case Study of Dual Language Immersion programs

• Apple Distinguished School Application: California Elementary School ( Dual Language Immersion School- Spanish, English, & Coding)
• Apple Distinguished School Application: Latin American School ( Dual Language Immersion School- Spanish, English,  & Coding)

Coding Resources

• Everyone Can Code: Video
• Everyone Can Code Getting Started with Code 1: Teacher Guide
• Everyone Can Code Getting Started with Code 2: Teacher Guide
• Everyone Can Code Learn to Code 1 & 2: Teacher Guide
• Everyone Can Code Learn to Code 3: Teacher Guide
• Everyone Can Code Puzzles: Teacher Guide
• Everyone Can Code Adventures: Teacher Guide

Multilingual Resources

• California Department of Education Multilingual Resources
• California State Seal of Biliteracy 
• ATDLE
• California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE)

There should be a written language policy that takes into account the official languages of the host country, the language of tuition of the school, target language in CLIL teaching. The role of the parents, students and teachers should be taken into account while writing this. Open discussion in different forums about the language policy. 

Challenge 2: Community Misunderstanding and Defensiveness Regarding the Reality of Racism, Privilege, and Inequity

"A teacher sent me this link last summer and asked if the school would pay for her to attend the workshop.  I agreed to pay for 5 teachers; it ended up being 8 or 9 (almost half my faculty)  They did the workshop on a summer Saturday and then declared that we would dedicate a significant portion of our PD time for the next few years to anti-racism work.   This committee has led all of the training and all of my staff are fully on board.  All I’ve had to do is get out of the way (and participate in the trainings).  It’s the Center for Culturally Responsive Leadership."

Challenge 3: Developing an Urgency to Address Equity in Previously Homogenous Communities where Demographics Are Changing

"This is a difficult endeavor indeed. I live in a community where this is playing out and changing demographics and availability of housing options has exposed bias and privilege and even racist practices. There is much hesitation or recognition for the need of D&I and I think the school district is obligated to take the lead in propelling this work. It is important to situate this work in a socio-historical context and I have found many great resources through the Othering & Belonging Institute: https://belonging.berkeley.edu/ including this article which I reference frequently. The Problem of Othering: Toward Inclusiveness and Belonging http://otheringandbelonging.org/the-problem-of-othering/"

Collaboration Zoom for Developing Diverse, Equal and Language Aware Schools from a Leadership Perspective

Thursday, September 23, 2021

Resources shared by the participants:

• Center for Racial Justice in Education "The Center for Racial Justice in Education’s mission is to train and empower educators to dismantle patterns of racism and injustice in our schools and communities. At the Center for Racial Justice in Education, we envision a world where all young people learn and thrive in racially equitable, liberating, and empowering educational spaces."
• Blog by Vanessa Jones: Hiring with Equity in Mind - Recruiting Diverse and Culturally Competent Staff
• Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist Multicultural Institution (philanos.org)
• Equity, Social Justice, Communnity Collaboration - Middlesex-County-Day-of-Dialogue-MIDDLE SCHOOL - Google Slides
• Article: A Flaw in the Foundation by Natalie Odom Pough
• Breaking Bias: Lessons from the Amistad "a curriculum and guide, Breaking Bias: Lessons from the Amistad looks at African American history through an anti-bias lens and highlights the contributions that African Americans have made to the United States as well as the lessons our country has learned from this history."
• Reimagining Education | Teachers College, Columbia University
• Book recommendation: Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
• Book recommendation: We Got This.: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be by Cornelius Minor
• Book recommendation: White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
• Social Justice Standards | Learning for Justice "The Social Justice Standards are a road map for anti-bias education at every stage of K–12 instruction."

A special thanks to everyone who shared resources and tips for this Virtual Backpack! If you would like to add other resources, please don't hesitate to be in touch.