
CP&I Newsletter #AISDEquity
Cultural Proficiency & Inclusiveness October 2019
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Cultural Proficiency & Inclusiveness in Austin ISD
Cultural Proficiency & Inclusiveness (CP&I), takes an inside out approach to our work as educators. We recognize as equity leaders, we cannot support the needs of students in our care without first recognizing we have biases about the world and those in it. The CP&I Office supports students who are learning to organize against racism, on Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices (CRRP), and we offer AntiRacist professional learning to all staff inviting community members to learn with us.
Congratulations to Dr. Angela Ward 2019 Austin Area Urban League Founder’s Award Recipient! In this video she talks about the artistry in her equity work.
CP&I Professional Learning Sessions Available Through the HCP- Sign Up Today!
No partial credit available
Please plan accordingly.
Free To Be Me: Action Poster Series- 3 hours
(Oct. 17th session #93007 & #93009; Nov. 6th session #93010 & #93008)
Learn to use the Action Posters that bring together fine art, hip hop, and anti-bias education. Posters collaboratively designed by the Blanton Museum of Art, Austin ISD CP&I, Anti-Defamation League, and CREATE LAB.
Speak Up: How to Respond to Everyday Prejudice, Bias, and Stereotypes ToT- 3 hours
(Oct. 3rd session #92935; Nov. 6th session #92936; Dec. 12th session #93005)
As the largest No Place For Hate district in the nation we create this opportunity for participants to review Austin ISD board policy on harassment, examine the ADL's Pyramid of Hate, learn strategies to speak up, and practice interrupting biased language or stereotypes.
Cultural Proficiency: The 6th C- 6 hours
(Oct. 30th session #92860)
Participants understand and build Cultural Proficiency awareness as the inside/out approach to how we do our work as Austin ISD staff. Cultural Proficiency is a way of being. It is not a program, an initiative, a checklist, a curriculum, a one-day session, or simply the celebration of culture & holidays. It is an understanding of personal background, values, biases & beliefs and the impact identity has on our daily work with students, staff and families.
Isolating Race
*******This is a prerequisite session for the others below.********
(No other sessions available this fall)
Participants racialize their daily lived experiences, gain awareness of personal bias, consider racial disparities within educational structures, and examine Austin ISD data to highlight local racial inequities in education.
All Sessions offered 8:30-4:30 no partial credit available.
Please plan accordingly.
White Fragility:
Understanding Whiteness to Overcome Discomfort in Conversations About Race
(Oct. 22nd session #92131)
Designed for white educators and community members to engage in, sustain and deepen conversations about race, examine the presence and role of whiteness in American society, explore their own racial identity, identify white cultural norms prevalent in our schools, and practice strategies for sustaining conversations about race to support the creation of identity-safe school spaces for students. * Completion of Isolating Race required to register.
Becoming an Antiracist Educator: Words Have Power
(Oct. 8th session #92127; Nov. 13th session #92128)
An interactive, critically self-reflective process designed to enable participants to develop an awareness of equity words, notice the feelings words create, strengthen Antiracist commitments, and take action in daily professional practice.
* Completion of Isolating Race required to register.
Connecting the Village: Strategies to Open Doors to the Community Outside Our Schools
(Oct. 24th session #92129; Nov. 7th session #92130)
Participants deepen understanding of family communication from an Antiracist lens, think deeply about how schools operate in ways that can negatively impact communication to and with families, and recognize how to support healing and connection with families.
* Completion of Isolating Race required to register.
It’s Not Discipline: Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices 101
(No other sessions available this fall)
Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices (CRRP) model is a culturally proficient, child centered, developmentally appropriate, social, emotional, academic and trauma informed process founded on Indigenous roots of harmony and community connection. Participants experience academic and social, emotional processes, and protocols on a continuum of affective language, affective questions, intentional conversations to develop campus wide Tier 1 implementation of CRRP. * Completion of Isolating Race required to register.
Equity isn’t just a slogan. It should transform the way we educate children.
In Austin ISD we want to go further than just leveling the playing field, we believe Our Children deserve the tools to prepare them in ways that position them to choose to access seats to the ball game! This article provides some perspective on how we might create the school spaces to nurture that access.
“A commitment to equity should not result in lowering standards or choosing to serve one group of students over another (affluent or underprivileged). To do so only prevents [students] from being able to achieve excellence. Nor should it be interpreted as a concern that is only relevant to schools serving high numbers of poor children and children of color. There are plenty of equity issues in schools serving affluent children – after all, not all are high achievers – but often, these issues are ignored.
Make Your School No Place For Hate
The Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate Campaign provides educators and students with resources to ensure that anti-bias and diversity education are an integral part of the school curriculum. No Place for Hate promotes respect for individual difference while challenging bigotry and prejudice to create and sustain inclusive school environments where all students have the opportunity to succeed.
Campus No Place For Hate sponsors, your first deadline is October 15th!
****NEW THIS YEAR*****
One of the three No Place for Hate activities must come from an ADL online resource. ADL Education resources include: Lesson Plans, Anti-Bias Tools, Bullying and Cyberbullying Resources, Books Matter, Table Talk and more.
Austin ISD is the largest No Place For Hate district in the United States.
To earn the designation every Austin ISD school and Central Office commits to:
- Creating a student led coalition (adult led for Central Office)
- Signing the Resolution of Respect or No Place for Hate Promise
- Hosting at least three No Place for Hate activities throughout the year.
No Place for Hate Activities should:
· Include students as co-creators in planning and implementation
· Have a school wide impact & be accessible to all students
· Focus on inclusiveness and community
· Recognize and value individual and group differences
· Take place over both Fall & Spring semesters
· Involve ACTIVE learning, reflection, and discussion
More information about No Place for Hate can be found on the
Middle School No Place for Hate Youth Summit
Tuesday, Dec 10, 2019, 08:30 AM
Austin Convention Center, East Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, TX, USA
Teaching kindness is a staple of elementary practice,
but that isn’t the same as teaching justice.
Young people need language to combat microaggressions, and they also need to know that their teachers care about the impact of microaggressions.They need to trust adults to speak up, facilitate and engage. There’s nothing wrong with taking a moment to think, to say, “That didn’t feel right, and I need to circle back to this.” But there is something wrong with answering injustice with easy reassurances like, “We just need to be kind to one another.” Even if they can’t yet articulate why, our students know that’s not enough.
Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices
Each month we will provide basic information about our Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices (CRRP) model
Austin ISD Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices asks the community to:
- Draw on its collective strengths to affirm that students are valued as they are, and that they will be supported in a nurturing environment even if conflict occurs
- Solve problems through dialogue solicited from all individuals
Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices asks educators to:
- Reflect on personal values and how those values influence adult behavior and reactions
- Authentically build relationships – authenticity takes intent, time, effort, and perseverance
- Develop lessons that are highly engaging and relevant to students’ lives and supports the development of a positive racial, cultural as well as ethnic identity
- Use language that maintains the dignity of the individual and the trusting relationship
- Nurture student agency offering choices and inviting independent decisions building students funds of knowledge gained from both success and failure.