Equity, Diversity, and Anti-Racism in Our Schools: Why & How Waltham Can Do Better
Part 1: National and Statewide Context for Educational Diversity and Equity
Part 2: The Waltham Case
Part 3: Waltham Public Schools Policy Recommendations
Part 1: National and Statewide Context for Educational Diversity and Equity
Educational equity and diversity, and developing anti-racist schooling, have always been hot-button issues.
Until the supreme court's ruling in 1954 that declared racial segregation unlawful, schooling divided along racial lines was the order of the day. The unanimous ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education was the beginning of a paradigm shift.
President Lyndon Johnson had to deploy federal troops to some schools to enforce the Brown v. Board of Education. 30 years later in Massachusetts, it took another court order and enforcement by the National Guard to enforce constitutionally-based school desegregation here https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/violence-in-boston-over-racial-busing. Many families in our communities today vividly remember the violence that Black students and families have been met with as a result of racist resistance to desegregation. It is also important to note that in recent decades, schools have been resegregating. Though students of color are allowed into classrooms today, racial biases and discrimination persist.
What is Diversity and Equity?
According to Ferris State University, diversity is the "range of human differences, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical ability or attributes, religious or ethical values system, national origin, and political beliefs." Diversity is the uniqueness that every individual possesses. "Doing diversity" cannot just mean bringing diverse groups into spaces that were crafted without them. This approach subjects marginalized groups to unequal, unjust environments. Instead, true institutional diversity approaches focus not only inclusion, but structural reshaping, so that spaces are created by and for all the members of the community.
While the review below focuses predominantly on racial diversity, similar arguments can be made about the importance of focused and intersectional interventions around disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, immigration status, ethnicity, and religious identity.
From teachers and staff to students, diversity offers a multitude of evidence-based benefits in the educational ecosystem. Researchers categorize the many benefits into those impacting: individuals (students, personnel); institutions (schools, future workplaces and leaders); and society (participatory, equitable democratic society of informed citizens/residents productively engaging in globally connected systems).
Academic and Cognitive Benefits
There is a persistent, well-documented achievement gap between white and Black students in the US. This achievement gap includes test scores, GPAs, graduation rates, and college matriculation. These differences are socially structured and are largely attributable to historical and ongoing segregation. Students of color are often segregated into under-resourced schools, leaving them in larger classes, with fewer teachers, computers, and textbooks. Studies have shown that the achievement gap is narrowed dramatically when schools and districts are desegregated. An assessment conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that students from institutions in diverse cities had higher test scores than relatively segregated ones. Studies since the 1980s have shown the Black students from desegregated schools have higher test scores than those from segregated schools. Desegregation, and the way it diversifies student environments, has positive outcomes for all students, who benefit from exposure to difference--it is critical as they build cognitively towards greater critical thinking skills, and it prepares them for interactions in a diverse society.
In a metaanalysis of studies on diversity in higher education, Jeffrey Milem summarizes the benefits to students of increasing exposure to diversity in their schools: greater relative gains in critical thinking and active thinking, greater intellectual engagement and academic motivation, greater relative gains in intellectual self-concept and social self-concept, higher levels of retention and increases in the degree aspirations of students.
Research also shows that diversity cannot merely exist within the student body. Students must see their own diversity reflected in the school’s teachers and staff. This is of particular importance to Black male students. This group suffers disproportionately the impacts of poverty and racism, seen most clearly in the over policing/punishing of Black boys in schools. They are also least likely to have teachers who look like them, as the teaching profession is overwhelmingly composed of white women. Black elementary school students who have even one black teacher show higher scores on tests, lower dropout rates, and higher college enrollment rates. A 2016 Department of Education (DOE) report emphasized “the racial diversity of the teaching workforce can help to close the achievement gap, emerging research suggests. Both quantitative and qualitative studies find that teachers of color can improve the school experiences of all students; further, teachers of color contribute to improved academic outcomes while serving as strong role models for students”. We can extrapolate from these studies that the benefits of seeing diversity in the ranks of administrators, principals, and guidance counselors are also meaningful not only to students, but to the recruitment and retention of BIPOC faculty.
What is less often discussed is the benefit to white students of having Black teachers, administrators, and leader figures. But these are also important. The DOE report quoted above also argued that “Teachers of color are positive role models for all students in breaking down negative stereotypes and preparing students to live and work in a multiracial society. A more diverse teacher workforce can also supplement training in the culturally sensitive teaching practices most effective with today’s student populations” (p1). What more can we want for our majority students, than to get excellent education from qualified educators who also disrupt the stereotypes students might be absorbing from other parts of their environments, stereotypes that will limit them in their future interactions?
Civic and Social Benefits
The way to build better citizens is to have diverse classrooms that foster essential values such as tolerance, empathy, kindness, and patience. In other words, diverse communities produce good human beings ready to participate in a diverse society. Once people from distinct communities spend time and learn together in environments, they build relationships and forge bonds leading to a breaking down of walls of suspicion and stereotypes. A study conducted some years ago revealed that students who study in diverse schools are likely to live in diverse communities five years after school. Students exposed to diverse environments early on go on to recreate diverse environments in their lives.
Milem’s metaanalysis (linked above) supports these claims. He argues that “the research evidence indicates that greater exposure to diversity leads to growth in democracy outcomes. Students who have been exposed to greater diversity are more likely to show increases in racial understanding, cultural awareness and appreciation, engagement with social and political issues, and openness to diversity and challenge. They are more likely to exhibit decreases in racial stereotyping and levels of ethnocentrism” (Melim, p5). Even though this report focuses on higher education, we can be confident that earlier exposure, in elementary, middle and high schools, would set a foundation for even greater gains.
Cross-cultural experiences and learning in diverse groups are essential for our workforce and economy. This is in part due to the fact that workplaces themselves are increasingly diverse, so comfort in diverse spaces will be important for worker success. It is also connected to the critical thinking, creativity, cultural competencies that students develop in these environments. Students who learn about and interact with others can see problems in multidimensional ways, and go on to spread those benefits. Black students, for example, have been shown to be “much more likely than White students to be involved in community and civic organizations and to be involved in the leadership of these organizations. Studies of practice patterns of physicians indicate that doctors of color are more likely to practice medicine in areas with populations that have the greatest need for health services in our society” (Melim, p28). Initiatives in schools that benefit marginalized groups increase these societal benefits.
Finally, students who are comfortable in diverse settings will be better prepared for a global economy and interdependent world. Students develop into better leaders when they are exposed to diverse communities early on. They learn how to work with people with different viewpoints and how to build consensus.
Part 2: The Waltham Case
With a population of over 60,000, Waltham is considered one of the most “livable” cities in Massachusetts. Home to two research institutions, Brandeis University and Bentley University, the city highlights the importance of education.
Waltham also takes pride in its public schools, which serves 5,600 students from "diverse backgrounds with courses and activities designed to prepare them for success in the 21st Century." The Waltham Public Schools Accelerated Improvement Plan (#OneWaltham) lists equity as one of the two key areas of focus, emphasizing the necessity of meeting “the needs of diverse learners.” This strategic plan highlighted the then-Superintendent’s vision to inspire students “to become critical thinkers, problem-solvers, designers, builders, innovators and social entrepreneurs who make contributions to our diverse communities, nation, and global world,” and the mission statement focuses on “offering rigorous, diverse, enriching programming...led by highly effective educators and leaders.” The report goes on to define the goals around teacher recruitment to include increasing “the racial/ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity of educators throughout the system.”
These are important and positive goals, which require a commitment to accelerating the implementation of corresponding concrete policy and practice changes to improve equity, diversity, and anti-racism in Waltham's school system. Documented below are persistent problems with the way that diversity and equity work is conceptualized in the Waltham schools system; a failure to effectively transform the demographics of teachers and administrators; and ongoing issues of discrimination and differential disciplinary actions.
Issues with Waltham Schools’ framing of diversity, equity and anti-racism work
The Waltham Schools strategic plan (#OneWaltham) suggests a focus on all learners as its strategic priority #2. Yet, none of the strategic initiatives to meet that priority even mention diversity. We cannot fix what we refuse to name. The report does provide a few benchmarks by which it would measure its own success, among those an increase in the 4 year graduation rates for students with disabilities and for English language learners (from 74.5% to 80% and from 48.7% to 70% respectively, p9 of the report). Nowhere are race, class, sexuality, or gender mentioned in relation to this goal. Based on this, it is unclear whether the schools are not concerned about improvements along these lines, or are unsure of how to make changes. Either way, it is difficult to move forward constructively without concrete goals and action steps, or at least acknowledgement that these areas require prioritized attention.
Within the plan, targets for recruiting and retaining diverse teachers and staff are vague and largely symbolic. The one concrete goal stated--to interview at least 25 teachers of color-- doesn’t link to a plan to identify qualified candidates, nor a goal for the number of new hires, meaning that the district could meet the interview goal without making any change to the demographics whatsoever. Adding bias trainings, discussing cultural competency, and hosting diversity networking fairs are necessary, but insufficient. Indeed, this could result in simply training existing, primarily white, teachers and staff, without making any hiring changes.
WPS student, faculty and administration demographics
The Waltham schools student demographics reflect the diversity of our community. The district report card from 2019 shows that we are far more diverse racially than Massachusetts generally: 9.7% Black (compared to 9.2% in the Commonwealth); 40.7% Latino/Hispanic (compared to only 20.8% in Massachusetts); and more than double the number of English learners. Updated June 2020 DESE numbers indicate only 43% of students are white. We have more economically disadvantaged and high needs students than the statewide rate, and similar numbers of students with disabilities. We should be proud of the diversity of our student population, given the benefits of student diversity noted above. And we should be excited to meet the challenges of addressing their truly diverse gifts and needs and supporting equity in achievement.
Unfortunately, our teacher demographics do not match the diversity of the student population--indeed, our teachers are overwhelmingly white and female. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be data on other elements of teacher identity: disability, language/immigrant status, etc., nor on school leadership demographics (department heads, principals, superintendent, school committee).
DESE school and district profiles for 2019-2020 in Waltham indicate district faculty are still 90% white, while only 43% of students are. In 2016-2017, this demographic disconnect was brought into the public’s attention. Immediately following racist incidents at Waltham High that school year that spurred organized student protests and media attention, the school administration said it was making some efforts at change. A Black and a Latinx housemaster were hired for the first time at the high school, and a few additional faculty hires of BIPOC educators were made in the summer of 2017.
Since that media attention documenting racism in WPS in 2016-2017, and the district’s initial response cited article, NO further strides in increasing leadership and faculty of color have been made. Per WPS’ DESE profile reports, 90% of faculty in 2017-2018 were white, after the aforementioned efforts were made. That percentage - 90% white faculty - is UNCHANGED AS OF JUNE 2020. Furthermore, a new superintendent and high school principal were just hired — and both are again white men. Virtually all principals across the system are still white, and most Department heads are still white.
Unfulfilled commitments to change
The immediate aftermath of the 2016-2017 racial incidents in the high school was promising. The commitments made by the district seemed meaningful. Students organized for change, and the media and schools took note. The district received a grant to investigate the equity issues students brought to light, and Superintendent Echelson was quoted in a news article at the time, saying “We are looking at curriculum and instruction discrepancies as well as hiring practices...We make sure on each hiring committee there are members of the district’s equity team and also we ensure student representation is part of the recruitment process.” Students quoted in that same article indicated that there were ongoing curricular problems, including a Eurocentric focus that they felt excluded stories about great people of history that look like the student population.
The 2018 grant funded consultants, Travis Bristol and James Noonan, who were tasked with making recommendations on these issues, via a public report due in June 2018. The “public report” of these consultants is not available via an internet search, nor is the report by another consultant, Jeff Duncan Andrade, who was also tasked with examining these issues in WPS. An email request for these reports, sent to the contact found on the school system website, has not been responded to, as of 7/12/20. A search of the school department website also has not resulted in any update in 2019-2020 regarding policy or personnel changes indicated by these reports’ recommendations. Information is available in posted School Committee minutes about additional Task Force recommendations and “community conversations” . It also appears that the Waltham Partnership for Youth’s Social Justice in Education series held at the public library (not for school personnel) is related to these efforts. However, the question remains as to how many reports, recommendations, Task Forces, and meetings will be needed before meaningful systemic change will be implemented.
The district has not even been able to hire the proposed Chief Equity Officer position, which became a flashpoint in City Council and School Committee debates over the 2019 and 2020 budgets. After the previously described, documented incidents that received press attention, the then-Superintendent proposed this position. Multiple City Councillors and School Committee members spoke out against it, and it has never actually been funded. Ultimately, on the 9/11/19, the School Committee approved the “quiet” shifting of previously approved funding for the Equity Officer position to eliminate it and combine those proposed duties under the existing Human Resources Director position -- which remains vacant as of June 2020. It is difficult to see how the district can espouse a commitment to equity and diversity, while “shifting” budgetary support to eliminate an already recommended and approved dedicated Equity Officer who can focus on these far-reaching, pressing needs within the district.
Discrimination, Discipline, and Drop Outs
The district and each school have anti-discrimination policies, as required by state and federal laws, and outlined in their student handbooks (for example, see p. 54-56 of the WHS handbook). However, these policies are burdensome on victims and difficult to find. Furthermore, district students, parents, and educators receive little to no training about the non-discrimination policies and reporting structures, and there is no transparency or public accountability for whether or how they are enforced. Therefore, many students, parents, and educators and administrators seem unaware of their existence, and unable to utilize these systems. Even when they do, the outcomes often remain problematic, and possibly in violation of state and federal non-discrimination laws (see documented incidents, below).
A review of the federal civil rights data on incidences of discrimination show zero reports of bullying/harassment based on race, sex, or disability in Waltham schools. It is unlikely that this is a true reflection of idyllic relations and systems on our school campuses, but rather an indication of students’ discomfort and fear in reporting these issues to school officials. As has become clear in recent years when examining collegiate data on sexual assault, for example, low reporting is almost never a sign of good campus climate. In fact, Title IX coordinators now understand upticks in reporting as a positive sign--it shows that the campus has created a culture wherein survivors feel comfortable asking for support. It means that the data has become more accurate to the reality students face. Likewise, if students in our schools are not reporting racism, bullying and harassment, it likely means they are trying to keep it quiet, and we need to work harder to change the campus reporting climate.
Very preliminary, unfunded inquiries in 2017 and 2020 (summarized below) resulted in an outpouring of reports by current and former students, some whom HAD reported to administrators, thus calling into question WPS’ required civil rights data reporting of “zero reports”. Some victims indeed did not report, and some explicitly stated they did not based on the impression that nothing would be done, or they would suffer recriminations for reporting.
Low reporting rates can be linked to low representation of marginalized groups in the administration, faculty, and guidance counseling offices--students might feel more comfortable reporting to someone they see as likely to understand the experience. Sadly too, sometimes the adults on campus are ineffective bystanders to (or worse, perpetrators of) harassment and bullying. For example, data collected on transgender and gender nonconforming students show that they are harassed not only by their peers, but also those staff whom they should be able to turn to for support; they report seeing their teachers and other staff observe the bullying without intervening; and they report being disciplined when they stand up to and/or report their own bullies.
Significantly, Waltham students do seem to experience discipline in unequal ways, just like the transgeder students in the report cited above. Although the data in the Student Discipline Report do not provide details for each incidence, rates of punishment show some important racial patterns. The reported data focuses on the most common severe punishments: in-school and out-of-school suspensions. The overall rate for all Waltham students is 2.0% and 2.5% respectively. There are 2,413 white students, with 59 receiving some kind of discipline; the rate of discipline for white students is roughly 2.4%. Latinx students number 2,514, but of that group, 139 were disciplined, or approximately 5.5%, more than double the rate of white students. Although they represent a smaller population, Black students are also punished at double the rate than white students, at around 5%.
As with the achievement gap, some readers might be tempted to attribute these disciplinary differences to behavioral differences between racial groups; but problems like this are almost always social and structural--that is to say, they emerge out of discriminatory treatment and experiences in our environments.
Differences in discipline and feeling safe also at school impact drop-out rates. Latinx students, English language learners, economically disadvantaged students, and high needs students are all experiencing much higher dropout rates than the general student population.
In Their Own Words: Waltham Speaks Out
Despite WPS’ claims of zero reports of discrimination based on race and other protected classes, there have been many such reports, particularly against BIPOC students. Reports have continued since the events that spurred the widely publicized discussion in 2017. These abuses range from micro-aggressions, to taunts and slurs based on nationality/xenophobia, religion, and race, to physical threats and assaults. Abuses have been perpetrated by school personnel, as well as students and parents. Current students, former students, educators, and parents who have been victims or witnesses of abuse are increasingly speaking out about their experiences. A common and ongoing theme is that student victims and witnesses of racism and xenophobia were either too afraid or unsure how to report, or if they did, that they were told to stop talking about it, or even disciplined by school administration or teachers for reporting the abuse. Here is a small sample of numerous testimonies compiled to date that have not been previously published:
2019 - A White student observed a group of ELL students in a math class: The ELL students clearly did not understand the lesson, so another student who spoke Spanish attempted to explain to them, in Spanish, what the teacher was saying. The teacher reprimanded them for speaking Spanish (possibly because they were talking over her). The teacher then sent some of the ELL students to the house office for “talking back,” although the students were only trying to explain that they did not understand the lesson. This teacher has since left WPS.
2018 - A student was suspended for posting their opinion on their personal Instagram account about the criticism of silent/peaceful protest, such as kneeling for the national anthem or not standing for the pledge of allegiance, after overhearing a group of White students expressing criticisms of these peaceful protests by Blacks. None of these posts were threatening, but some did contain profane language (which is not against school rules when it occurs off campus). A group of White students took screenshots of these posts and sent them to their parents, who are school employees, saying they perceived the social media posts supporting peaceful protests as “threats”. No known action was taken against the White students. The Black student received a two-day suspension by school personnel.
2017 - A Black student and White student got into a disagreement about the newly inaugurated president. The White student reported the Black student for calling them “racist,” after the Black student tried to offer historically-accurate, alternative information to the White student. The Black student got called to the house office to be disciplined for this. The administration told the Black student that they could avoid getting detention if they stopped their “radical behavior,” which consisted of expressing a valid opinion. The Black student also was made to apologize to the White student. The White student had no action taken against them.
2017 - Reports of teacher telling a student not to speak their native language.
2017 - A white student verbally attacked a Latinx student. In solidarity, a Black student confronted the white student, telling them what they had said was wrong. A teacher who overheard the conversation said, to the Black student, “that’s what all you Blacks think,” and made the students change seats.
2016 - Middle Eastern student was called a “terrorist” and otherwise verbally abused by fellow classmates during Senior Revue. This was brought to administrators’ attention - no apparent action was taken.
2016 - A Black student expresses his feelings and shares his experience of being a young Black man in a class essay. The teacher who graded the paper accuses the student of being racist for expressing his own experiences of racism, writing directly on their essay: “Wow. You’re racist!”
2014-15 - “Burn down KFC” incident, involving 15 white students in a group chat. This group chat discussed support for one student’s ownership of a confederate flag (“bring your confederate flag”) and for shooting someone, assumed to be a Black person. When brought to the administration, it appeared the main concern was “damage control and covering it up.” The students who brought it to the administration saw no action was being taken, so they had to bring it to the principal themselves. The only known action taken by the school in response to this incident, with identified students making multiple racist comments, was to have all students in the school do a project for Black History Month.
Part 3: Waltham Public Schools Policy Recommendations
The Massachusetts Association of School Committees has issued an anti-racism resolution that the Waltham School Committee will be considering on 7/13/20:
--SCHOOL COMMITTEE ANTI-RACISM RESOLUTION:NOTE: This has been revised for general distribution (6/14/20)WHEREAS, as schools have the responsibility to equip students with their civil right of obtaining a free and appropriate public education, it is the responsibility of each school to ensure we create a welcoming community for ALL students; and WHEREAS, it is the responsibility that every district provide to all district staff, including School Committee members annual professional development on diversity, equity and inclusion; andWHEREAS, every district will commit to recruiting and retaining a diverse and culturally responsive teaching workforce; and WHEREAS, every district will examine their policies for institutional and systemic racialized practices and implement change with sustainable policies that are evidence based; andWHEREAS, every district will incorporate into their curriculum the history of racial oppression and works by black authors and works from diverse perspectives; andWHEREAS, we as school district leaders can no longer remain silent to the issues of racism and hate that continue to plague our public and private institutions; RESOLVED: that [District] and all the school districts in the Commonwealth must guarantee that racist practices are eradicated, and diversity, equity and inclusion is embedded and practiced for our students, families, faculty and staff. We must ensure our own school culture and that of every district in the Commonwealth is anti-racist, that acknowledges that all lives cannot matter until black lives matter.
Immediate passage by WPS would be an important symbolic commitment and show that Waltham is perhaps not so far behind other communities that have already taken concrete actions. As with the aforementioned positive community activities, Task Forces, consultations, surveys, etc, ACTUAL changes must then be made within the school system itself to make it more equitable, safe, and free of discrimation and racism for BIPOC students, parents, and educators.
Policy and practice changes, in line with the MASC resolution, are needed NOW to ensure:
Significant annual progress in hiring BIPOC faculty, currently 90% white, in a district that is 43% white, and in BIPOC leadership (data not available).
Make sure jobs are advertised broadly, across networks dedicated to BIPOC educators. Ask current BIPOC staff, families, and organizations where to list, and follow through.
Keep discrimination in mind when establishing hiring criteria. Remember that BIPOC face larger obstacles in their professional lives, so their resumes may not always reflect talent and experience by dominant standards.
Require anti-racism, equity, and diversity statements for all new positions. If applicants cannot adequately articulate their commitment to equity, experiences with diverse populations, and knowledge of anti-racism, diversity and equity work in education, consider this a serious red flag.
Set milestones in hiring and reach them. If the staff are currently 90% white, aim for 80% by 2025; prioritize concrete improvement goals in leadership positions as well. Then do the work, and make the goals and outcomes public for community accountability and transparency.
Accountability for and protection from perpetrators when civil rights are violated through improved policies, practices, training, and reporting systems. There must be strict enforcement of penalties, accountability, reparation, and education when possible, with protection for those harmed, when people in the school system discriminate and abuse against others based on race and other protected classes.
Too often, systems meant to help marginalized groups are devised without them, and end up causing more harm than good. BIPOC students, personnel, and community members should be invited to help with the creation of new policies, practices, and systems. Be sure to compensate BIPOC individuals appropriately for these extra workloads, recognizing that they are often expected to take on extra assignments to help undo the injustices perpetrated against them, that have burdened them disproportionately, and not offered appropriate compensation or relief. Do not further these injustices.
Consider implementing trauma-informed restorative justice practices, as part of disciplinary processes, prioritizing protection of victims.
Improved collection, use, and dissemination to the public. Support public transparency and accountability through improved access to equity related reports and data. It is difficult to see and fix problems when data is unavailable.
The data currently published by Waltham schools does not include intersectional categories, for example, how many students of color who are disciplined are also low income or students with disabilities, and some categories are totally absent (e.g. sexual orientation).
Use improved data to inform necessary concrete benchmarks and timeframes:
-Increase graduation and achievement rates for BIPOC populations.
-Decrease drop-out and grade repeat rates intentionally for BIPOC populations.
-Decrease disciplinary rate disparities for BIPOC populations.
Be sure benchmarks, vision statements, and strategic planning make the language of anti-racism, equity, and diversity central--don’t shy away from conversations about race. It will send a message to students that race is either unimportant or discussing it is divisive.
Routine and ongoing required training of personnel on how to create a safe environment for interaction and racial integration. Teachers should teach students the importance of anti-racism, equity and diversity in education, and how to relate to people who look, sound, or think differently than themselves and who may have experienced the ongoing trauma of racism in their community and school lives.
Use school climate and priorities survey data to provide school personnel with relevant trainings and education. Ensure these surveys include data from BIPOC school personnel, as well as students and community members. Make training mandatory, ongoing, and varied in format consistent with adult learning theory.
Include trainers from outside the school community. Using internal resources can be appropriate at times (make sure to pay them for their time), but it is important to have outside BIPOC experts too, including broader community members. Brandeis University Heller School may be a resource, among others.
Students and personnel are actively encouraged and supported at all levels to speak up if they have experienced or witnessed racism
Implement developmentally-appropriate bystander intervention and reporting trainings immediately, for students, and for personnel.
Make sure personnel are ready to hear and document reports. If students bring issues to adults and don’t feel that they are taken seriously, or worse, are reprimanded for speaking out, they will not report again.
Consider working with student groups on developing a protocol for accountability. The more students are involved and reflected by the process, the more likely they are to use it.
An ongoing trauma-informed anti-racism campaign is created in the schools, to break free of a reputation where hate has been tolerated, and create a more safe and welcoming learning environment for all students. This campaign can take a cue from the uprising that followed George Floyd's brutal murder. Involve students in planning and implementing this campaign, and support BIPOC students, personnel, and community member leadership and voices. Support students and personnel learning about both the issues and civic engagement.
Curriculum is revised and decolonized, integrates anti-racism education at all levels, and reflects the student population and their cultures’ contributions across the curriculum. Students need to learn more than just Eurocentric and Whitewashed curricula.
Center the stories of marginalized populations in history classes, and in discussion of current events (e.g., historical context if provided appropriately in history classes helps students understand why confederate symbols are problematic)
Study marginalized women and BIPOC in STEM
Read Black literature in ELA classes, even when it isn’t Black history month.
As the celebrated author, Maya Angelou puts it, "..teach young people early on that in diversity, there is beauty, and there is strength."