LM Feb 2023

A I think it’s important to recognize that the national

How has Dolton School District 148 changed its approach to teaching about black history and the history of people with different racial and ethnic backgrounds? It has been very intentional here at Dolton. I call it a policy of intentionality as it relates to incorporating more culturally responsive instructional practices in our classrooms. We conducted an equity audit where we really began to go through and look at the materials that we were making and the curriculums that we were using to determine the extent to which the curriculum added value and reflected the contributions that people of color made to society. Then we developed a tool, an actual rubric that we use to benchmark textbook companies who came to our district and wanted us to buy their books. Equitable access to a quality education starts by making students knowledgeable of what the contribution that people that look like them made to society. I’m also excited about the development of our social studies curriculum. We are actually going to write portions of our curriculum so that, not only does it reflect history, but it also has another beautiful caveat about getting students to love our community. We want them to love the history of Riverdale. We believe that when we have students fall in love with the history of the community in which they live, they will develop skills of resilience and innovation and figure out how to rebuild those broken homes and how to take the boards off of the homes in our communities. They would ask me questions about how to address this back in school, or what to say to an all white staff? What I’ve learned since launching the series is that educators want a safe place to talk about race relations and how it impacts their work. Regardless of the color of our skin, educational leaders need to be prepared to address those types of issues. because it came about as a direct result of how educators were feeling after we watched, which has proven to be true, the murder of George Floyd on national television. It was during that time that educational leaders from across the state began to call me.

teacher shortage is actually more prevalent in school districts serving a majority of minority students. I think that’s a conversation that is not had enough. I also think what’s not being talked about enough is—it’s good for all students. I’m going to share something that I think is very important. I served as a principal in a district where the majority of the students, and most if not all of the administrators outside of me, were white. During my time as principal, I will never forget when a third or fourth grade white female student came up to me and said: “I’m so glad you’re here because I’ve never had a black principal or a black teacher before.” I asked her—because I was so excited about her willingness to engage in the conversation—why did you call that to my attention? She said because, if I didn’t see you, I wouldn’t even have known that it was possible. I will never forget that conversation. What is something school districts can do at the local level to increase the pipeline of black educators, and what is something you would like to see from a statewide policy perspective? There are school districts in our state that are doing great things to actively recruit, train and retain teachers of color into their school districts. It’s important to identify who those school districts are and give them a platform to share how they’re getting the job done. I would also suggest, from a policy perspective, that all school districts should have to submit a plan of action for how they’re going to increase the educator pipeline. You were a co-presenter on the IASA workshop, What’s Race Got to Do With It? Why was it important for you to lead that workshop, and what were some of the main takeaways participants had? I consider it a privilege and an honor to co-present with Dr. Donna Leak. I refer to those workshops as my brain child

Q

Q

A

A

Q

A

13 LM February 2023 continued...