Equity Resources

In the Summer of 2020, a coalition of Anti-Bias Antiracist teacher leaders created Anti-Bias Antiracist Presuppositions to serve as the framework for the equity and inclusion work within the School District of Clayton. 

School District of Clayton ABAR Presuppositions
The state of the world in 2020 makes it impossible for us to deny that injustice and inequity are ingrained in our systems. This is the time to urgently dismantle inequities and systemic policies and procedures that have historically and persistently harmed Black students and other students of color.

We recognize those experiencing inequities as the experts of their own experiences and needs. We must listen to and validate the stories and ideas of those experiencing said inequities and take proactive steps to dismantle the inequities and systemic policies that have harmed our students. 

• Racism: Interpersonal (micro), institutional (macro), structural (intersection of interpersonal and institutional), cultural (how racism is supported in media, the arts, communications, schools, etc.)
• Sexism
• Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identification
• Classism: socio-economic status, prejudice based on zip code
• Equity literacy is defined as having the knowledge and skills to disrupt and dismantle inequities within our own spheres of influence for the betterment of our students, staff and greater community. We are committed to becoming an antiracist district where race and socioeconomic status are not predictive of learner outcomes.  

The knowledge and skills of equity literacy are cross-cutting:

• Personal
• Institutional
• Curricular/Instructional

In an equity literate community:

PERSONAL

• We reject any suggestion that students' value and potential are determined by their race or socioeconomic status.
  • We are responsible for removing barriers that prevent our students of color from expressing their talents and brilliance.
  • We create and protect space for the development of our students' social emotional intelligence.
• We recognize that eliminating inequities begins with each of us. 
  • We take responsibility to acknowledge and interrupt our own biases.
  • We recognize and disrupt white supremacy that results in layers of systemic racism.  
  • We persistently learn about and from the historical and present implications of racism, including the generational harm experienced by families of color in school systems.

INSTITUTIONAL 

• We believe each student has a right to equitable educational opportunity and access and will identify and change any policy or practice that denies this right.
  • We seek out fair redistribution of opportunity and access that have previously and presently been denied.
  • We provide equal access to learning and extracurricular opportunities.
  • We recognize gatekeeping and tracking as barriers to equity and work to redress it.     
• We believe that affirming a student’s culture, history and identity is more important than relying solely on numerical data.
  • We disrupt sole reliance on standardized test scores that have been proven to be culturally biased.
  • We affirm students’ intersectional identities and experiences. 

CURRICULAR/INSTRUCTIONAL

• We believe equity-centered curricula balance the truth about injustice and oppression with the resilience, joy, and resistance of all kinds of humans; past and present.
  • We build and implement curricula that are responsive to all students and their identities.
  • We constantly review and revise our practices and curricula based on nationally-recognized antiracist/anti bias standards at every grade level. 
• We cultivate classroom learning environments that are culturally responsive and reflect the perspectives of all students.  
  • We personalize the learning experience for each student's individual identity.
  • We incorporate relationship building, along with restorative practices, to maintain an anti-racist environment.
  • We seek historical and current knowledge of various perspectives that reflect the students in our classrooms.
  • We provide representation for each student's identity through classroom and building decor and teacher chosen books and resources.

Below you will find a multitude of resources dedicated to developing an anti bias and antiracist lens, organizations that are pushing the work forward, as well as a library (books, podcasts, and video series).

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Talking With Your Children About Race - Resources:

• How to Talk to Your Child About Race (Ages 5 - 8)
• White Parents, Here's How to Start Talking to Your Child About Race
• How To Talk to Kids About Race: Books and Resources
• Teaching About Race, Racism, and Police Violence (Teaching Tolerance)
• Talking to Young Children About Race and Racism (PBS)
• Resources For Talking About Race, Racism, and Racialized Violence With Kids (Center For Racial Justice in Education)

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Stores / Organizations:

• EyeSeeMe Bookstore
• The Black Male Educators of St. Louis
• ManUpSTL
• Gentleman of Vision
• Strength and Honor Mentoring
• The MAD Mentor Program
• The Sophia Project
• Girls Inc.
• Books N' Bros
• We Stories
• Witnessing Whiteness

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Children's Books On Race and Racism:

• An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
• Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice by Bryan Stevenson
• I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Gilly Segal 
• Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
• What Lane by Torrey Maldonado
• Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano
• My Black Friend Says...: Lessons in Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural Competency by Heather S. Fleming
• Anti-Racism For Kids by Tiffany Brown
• A Child's Introduction to African American History: The Experiences, People, and Events That Shaped Our Country by Jabari Asim
• A Is For Activist by Innosanto Nagara
• Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi and Ashley Lukashevsky

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Adult Books On Race and Racism:

• Citizen by Claudia Rankine
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
• The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward Baptist
• The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States by Walter Johnson
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
• White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America by Margaret Hagerman
• My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum
• Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen
• Everyday Acts Against Racism: Raising Children in a Multiracial World by Maureen Reddy
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

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Online Videos and Series:

• Lucky Zip Codes - TED Talk - Amy Hunter
• The Danger of A Single Story - TED Talk - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time - TED Talk - Baratunde Thurston
• How to Raise a Black Son in America - TED Talk - Clint Smith
• How Students of Color Confront Impostor Syndrome - TED Talk - Dena Simmons
• How Hip-Hop Helps Us Understand Science - TED Talk - Danielle Lee
• Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man - Video Series - Emmanuel Acho

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Podcasts:

• Code Switch (NPR)
• Come Through W/ Rebecca Carroll (New York Public Radio)
• Nice White Parents (New York Times)
• Unlocking Us (Brene Brown)
• Cult of Pedagogy Podcast (Jennifer Gonzalez): December 2, 2018 - 10 Ways Educators Can Take Pursuit of Equity with Pedro Noguera
• The Power of Bias and How to Disrupt It in Our Children (with Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt)
• June 10, 2020: Brené with Austin Channing Brown on I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
• June 3, 2020: Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist

Below you will find a multitude of resources dedicated to educating the critical mass relative to LGBTQIA+ topics.  zthese resources are intended to help create literacy, language and understandings that will assist our equity, access, social justice and opportunity work in the Districr. 

Support Resources

• General Support from PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.) PFLAG is the oldest and most known support resource and has chapters in every state. Online support and local in-person meetings.
• On supporting children (PFLAG) 
• Support and how to be a better support
• Story Books and Resources for Children

Inquiry, Definitions, Education

• How and Why to Respect Pronouns
• Basic definitions of terms
• Expanded definitions of terms and concepts
• American Academy of Pediatrics General Policy Statement on LGBTQ+ Youth
• Parenting and family, including “how do I know if this is just a phase?” and explanation of gender; supportive parenting practices and rejecting parenting practices 
• Transgender Students FAQs
• Transgender reading list for adults
• Research and findings for grades K-12

Teachers and Educators 

• 5 Ways To Make Classrooms More Inclusive
• Frrom HRC Foundation's Welcoming Schools: Free downloads and lesson plans
• From GLSEN: Resources including educator guides to improving classroom climate and inclusive lessons, also lesson plans on bullying prevention and diversity (click on the blue bar)