Professional Learning In Support of Equity

picture of keynote speakerMETCO PD flier



The district has established specific goals and is taking steps to ensure that our Professional Learning provides staff with the knowledge, strategies and tools to support all our students and their families. Here are 2 examples:
- On November 21, 2018, 900 school and Town staff participated in over 50 workshops designed to discuss issues of racial equity and prepare us to create equitable and inclusive communities of learning.
(Our keynote speaker was Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, pictured above left.)
- On June 24, 2019, Needham teachers and administrators joined representatives from other METCO districts and METCO headquarters for a half-day professional development event, Living the Legacy of METCO, designed to connect the inspiring history of METCO to today's classrooms and community practices.


Goals
  • Create a model of PD related to race, equity, and access that is sustainable and impactful, linked to evaluation and expectations, and addresses all district employees, differentiating as appropriate
  • Provide professional development to all faculty members to directly overcome implicit and explicit bias that allows staff to engage consistently in difficult conversations, for example, about race, ethnicity, religion, sexual identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, language proficiency, and other matters of diversity

Action Steps

  • Develop and implement a system-wide, evidence-based professional learning program that encompasses culturally responsive teaching, cultural proficiency, and courageous conversations
  • Develop professional resources of support for staff of color (e.g., affinity groups, mentoring, etc.)
  • Differentiate PD offerings by interest and readiness, and coordinate those efforts with building-based and district-wide professional development

Implementation

  • All Staff participated in the Professional Development Day, Moving Towards Inclusive Excellence, on November 25, 2020 with Monique Vogelsang, Equity Consultant and Lead Developer of Pollyanna Racial Literacy Curriculum and Dr. Gary Bailey, Equity Consultant.
  • Participation in ongoing Initiatives for Developing Equity and Achievement for Students (IDEAS) courses, workshops, and school consultation
  • Participation in November 21, 2018 District Professional Development Day: Racial Equity in Action (pilot model of differentiation) where 493 participants provided feedback with 90.2% rating Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum's keynote presentation as extremely/very beneficial and 78.3% rating the overall day of learning as extremely/very beneficial
  • Participation in METCO Conference in December 2018
  • Participation in course on Equity from SRI Leadership in January 2019
  • District Leadership Team monthly PD sessions focused on Leading for Learning Through the Lens of Equity & Inclusion
  • Increased focus on most engaged, most skilled group
  • Piloting a model at NHS for empowering teachers and coordinating messaging & learning
  • Building-based training from Teaching Tolerance: Interrupt, Question, Educate, Echo
  • PD for newly formed MALANA (Multi-Race, Asian, Latinx, Native American) Group
  • Plans for summer courses, summer reading, curriculum/ instruction projects

 

 

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