The Equity First Institute curriculum supports individuals who are both new and have some foundational experience in the transformational work of achieving equity in organizations, districts, communities and schools.
Download a printable information packet on Equity First Institutes
Why Equity First
The Equity First Institutes help participants build capacity to access, engage and sustain complex and challenging conversations about equity, identity and implicit bias that lead to action. Participants engage in a rigorous set of learning experiences that begin in a safe space for us to take up the nuances of exploring our own identity. The Institutes then move us to a brave space where we explore how our identity is apparent when we interact with others, and finally shift us to bold spaces where we take up the work of dismantling the systems of oppression in our current work contexts and designing new systems that address persistent inequities.
SRI believes that educational equity is the practice of ensuring that each child is successful regardless of their external or internal, social or cultural contexts. We understand that as long as racial, social, economic and cultural factors continue to predict the future life chances of children in our nation, we must work to support educators to disrupt these inequities at the individual, classroom, school and organizational level.
The most difficult work educators take up is the conversation about equity and its implications for professional practice. While there is a range of injustices in our educational system that need to be vigorously addressed, it is often the conversation about race that proves the most challenging for educators. Race permeates every aspect of organizations, districts and schools, including: policies; organizational culture; relationships with students, their families and communities; curriculum; and styles of communicating. The conversation about race and equity is challenging not only because of the persistent inequities in our schools and communities, but also because the conversation surfaces deep issues of identity, privilege, history, power and the very purpose of our educational system.
“Educational equity is the practice of ensuring that each child is successful regardless of their external or internal, social or cultural contexts.”
Levels of Transformation
Because equity-based learning follows a continuum, SRI offers three workshops that are leveled based on participant need:
Personal Awareness
Interpersonal Discourse and Development
Structural Design and Re-Design
Have questions? Please email contact@schoolreforminitiative.org or use our contact form below.
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