Administrators, teachers, and other staff are the backbone of any educational environment, as they are the main line of student-system interaction. As such, educational staff hold a great deal of impact within their school communities, impact that comes with inherent responsibilities. These resources provide a base of best practices, enabling teachers and other staff to self-review and determine their present state, their strengths, and their areas of need as they relate to equity.
The resources in this section seek to allow teachers and staff to enrich and empower themselves and each other to bring more intentional equitable practices into their classrooms and schools through self-review and personal practice as their educational communities work towards greater equity. The following section is categorized by self-awareness learning and self-awareness practices.
School/District Resources
Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit
This toolkit represents the work and thinking of 15 grassroots organizations with Asian American bases. All of the modules are designed to begin with people’s lived experiences, and to build structural awareness of why those experiences are happening, and how they are tied to the oppression of others. By highlighting the role of people’s resistance both past and present, the toolkit also seeks to build hope and a commitment to political struggle.
Beyond the Binary (PDF)
This comprehensive toolkit was developed to support gender identity activism in schools. The toolkit was a collaborative project of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, Transgender Law Center, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. School districts and individual schools may use this toolkit to understand topics such as: gender identity myths and facts, statistics, changing school policy and staff development.
Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training Package
Trauma-Sensitive Training Package- Developed by the National Center on Safe and Supportive Learning Environments through the U.S. Department of Education. This package offers school and district administrators a framework and roadmap for adopting a trauma sensitive approach.
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency School Safety and Security Committee Model Trauma-Informed Approach Plan: Guide (PDF)
The model trauma-informed approach plan is provided as part of Act 18 updates and required for schools who are applying for PCCD funding. While not required for all school entities, this plan provides supports and guidelines for adopting a trauma sensitive approach and systematically implementing trauma informed approaches.
School Health Assessment and Performance Health Evaluation System (SHAPE)
SHAPE is provided free through a collaboration between the National Center for School Mental Health and the University of Maryland School of Medicine. SHAPE provides districts a data driven focus on mapping comprehensive mental health services and aligning services through a multi-tiered process. Resources are provided as part of the system.
The Compassion Resilience Toolkit for Schools
This tool provides resources and supports on implementing self-care plans and systematically planning for the care of systems and individuals. Self- care for educators is vital during years when schools are "normal." During times of stress self-care is even more important. Ensuring that educators are addressing self-care in a personal and systematic manner to help them individually and make them feel more connected to the school systems.
PDE Bullying Prevention
The Pennsylvania Department of Education's Office for Safe Schools bullying prevention webpage contains resources for parents, educators, and professionals serving children and youth in school and out-of-school settings. The Bullying Prevention Consultation Line is provided, along with other web-based resources related to bullying.
PDE School Climate
School climate refers to the quality and character of school life, and is based on patterns of student, parent, and staff experiences and perceptions of school life. It also reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures, according to the National School Climate Center. This item provides resources that were compiled to assist schools with improving school climate, and were organized to be in alignment with a team-driven process that addresses climate as a component of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), or overall school improvement.
Project READY: Reimagining Equity & Access for Diverse Youth – A free online professional development curriculum (unc.edu)
This site hosts a series of free, online professional development modules for school and public youth services librarians, library administrators, and others interested in improving their knowledge about race and racism, racial equity, and culturally sustaining pedagogy. The primary focus of the Project READY curriculum is on improving relationships with, services to, and resources for youth of color and Native youth.
5 questions every team should be asking about racial disproportionality
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a comprehensive framework using systems, data, and practices to obtain positive student outcomes related to behavior, and positive school climate and culture. This article describes the importance of embedding equitable lenses when evaluating disciplinary data to determine disproportionality by race/ethnicity. In addition, it includes a discussion of reflection questions teams can use to effectively problem-solve as well as action plan to build equitable disciplinary practices.
PBIS Cultural Responsiveness Field Guide
This field guide outlines an integrated framework to embed equity efforts into school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) by aligning culturally responsive practices to the core components of SWPBIS. The goal of using this guide is to make school systems more responsive to the cultures and communities that they serve. This guide is part of a 5-point intervention approach for enhancing equity in student outcomes within a SWPBIS approach.
School Athletic Climate Checklist (PDF)
The School Athletic Climate Checklist is a 14-item checklist allowing school staff the opportunity to evaluate systemic responsiveness and inclusion of student athletes and coaches who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender.
Back to School Guide for LGBT-Inclusive Environments (PDF)
This one-page quick reference allows educational staff to consider ten ways to ensure inclusive environments for students who identify as LGBTQIA+. Recommendations include setting safe, respectful conditions in the classroom, as well as embedding historical information regarding individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ into curriculum and classroom discussions.
Classroom Resources
Gender Equity in the Classroom
This article discusses gender bias in schools. It highlights the ways that educators can begin to recognize and address how gender is described, discussed, and promoted in classroom settings. Considerations for reviewing curriculum and representation are provided. Educators may choose to use this resource as a tool to develop a better understanding of how bias impacts gender outcomes.
Culturally Responsive Teaching Mindsets: Examples and Non Examples (PDF)
The Center for Collaborative Education developed a one-page quick reference to describe culturally responsive teaching components. Each component is defined along with an example and non-example. The content was adapted from Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings. Educators may use this tool as a means of reframing and refocusing their current delivery methods to align to culturally responsive practices.
Learning for Justice - Let's Talk About Race
Educators play a crucial role in helping students talk openly about the historical roots and contemporary manifestations of social inequality and discrimination. Learning how to communicate about topics like privilege, police violence, economic inequality and mass incarceration requires practice, and facilitating critical conversations with students demands courage and skill. This guide offers classroom-ready strategies that can be used to plan discussions and to facilitate these conversations with your students.
Tip Sheet: Talking to Kids about Racial Stereotypes
This tool was developed to support adults in discussing racial stereotypes with young people. In the introduction to the tool, it indicates that "racial stereotypes abound on television, and children's programming is no exception. Stereotypes are reinforced in children's cartoons, films and TV shows. Spotting these stereotypes is often difficult for children. How can educators help children understand these images for what they are - oversimplified, generalizations?
Critical Media Project
Critical Media Project (CMP) is a free media literacy web resource for educators and students (ages 8-21) that enhances young people's critical thinking and empathy and builds on their capacities to advocate for change around questions of identity. CMP has a two-fold mission: (1) To raise critical awareness and provide the tools to decode media representations of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socio-economic class, religion, age, and disability, and develop an understanding as to how these identities intersect and (2) to encourage and offer guidance for students to tell their own stories, create their own representations, and uphold their status as active and engaged participants in society.
LGBT-inclusive Curriculum
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) research shows that LGBTQ students who attend schools with curriculum that is inclusive of LGBTQ people, history, and events experience a better school climate and improved academic outcomes. Curriculum serves as a mirror when it reflects individuals and their experiences back to themselves. At the same time, curriculum serves as a window when it introduces and provides the opportunity to understand the experiences and perspectives of those who possess different identities. An inclusive curriculum should be balanced and include diverse windows and mirrors for every student. Having LGBTQ-inclusive mirrors and windows in school curriculum can help create a more positive environment and healthy self-awareness for LGBTQ students, while raising the awareness of everyone.
Individual Resources
NASP - Understanding Race and Privilege
The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) produced this document as a way to introduce and outline the dynamics of race and privilege in society. The document offers background on the concept of privilege, how it manifests in schools, self-reflection questions and ways to talk to others about privilege. Individuals may use this document as a guide for recognizing privilege in themselves and others, as well as how to engage in difficult conversations around this topic.
Equity Literacy Principles - Poverty
This tool provides key principles in equity literacy related to supporting students in poverty and was developed by the Equity Literacy Institute. The institute indicates the following: "Equity literacy is a framework for cultivating the knowledge and skills that enable us to be a threat to the existence of inequity in our spheres of influence. More than cultural competence or diversity awareness, equity literacy prepares us to see even subtle ways in which access and opportunity are distributed unfairly across race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, language, and other factors. The following principles refer to the knowledge dimension of equity literacy as it pertains to educators' and schools' efforts to ensure equitable educational opportunity for families experiencing poverty."
Trauma Sensitive Schools Online Professional Development
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction provides training around trauma sensitive schools. Individuals wishing to obtain more information around trauma and how to educate using a trauma lens would benefit from engaging in this professional learning opportunity.
Changing Minds Now
Research continues to demonstrate that resiliency occurs in the midst of relationships. Relationships with peers and with students continue to be a primary factor in developing resilience and healing. Changing minds provides resources on understanding trauma and providing easy to understand ideas on how to implement healing practices.
The Compassion Resilience Toolkit for Parents and Caregivers and Compassion Resilience Toolkit for Schools
These tools provide resources and supports on implementing self-care plans and systematically planning for the care of systems and individuals. Self-care for educators is vital during years when schools are "normal." During times of stress self-care is even more important. Ensuring educators are addressing self-care in a personal and systematic manner helps them individually and make them feel more connected to their school systems.
Project READY: Reimagining Equity & Access for Diverse Youth – A free online professional development curriculum (unc.edu)
This site hosts a series of free, online professional development modules for school and public youth services librarians, library administrators, and others interested in improving their knowledge about race and racism, racial equity, and culturally sustaining pedagogy. The primary focus of the Project READY curriculum is on improving relationships with, services to, and resources for youth of color and Native youth.
Specific, Candid, and Helpful Resources to Expressions of Bias and Racism
Individuals engaging in the process of self-awareness, may consider this resource for prompts in how to actively respond when hearing are engaging in conversations that involve biased or racist comments or discussions.
Speak-Up Against Bias: Pocket Guide (PDF)
The Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org) website produced the Speak-Up Against Bias Pocket Guide as a quick and handy resource with specific steps in how adults and students can engage in (1) interrupting (2) questioning (3) educating and (4) echoing while in the midst of conversations that may have biased or racist content.
Speak-Up: Responding to Everyday Bigotry - Handbook (PDF)
The Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org) website produced this resource as a comprehensive document to empower students, families, and educators in the process of finding their voice in responding to everyday bigotry, which may include microaggressions or blatant biased expressions.
Colorado Department of Education – Equity Toolkit (Self-Assessments) (PDF)
Self-assessment is a process of self-awareness in evaluating personal and professional nuances that may impede delivery of equitable practices. The tools provided in the Colorado Department of Education Equity Toolkit are designed for the following roles: district administrators, school administrators, teachers, and students. These assessments were adapted from the Minneapolis Public Schools, Positive School Climate Toolkit, First Edition.