Black Student Excellence and Empowerment

Since I shared the District's two Priority Areas of Focus for the 2019-2020 school year---Black Student Excellence and School Culture and Climate---some members of our community have asked this question: Why Black student excellence and not Black student empowerment? 

Empowerment is, without a doubt, important for all students. In fact, back in August at our District Convocation, I spoke to our entire staff about empowering students. I challenged them to empower, encourage and educate all of the children who live and learn in our schools. 

"Black student empowerment" puts the ownership of this work on our Black students. But Black student excellence puts the onus on the District to change our structures to reflect the excellence that our Black students possess.

I chose to use the term "Black student excellence" when identifying our priority area of focus for this year for specific reasons that are crucial to moving forward with the District's Educational Equity Policy and with our next five-year Strategic Plan. 

Black student excellence is about District structures as they relate to how we serve and meet the needs of our Black students. Black student excellence is a very specific call for change at the District level which should and will encourage Black student empowerment.

There are things we already do to cultivate Black student excellence---including programs like MAC Scholars and MAC Sister Scholars---but we can and must do more. We know that developing strong student-teacher relationships positively impacts Black students. We know that communicating high expectations, assigning meaningful homework and increasing instructional time, particularly in math, all positively impact Black students. We know that encouraging participation in co-curricular clubs and activities positively impacts Black students. We know that recruiting and retaining more Black teachers positively impacts Black students. And we know that creating curricula that shows Black students they are valued and reflects who they are and who they can become positively impacts Black students.

For sure, these supports have the potential to positively impact all students, which is good. But if we are to truly do the hard work to promote educational equity, then we must be specific about the who and the what, as well as the desired outcomes. This approach reflects the targeted universalism that our educational equity policy requires. In our last five-year Strategic Plan, we intentionally chose language that included "all students." Now, we know that we must build on that plan and implement specific structural changes to ensure Black student excellence. 

Moving forward, we expect to incorporate specific language connected to our Educational Equity Policy into our next Strategic Plan. We will provide more training for all of our employees on racism and equity and take the necessary steps to eliminate the institutional racism that exists in our District. We will seek the input and wisdom of community stakeholders, including our Black students and staff, as well as community groups. And we must begin the work of dismantling our system of tracking students into different course levels---which, in Shaker, typically breaks students along Black and white racial lines at very young ages.

I understand there is not complete unanimity on the term Black student excellence. Over the past few months, I have heard from members of both the Black community and the white community who support this term, and I have heard from others who prefer different ways of expressing this idea. Unequivocally, our Black students are excellent and as a District, we are compelled to ensure that we are supporting them. 

Our commitment to Black student excellence and our work toward achieving Educational Equity is not, nor will it ever be, a zero-sum game. I believe that we can provide for all students in the course of providing for Black students, and vice versa. I believe both are educational imperatives. And I also believe that together---as a District and as a diverse school community---we will continue to shape a Shaker Heights school district where we expect excellence from all students and, in turn, empower them. 

Please review the following resources on Black Student Excellence:

• Supporting Black Students' Excellence: Connecting Research to Practice
• REL Midwest Report on Black Students' Education Outcomes
• "We Want to Do More than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching" by Bettina Love, PhD (from The City Club,  September 6, 2019)
• Let's Focus on Gaps in Opportunity, Not Achievement

Thank you to all those who applied to participate as members of the District's Educational Equity Policy Implementation Team. We had an overwhelming response, with 137 applicants! To accommodate more voices on the team, we expanded the size of the group from 20 members to 25 members. Again, thank you to all who applied---we are so encouraged by the number of applicants as we begin this important work. 

The selection team included Superintendent David Glasner, the District's equity partner Erica Merritt, Family and Community Engagement Coordinator Keith Langford and Chief Academic Officer Marla Robinson. The process of selecting Educational Equity Policy Implementation Team members was challenging because there were so many talented, thoughtful and engaged applicants. 

After reading each application, the selection team chose team members based on the following: 

• Specific interest in being a part of the team
• Specific skills that the applicant would bring to the work, not just credentials
• Racial and gender diversity 
• Broad representation of Shaker Heights neighborhoods

In addition, the selection team chose members with students in the District at various grade levels, members who do not have students in the District and current employees. The team also chose members who have been deeply involved in past equity work as well as those who are newer to the work. 

Again, thank you to everyone who applied. We appreciate your commitment to Educational Equity!

Upcoming Educational Equity Events

As the District moves forward with the implementation of our Educational Equity Policy, we will provide opportunities for the community to engage in various educational equity discussions, learning opportunities and workshops. All community members are welcome to attend, however, the size of the participant group will be limited, in some cases, to maximize engagement in the activity. 

We look forward to your involvement and interest in this work! Please click on any of the events listed below or scroll down to learn more: 

• Let's Get REAL about Race
• Facebook Live Equity Chat
• Interrupting Racism
• Moving Toward Equity World Cafe
• How to Be an Anti-Racist: A Book Dialogue Series

Exploring race is still something that many of us avoid and some have been socialized that it's impolite---yet the race-based issues that we continue to wrestle with in this country and right here in our city are not going away. This workshop will support participants to recognize some of their own biases along with race-based institutional and systemic barriers that still plague us. Participants will engage in candid conversations and be introduced to a few simple tools that increase the likelihood that conversations about race will be productive. The session is structured for a high level of interaction between participants---this is not a sit and get experience. Each session can accommodate 40 participants. Please click on the session date you would like to attend and complete the Google Form to RSVP:

• Sunday, January 12
• Thursday, February 13

Facebook Live Equity Chat

Tuesday, January 21,  7-8 p.m. 

The focus of this one-hour Facebook Live chat will be on the District's Educational Equity Policy. Please complete this Google Form by Sunday, January 19 to submit your questions in advance.

Interrupting Racism

Sunday, January 26, 2-4 p.m. | Shaker Heights Public Library, Room B

Wednesday, February 19, 6-8 p.m. | Shaker Heights Public Library, Room B

• Sunday, January 26
• Wednesday, February 19

Moving Toward Equity World Cafe 

Sunday, February 9,  2-5 p.m. |  Shaker Heights High School Upper Cafeteria

The World Café methodology is a simple, effective and flexible format for hosting large-group dialogue. In this format, the larger group will break up into smaller groups at tables so that participants can have open conversation and answer a series of questions related to educational equity. The answers are captured by a table captain on large sheets of paper. At the end of the World Cafe, the papers are hung around the room so that all participants have the opportunity to engage in a community gallery walk. The World Cafe can accommodate 100 participants. Please complete this Google Form to RSVP.

How to be an Anti-Racist: A Book Dialogue Series

Thursday, January 16, 6-8 p.m. & Thursday, January 30, 6-8 p.m.

Shaker Heights High School Senior Lounge