Culturally responsive and sustaining education (CRSE) has its roots in the vision that learning should be inclusive and meaningful for all students. NYSED has initiated a Call to Action for cultural competence and inclusivity and has published a Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education Framework to help educators in NYS design and implement student-centered learning.
Major areas of emphasis in the NYSED CRSE Framework are:
- Affirming cultural identities and fostering positive academic outcomes
- Fostering and sustaining meaningful relationships between schools and communities, with an emphasis on a personal investment in the lives
- Developing students’ ability to connect across cultures
- Empowering students as agents of positive social change
- Contributing to an individual's engagement, learning, growth and the development of an individual’s critical thinking skills
NYSED Resources:
Where do TRLE and the BT PLIC Team come in?
A complement to the NYSED Call To Action and the CRSE Framework is the work of TRLE. In 2020, the NYSED was awarded a grant to implement a Teaching in Remote/Hybrid Learning Environments (TRLE) initiative. This grant supports the work of a coalition of education partners who are implementing the initiative that has six major areas of focus. One of the areas of focus is culturally responsive education. The coalition partners developing resources for CRSE are Eastern Suffolk BOCES. Members of the PLIC team, Erin Wilday and Pat Walsh, participated in the TRLE CSRE learning sessions facilitated by Eastern Suffolk BOCES and then developed opportunities to share the resources and conversation with our region. Five CRSE sessions or Modules were planned in which participants were guided through immersive scenarios, challenged and affirmed with relevant conversations and introduced to curated resources from IDE(Innovative Designs for Education). These resources allow differentiation based on different entry points for teachers and administrators.
TRLE CRSE MODULE SESSIONS INCLUDED:
MODULE ONE - You are Here: The Why
Why is culturally responsive and sustaining education important?
- Describe the difference between equity and equality and build a common understanding of educational equity
MODULE TWO - Welcoming and Affirming Environments
How can we create a remote/hybrid learning environment that affirms and values students by creating partnerships within the class?
- Describe key strategies for designing a physical/virtual classroom environment that resents a welcoming/affirming message
- Use norms, protocols and achievable expectations to promote success-
- Identify ways to develop parents/caregivers as partners
- Describe ways to frame learning as a growth minded process
MODULE THREE - High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction
How do we ensure high expectations and rigor for all?
- Describe strategies for creating a climate of high expectations for all in a remote/ blended environments
- Describe strategies for differentiating support in remote/blended learning environments
- Identify resources that support rigor and high expectations for all learners
MODULE FOUR - Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment
What tools can we use as lenses for examining the inclusiveness of curricula and resources?
- Describe strategies and resources for helping students be agents of change
- Explain why it is important to have equitable representation in your curriculum and assessments
- Identify strategies for connecting students with content through place and pursuit based learning
MODULE FIVE - Ongoing Professional Learning
How can we hold ourselves and others accountable to ongoing professional learning in the area of culturally responsive and sustaining education?
- Describe strategies for personal accountability to cultural competence
- Identify resources for continued professional growth in CRSE
The series of opportunities will conclude with TRLE CRSE Module Six - The How: Intention Versus Impact to be scheduled in August 2021.
We invite you to be part of this ongoing work. Upcoming CRSE Work for teachers and leaders this summer include:
