Social Justice Standards and Affinity Groups at PHS Featuring Dr. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Social Justice Standards and Affinity Groups at PHS

Featuring Dr. Elizabeth Denevi

Hosted by The PHS Multicultural Leadership Team

Program Overview

➔ Welcome ➔ Intro to Social Justice Standards and Overview of Faculty Professional Development ➔ Plans for Middle School Affinity Groups ➔ Elizabeth Denevi: The Value of Affinity Groups ➔ Parent/Guardian Affinity Group Experience ➔ Closure and Survey

Social Justice Standards

A Framework for Anti-Bias Education

➔ Written by Teaching Tolerance, inspired by the work of Louise Derman-Sparks ➔ Anchor standards and age appropriate learning outcomes organized into four domains Justice Teaching the four domains allows educators to focus on both prejudice reduction as well as collective action Action Identity Diversity

Faculty Professional Development

Monthly Equity and Inclusion Faculty Meetings

Planned by MLT Co-Facilitators and Admin Team

Deep Dive into The Social Justice Standards

Sara Wicht January 2018

Equity As Academic Excellence

Elizabeth Denevi August 2017

Affinity Group Facilitation Training

Elizabeth Denevi January 2018

2017-2018 School Year

The Standards in Action

Snapshots from classrooms

Alignment with PHS Benchmarks Text Selection for Critical Literacy Essential Question Design Community Building Activities

Middle School Affinity Groups

History of Affinity Group Work At PHS

1990s

Early Days

PHS has had affinity groups in the past, when we had a Diversity Coordinator on staff and strong parent advocacy for neurodiverse

• students. The school has grown

and changed over time and the affinity groups program did not maintain and develop over these changes.

Under Recent Leadership

The Diversity Committee began work on school-wide equity concerns and faculty development; affinity groups was a topic that came up as something for the future once important faculty and other work had become more established. 2000s

Getting Ready

MLT sub-committee research and discussion, outreach and info from

• ther schools/best practices,

strong desire amongst faculty and admin (and some parents and students) to get affinity groups happening soon, seen as something “missing” for our students Last few years

Now

Here we are, Affinity Groups 2.0, we have experienced and practiced as adults, received further information and training, we are starting with middle school and starting “small” 2017-2018

Middle School Affinity Groups

Plans for Spring 2018

1 S h a r e A f f i n i t y G r

• u

p O p t i

• n

s

S t u d e n t s w i l l l e t u s k n

• w

w h i c h a f f i n i t i e s / i d e n t i f i e r s / g r

• u

p s t h e y w

• u

l d b e m

• s

t i n t e r e s t e d i n a t t e n d i n g a n d a l s

• f

f e r t h e i r

• w

n s u g g e s t i

• n

s f

• r

p

• s

s i b l e g r

• u

p s . 2

R e v i e w S t u d e n t F e e d b a c k

The faculty will review student feedback, decide which groups to offer, and determine which adults will facilitate each group. Faculty facilitators will agree upon protocols and goals for each meeting.

3 Students Select Groups

Groups will meet three times this year, once a month, beginning in

• February. We will ask students to

remain in the same group for all three sessions. In May we will solicit and review feedback from students and faculty to inform approach for next school year.

Middle School Affinity Groups for Spring 2018

Potential Identity Groups

➔ Students who are adopted ➔ Students who are in families with divorce (or “non-traditional” families) ➔ Students of color ➔ Neurodiversity ➔ Students who identify as girls ➔ Students who identify as boys ➔ Students who identify as LGBTQ+ or questioning ➔ Students for whom English is not the primary language spoken at home.

The Why & How of Affinity Groups

Elizabeth Denevi, PhD PHS January 2018

Common Language

Diversity vs. Multiculturalism

Diversity is difference that can be measured; it is quantitative. Multiculturalism is the quality of life that diversity lives in a school; it is qualitative.

Common Language

Equality vs. Equity

Equality gives everyone the same thing. Equity asks us to give community members what they need to be successful.

Common Language

Safety vs. Comfort

Safety is the necessary emotional trust and identity security/affirmation needed for learning. Comfort, as related to cognitive dissonance, means the necessary discomfort needed for learning.

Common Language

Intent vs. Outcome

Intent is what we hope will happen, irrespective of what actually happens. Outcome is the ability to own the consequence of a particular action, regardless of intention.

Common Language Becoming a

“diversity responsive” school

(Hawley & Wolfe)

Progressive Ed → Multicultural Ed → Anti-Bias Ed

Progressive Ed was developed out of socio-economic inequality and reactions to the rise of industrialism in the US. It emphasized children as children, not widgets, and put kids at the center of learning. Multicultural Ed continues the progressive tradition, but adds in the importance of racial identity and the role of the teacher in promoting excellent learning. Coming out of the Civil Rights era, it looked at the social construction of racial identity between children and adults and the best conditions for learning.

Distinction between cultural appreciation groups/clubs & organized “affinity groups”

Cultural appreciation groups

• Primary focus is for

under-represented communities to share/celebrate their culture

• The potential exists for examination
• f power differences within the

community and beyond

• Open to entire school community

Affinity groups

• Primary focus is for members of

under-represented communities to have a “safer space” where the focus is on reflection, self- learning, and empowerment

• Explicitly look at differences in power

in the community and beyond and articulate ways to address them

• Open to members of a shared

identity

The “Why” of Affinity Groups

• Students who have a strong sense of identity and “school

belonging” do better academically

• Students who participate in affinity groups have shown a

greater sense of school connectedness

• School connectedness has been shown to create stronger

academic outcomes

• Positive experiences with diversity contribute to greater

critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and creativity.

• Dr. Beverly D. Tatum: The ABC Approach

Climate of Engagement:

Affirming Identity, Building Community, Cultivating Leadership

“Recognizing the importance of engagement across difference is an essential dimension of preparing the next generation for effective participation in a pluralistic world.” Affirming identity “is not contradictory to, but rather a prerequisite for building community” and that “students who feel that their own needs for affirmation have been met are more willing and able to engage with others along lines of difference.”

The “Why” of Racial Affinity Groups

• Research shows that children develop a heightened sense of racial

identity as they get older. Without exploring this part of their identity, children are left without the language or skill to process their social experiences in a healthy way.

• By starting structured conversations early, we're giving ALL children a

safe way to reduce racial stress (H. Stevenson), address what they see in the world, and enhance their own identity development.

• Ming-Te Wang & James P. Hugley – “The study found racial pride

(African American Youth) to be the most powerful factor in protecting children from the sting of discriminatory behavior. It directly and positively related to three out of four academic outcomes – grade point average, educational aspirations, and cognitive engagement.”

*

Guidelines for student affinity groups:

• 1. Facilitators agree on a consistent use of language/terms and

curricular themes to promote greater understanding and clarity for the work together.

• 2. Affinity groups are facilitated, hopefully, by at least two adults

who may be able to address different experiences within a particular identity.

• 3. Each group needs a rationale/statement of philosophy that

can be shared with the community, especially at the start of a new school year.

• 4. Each group needs a curriculum, some kind of "syllabus" to

help frame the discussions.

Guidelines for student affinity groups:

• 4. People who represent a privileged identity (i.e. white racial

group, men's group, straight allies) examine the ways in which that group often is seen as “normal” and/or monolithic. They also reflect on unequal power distribution, unearned privilege, and the opportunity to serve as an upstander.

• 5. Groups periodically share highlights with the community.
• 6. All members commit to their own growth and development as

well as development/training for the larger community.

Affinity groups & the PHS mission:

How do affinity groups support and enhance your commitment to progressive education?

Group Exercise

Engaging resistance to student affinity groups:

Reframing resistance as engagement:

– – – – – – – –

Session #1 – Names and Norms; “If I were a superhero…” Session #2 – Trust building exercise Session #3 – Story Time: Using the stories of others to illuminate our own experience (The Letter Q exercise) Session #4 – Exploring our identity – Using active movement to push the conversation forward: what gets in the way of being your best self? Session #5 – Review of the sessions and what we have learned Curriculum based → Positive and affirming Creating Safety → Practicing language