Equity Outside the Box : A Framework for Engaging Diverse Learners

How do we create environments that unbox success for diverse learners? The national focus in education is providing equitable outcomes to K-12 students with teaching and learning that has inclusion, diversity, and representation in education. Get frameworks to support professional learning for collaborative learning teams to close the achievement gap for diverse learners. 

"Stress, stress, stress-that seems at the heart of teachers' decisions to leave," said Heather Schwartz, the director of the pre-K-12 educational systems program at RAND. "COVID has fanned the flames of stress."

Principals and leaders need new ways to create positive school environments to keep high motivation and engagement for teachers and students. At least 70% of adults suffer from mental health issues, and students express the need for more social-emotional learning support. Support your staff and students by providing environments that build relationships, context, and connections.

Learn how to "unbox" equity in your school or district with a focus on:

• Connection. How do we manage and cultivate positive relationships between the people, policies, and practices of education?

• Contextualize. How do we move from assumptions and limited perceptions to a clearer understanding of the big picture?

• Conversations. How do we engage in discussions that lead to a positive connection that leads to empathy in action?

Leaders, teachers, parents, and community members, unbox barriers to academics success with equitable, intentional, and actionable practices. Use the power of positive psychology to create school environments with culture and climates that promote positive collaboration and strategic planning to improve diverse learners' engagement.

Imagine, even during the pandemic, your teachers having a higher sense of job satisfaction, as well as diverse learners' access to thrive.

There are two kinds of learning environments, those that are equitable and those that are inequitable. Historical data worldwide denotes diverse learners' continued cognitive malnutrition due to the lack of representation, inclusion, and diversity. Traditional approaches to elevate equity are isolated efforts to "fix" students.

Yet, that response has not improved equitable outcomes, and the achievement gap continues to widen, especially during a worldwide pandemic. Equity Outside the Box: A Framework for Engaging Diverse Learners aims to provide K-12 leaders, teachers, and community members with a paradigm shift to "unbox" equity in K-12 schools.