School serves as one of the most important spaces for a child’s development– where they learn, grow, and socialize with peers. But the devastating reality is that even in the year 2021, racial disparities in American school systems still exist and disproportionately affect Black children and teenagers.
Racial Disparities Are Still Prevalent In The Education System
Black students deserve to have the same access to resources, guidance, and support as their white counterparts, but this, unfortunately, is not the case. Here are a few impactful statistics that illustrate the discrepancy that continues to negatively impact Black communities:
- Studies found that non-black teachers in schools have much lower expectations for Black students than Black teachers do
- One statistic revealed that 61% of ACT-tested Black students didn’t meet the college-ready requirements, double the rate of all of the students combined
- Over 20% of the children in poorly-funded and low-performing districts are Black students
What Is The Process of Equity Centered School Improvement?
To work on bridging the gap between Black students and their counterparts, BMEsTalk developed a three-step system, the equity-centered school improvement. This method aims to transform schools into more equitable and just places for all. By getting to the root of what is causing the racial inequities, they can then take action and help schools get closer to their desired outcomes and vision for their students.
To better understand this process, let’s explore each step in greater detail:
#1: Understand
The first step in creating a racially equitable school is the understand phase, which includes:
- Creating A Unified Vision: BMEsTalk brings together community members and stakeholders of the school to envision what they want schools to look and function like to best serve their students and parents
- Performing A School Equity Assessment: by conducting interviews and focus groups, analyzing discipline data, and organizing site visits to engage with students and faculty, BMEsTalks creates a school equity assessment. This allows them to quantify the school’s current equity status to compare the current data with the collective future vision of the school.
#2: Embrace
After collecting important information in the ‘understand’ phase, the next step of the process is taking all of the information gained and using it as a blueprint for future strategy. By embracing what the school is currently doing well at and where there are places for improvement, BMEsTalks helps create a manageable equity strategy that meets the original vision and goals of the community.
#3: Embody
The embody stage is the implementation of all of the strategic objectives and action plans of the embrace step. BMEsTalk begins the process of implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the strategic changes made. This helps them see if the school is getting closer to bridging the gap between its unified vision and current reality.
Empower School Communities With BMEsTalk Today
It takes hard work and a shared community dream to create equitable school systems for all students to thrive in. To learn more about the work that BMEsTalk does to create empowered and inclusive school systems,
To explore how you can support self care and healing in your school or district, set up a 30-min meeting with Ayodele
