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A thread of key points from new book Shattering Inequities by Robin Avelar la Salle & Ruth S Johnson of @OrendaEd A must-read for anyone interested in #equity & #disadvantage in #education 
E 1. Moral imperative. Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets. Every child deserves premium education that currently only some experience. Every educator has moral obligation to help most vulnerable students receive the best education available anywhere.
Equity Concepts: The Inevitability Assumption - mistaken belief that demographics determine destiny. The Normalisation of Failure - when lack of success of a group is tacitly accepted; failure is normalised in school culture.
Equity Disposition- seeking out inequities & disrupting systems that limit success for groups of students. Equity Muscle - courage & capability to address inequity- strengthened every time a leader works through an equity issue.
2. Data as an Equity Engine. Beware the Wallpaper Effect-using superficial data that cover up inequities. Combination Data-overlapping data points reveal complexities. Data Inquiry with an Equity Lens - interact with data to counteract Wallpaper Effect. Other Data-use other data
3. When Adult Behaviour Poses Equity Challenges: Everyone’s Got a Story. Concepts: Equity Leadership Trilogy-3 most critical traits of impactful equity leaders: a)Leadership Maturity - the leader is the level-headed adult in the room.
b)Leadership Responsiveness-use emotional intelligence to modify leadership actions. c)Leadership Grace-most effective equity leaders have humility to grant people goodwill even when undeserving; establish authentic relationships; believe everyone has a redeeming quality;empathy
4.Inspiring Equity Action: Lead with a flashlight, not a club. Beware cognitive and confirmation bias. Consider threat aversion-human tendency to respond to changes in habits/established routines as a threat. Use opportunity reframing - create a vision of change.
5.Growing an Equity Culture: I Want You to Want To. Equity Vision-ability to evaluate the extent to which a situation supports equitable outcomes. Leadership Acumen-astute/measured leadership takes meaningful, reflective action.
Interests v Positions-discern people’s interests-dig beneath their words to their fears, needs, desires, values. Presume positive intentions. If you get stumped, think aloud...say, ‘I don’t know what to say.’
6.The Power of Expectations: Language=Window into Belief Systems. Beware Liability of Labelling. Adult expectations of students can result in life-changing decisions made for them. Spillover Effect-impressions of an individual dangerously generalised to others (family, friends)
Hidden belief systems/codes - language adults use can reveal underlying assumptions/beliefs/expectations about children. When these become institutional norms, entire systems begin to operate under those beliefs.
So - become fluent in equity language; use data-derived language; build needs-based support models; establish & monitor aggressive student outcome goals to close gaps over a fixed time; backward-map actions; use data to check progress & adjust regularly.
7. Setting the Conditions for Building Collective Equity Muscle: A Star Does Not a Constellation Make. Build an equity culture where the power of equity-centred leadership is magnified & an equity culture becomes the norm.
Take an equity inventory. Create an equity map. Define equitable outcomes. Decide the acceptable floor - what is unacceptable in any circumstance? Celebrate constellations. Monitor the progress of your plan.
Actions: demonstrate humility; build on prior successes; shine a light on relatable models; grow methodically.
8.Self-Imposed Equity Hurdles: Get our of your own way. Mistake 1-more is better - the Christmas Tree Effect=lots of decorations (interventions...), no roots; Mistake 2- Everybody Knows - don’t accept conventional wisdom - use evidence. Mistake 3-Normalisation of Failure.
Mistake 4. Trusting without verifying. Mistake 5. Prioritising Adults’ Interests 🐘
9. Make Educational Equity Your True North. Do u want to be right or do right? We all can & must break through the educational glass ceiling to create equitable systems that ensure that every student receives excellent education currently only some receive. Enough Is Enough
Read this book. It’s very very good. To read the whole thread as a mini-blog reply to this tweet and tag @threadreaderapp with keyword unroll
