Thread by @JPhillipsVT

I’ve been thinking a lot about @DrIbram’s words, spoken at UVM and written in #HowToBeAnAntiracist, and contemplating what it means for #vted schools and educators.

Specifically, @DrIbram asks us to look at the outcome or impacts of policies, not their intent. Policies are racist if they have outcomes that disproportionately impact one group over another. Are #vted schools and educators looking for disproportionality in data?

Data from 2015 shows that Black and Native American students were 2 to 3 times more likely to be suspended from school than white students in Vermont, a clear indicator of racist policies and practices in #vted schools: vtlegalaid.org/sites/default/…

(Also disturbing is data on #vted students with disabilities - they are three times more likely than students without disabilities to be suspended - this is true in EVERY county in Vermont and this has longterm implications)

While data is only available from two counties with enough BISOC to measure impact, I suspect this is the case elsewhere as well. What would lit look like to take a close look at the impact of your #vted school policies? Here are some suggestions…

Look at discipline data: referrals, write-ups, detentions, suspensions. Disaggregate it by race, socioeconomic status, gender, dis/ability status. Are some groups overrepresented? Underrepresented? What does that say about discipline policies and who they are impacting? #vted

Who is taking AP and Honors classes? Who isn’t? Again- disaggregate the data and check for disproportionality. What policies/practices lead to some groups being overrepresented in Honors/AP courses and others being underrepresented? #vted

Whose stories are being taught? Count the required reading, read-alouds, book group books, etc and look at the data by AUTHOR. How many of these are written by POC? LGBTQ+ authors? This is important for ALL #vted students (not just SOC and LGBTQ+ students).

Do we want white students to leave our #vted schools having the notion that stories about people who look like them are more important than the stories of others? This has lasting impact as well #vted

What does your social studies curriculum look like? At @schoolreforminc Fall Meeting @IjeomaOluo asked us to insert the word “white” in front of any historical figure or group we were teaching about that it applied to and see how fast we got tired of saying “white.” #vted

This practice can bring awareness to the stories/histories that are being centered. #BlackHistory is everyone’s history! #vted

It’s easy to think that math is neutral… if you think this, check out @RG1gal to learn more about the ways racism might show up in your math curriculum and disproportionately impact your students:

What scientists are being introduced to your students? How does this impact what they think a scientist looks like? (Insert artists, musicians, engineers, writers, etc. for scientists) #vted

This book offers a helpful framework for examining policies for disproportionality: goodreads.com/book/show/3079…

And this video offers another perspective: nytimes.com/video/us/10000…

This is just a start... I’d welcome other ideas and thoughts. And I’d love to dig in to this work with #vted educators

It is NOT enough to assume #vted school policies are fair and unbiased, it is NOT enough to have good intentions, educators MUST look at the impact they have on students. #HowToBeAnAntiracist