The long-overdue reckoning with racism in the United States these past months has many educators thinking and rethinking their work and role in the school system. At Student Achievement Partners, we too are asking ourselves what needs to change about our work to contribute to an anti-racist and more just education system. Much of this work involves an ongoing and honest examination of our own role in perpetuating racist ideas and policies in the education system, the biases we as individuals hold, the work that has come before us, and the work we have left to do. As always, we are actively invested in evidence-based literacy work—namely, ensuring each and every student in this country can engage in literacy in ways that meet grade-level standards with depth and joy. Simultaneously, we wonder about the voices we have given the privilege to, the stories we have uplifted, and the experiences we have ignored. How have we contributed to the continuation of a canon—the literature most commonly taught—that does not represent the cultural expansiveness of this country? How can we disrupt the canon and move towards anti-racist teaching, as we keep complex text at the center of instruction? In working to answer these questions, we are dedicated to working alongside you, the teachers and educators who work on behalf of students every single day. 

October Learning Series

To help us move forward on this journey, we wanted to work with a community of educators to dig deeper into the ongoing work of the #DisruptTexts movement. Led by Tricia Ebarvia, Lorena Germán, Julia E. Torres, and Dr. Kimberly N. Parker, the goal of the #DisruptTexts movement is, in their own words, “to challenge the traditional canon in order to create a more inclusive, representative, and equitable language arts curriculum that our students deserve.” We spent the month of October in a series of live sessions with educators to learn more about the four pillars articulated by these #DisruptText leaders. Some comments from October’s participants include:

A New Asynchronous Learning Experience

We heard from folks in October that an asynchronous version of this content would be helpful, so we created a learning series available on Teachable as a prototype to try out and get your feedback. To get a feel for the course’s content, check out the Prezi below. 

If you’re interested in diving into this kind of content, we’d love for you to join us! Here are some additional details about this learning experience:

• This module’s free, on-demand content includes readings, short videos, asynchronous discussion, and opportunities to apply this work to your own context. In total, we expect this entire course to take about 9.5 hours.
• While we encourage you to engage with the content from all four pillars, you may also choose to select individual pillars to engage with (professional learning certificates are available for each completed pillar). 
• It’s designed specifically for K-12 teachers who engage in text-based work, and those who support teachers.

The module will remain open from November 9th through December 31st. To sign up, head here and feel free to share it with a few colleagues, too.

We hope you join, learn, and share your journey with us as you strive to become a stronger, more knowledgeable ally for your students!