How to get engaged At your child’s school:
asking administrators to recruit faculty of diverse backgrounds and to empower faculty members to focus on equity and diversity. At the same time, Hofmeister adds it’s important to consult the district’s strategic plan to ensure considerations are given to diversity and inclusion. While a focus on hiring more educators of color is noble, local experts agree it’s imperative first for a district to constructively consider its environment. “Part of it is creating a culture for educators to feel welcome and accepted,” said Price. “We have to train people about bias and racism and how to have conversations so we can create a more accepting place to be.” That includes creating an atmosphere where educators of color don’t have to change their disposition to fit in, a very real scenario Stormer and others have encountered in their careers. “You can’t be too revolutionary or seen as a disruptor when entering certain educational environments,” said Stormer. “Black and brown teachers have to be discrete in their dispositions until there is buy-in. Educators of the dominant culture don’t necessarily have to do that.” OKCPS is self-examining what their hiring spaces look like, if hiring practices are representative of the student body and whether teaching equity and diversity is positively affecting those decisions. “Sometimes it’s not the race of the teacher that matters, it’s the relationship with a teacher who views students as human in the context of their struggle,” said Herron.
• Find out whether your child’s school has a council or committee dedicated to combatting bias and promoting inclusion. If there’s not one, start one. Hofmeister says an important first step is the movement toward race equity is creating a safe space for students and families to have candid and courageous conversations with teachers and administrators. • Ask your child’s teacher questions about presenting curriculum from a BIPOC perspective. Engage in discussion with school administrators and district curriculum coordinators. • Discuss concerns regarding a lack of hiring educators and administrators of color as well as discipline and achievement disparities for students of color with district leaders. • Purchase books written by authors of color and featuring protagonists of color to donate to your school’s library. Beyond the school building, consider behaviors at home: • Read books that feature heroes of color, whether historical figures or fiction. Find a list for kids of all ages at metrofamilymagazine.com/ talking-to-kids-about-racism. • Volunteer at a diverse school as a family. • Visit (or join) a diverse church or other place of worship. • Build relationships with families of varied races and ethnicities. • Engage in ongoing discussions with kids of all ages about the realities of racism. Find resources at metrofamilymagazine.com/ racial-justice-okc.
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METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / OCTOBER 2020 39
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