Educational Excellence and Equity: Seeding, Feeding, and Cultivating Cultural Proficiency in Our Schools
With research that was conducted about course recommendations, transitions between middle and high school, and the desire to increase equitable practices in Brookline, the Office of Teaching and Learning has developed a plan to improve equitability in thought and practice in today’s classrooms. The Senior Director of Educational Equity will design and deliver a twelve-hour Cultural Proficiency course to all PSB teachers, which will be rolled out in several phases over three years, all Public Schools of Brookline principals will be trained, and in the first full year 25 educators will be trained to then teach fellow teachers. The course will address issues such as how to understand racial identity development, cultural mismatch, racial microaggressions, and how stereotype threats can impede learning.