How do we promote social justice within the education system?

Challenge

Following the racial and social justice issues that swept across the nation in 2020, states and districts are newly committed to addressing and improving issues of racial equity and social justice.

The National Comprehensive Center works with states and Regional Centers to enhance the quality of instruction, close achievement gaps, and improve educational outcomes for all students. To this end, we deliver high-quality universal and targeted capacity-building services and products, and work with key education stakeholders to leverage expertise and resources and, ultimately, maximize results.

Regional Centers in the Comprehensive Center Network (CCNetwork) have requested the National Center to assist them to better address racial and social justice issues, particularly as these issues interact with the education system and its policies, practices, and outcomes.

Solution

The National Comprehensive Center will examine, document, and coordinate Regional Center and state efforts; track emergent needs; and connect stakeholders to existing resources (e.g., Equity Assistance Centers [EACs]) and developing resources to maximize learning and impact on the work the larger Network can accomplish.

Activities will include

• Building awareness of the different initiatives related to combating racism and supporting social justice by publishing findings from a landscape scan
• Developing a glossary of shared language around this topic
• Sharing evidence-based practices by cataloging focused efforts
• Connecting Regional Centers and state education agencies to expertise

Results

Regional Centers and states working on service projects related to combating racism and supporting social justice will improve their capacity to plan and implement strategies to support culturally responsive practices at the district and school levels.

We also expect that Regional Centers will report that states and districts have improved understanding of how they can address challenges and opportunities related to equity, particularly related to combating racism and supporting social justice within the education system.

Another outcome we expect to see is an increase in the number of service projects enacted throughout the CCNetwork related to supporting culturally responsive practice.