The Black Lives Matter at School “Week of Action” is February 3-7. Among the goals of the project are these:
End “zero tolerance” discipline and implement restorative justice- Mandate Black history and ethnic studies in K-12 curriculum
- Hire more Black teachers
- Fund counselors, not cops
End “zero tolerance” discipline and implement restorative justiceWhen we began our work at Students at the Center and launched the Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative, it was with the explicit dedication to supporting research and research communities to examine student-centered learning practices that advance education equity and affect meaningful change at scale.
The research we’ve supported, conducted and/or synthesized over the years underscores the need to pursue the goals of the Black Lives Matter at School movement. Relationships and restoration, representative teachers, and culturally responsive curriculum and teaching methods have been found over and over to be effective means of raising success for Black students, with the positive by-product of creating better and deeper learning environments for other student groups as well.
We encourage all educators, students, parents, unions, community organizations and leaders in the student-centered learning space to support this important initiative.
For suggestions on how to participate, visit Black Lives Matter at School and sign the petition here. Free downloadable activities, resources, and actions to challenge racism and build justice-oriented classrooms and schools can be found in the K-12 curriculum resource guide.
Recent work in the Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative that connects to these topics include the following:
- Dear Educators, Stop Being Jerks and Amplify Student Voice
- Critical Civic Inquiry: Students Master Academic Content through Action Research Projects
- Student-Centered Approaches to Equity, Empathy and Engagement in School
- Finding Voice, Taking Action: Sociopolitical Development for Middle-Schoolers and Beyond
- Who’s in the room? Setting the table to advance educational equity
This blog is produced by the Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative at KnowledgeWorks and created with support from its funders. Learn more about our work here.