Authors Rhonda Barton and Rob Larson stress the importance of quality leadership in achieving educational equity. They listed these strategies leaders can use to enhance equity in the realms of curriculum interpretation, instructional practices, assessment and evaluation, and community involvement:
- Curriculum Interpretation
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- Encourage staff members to talk about issues of diversity, values, and social justice.
- Model equity beliefs for staff members.
- Clarify misconceptions about equity.
- Create a safe, affirming school environment.
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- Instructional Practices
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- Enable teachers to provide students with the support they need.
- Provide all students with access to the whole curriculum.
- Recognize the potential for bias in special education identification.
- Support research-based instructional practices.
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- Assessment & Evaluation
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- Monitor progress toward achievement gap reduction.
- Use appropriate accommodations for assessments.
- Discourage strategies that involve gaming the accountability system.
- Celebrate all achievement gains.
- Increase the reliability of assessments for diverse student populations.
- Avoid cultural, linguistic, and gender bias in tests.
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- Community Involvement
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- Recognize the expertise of parents and community members.
- Create partnerships with parents to support learning.
Authors: Rhonda Barton and Rob Larson
