Extend structured racial discourse into the community to build support for classroom discussions¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Because the Core Team identified teachers' fear of social and political backlash as a root cause, it brought structured discourse into the district-community. The report explains the team built the Community Socratic Circle "with the hope that by engaging community members, students, and school staff in Socratic Circles they would build broader support for discourse about racial equity and social justice in the district." Community-based discussions were intended to inform teachers and students of community perspectives and build support for teachers leading these discussions in classrooms, building the connection from school to home.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A district-community Core Team or co-leads with relationships in both school and community settings to convene community participants

Constraints¶

• The report notes the CoP ended in fall 2022 after participating districts shared feedback, due to multiple competing priorities

Target Learners¶

• Parents and community members
• District leaders and school staff
• Students as discussion leaders

Target Learning Goals¶

• Building community understanding of and support for classroom racial equity discourse

Related Strategies¶

• Protect teachers from social and political backlash by communicating CRSE's value and providing norms and probing questions for sociopolitical discussions

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• Johnson, A. M., & Lenderman, K. (2023). Socratic Circles: Building OER Tools for Racial Equity Classroom and Community Discourse. Digital Promise, Center for Inclusive Innovation. https://digitalpromise.org/inclusive-innovation. doi:10.51388/20.500.12265/200