Tools by Topic
Culturally Affirming and Sustaining Practices
Creating a strong sense of belonging and safety in the school community means doing more than just celebrating diversity. Practices that actually affirm students’ multifaceted identities and sustain cultural knowledge and ways of being are critical as we seek to reimagine a system of education that has systematically oppressed, silenced, and erased groups based on race, ethnicity, gender identity, disability, language, etc.
Culturally affirming and sustaining practices happen at all levels and throughout a school – from designing curriculum to setting up empowering dynamics within classrooms, to capacity-building for leaders and staff, and more. These practices serve ALL students and school communities, including those who hold privilege and power, as it sets students up to engage as curious, critical thinkers on topics of identity, culture, and equity in the world around them.
Culturally Affirming and Sustaining Practices Continuum
The Continuum is designed to prompt reflection and empower growth across roles in a school by providing rich descriptions of quality and categorically different images of practice across levels: Emerging, Developing, and Advanced.
Cultural Curriculum Audit
This audit is an exercise in thinking more deeply about how curriculum design, materials and assessments are culturally affirming and sustaining for students, through reviewing “look-fors” and “red flags” around four key questions.
Deeper than Icebreakers: Activities to Know Your Students
These three activities (Community Walk, Shadow-A-Student Day, and Student Spotlight) are designed for educators who are doing the active work to more deeply understand the identities, cultures, and experiences of their students, from a place of openness, respect, and empathy.