My Leadership Project sought to address an equity gap showing that African Americans are experiencing greater challenges with attendance than any subgroup in the school. African American students in RLES has experienced a high number of absenteeism for the past years and, based on the data from Spring of 2020, this challenge has been exacerbated by the sudden shift to distance learning. To mitigate the problem, it was important for me to understand the factors that contributed to this trend. Upon gathering necessary quantitative and qualitative data, it emerged that some of our African Americans students and their families do not feel that they belong to the school community. I felt that it was pertinent to change this perception, and deemed it necessary to reach out to the families in whatever way I could.

Parent Advocacy Group:

The commencement of the Black Students Matter (BSM) initiative by the District came as an opportune time to build alliance with the school community. Together with the Principal, Administrative Team and four other teachers, I facilitated forming a Parent Support Group for our Black families. In collaborating with the Principal and the Parent Representative, I co-facilitated these "Backyard Conversations with Families," monthly dialogues that provided a safe space for the families and staff to engage in conversations about race and societal issues, and share stories about personal struggles, survival and hope in the midst of an otherwise cruel time in many families' lives. To create a stronger impact, this became an avenue for the school to connect our families with community resources that address health and socio-emotional well-being, such as grief counseling/mental health services, housing and food assistance for families.

Professional Development:

Upon identifying the cause for absenteeism in many of our African American students, the leadership team initiated a professional development on Critical Race Theory last January. To gain greater knowledge on this topic, I reached out to the Academic English Mastery Program (AEMP) and its Great Student Achievement Team (GSAT) and joined them in their series of reflective dialogues using the book "All Students Must Thrive" by T. Howard. This is deemed very helpful in confronting the uncomfortable topic of race and the much needed examination of one's biases. Plans are underway for this book read to be rolled-out to the whole staff so we can truly understand our students and address the micro-aggressions that may have been contributing to the students' the feeling of being "othered".

Outreach:

Parent outreach came with the practice of the Culture of Care. Together with the parent representative, we called parents of our African American children to simply say hello and check-in for whatever they may need. Through the empathy interviews I conducted between the months of late November to early January, we were able to identify families who needed assistance with meals during the last Thanksgiving, delivering and personally connecting with them through home visits. Reaching out to them also extended in the form of allowing students to be a part of planning for celebrations, such as the Black History Month, and taking charge of showcasing their talents in a production made for the whole school.

Overtime, my desire to reach out to families expanded to include all of Lizarraga's population. COVID-19 undeniably isolated everyone from one another. Being a school with 99% people of color, disproportionately affected by the virus, we discovered a powerful commonality that binds us. We were confronted with the unknown, therefore Lizarraga Leaders knew that we needed to approach the situation in unconventional ways. So, grounded on the Culture of Care, the Team reached out to families through carefully crafted Monday Assemblies that addressed well-being. Through varied multi-media, we sent messages of hope, love and gratefulness across every family, strengthened positive school culture and increased that sense of unity among students, staff and community. More than just a gathering, these morning assembly meetings also kept the communication lines open and the first source of information about what to expect during the week. It also a time when we showcased students and families, recognizing them for their resilience and hard work.

All in all, this process has been an opportunity for growth. It is through this process that I have witnessed what Guinier and Torres talked about in the Miner's Canary when they said,

"If you improve the condition for the canary, you improve it for all"

Involving students in planning and instituting a culture of care as an approach to improving attendance impacted not only the attendance and motivation of African Americans but also that of other students.

We had some road bumps in terms of conflicts in schedule, however, this did not deter us. We had to limit our activities with the families to remain within the boundaries of COVID restrictions, as well. But our determination made things possible: we zoomed and met after work hours.

In looking ahead to next year, I would like to be able to further strengthen the alliance with parents and hopefully have more opportunities for us to engage in conversations. I also with for them to lead the way in determining topics for dialogues, for our school to truly provide them the supports they need.