Tier 1

Integrate Anti-Racism and Social Justice Resources into Professional Learning

Goal: Educators apply specific anti-racism and social justice learning to create classrooms where all students feel seen, respected, and included.

Action:

Organize Staff Study Groups

• Schedule regular sessions where educators read, discuss, and reflect on anti-racism texts, articles, or media to deepen understanding of systemic inequities.

Include Anti-Racism in Professional Development

• Embed workshops, webinars, or guest speakers on topics like systemic racism, environmental justice, and gendered violence into staff professional learning plans.

Facilitate Reflective Practice for Staff

• Encourage journaling, discussion prompts, or peer reflection on personal biases, privilege, and responses to equity-related topics encountered in professional learning.

Impact:

• Increases staff awareness and understanding of systemic inequities

• Equips educators to create more inclusive, culturally responsive classrooms

• Promotes ongoing self-reflection, accountability, and equity-focused practice within the school community

Create Safe Spaces for Reflection and Dialogue

Goal: Students feel safe to share, reflect, and learn about themselves and others in ways that build empathy, understanding, and inclusion.

Action: 

Hold Regular Classroom or School Circles

• Schedule weekly or monthly circles where students can share thoughts and experiences related to inclusion, equity, and social justice in a structured, supportive setting.

Facilitate Guided Discussion Groups

1. • Create small groups focused on exploring specific topics like racism, bias, or cultural understanding, with adult guidance to ensure respectful dialogue and learning.

Implement Reflective Journals

1. • Encourage students to privately reflect on their learning, questions, and personal experiences related to equity and social justice, helping them process ideas and develop self-awareness.

Impact:

• Increases sense of belonging and inclusion

• Supports emotional safety and reduces anxiety

• Builds empathy and social awareness

• Strengthens self-reflection and emotional literacy

• Empowers student voice and agency

Incorporate Curriculum Connections on Racism, Equity, and Inclusion

Goal: Students understand diverse perspectives, recognize inequities, and apply this understanding to their own thinking and actions.

Action:

Integrate Diverse Perspectives into Lessons

• Include texts, case studies, and historical examples that highlight marginalized voices and experiences across subjects (e.g., Black, Indigenous, and other racialized communities).

Use Inquiry-Based Activities on Systemic Issues

• Have students investigate topics like systemic racism, environmental racism, or social justice issues through projects, research, or problem-solving tasks.

Facilitate Structured Discussions and Debriefs

• Build in class time to reflect on learning, ask critical questions, and discuss the relevance of equity and inclusion to students’ own lives and communities.

Impact:

• Increases student understanding of systemic inequities and diverse perspectives

• Encourages critical thinking, empathy, and social responsibility

• Promotes inclusive and equitable classroom culture where all voices are valued

Resources for our professional learning, as adults:

• Robyn Maynard: Resisting Gendered State Violence Across Turtle Island

• History of RCMP racism 

• A Look at Anti-Black Racism in canada

• Yes, canada Has a Racism Crisis and It’s Killing Black and Indigenous Peoples

• Canadian Systemic Racism 

• What is environmental racism? Talking with Nova Scotia's Ingrid Waldron

• Environmental Racism Remains a Reality in canada

• ‘This is about vulnerability’: Ingrid Waldron on the links between environmental racism and police brutality 

• Grassy Narrows mercury disaster a form of environmental racism

• What It's Like to Be a Native Trans Woman on Thanksgiving

Racism in schools -both obvious and subtle - harms the well-being and learning of students. It can limit opportunities, affect their sense of belonging, and lead to unequal outcomes in achievement and success. 

Center Black Voices and Experiences in School Culture

Goal: Ensure Black students see their histories, experiences, and voices reflected in school life and feel empowered to contribute meaningfully.

Action:

• Integrate African Nova Scotian and Black histories and contributions into curriculum.

• Create leadership and voice opportunities for Black students.

• Partner with Black community organizations and families.
  
  

Impact:

• Affirms identity and cultural pride.

• Strengthens student voice and empowerment.

• Moves the school from symbolic solidarity to meaningful systemic change.

Actively Address Micro-Aggressions and Subtle Racism

Goal: Reduce micro-aggressions and ensuring discrimination is recognized and addressed.

Action:

• Teach staff and students to recognize and interrupt micro-aggressions.

• Establish clear reporting and response processes for racist incidents.

• Explicitly name and challenge discrimination, including body-based bias.
  
  

Impact:

• Reduces daily harm experienced by Black students.

• Improves emotional safety and psychological well-being.

• Signals that racism will not be tolerated.

Monitor and Support the Well-Being of Black Students

Goal: Ensure Black students feel supported, safe, and connected by having trusted adults who advocate for their well-being and success.

Action:

• Regularly check in with Black students regarding their sense of belonging and safety.

• Use data to identify achievement gaps and disproportionate discipline.

• Ensure each Black student has at least one trusted adult advocate.
  
  

Impact:

• Increases sense of belonging and connection.

• Supports academic success and engagement.

• Prevents marginalization and differential outcomes.

Review resources for our professional learning, as adults:

• BLM Syllabus 

• Black Can. Lit

• 10 Steps to Non-Optical Allyship 

• African Nova Scotian History Books at Halifax Public Library

• Baratunde Thurston’s Ted Talk on “How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time”

• Black People Are Tired

• Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay

• The 1619 Project by the New York Times

• Anti-Black Racism Resources

• Black Quantum Futurism 

• A list of resources for supporting the Black Lives Matter movement

• What to Say When People Deny the Reality of Violence 

  • -Part 2

• 20 Ways to Be in The Struggle Beyond the Streets - makeitseen on Instagram

• Cineplex Free Movies: Black Stories 

• ‘Digital blackface’ dehumanizes Black people by flattening our stories

• What is Pinkwashing

• LGBTQ communities are elevating black voices during Pride Month in solidarity

• Pods and Pod Mapping

Racism in schools -both obvious and subtle - harms the well-being and learning of students. It can limit opportunities, affect their sense of belonging, and lead to unequal outcomes in achievement and success. 

Develop Relationships with Local Mi’kmaq Communities and Knowledge Holders

Goal: Learn directly from Mi’kmaq voices and lived knowledge.

Actions:

• Invite Mi’kmaq Elders and Knowledge Holders to share teachings

• Partner with local Mi’kmaq communities for land-based learning experiences

• Include storytelling, teachings, and cultural perspectives

• Support long-term relationships—not one-time visits

• Work with Regional Centres for Education Mi’kmaw Education teams

• Compensate Elders appropriately for their knowledge

Impact:

• Promotes cultural understanding and respect

• Supports reconciliation and inclusive school culture

• Affirms Indigenous identity and belonging

• Deepens awareness of diverse perspectives and shared responsibility

Support Indigenous Voices and Community Connections

Action:
Partner with local Mi’kmaq communities, invite Indigenous speakers, and compensate knowledge holders appropriately. Highlight Indigenous-led movements and lived experiences.

Impact:

• Centers Indigenous leadership and voice

• Builds authentic relationships, not tokenism

• Promotes reconciliation grounded in respect and action

Embed Indigenous Perspectives Across the Curriculum

Action:
Integrate Mi’kmaq history, contemporary Indigenous issues (e.g., land defense, MMIWG2S), Indigenous literature, film, and podcasts (e.g., Unreserved, Indigenous cinema) into classroom learning throughout the year — not only during Mi’kmaq History Month.

Impact:

• Increases understanding of colonial history and present-day realities

• Counters erasure and stereotypes

• Strengthens Indigenous student identity, belonging, and representation

Move from “Ally” to “Accomplice” Action

• Action:
  Use resources like Accomplices Not Allies and the Unist’ot’en Supporter Toolkit to guide staff discussions about responsibility, land, power, and meaningful solidarity. 

• Develop school-based commitments that move beyond symbolic gestures.

Impact:

• Shifts school culture from performative support to action

• Builds accountability and ethical responsibility

• Models courageous, justice-oriented citizenship for students

Facilitate Critical Conversations About Colonialism and Systemic Racism

Action:

• Use lectures, articles, and frameworks (e.g., Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor, Mapping Our Social Change Roles) in professional learning and senior classrooms to examine systemic racism, policing history, and decolonization.

Impact:

• Develops critical thinking about power and systems

• Encourages informed civic engagement

• Creates space for truth-telling and deeper historical understanding

Review resources for our professional learning, as adults:

• Unist’ot’en Resources on Allyship

• Unist’ot’en Supporter Tool Kit 

• Accomplices Not Allies

• Mi'kmaq History & Culture Books at the Halifax Library

• Mi’kmaq History Month

• Mapping Our Social Change Roles in Times of Crisis

• As the RCMP deny systemic racism, here’s the real history

• MMIWG2S

• Defend the Territory 

• Wet’suwet’en Strong

• Decolonization is not a metaphor

• To Breathe Together: Co-Conspirators for Decolonial Futures

• What Decolonization Is, and What It Means to Me

• Decolonization Is for Everyone

• Leanne Simpson’s Public Lecture: “As We Have Always Done”

• Indigenous Cinema 

• Unreserved

Consult for strategies to create relationships with the land and all beings.

Embed Guiding Principles into Daily School Culture

Goal: Make Msit No’kmaq (“All my relations”) part of how the school operates.

Actions:

• Discuss interconnectedness in classroom discussions

• Reinforce respect for self, others, and environment

• Encourage kindness and collective responsibility

• Use restorative practices instead of punitive discipline

• Teach empathy and community responsibility

Impact:

• Fosters a sense of connection and belonging among students and staff

• Strengthens respect, empathy, and collective responsibility

• Encourages consistent, positive relationships and social-emotional growth

• Promotes a supportive, restorative school environment

• Use your voice and your actions to become an ally to marginalized communities.

Practice “Listen First” as a Discipline (Not a One-Time Action)

Allyship begins with listening without defensiveness or centering oneself.

Actions:

• In meetings, consciously pause before responding to racialized colleagues.

• Notice and interrupt the urge to explain, defend, or minimize.

• Ask: “Is this my space to speak?”

• Seek out books, podcasts, and articles created by racialized authors — without asking colleagues of color to educate you.

In Schools:

• Build in structured listening circles.

• Model reflective listening with students.

• Validate lived experiences without debate.

Key mindset shift: Listening is not agreement - it is respect.

Impact:

• Fosters trust and psychological safety for racialized staff and students

• Strengthens empathy and understanding of diverse perspectives

• Reduces defensiveness and promotes self-awareness among adults

• Encourages active, reflective listening as a school-wide practice

• Models respectful communication and conflict resolution for students

• Creates a more inclusive and equitable school culture

Do Your Own Learning 

Actions:

Form Adult Study Groups

• Staff come together regularly to read, discuss, and reflect on anti-racism resources (e.g., Anti-Racism Resources for White People).

• Encourage sharing insights and challenges in a safe, confidential environment.

Reflect Individually on White Fragility and Bias

• Staff journal privately after equity discussions to explore discomfort, defensiveness, and challenged beliefs.

• Pause before responding in conversations to consider personal biases and emotional reactions.

Integrate Anti-Racism into School Practice

• Include anti-racism topics in professional development sessions.

• Use white caucus spaces intentionally to process learning without centering racialized staff.

• Develop a shared vocabulary around systemic racism to guide discussions and decision-making.

Key mindset shift: Growth requires discomfort.

Impact: 

Increased Staff Self-Awareness and Accountability 

• Adults recognize their own biases, defensiveness, and role in systemic inequities, improving their capacity to act as effective allies.

Improved School Culture and Equity Practices 

• A shared understanding of systemic racism and anti-racism practices fosters inclusive policies, relationships, and learning environments.
  
  

Enhanced Student Outcomes 

• When staff model reflective, equitable behaviours, students benefit from more culturally responsive teaching, reduced bias, and safer, more inclusive classrooms.

Use Your Voice to Interrupt Harm

Allyship is not silent support - it involves visible action.

Actions: 

• Interrupt racist comments or stereotypes calmly and clearly.

• Question biased assumptions in meetings.

• Say things like:

  • “I’m not comfortable with that comment.”

  • “Can we pause and unpack that?”

  • “Whose perspective might be missing here?”

In Schools:

• Intervene when students use racial slurs or harmful language.

• Challenge curriculum gaps that erase marginalized voices.

• Advocate for inclusive texts and representation.

Key mindset shift:  Silence protects the status quo.

Impact: 

• Creates a safer and more inclusive school environment by addressing harmful language and bias

• Models accountability and courage for both staff and students

• Reduces microaggressions and normalizes equity-focused dialogue

• Empowers the school community to speak up and challenge injustice

• Strengthens respect, belonging, and social-emotional well-being

• Reinforces a culture that values fairness, inclusion, and diverse perspectives

Review resources for our professional learning, as adults:

• First, Listen. Then, Learn: Anti-Racism Resources For White People

• Why People of Color Need Spaces Without White People

• The Real Safe Spaces for Black People Are Places Where We Can Escape the White Gaze

• Guidelines for Effective White Caucuses

• White Culture is Violent - ekdoux on Instagram

• Anti-Racism Resources for White People by Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein

• White People: Here Are 3 Things You Should Start Doing for Racial Justice 

• Whiteness and White Fragility

Use resources like "Know The Signals" and the Bias Evaluation Tool to ensure all resources used in the classroom are appropriate and do not perpetuate racism and discrimination.

Goal: Ensure students engage with classroom materials that are fair, accurate, and free from bias, so all learners feel respected and included.

Actions: 

• Select and review materials carefully: Choose texts, media, and resources that accurately represent diverse perspectives and lived experiences.

• Audit for bias: Regularly use tools like “Know The Signals” or bias evaluation guides to identify and remove racist or discriminatory content.

• Model inclusive practices: Intentionally incorporate equity, respect, and representation in lesson planning, discussions, and classroom interactions.

An important part of being an ALLY is to regularly read and learn about cultures and people who are different from you. 

It might help to think of books as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. 

A ‘mirror’ book is one in which a reader sees a reflection of their own lived experience and culture. 

A ‘window’ book is a book that provides a window into a lived experience or culture that is different from the reader’s. 

A ‘sliding glass door’ book is one that has parts that reflect the reader’s own experience and parts that are a window into an experience that is different. 

Reading a variety of books that are mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors will help us learn about others and think like an ALLY.