CRTL 8

The Diversity as an Asset assignment is a proposal of three activities that will lead to more awareness of cultural diversity amongst our students and staff. The first activity involves students recognizing and representing their cultural backgrounds on a bracelet. All students will create one. From afar, all students will be united in having a bracelet. Up close, their unique backgrounds will be represented. The second activity involves celebrating holidays of all the cultures represented by the student population. The third activity focuses on heightening the cultural diversity awareness of all staff members. As staff acknowledge biases and begin to implement tolerance and diversity celebration into their classroom, we will see a stronger appreciation for the many gifts our students and families possess as unique individuals. ​ 

These activities support CRTL 8, culturally responsive teachers and leaders ensure the diversity of their student population is equally represented within the learning environment. In turn, all members of the student population feel seen, heard, and affirmed. Exceptionally well-versed culturally responsive teachers and leaders provide exposure to underrepresented or misrepresented minority groups, even when they are not present within the population of their school and community at large. The district is not very culturally diverse, which makes cultural awareness and responsiveness even more important. The staff activity described in this artifact targets acknowledging diversity. As a school leader, I would prepare an eight-session series on cultural diversity and tolerance training for the staff. The first session would focus on what our school diversity profile is. This would heighten awareness of the diversity that can't be seen. We would explore the "why" of the series of professional development, tying it to our new mission statement. The next five sessions would cover information drawn from the Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education by the Teaching Tolerance Organization. This plan would lead to the exposure of minority groups and the exploration of how to improve our practices as we recognize these groups. 

The artifact aligns with my competence as an emerging leader. First, it's important that leaders create professional development to improve staff and student practices regularly. This series of training sessions would focus on social diversity and lead to educator self and professional reflection. In addition, these activities allow me to develop my communication and interpersonal relationship skills. The process of asking staff to identify their own biases will require empathy, understanding, and acknowledgment of their feelings. Leaders need to validate ideas and feelings while nudging staff to think critically about their ideas. This will require me to apply social and emotional intelligence skills.

This artifact included a deep dive into student discipline laws, policies, procedures, and decision-making. Discipline, as it pertains to special education, has changed dramatically as acronyms and more formalized procedures based on the rights of students are now the norm.  Because of the immense focus on data acquisition for special education, the role of administration has needed to adapt to be more student-focused on needs, instead of punitive punishments.  IDEA has allowed for special education students to be more supported to ensure that they are getting every opportunity to succeed in a free and public education. In understanding the changing landscape of discipline with data and being in tune with modern court cases, school administrators can change their roles from being reactive, to proactive.  

This artifact supports CRTL 8, culturally responsive teachers and leaders ensure the diversity of their student population is equally represented within the learning environment. In turn, all members of the student population feel seen, heard, and affirmed. Exceptionally well-versed culturally responsive teachers and leaders provide exposure to underrepresented or misrepresented minority groups, even when they are not present within the population of their school and community at large. It dives deeper into the elements of school discipline and the careful considerations that must be taken for IEP, 504, and marginalized populations. Leaders need to monitor data and reflect on this regularly to ensure fair and just discipline practices. 

it is the job of a school administrator to be up to date with state law.  Due to the landscape of special education law containing greater requirements, the legal understanding of IDEA, ISBE policies, and new court cases need to be at the forefront of decision-making.  Because of these advancements, there is more procedural paperwork. It is for the betterment of student success and accountability to provide students with every avenue and opportunity to have their SEL needs met. The same is true for other sub-groups. Leaders must create inclusive school environments to combat the overrepresentation of minority students in discipline.

The development of the Candidate Hiring Process was a collaborative effort between myself and two colleagues. Together, we developed a clear hiring process that considers implicit bias, attention to diverse hiring recruitment practices, and candidate character. Our process includes an example of a carefully written job description and considerations when putting an interview team together. Interview questions and a rubric were developed to ensure consistency and inter-rater reliability. A candidate schedule was creating, allowing the team to get to know each individual, identifying a good fit for the position. We built a character component into the interview process, ensuring the morals and ethics of the candidate align with the school mission. The process includes templates of letters, emails, or phone conversations to guide the refusal process for candidates not chosen. Finally, the process includes gathering feedback about the process from the candidates and the interview team. 

This project relates to this standard of cultural responsiveness in many ways. First, job description was carefully designed with attention to anti-biased wording. The application materials were prepared with demographic information and names removed, and the interview questions were written carefully, given to each candidate ahead of time. All candidates will answer the same set of questions and move through the same selection process. The same scale is used to quantify each candidate's responses. In addition, the process includes the careful selection of a diverse interview team that brings various perspectives to the process and decision. This team identifies implicit biases as part of the process, acknowledging possible impacts to decisions. Finally, the candidate has various opportunities to share who they are. Each participates in the same activities, interview, core values assessment, tour, and demonstration lesson. 

This artifact reflects my development as a culturally responsive leader as I collaboratively developed this process. Implicit bias was taken into consideration throughout the entire process. Prior to this project, I had been part of interview teams but not taken cultural and bias into consideration The importance of this was brought to the forefront. From the job description to the interview team to the process to the final decision, school leaders must identify and reflect on possible biases. The consistency is also an important element of hiring. Each candidate needs to participate in the same procedure to ensure equal consideration. In addition, the interview team needs to be prepared for the interview process and have time to discuss implicit biases and differences in perspectives. The use of a rubric ensures fair and consistent candidate consideration. Finally, reflecting on the process through an evaluation is critical to ensure hiring continues to be culturally responsive.