Racial Justice in Schools: Learnings and Reflections From a Yearlong School Cohort Program

• In Event: "It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint": Sustaining Racial Justice Work in Schools

Abstract

Objectives
The Center for Racial Justice in Education’s (CRJE) mission is to train and empower educators to dismantle patterns of racism and injustice in our schools and communities. Our Racial Justice in Schools (RJIS) program provides public elementary schools in New York City with the opportunity to receive one year of intensive professional development to advance racial justice at their institutions. Through training, assessment, and customized coaching, schools gain strategies and resources to build culture, practices, and policies grounded in racial justice and equity. Participating schools join a cohort of educators and schools that are actively building anti-racism practice in their communities.

Theoretical Framework
CRJE’s framework is grounded in critical race theory (CRT), which contends that race is a social construction with real and impactful consequences. Moving beyond the idea of racism as only personal bias, CRT incorporates a systemic analysis that examines the ways racism is embedded in the social structures and fabric of our society (Bell, 1992; Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Harris et al., 2015). CRJE trainings are grounded in critical race theory in that we begin from the premise that structural racial oppression is an educational reality. We provide a framework for educators to examine racism from a systemic point of view, with less attention on individuals' intentions and more on the outcomes and impact of actions and processes. To this end, we link the interpersonal manifestations of racism that occur within schools to the larger systems of racism that are in place now and historically.

Methods
The Racial Justice in Schools initiative consists of three phases over the course of one year, which includes training, assessment, and action.

As part of the RJIS model, schools participate in a “Racial Equity Assessment” process. This assessment, conducted by CRJE staff, is a community-led, data-informed process. Primary sources of data collection include surveys for educators, semi-structured interviews with school leaders, focus groups with administrators and educators, and observations of school trainings and RJIS programming.

Results
Preliminary results suggest that participants in CRJE programming developed new understandings about race and racism and increased their awareness about the history of racism. Furthermore, educators reported increased understanding of their role in school-based racism and willingness to address racism in their schools. School staff also reported shifts in behavior, including interactions with students, decisions about special education and discipline referrals, and selection of curricular materials. Schools participating in RJIS have also developed racial equity action plans to create institutional changes.

Significance
Research on the impact of racial equity training is limited. As such, case studies of the RJIS pilot program make an important contribution to the literature, and provide an overview of an innovative model of what the direct implementation of anti-racism training and coaching for schools can look like. In collaboration with the Research Alliance for NYC Schools, our findings will provide valuable insights for other programs that focus on disrupting racism in schools, including the NYC DOE’s implicit bias training.

Authors

• Roberto Soto-Carrion, Center for Racial Justice in Education

• Olga Pagan, New York University