(2020) | Useful to educators, Parent Centers, and families of children with disabilities concerned with equity in education, especially in African American communities
This guide to equity in remote learning emerges from the ongoing webinar series Advancing Equity in an Era of Crisis, a collaborative effort of several professional organizations in California (e.g., California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators). The guide, available in PDF, is 63 pages long. One of its purposes is to examine how California can equitably meet the needs of all students when it resumes instruction in the 2020-21 school year, whether in classrooms, remotely or a hybrid of both.
The Context
Many African-American students are members of households where their parents are essential workers who work behind the scenes to keep businesses, stores, hospitals, nursing homes, and government offices open, safe, clean, and functioning. Black students are also more likely to come from families that have simultaneously lost their jobs and incomes as a result of the economic shutdown.
As a result of the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had upon African-American households, extra precautions and support will be required of schools serving Black students. The rapidly shifting educational landscape requires that educators adapt to remote instruction and shift to technologically enhanced learning by utilizing strategies that promote equity and inclusion for these students.
Chapters in the Guide
Information in the Guide to Equity in Remote Learning is organized in chapters as follows:
- Education in the Midst of Multiple Unexpected Crises
- The Context — Black Educational Attainment Prior to the Pandemic
- The Digital Divide and Educational Access and Equity, and Considerations for Equitable Access to Remote Learning
- How Have Schools Responded to the Pandemic Crisis?
- Recommendations for Schools and Administrators
- Recommendations for Teachers and Paraprofessionals
- Recommendations for Parents and Caregivers