Dismantling Disproportionality in Practice: A Guide to Fostering Culturally Responsive Districts and Schools

This resource offers culturally responsive processes and concrete tools to address disproportionality and create more equitable schools. The authors draw on their work with school districts to demonstrate how using a theory of change can address disproportionate outcomes of special education placement and exclusionary discipline for students of color. Educational institutions can use this application guide to build educators’ capacities in culturally responsive–sustaining education (CR-SE) so that they respond better to the needs of racially, culturally, and linguistically marginalized students, families, and communities. The book includes chapters dedicated to the process of an equity audit to identify and tackle the root causes of disproportionalities and approaches for partnering with young people toward creating an environment every student deserves. It also addresses the critical self-reflective work that is foundational to shift the experiences and outcomes of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and multilingual learners; students with an IEP; and students with intersecting identities. Use Dismantling Disproportionality in Practice to guide your work with district and school leaders and staff, teachers, families, and youth.

Book Features:

• ● This companion to Dismantling Disproportionality: A Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Systems Approach (2023) offers lessons learned from a former state-funded technical assistance center.
• ● Applicable tools and processes to help school districts confront beliefs, policies, procedures, and practices that result in disproportionate outcomes and experiences.
• ● A holistic look at what equitable and culturally responsive schools look like and actionable steps for creating these spaces.
• ● Tangible exercises and examples from two decades of experience centering equity within school systems.
• ● Guidance for partnering with youth to create equitable, systemic change alongside school leadership.

María G. Hernández has over a decade of experience partnering with pre-K–12 educators, providing technical assistance and training to develop culturally responsive education systems that address disproportionality and equity. Reed Swier is a former elementary teacher and administrator currently providing culturally responsive training and technical assistance to educators and district leaders. Hui-Ling Sunshine Malone is an educator, researcher, consultant, scholar-activist, and an assistant professor of education at the University California, Santa Barbara.