Prioritizing long-term investments in anti-bias/anti-racism professional development for both educators and school- and district-level leaders aligned to your teaching and learning priorities (e.g., implementing a framework for culturally responsive teaching, understanding the role of bias in teaching and leading) is essential to supporting educators who will nurture and cultivate academic achievement, cultural and linguistic competence, sociopolitical awareness, and emotional intelligence among all students. Consider the following:
"Although at our school we often have conversations about equity, we didn't do the harder work...forcing people to deal with their own stuff depending on who they are. So that is not to say that your race means you do or do not have work to do, but it is to say that your race means that the work looks different." Ashley Davis Principal Advisory Cabinet Member
Center professional development around priorities for serving students' needs:
An LEA must reserve at least 20% of funds to address learning loss through implementing evidence-based interventions and programs that respond to students' academic, social, and emotional needs, and address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underrepresented student subgroups. Professional development that advances these priorities will be critical to addressing student learning needs this year.
Clear, actionable PD for principals will be critical to support their leadership. Areas of leadership uniquely critical to this moment include:
All students deserve a culturally responsive education: instruction and pedagogy that build students' academic achievement, cultural competence, and sociopolitical awareness. The following resources can support PD on culturally responsive teaching and leading:
Culturally Responsive Teaching Video Library: The Culturally Responsive Teaching Video Library features exemplars of culturally responsive teaching by MA educators. These 10–25 minute videos were reviewed and selected by Massachusetts educators in partnership with The Teacher Collaborative and The Teachers' Lounge.
Culturally Responsive Look-Fors for Classroom Teacher Focus Elements : This resource lists observable, culturally responsive teacher and student actions, or look-fors, for seven foundational elements from the Classroom Teacher Model Rubric. This resource was informed by the contributions of OPTIC Content Fellows, a group of MA educators and educator preparation faculty with strong expertise in subject matter content and culturally responsive teaching.
Facilitator's Guide — Using OPTIC to Strengthen Understandings of Culturally Responsive Teaching : OPTIC is an online platform that enables groups of educators to collectively view videos of classroom instruction, individually score the observed practice in specific focus areas in relation to content and pedagogy standards, and draft written feedback to the teacher. This Facilitator's Guide supports professional development workshops trainings in which educators collaboratively assess instruction through a culturally responsive lens and compare their perceptions to benchmark scores from OPTIC Content Fellows.
Acceleration Roadmaps DESE and TNTP
Online Platform for Informed Teaching & Calibration (OPTIC) DESE
Multi-Tiered System of Support Academies DESE
Professional Learning Partner Guide Rivet Education
For their contributions to this module, we'd like to thank DESE's Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign.
Denham, Susanne A., and Chavaughn Brown. ""Plays nice with others": Social-emotional learning and academic success." Early Education and Development 21.5 (2010): 652-680.
Please contact us at educatordevelopment@mass.gov with questions, feedback, or for additional support and partnership around any of the practices and resources included in this guide.
Last Updated: August 30, 2022
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