Courageous Conversations About Race : Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools » (1st Edition)

Glenn E. Singleton is founder executive director of Pacific Educational Group, Inc. (PEG). He introduces PEG's Framework for Systemic Equity/Anti—Racism Transfor-mation to K—12 district administrators and higher education executive leadership. In 1995, Singleton developed Beyond Diversity, a nationally recognized training center aimed at helping educators identify and examine the powerful intersections of race and schooling. Singleton has appeared on ABC's Good Morning America and has written numerous articles on the topics of equity, institutional racism, and leadership and staff development for national journals, magazines, and newspapers. He is the 2003 recipient for the Eugene T. Carothers Human Relations Award for outstanding service in the fields of human rights and human relations; adjunct professor of Educational Leadership at San Jose State University; and founder of Foundation for a College Education of East Palo Alto, California. Singleton earned his master's degree from the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University and his bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Curtis Linton is a co-owner of The School Improvement Network where he is co-executive producer of The Video Journal of Education and TeachStream. He has spent the last 10 years documenting on video and in print the improvement efforts and best practices of the most suc­cessful schools and school systems across North America. Each year, he visits more than 100 classrooms and schools, capturing what they do to succeed with all students at the classroom, school, and system levels. Linton has written or produced dozens of award-winning video-based staff development programs. Hisareas of expertise include closing the achievement gap and improving minority student achievement, using data, leadership, effective staff development, brain research, differ­entiation, action research, and coaching. With the goal of delivering results-based professional development efficiently to large numbers of educators, he works with school systems to design comprehensive school improvement plans that integrate workshops, video, electronic media, and other resources. As a part of this, Linton conducts workshops on effective classroom practices. Linton also works extensively in the community, including serving on the Davis School District Equity Committee. Linton received his master's degree in fine arts from the University of Southern California and currently resides with his wife, Melody, in Salt Lake City, Utah. They have a son.

"Glenn Singleton and Curtis Linton have offered us an important book that provides us with empirical data and well-constructed exercises to help us think through the ways that race affects our lives and our professional practices. My sincere desire is that after you have had an opportunity to read this volume you will, indeed, engage in some courageous conversations about race."
-Gloria Ladson-Billings, Professor
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Author, The Dreamkeepers

". . . challenges educators to talk in honest and open ways about race and provides various tools to stimulate and inform the conversation. Singleton and Linton remind us that the achievement gap will not be eliminated until we learn to talk about race in ways that build bridges of understanding that lead to effective action."
-Dennis Sparks, Executive Director
National Staff Development Council

Deepen your understanding of racial factors in academic performance and discover new strategies for closing the achievement gap!

Educators are acutely aware of the statistical gaps in achievement between different racial groups. Considering the rapidly changing racial composition of student populations, how can educators reach a level of cultural proficiency necessary to eliminate this disparity?

Examining the achievement gap through the prism of race, this comprehensive text explains the need for candid, courageous conversations about race so that educators may understand why performance inequity persists, and learn how they can develop a curriculum that promotes true academic parity. To help guide policy analysis andinstructional reform, the authors present a systemwide plan for transforming schools and districts.

Practical features of this book include:

• Implementation exercises
• Prompts, language, and tools that support profound discussion
• Activities and checklists for administrators
• Action steps for creating an equity team

Only when educators have established both a language and a process for addressing the intersection of race and achievement, will they be able to restructure their schools in ways which improve student performance and fulfill the promise that every child has a right to learn regardless of their race, culture, or class.
See Facilitator's Guide to Courageous Conversations About Race

Foreword Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors
1. Breaking the Silence: Ushering in Courageous Conversation About Race Part I. Passion: An Essential Characteristic of Anti-Racist Leadership
2. What's So Courageous About This Conversation?
3. Why Race?
4. Agreeing to Talk About Race Part II. Practice: The Foundation of Anti-Racist Leadership
5. The First Condition: Getting Personal Right Here and Right Now
6. The Second Condition: Keeping the Spotlight on Race
7. The Third Condition: Engaging Multiple Racial Perspectives
8. The Fourth Condition: Keeping Us All at the Table
9. The Fifth Condition: What Do You Mean By "Race"?
10. The Sixth Condition: Let's Talk About Whiteness Part III. Persistence: The Key to Anti-Racist Leadership
11. How Anti-Racist Leaders Close the Achievement Gap
12. Exploring a Systemic Framework for Closing the Racial Achievement Gap
13. Using Courageous Conversation to Achieve Equity in Schools Resource: Racism and the Achievement Gap References Index