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completed
Institute for Liberatory Innovation

K-12 Equity Project

Increase educational equity in K-12 schools

Posted March 26, 2021

Work & Deliverables

The Equity Scholar in Residence (ESR) model was developed to address critical gaps in current approaches to advancing racial and other social equity in K-12 schools, and to mitigate unintended negative consequences that can arise from approaches focused on policy, training and leadership. After almost two years of collaborative experimentation and learning with educators at U32 Middle-High School in central Vermont, the ESR initiative is nearing the end of its pilot phase. By all accounts, the model is not only fulfilling its initial promise to increase educators’ willingness and confidence to engage equity; it also appears to be mitigating limitations of current approaches. Particularly promising is the possibility that the model reduces resistance -- often driven by fear, misunderstanding and defensiveness -- to school equity efforts. We're very excited about the changes we've seen in the pilot school, and potential to make a real difference for historically marginalized students and educators in schools. The pilot school district has funded the ESR for the 2022-23 school year. We've begun to hear from other interested schools and districts in Vermont, and a couple from outside the state. We'll have an evaluation complete in May, which will drive our replication planning. We'll soon be ready to expand the impact of this model. We may start to see requests as soon as early summer. We need to be sure that when the name "Equity Scholar in Residence Model" is used, it reflects the actual components of the model, so we can continue to measure its impact. So we think we need something like trademark advice? We also need help creating Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with schools and districts that use the model; and employment agreements with Equity Scholars - who will be working as ILI staff. We'll be providing the Equity Scholars; the district will be paying us for compensation plus ongoing support for the Equity Scholar and some admin overhead. We need to be sure all three parties (ILI, District and staff member) are clear about their responsibilities to each other and to the model. Thank you so much!!!!

This project is complete!

This project has been completed thanks to the efforts of our volunteers.

Visit the Project Directory to check out other projects that still need your help!

Additional Information

  • Time Commitment: 1-5 hours
  • Training Provided: No
  • Site-Preference: Remote
  • Open to Law Students: No
  • Bar License(s) required: Any Bar License
  • Required Languages: None
  • Required Legal Expertise: Political Law
  • Mentoring Provided: No
  • Supervision Provided: Yes
Institute for Liberatory Innovation

The ILI lunched in early 2020 with a mission to create opportunities for change-makers to think, experiment and learn together, and to generate strategies for a more equitable and nonviolent future. Each of our initiatives proceeds in two stages aligned with our mission. In the learning stage we think together through formal research or inquiry to inform the generation of impact strategies. In the impact stage we implement those strategies for measurable outcomes. Our agenda is guided by our advisors, who collectively ensure breadth and depth of perspective in our decision-making. We have two major initiatives underway, one in development.

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