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Equity

Fair outcomes, treatment, and opportunities for all students.

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Ensuring equity in education is a necessary component in narrowing the achievement gap. Teachers and school leaders ensure equity by recognizing, respecting, and attending to the diverse strengths and challenges of the students they serve. High-quality schools are able to differentiate instruction, services, and resource distribution to respond effectively to the diverse needs of their students, with the aim of ensuring that all students are able to learn and thrive.

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Tools

  • A Promising Path Toward Equity External link opens in new window or tab. (PDF)
    This article describes a project that was completed to offer tools developed for professional learning for principals, teachers, and support staff to lead with social emotional learning, implement restorative practices, and move toward equity.
  • The Social Justice Standards Facilitator’s Guide for Professional Development External link opens in new window or tab.
    The Social Justice Standards Guide provides all the materials required to facilitate professional development that introduces educators to the Social Justice Standards. The package includes step-by-step procedures, terminology, slides and handouts.
  • Time to Reclassification: How Long Does It Take English Language Learners in the Washington Road Map School Districts To Develop English Proficiency?External link opens in new window or tab.
    Local educational agency leaders may use the six primary findings from this report to examine the different levels of support that English learner students (ELs) need to achieve reclassification when entering school at different grade levels with differing levels of English proficiency. This knowledge may also help educators identify specific programs and practices that help ELs gain English proficiency quickly and effectively.
  • English Learner Tool Kit for Local Education Agencies and State Educational AgencyExternal link opens in new window or tab.
    The tool kit produced by the Office of English Language Acquisition at the United States Department of Education includes legal obligations, checklists, sample tools, and additional resources to ensure that English learners have equal access to a high-quality education and the opportunity to achieve their full academic potential. State, district, and school administrators, as well as teachers and stakeholders should use this tool kit to provide English learner students with the support they need to attain English language proficiency while meeting college and career-ready standards.
  • Coalition for Educational Equity for Foster Youth Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) External link opens in new window or tab.
    The Coalition for Educational Equity for Foster Youth has developed a sample LCAP with action steps and accountability measures that school districts can use to assist foster youth. The members of this coalition are former foster youth, advocates, service providers, and representatives from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and the juvenile court. The sample LCAP addresses three main goals: close the achievement gap between foster youth and the general student population, promote school stability and prevent push out of foster youth to alternative schools, and ensure foster youth are promptly enrolled in school and in the right classes.
    Note: While the LCAP template used in the sample is not current, the information contained within the sample does provide sound guidance.
  • Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Achievement for Low-income Students and Students of Color External link opens in new window or tab.
    This research provides effective strategies that would close the achievement gaps by elevating the low-performing low income students and also accelerating the middle and higher performers.
  • Falling Out of the Lead: Following High Achievers through High School and BeyondExternal link opens in new window or tab.
    This resource reviews national data on high achieving students of color and/or students from low socioeconomic levels.

Promising Practices

  • Summer Learning and Beyond: Opportunities for Creating Equity External link opens in new window or tab. (PDF)
    This report offers ways of designing summer learning experiences and creating ways of teaching that inspire and support young people to reach their full potential and to be thinkers, learners, and critically engaged community members.
  • Broadening the Benefits of Dual Enrollment: Reaching Underachieving and Underrepresented Students with Career-Focused ProgramsExternal link opens in new window or tab.
    The authors provide recommendations for effective dual enrollment practices and public policies. The authors provide tools, processes and procedures to improve educational outcomes for a broader range of students including at-risk, low-income pupils and those who are historically underrepresented in higher education. The authors collected and evaluated data from eight sites including 10 colleges and 21 high schools which generated a quality resource. Kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12) and college teachers and administrators may use these concepts, strategies and findings in dual enrollment classrooms, programs, schools and districts.
  • Effective Instruction for English Learners External link opens in new window or tab. (PDF)
    Educational leaders may read this article about a comprehensive model of implementing high-quality instruction for ELs. Based on research, the authors provide detailed components that can be used in school reform, instructional planning, professional development, parent outreach, and monitoring outcomes.
  • Learning Hubs: In-Person Learning for the Whole ChildExternal link opens in new window or tab. (PDF)
    In this brief, local policymakers, schools, and expanded learning partners will learn best practices for implementing the learning hub model. Included is guidance for the design and operations of learning hubs, and the policies that support the model.
  • The Lasting Benefits of Early College High Schools External link opens in new window or tab.
    American Institutes for Research has conducted a rigorous impact evaluation, and presented key findings from this work and indicates implications and gives recommendations for federal and state policymakers. Early Colleges offer students the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree or up to two years of college credits toward a bachelor’s degree in high school at no or low cost to the students.

Research

Excerpted from California Department of Education's (CDE’s) External Linking Policy: The CDE is providing these external links only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any external link does not imply endorsement by the CDE or any association with the sites' operators.

Questions: Quality Schooling Framework | QSF@cde.ca.gov | 916-319-0836 
Last Reviewed: Tuesday, April 23, 2024
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