Imagine a school with a diverse student body where every student feels safe and valued, and all students—regardless of race, culture, home language, sexual orientation, gender identity, academic history, and individual challenges—have the opportunity to succeed with challenging classes, projects, and activities. In this school, teachers notice and meet students’ individual instructional needs and foster a harmonious and supportive environment—and students feel empowered to learn, to grow, and to pursue their dreams.
This is the school all our students need and deserve.
In Building Equity, Dominique Smith, Nancy Frey, Ian Pumpian, and Douglas Fisher, colleagues at San Diego’s innovative Health Sciences High & Middle College, introduce the School Equity Taxonomy, a new model to clarify the structural and interpersonal components of an equitable and excellent schooling experience, and the School Equity Audit, a survey-based tool to help school and teacher leaders uncover equity-related issues and organize their efforts to better address:
- Physical integration
- Social-emotional engagement
- Opportunity to learn
- Instructional excellence
- Engaged and inspired learners
Built on the authors’ own experiences and those of hundreds of educators throughout the United States, this book is filled with examples of policy initiatives and practices that support critical standards of equity and high-quality, inclusive learning experiences.
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Author Bio
Douglas Fisher is a professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. He is a member of the California Reading Hall of Fame and was honored as an exemplary leader by the Conference on English Leadership. He has published numerous articles on improving student achievement.
Nancy Frey is a professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University. Frey also teaches classes at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego. She is a recipient of the Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Education from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the Early Career Award from the Literacy Research Association. She has published many articles and books on literacy and instruction.
Dominique Smith is a social worker, school administrator, mentor, national trainer for the International Institute on Restorative Practices, member of ASCD’s FIT Teaching (Framework for Intentional and Targeted Teaching®) Cadre and Corwin’s Visible Learning for Literacy Cadre. He is the winner of the National School Safety Award from the School Safety Advocacy Council.