Equity & Engagement in Education

Americans have generally been taught a whitewashed version of our history. The story behind Thanksgiving Day and the first Thanksgiving feast is no different: The pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts were struggling to establish their colony and grow food in the harsh terrain and climate when the virtuous, noble local Indigenous population took pity on them. [...]

A number of worthy causes and celebrations are highlighted in the month of October. For example there is “International Day of the Girl'' and “National Coming Out Day” (both held on October 11). For the science geeks in the front row, where would we be without Avogadaro’s number and the subsequent “National Mole Day'' (October [...]

As the new school year begins, we are excited to kick off our first Culture of Belonging cohort! This work came about out of a need that district leaders have expressed over the past few years. Educators are seeing that the divides and misperceptions expressed in their communities are also showing up in the schools [...]

Since 1982, Banned Books Week has been an annual event that originated in response to a surge of challenges to books in schools, bookstores, and libraries. This celebration of free and open access to information brings together members of the book community to ensure that books are included even if some people find them upsetting. [...]

As an organization, we care deeply about our students who are at-risk. Personally, Sarah and I both worry about our LGBTQ+ students and the amount of difficulties that they are navigating in their daily lives. When we learned about the staggering statistics regarding bullying, threats of violence, and attempts at suicide among this group of [...]

At CPE, one of the things we focused on this summer was ensuring that our policies and statements appropriately reflected our pedagogy and practice, as an organization. We realized that we were missing a statement on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, so we worked to rectify that. We wrote a statement that reflects our values [...]

As educators, we often have opportunities to make a change, big or small, to help our students have a stronger sense of belonging in our classrooms and buildings. These moments, when they present themselves, can sometimes feel risky for us to engage in while at other times, we don’t have a moment of hesitation. Perhaps [...]

School counselors and career coaches aren’t always given the credit they deserve in students’ success stories. They may not stand in front of a class and teach lessons, but they do teach students invaluable lessons about believing in themselves, goal setting, and taking practical steps toward post-grad success. Relationship building is at the core of [...]

As inclusive educators, we want to 1) provide opportunities to explore the cultural heritage of different groups and 2) celebrate diversity and the many ways it improves our world. Recognizing the different heritage months throughout the year is a great way to spur learning, appreciation, and recognition of the various identities that make up our [...]

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects nearly 1 in 36 children. People with autism can have differences in communication, sensory needs, executive functioning skills, perception, and gross/fine motor skills. Autism appears on a spectrum of various severities and presentations of symptoms, making each case complex and highly individual. To me, [...]