Equity & Diversity Series

Beyond Bias: Countering Stereotypes in School

This yearlong series will examine efforts to recognize and overcome discrimination in schools.
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Kaianna Kelley, an 8th grader at Harriet G. Eddy Middle School, in Elk Grove, Calif., gets a hug from counselor Sandi Peterson after turning in her application to the school’s honors program. Peterson says she has made it her mission to reach out to underrepresented students for honors and gifted classes.
Kaianna Kelley, an 8th grader at Harriet G. Eddy Middle School, in Elk Grove, Calif., gets a hug from counselor Sandi Peterson after turning in her application to the school’s honors program. Peterson says she has made it her mission to reach out to underrepresented students for honors and gifted classes.
Hector Amezcua for Education Week
Assessment Schools Seek to Diversify Gifted, Honors Classes
Gifted and honors classes are often dominated by white students from well-off families, but some districts are removing the barriers that keep out low-income students and students of color.
Sarah D. Sparks, October 27, 2015
10 min read
Equity & Diversity Video: A Lesson in Humanity From Children's Holocaust Diaries
Alexandra Zapruder, author of the book Salvaged Pages: Young Writers' Diaries of the Holocaust, discusses how children's accounts of the genocide during WWII serve as a powerful reminder of the dehumanizing effects of racism, bias, and prejudice.
October 27, 2015
Superintendent Joseph Davis, who took the helm of the Ferguson-Florissant district July 1, visits with students at McCluer High School in Florissant, Mo. A national debate on race was triggered last year when a black teenager was killed by a white police officer in nearby Ferguson.
Superintendent Joseph Davis, who took the helm of the Ferguson-Florissant district July 1, visits with students at McCluer High School in Florissant, Mo. A national debate on race was triggered last year when a black teenager was killed by a white police officer in nearby Ferguson.
Sid Hastings for Education Week
School Climate & Safety One Year Later, Ferguson Schools Poised for Change
A year after a police shooting set off racially charged protests in Ferguson, Mo., the school system and its new superintendent are looking to correct educational disparities and "give kids a voice" in determining their future.
Denisa R. Superville, September 16, 2015
8 min read
Joseph Davis, the new superintendent of the Ferguson-Florissant school district, visits a social studies class at McCluer High School in Florissant. Davis has plans to address the educational disparities that fed into the protests that ignited last year after a white police officer shot and killed a black teenager.
Joseph Davis, the new superintendent of the Ferguson-Florissant school district, visits a social studies class at McCluer High School in Florissant. Davis has plans to address the educational disparities that fed into the protests that ignited last year after a white police officer shot and killed a black teenager.
Sid Hastings for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Q&A: Ferguson's New Schools Chief Shares Agenda for Change
Superintendent Joseph Davis lays out his plans for addressing the educational inequities and biases that fed into last year's demonstrations in Ferguson, Mo.
Denisa R. Superville, September 16, 2015
4 min read
Equity & Diversity Test Yourself: A Survey Tool for Gauging Bias
Interested in finding out how you would score on the Implicit Association Test? Try this short online test adapted for EdWeek readers.
September 16, 2015
Maritza Fabia, a 3rd grader at Rose Hill Elementary School in Colorado's Adams 14 school district, listens to her teacher during a Spanish class. The district is under a federal compliance agreement to correct discrimination problems.
Maritza Fabia, a 3rd grader at Rose Hill Elementary School in Colorado's Adams 14 school district, listens to her teacher during a Spanish class. The district is under a federal compliance agreement to correct discrimination problems.
Nathan W. Armes for Education Week
Law & Courts Schools Deemed 'Discriminatory' Struggle to Erase Disparities
Adams 14 in Colorado is among thousands of districts nationwide that are trying to root out discriminatory practices that can harm students' development.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 16, 2015
13 min read
School & District Management Opinion Empowering Students in the Wake of Michael Brown's Death
Normandy, Mo., teacher Inda Schaenen is changing her curriculum to embolden her middle schoolers in the wake of Ferguson.
Inda Schaenen, September 15, 2015
6 min read

Vol. 35, Issue 04