Building Equity: Policies and Practices to Empower All Learners, July/2017

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

1. Physical integration
2. Social-emotional engagement
3. Opportunity to learn
4. Instructional excellence
5. 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.

About the Authors:

Dominique Smith is the director of student services at Health Sciences High & Middle College, where he also serves as a culture builder and student advocate. He is the co-author of Better Than Carrots or Sticks: Restorative Practices for Positive Classroom Management and holds a master's degree in social work from the University of Southern California.

Nancy Frey is a professor of literacy in the School of Teacher Education at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. Before joining the university faculty, Nancy was a special education teacher in the Broward County (Florida) Public Schools, where she taught students at the elementary and middle school levels. She later worked for the Florida Department of Education on a statewide project for supporting students with disabilities in a general education curriculum. Frey 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 National Reading Conference. Her research interests include reading and literacy, assessment, intervention, and curriculum design. She has published many articles and books on literacy and instruction, including Productive Group Work and Better Learning Through Structured Teaching.

Ian Pumpian is a professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and has taught, supervised, and chaired dissertations of several San Diego lead principals and area superintendents. He cofounded Health Sciences High & Middle College and currently serves as the CEO/President. Pumpian served as the Executive Director of the City Heights Educational Collaborative where he assumed superintendent-level responsibilities over the educational programs of these 5,000 students, professional development for their 300+ teachers, and a comprehensive professional development school that annually involved more than 125,000 hours of SDSU faculty and student credential and advanced degree teaching, research, and practical activities. Pumpian has authored and co-authored numerous journal articles and books.

Douglas Fishe, 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 is the recipient of a Celebrate Literacy Award from the International Reading Association, the Farmer Award for Excellence in Writing from the National Council of Teachers of English, and a Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Education from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. He has published numerous articles on improving student achievement, and his books include The Purposeful Classroom, Enhancing RTI, Checking for Understanding, and Content-Area Conversations.