{"id":19802,"date":"2019-06-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-07T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?p=19802&preview=true&preview_id=19802"},"modified":"2022-04-29T14:53:27","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T18:53:27","slug":"using-protocols-for-equity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/using-protocols-for-equity\/","title":{"rendered":"Using protocols for equity"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, maybe you’ve been using protocols<\/a> at faculty meetings or professional learning community sessions.\u00a0 Perhaps you’ve found that they make space for all voices in conversations about proficiency-based education.\u00a0 Or you like how they foster collaboration as you work together to structure personalized learning plans.\u00a0 Know what else they can do?\u00a0 Support us as we have the toughest conversations of all: those focused on equity.<\/p>\n

In fact, the mission of the School Reform Initiative<\/a>, whose protocols and structures I use regularly, is all about equity.<\/p>\n

First, let’s make sure we have a common meaning of equity<\/em>.<\/h5>\n

The National Equity Project<\/a> defines it this way:<\/p>\n

Educational equity means that each child receives what he or she needs to develop to his or her full academic and social potential.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They go on to say that working towards equity means:<\/p>\n

Ensuring equally high outcomes for all participants in our educational system; removing the predictability of success or failures that currently correlates with any social or cultural factor<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Interrupting inequitable practices, examining biases, and creating inclusive multicultural school environments for adults and children<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Discovering and cultivating the unique gifts, talents and interests that every human possesses.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Protocols, facilitated well, provide structure to do this crucial work. They are workhorses that help schools identify their shortcomings in creating structures that produce “high outcomes for all” students. A well thought out protocol session makes space for unearthing assumptions, uncovering biases, and exposing inequitable practices and policies. And protocols can help us fine-tune our work so that we are increasingly able to help every learner reach their full potential.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s begin to explore some of the ways we can use protocols to create more equitable schools for all Vermont students. We’ll start by using structures to examine texts about equity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Time for a disclaimer:<\/h5>\n

At the bottom of every School Reform Initiative protocol is written the following statement:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Facilitating a protocol is more than executing a series of steps.\u00a0 Sure, protocols look like recipes, but not everyone is a good cook!\u00a0 I encourage you to get trained in facilitation or work with a trained facilitator to select and use protocols well.\u00a0 Poorly facilitated protocol sessions can sour a faculty on protocols for good!\u00a0 And it is almost never the protocol’s fault, rather it is the result of sloppy or ill-conceived facilitation.<\/p>\n

Interested in getting trained as a facilitator? Learn more here.<\/a><\/p>\n

… and a word about fidelity.<\/h5>\n

When I train facilitators we often talk about facilitating with fidelity. New facilitators often take that to mean that they have to time each step to the second, be rigid about moving on, and control the entire process with precision.\u00a0 It often takes a lot of practice before their understanding deepens.<\/p>\n

That word, “fidelity”, always takes me back to my days as an undergraduate when I took an art history course. Specifically, I think of the van Eyck painting “Arnolfini Wedding”<\/a>, with its small dog in the foreground. That little pooch, according to my professor, symbolizes fidelity. When I facilitate I think of my own pup, Charlie!<\/p>\n

\"Charlie<\/p>\n

He is loyal beyond a doubt, but he is not awfully obedient. He barks at strangers, would rather run to greet a friend then listen to my command to stay, and finds every opportunity to roll in stinky substances.\u00a0 And yet, he is my best hiking partner, my most devoted friend. He seems to know that his true purpose isn’t compliance or aesthetics, but love.<\/p>\n

I am reminded, each time I facilitate with fidelity,<\/em> to be like Charlie: to be faithful to the intentions of the protocol session first and foremost. While I follow each step (these structures are designed deliberately!), I sometimes add a little extra time if not everyone has had the opportunity to speak or I build in a little space for thinking.\u00a0 I remember why we are doing what we are doing and use the protocol to serve that purpose.<\/p>\n

One more thing before we get started: NORMS!<\/h5>\n