Equity part of the Education Reform Network

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Community and Other Resources

• American Association of University Women
  The AAUW is not your grandmother's AAUW: it now focuses much of its efforts on educational equity, following its landmark publication in 1992 of How Schools Shortchange Girls, that remains controversial and a target of the right although it merely summarized over 1100 previous research studies. Their sites is full of analysis and research briefs, and they provide a large amount of scholarships and awards, including the Eleanor Roosevelt Teacher Fellowships for teachers working on gender equity projects.
• Anti-Defamation League
  The Anti-Defamation League is one of the most recommended sites for prejudice reduction work by equity experts. Of note see their Education page for short articles about discussing hate and violence with your children, responding to hate-motivated behaviors you might see in your children and others, and what to tell your children about prejudice (the latter in both English and Spanish.) Helpful "Tools for Teachers" section.
• Association for Women in Mathematics
  AWM is a nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging women and girls in the mathematical sciences. Website contains biographies, forums, awards, scholarships and other resources.
• Association for Women in Science
  AWIS is dedicated to achieving equity and full participation for women in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. Website has information about a scientist of the month, mentoring, scholarships, book reviews and forum.
• Can Do!
  The Can Do! web site offers stories, activities, and resources to help create a better understanding and deeper appreciation of how people can overcome their challenges and reach their dreams by using their abilities and a "can-do" attitude.
• Center for the Study of White American Culture: A Multiracial Organization
  Probably often confused as a white supremacy/neo-Nazi site, the Center has remarkable resources and the best listing of anti-racism organizations we have found. From their list we can particularly recommend the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond (http://www.thepeoplesinstitute.org) as providing one of NICI's equity trainers with high-quality and effective anti-racism training.
• Crosspoint Anti-Racism
  Crosspoint Anti-Racism lists over 2000 anti-racism organizations in 114 countries and gives one a sense of the remarkable work that is being done around the globe on issues of oppression. Great for researchers as it shows how different countries and cultures address problems of equity differently.
• Differentiated Instruction
  CAST is well known in the Special Education world (see SPED references in section below), and is especially worth checking out for their work on assistive technology. Here is an excellent overview of classroom best practices in Differentiated Instruction.
• Directory of Educational Equity Organizations
  WEEA, listed above as a gender equity resource, in housed in the Educational Development Center and has the most comprehensive listing of all Federal, Regional, and State equity-related agencies that we could find, so we will not duplicate the information here. The Directory of Educational Equity Organizations listing includes full contact information for 1) State Equity contacts, 2) the federal and regional offices of the Office of Civil Rights, 3) the ten Equity Assistance Centers (formerly known as Desegregation Assistance Centers), 4) the Comprehensive Centers, funded to provide assistance for Limited English Proficient students, high-poverty or Title I students, immigrant/migrant students, Special Education, and education for homeless youth and Native-Americans, 5) the R-TECs funded to provide training for technology integration, including equity issues in technology, 6) the Eisenhower Regional Clearinghouse and regional alliances and consortiums for math, science, and technology education, 7) OBEMLA (see listing under National Origin here in the Equity Portal), and, 8) the ten Regional Education Laboratories.The Federal government funds the ten equity assistance centers listed in the EDC site above to help schools stay in compliance with Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
• Educational Justice
  The Justice Matters Institute sponsors Educational Justice, a fantastic site of extensive research and annotated links on the gamut of educational equity issues, including how equity plays out in whole school reform efforts. Research-based strategies and online discussion forums.
• ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education
  The ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education reviews many programs aimed at helping urban youth - especially those students of color and low socio-economic status - and suggests some best practices in urban schools. Especially see reports on educational issues of African-American and Hispanic students.
• Exemplary and Promising Gender Equity Programs 2000
  This well-researched report provides reviews of an exemplary other promising gender equity programs in a variety of subfields including gender equity in math, science, and technology and in career education.
• From the ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools
  These resources represent a wide range of viewpoints and potential audiences, but they all promise an in-depth look at their topic.American Indian and Alaska Native EducationMexican AmericansMigrant EducationOutdoor EducationRural Education.
• Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network
  GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Educator Network, is the premiere organization for all educators concerned about the physical and emotional safety and well-being for gay, lesbian, or questioning youth both in and out of schools. Annotated resources, current issues, and information on local chapters is also provided.
• Getting the Media Message
  The purpose of this 3 year research project is to examine whether the content of media, experienced by 6th, 7th and 8th graders reinforces or hinders the development of gender and racial diversity in the Informational Technology workforce.
• Haymarket People's Fund
  Haymarket People's Fund provides grant monies to grassroots groups of local people who intend to work on the systemic roots of oppression. Haymarket has recently undertaken a specific focus on anti-racism, and is especially interested in funding project that address the underlying issues of race prejudice and discrimination.
• IDEA Practices
  IDEA Practices is recommended by Special Education experts as a wealth of resources to help researchers and practitioners keep up-to-date with the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Of particularly usefulness is the ?IDEAS That Work? section that includes best practices for providing children with Special Needs access to the regular curriculum.
• Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
  MALDEFs National Education Policy Forums engages parents, educators, policy makers, community and business leaders, in the discussion and advocacy of current educational issues. Their National Parent/School Partnership Program teaches parent their rights and responsibilities under the law, about the structure and function of schools, about effective relationships with teachers, and provides valuable leadership training to parents.
• Mid-Atlantic Equity Center
  The Equity Assistance Centers with the greatest amount of useful information is probably the Mid-Atlantic Equity Center http://www.maec.org Although funded to provide equity-related services to states in the mid-Atlantic region (DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, and WV) their "Education and Equity News" has many articles on national issues. To subscribe send a message to [email protected] stating on the subject line: subscribe ed-news and your e-mail address (e.g., subscribe ed-news [email protected].).
• Multicultural Pavilion - Teacher's Corner
  A comprehensive site of useful classroom activities, books, quotes, and discussions on multicultural education.
• National Association for Multicultural Education
  The National Association for Multicultural Education, or NAME, is devoted to social justice and educational equity. NAME has great conferences, some active state chapters, and are probably the largest organization for multicultural education anywhere.
• National Coalition Building Institute
  The National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) is a prejudice reduction leadership training organization that is highly effective and research-based. Skills are taught that directly reduce prejudice and intergroup conflicts.
• National Women's Law Center
  The National Women's Law Center's section on Education has many policy briefings and texts of Congressional testimonies on issues of females and education, especially on Title IX, and has special sections on sports, sexual harassment, single-sex schooling, career education, and overall gender equity in educational achievement.
• Office for Civil Rights
  The Office for Civil Rights is the main governmental office for the enforcement of Civil Rights laws, such as those that protect us against discrimination based on race, national origin (commonly understood as language) and sex. They have the power to withhold funds to schools and school districts who do not comply with Civil Rights laws, although to date they have not withhold funds from any violator.
• Partners Against Hate
  Provides background information on bias-motivated behavior and youth-initiated hate crimes. It also provides tools and strategies to help adults engage in meaningful discussion and activities so that they can learn about the causes and effects of prejudice and bias-motivated behavior.
• Teaching For Change
  Probably the best catalog for overall equity and social justice issues in education is put out by Teaching for Change. Beyond Heroes and Holidays in a "must-have_ for both inservice and preservice work on gender-fair and multicultural education that moves beyond celebrating the "Three F's_: Food, Fun, and Festival, and focuses on undoing racism and oppression.
• Teaching in mixed-ability classrooms
  A good "first article_ on differentiated instruction, first developed as a method to effectively reach all children in heterogeneous, mixed-ability classrooms, then later co-opted as a "best practice_ in the worlds of Special Education and Gifted and Talented education.
• The American Forum for Global Education
  The noted Global Education/Social Studies expert from CCSSO, Fred Czarra, helped draft these self-assessment checklists with the American Forum for Global Education. The checklists include questions on student knowledge of global issues and cultural awareness, and asks how well schools, school systems, and state education agencies are preparing students to participate in the shrinking global economy.
• The Association for the Severely Handicapped
  TASH is an international association of people with disabilities, their family members, other advocates, and professionals fighting for a society in which inclusion of all people in all aspects of society is the norm.? This site was recommended by Special Education experts for its Methods and Practices section. Information is available on its provocative newsletter, Connections, that consistently challenges any hesitancy about the full inclusion of people with disabilities in the classroom and in the greater society.
• The National Association for the Education of Young Children
  NAEYC describes itself as the nation's largest and most influential organization of early childhood educators. Although a bit dated, every equity researcher and inservice and preservice teacher should have a copy of the Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children by Louise Derman-Sparks, full of research and strategies, available through NAEYC's website for an incredible $12.00!.
• The National Women's History Project
  The National Women's History Project is highly recommended by many gender equity experts and is a wonderful teacher resource in planning gender-fair curriculum. Their Biography Center is an excellent place for students to begin their research.
• The Politics of Biological Determinism
  "Politics of biological Determinism_ Winter 1999 condensed from Mismeasure of Man survey for educators by Rethinking Schools.
• The Tracking Wars
  A full-text version of the pro-tracking book by the right-wing Brookings Institute (The Tracking Wars: State Reform Meets School Policy, Tom Loveless, 1999). Note that this book could not get published by an objective academic press.
• WEEA Equity Resource Center
  WEEA (Women's Educational Equity Act) is the only Federal legislation devoted to issues of girls' and women's' education. Although it had received much more substantial funding to do outreach and fund small-scale research projects around the country, in the 1990s it was scaled back to only a clearinghouse of information.