 I feel comfortable with my teachers now. I actually have someone special outside of home that can treat me like I've known them since I was little. Several years ago, New America began researching and analyzing culturally responsive teaching practices and policies. Our vision was to help policymakers, educators, and education leaders foster an evidence-based approach to culturally responsive teaching. We developed eight competencies, along with a reflection guide. We are receiving a professional development this morning from students, okay? So this is really more so for your a-ha moments like that, your a-wonders, you know? So we're used to the a-wonder, a-ha, a-notice protocol, which is them in your notebook. And the purpose is just so as educators we can see what it's like to be a scholar here in hopes that it brings something in us to be better educators for all of our scholars. Beginning with self-reflection, teachers explore their own history, values, and experiences. I think the biggest value is recognizing some of the biases that exist within me that I didn't realize were there. We were reading something and a boy fell in love with a girl they lived happily ever after. And after going through this conversation, I had to stop and step back. I realized there were three students in that room alone whose parents were in same-sex marriages. And I excluded, you know, three of my babies without even realizing I was doing it. Teachers then encourage students to draw on the background of their families and traditions to shape assignments and projects. I want you to look at it from your point of view culturally. So look at it from where you're from, what your family looks like, your race, your ethnicity. Now, think about those same books. Do you feel like those books were picked out just for you or do you feel like those books were just there? I see myself in some of the books I read, but not most of them do. To get to know my students beyond their personality, looking into where they come from, where they currently live, just diving into their background and their tradition, because when they come in school, we expect them to do things a certain way, behave a certain way, looking beyond that, what do they normally do at home? Creating a caring school community can improve students' academic performance and build a sense of belonging that transcends practices, policies, and norms that typically hold students back. How does it feel when you go into a classroom and from class to class, year to year, you either have teachers that do look like you or you have teachers that never look like you? We have a very diverse style and so it forced us to have conversations about things that we would normally not have conversations about and it has been a sense of vulnerability. We've been able to meet each other eye to eye and have heart to heart conversations and it has really, really solidified the culture of our building. Through rigorous and relevant projects, learners develop a sense of civic responsibility. Applying skills and lessons taught in the classroom, they begin to see themselves as agents of change. We studied social justice poetry, so it had to address some social justice issue. I wanted them to find a poem that they connected with and so once they found a poem, they illustrated it and so I have a collection of some great artwork to share with you guys if you wanted and then they had to do an oral performance of that poem. We got the final product that day and it was just amazing because you could see the poetry like in their soul. We recognize aligning standards to meet culturally responsive practices is not easy. This work requires thoughtful collaboration to foster relevant and effective experiences for the learners of today. Can you tell when a teacher sees your culture and all of you and can you tell when they don't? Do they treat you differently? Yeah. Haley, you said, yeah, you answered that fast. You can tell when they don't? Okay. What's your advice again? My advice is to love your students more because you never know what they go home to. Influencing education influences opportunities. And you can create safe spaces for our champions and safe spaces for our educators in the building to talk about windows and mirrors and reflect on experiences that lead to building stronger curriculum in the classroom. Kids will see themselves in curriculum. Teachers will see themselves in curriculum. This is something that is in dire need throughout the United States.