[November 2021, KIPP MA] On Thursday, November 4th, The Directors of Academics and Managing Directors of Academics at KIPP MA engaged in a Professional Development (PD) to refine their equity lens and expand capacity to develop appropriate LGBTQ inclusive academic content.
Chief Academic and Strategy Officer, Coretta Martin, said that the “main objective is to build a shared understanding on how to effectively center LGBTQ narratives and identities in our schools.”
The PD will feature the work of the team at History UnErased, a Lowell based company that provides an expert look at curriculum that is inclusive of LGBTQ history. Our team at KIPP MA used this time with UnErased to review resources, better understand the LGBTQ Acronym and Language, learn the developmentally appropriate language for K-8 classrooms, and engage in an introduction to LGBTQ history. With the resources, our own team will be able to implement their learnings and begin planning developmentally appropriate LGBTQ-inclusive academic content.
Bryce Turner, Director of Academics (Secondary Social Studies) spear-headed the initiative to further teaching LGBTQ history, and shared how this PD supports KIPP MA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Vision:
“At KIPP Massachusetts, we decide what we teach as carefully as we consider how it should be taught. As educators, we believe it is our responsibility to create classroom spaces that address both the current events and the historical topics that directly impact the lives of our community members. We do this because we believe that shying away from “controversial” or “divisive” topics like LGBTQ history would actively cause both intellectual and social-emotional harm to our entire community, but especially our most politically, economically, and socially vulnerable members. We believe that as educators, we carry the immense responsibility of teaching these topics in a way that focuses on the facts while simultaneously affirming the identities and beliefs of all students. Our pedagogical approach aims to ensure that classroom content and discourse contain multiple points of entry for a diversity of opinions and beliefs to be heard, honored, and welcomed.”
We look forward to sharing and adapting these inclusive learnings from the PD, and a huge thank you to History UnErased.
