Page 51 - EdViewptsSpring2020
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An Equity-focused Mindset
By George E. Jackson, Ed.D., Principal, Mount Laurel Township Schools
As educators, we must socioeconomically diverse school A New Understanding
self-assess our mindsets environments - or so I thought. of Equity
in light of equity-focused I caught an epiphany about my once- The New Jersey Department of
limited view of equity in a leadership
ideologies to ensure that team meeting. We celebrated how our Education (NJDOE) has adopted
Hasan’s (2019) definition of equity as:
every student meets their students’ met academic achievement A focused effort to support all
growth targets with “High Growth,”
yet other issues still warranted our students in mastering and exceeding
full potential. What follows attention. Schoolwide data revealed academic standards and maintaining
is the journey that changed my persistent achievement gaps and social/emotional health by providing
thinking regarding ways to advance disproportionality in student discipline access to rigorous educational
educational equity.
outcomes. During the meeting, a experiences and opportunities,
I Thought We Were Onto reflective team member remarked, “It’s regardless of the individual students’
Something great that everyone is demonstrating backgrounds through the lens of
As an African American male with so much growth, but why don’t we feel cultural competency.
better about what we are doing?” Her
decades of experience in different question convinced me that academic According to this definition, one must
PK-12 school environments, I was growth alone was insufficient. I recognize the criticality of cultural
well familiar with and well-equipped needed to refresh myself with a more competency embedded within the
to address the challenges of closing comprehensive view of equity. nexus of expert teaching, rigorous
achievement gaps in racially and learning opportunities, and social-
Educational Viewpoints -49- Spring 2020
