For Immediate Release
September 9, 2020, at 12 pm PT

Contact:  

Kristin Costa, [email protected], 408.500.8555

Stephanie Ong, [email protected], 415.786.5568

New Toolkit Provides Anti-Racist Instructional Practices for Math Education
“A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction” offers practices to support Black, Latinx and multilingual students during hybrid learning

OAKLAND, Calif. – Today, The EdTrust-West and over 30 education and policy partners released “A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction,” a toolkit for supporting equitable access to math standards for grades 6-8 focusing on students who are gaining proficiency in English as well as  Black and Latinx students. The toolkit offers actionable resources immediately available for teachers to implement during hybrid learning, especially in this moment of the pandemic and into the future. 

In California, more than 8 out of 10 Black eighth-graders are not meeting Math standards​. The lag in achievement follows students throughout their education, as data reveals similar test scores for eleventh-grade students. By eleventh grade,  8 out of 10 Black and  Latinx students are not meeting math standards.

“The gaps in academic access and achievement for Black, Latinx and multilingual students are being exacerbated during the pandemic,” says Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Executive Director of The EdTrust-West. “We can do better for California’s students by offering educators the research-supported instructional practices necessary for addressing inequities in math education. School leaders and teachers can move from crisis to opportunity by using these tools to address and close these gaps.”

Actionable tools available in “A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction” include:

• Exercises to help educators dismantle biases and transform deficit thinking
• Strategies for deepening student conceptual understanding
• Tools to connect mathematical thinking to English language learning
• Practices that support students’ social, emotional and academic development
• Structures for coaches centered on equitable practice 

“The toolkit will transform math education by addressing long-standing barriers to learning and success for Black, Latinx and bilingual students,” said Rachel Ruffalo, Director of Educator Engagement at The EdTrust-West and project lead of the toolkit. “There’s no quick-fix to addressing systemic inequities in learning. However, these resources are designed to be used by educators now as they plan their curriculum and offer educators opportunities for ongoing self-reflection as they develop anti-racist math practices.”

For more information about “A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction” and the full list of partners, visit www.equitablemath.org. To learn how to put the toolkit into action, sign up for the webinar co-hosted by The EdTrust-West, Teach Plus and Californians Together on September 22 at 4:00 pm PT. 

About The EdTrust-West 

The EdTrust-West works for educational justice and the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, pre-K through college, in the state of California. We expose opportunity and achievement gaps that separate students of color and low-income students from other youth, and we identify and advocate for the strategies that will forever close those gaps. 

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