Respecting Diversity is vital to creating rich learning experiences and welcoming environments in which all children and their families are valued and supported. Awareness of diversity and developing appropriate responses to the various types of diversity is needed to successfully identify and connect to the resources that exist in the communities, families, and schools served by Community-District Teams. This Pathway is key to developing a foundation of informed and sustainable responses to diversity and is important in building inclusive, involved, and caring Ready Schools and communities.
Download Pathway Four: Respecting Diversity from the Ready Schools Toolkit, Part 2.
Download Appendix E, Resources for Respecting Diversity.
Selected Respecting Diversity Resources:
WEBSITES
Dimensions of Diversity: http://diversityeducation.cas.psu.edu/
The goal of this site is to provide resources to help all of us increase our awareness, understanding, and value of diversity. This site contains a quarterly newsletter, diversity program manuals, publications, curricula, and links to other diversity-related resources and sites. Many materials may be downloaded and printed.
Ed Change: http://www.edchange.org/
Offers professional development, research, and resources for diversity, multiculturalism, and cultural competence.
Teaching Tolerance: http://www.tolerance.org/professional-development
Provides educational materials including articles that make you think and presentations that you can share. These resources are designed to help teachers improve their practice and turn K-12 schools into strong communities that welcome diversity, giving all students an opportunity to learn.
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Position Papers:
- Responding to Linguistic and Cultural Diversity: http://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/linguistic
- Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) Implementation: Cultural Competence: http://www.naeyc.org/policy/statetrends/qris/culturalcompetence
The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems: http://www.nccrest.org
Supports state and local school systems to assure a quality, culturally responsive education for all students.
W. K. Kellogg Foundation: http://ww2.wkkf.org/Pubs/CustomPubs/CPtoolkit/cptoolkit/Sec3-Including.htm
Section 3 of the Community Partnership Toolkit is entitled “Including” and covers providing diversity training, assessing organizational cultural competence, offering opportunities for cultural celebrations, and exploring issues of power.