Facilitator's guide, Courageous conversations about race

the long version

Singleton looks at the achievement gap through the prism of race, and in "Courageous Conversations About Race", he begins by examining the evidence that points to race - not poverty - as the underlying cause behind the achievement gap. This work, while exploring how race affects all educators, declares that we need to have engaged, sustained, and deep conversations about race in order to understand students and the achievement gap. Singleton calls this process "courageous conversations." Through these "courageous conversations," educators can learn how to redesign curriculum and create community and true equity. Action steps to close the achievement gap include creating an equity team and collaborative action research. The final chapter presents a system wide plan for transforming schools and districts, including activities, exercises, and checklists for central office administrators, principals, and teachers.