Impact
Equity + Inclusion at MƒA
At MƒA, we believe that equity and inclusion should play a visible role in all STEM professional learning experiences. We’ve created and are implementing a comprehensive, long-term equity and inclusion plan.
Course Catalog
Each semester MƒA’s course catalog provides many options for teachers who want to take workshops with an explicit focus on issues of equity and inclusion in the classroom. These courses directly address the needs of students of color, transgender and gender-expansive students, students with disabilities, or students who are English Language Learners. These courses and affinity groups also support the unique challenges faced by educators who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); educators within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) community; and white anti-racist allies.
In the 2021-22 school year, MƒA offered more than 100 professional development courses focused on topics of equity and inclusion in the classroom.
Equity Advisory Committee
MƒA has an Equity Advisory Committee that includes MƒA Master Teachers and staff. The committee meets several times each year to discuss goals for equity and inclusion at MƒA, review data related to these goals, and advise MƒA on improving existing practices and developing new initiatives.
MƒA’s equity goals are inspired by the New York State Culturally Responsive- Sustaining Education Framework. At MƒA we aim to foster a teacher-centered learning environment by:
- Attracting and affirming multiple expressions and types of diversity, including but not limited to: race, gender, family structure, age, ability, religion, sexual orientation, class, school type, culture, geography, years of teaching experience, and political beliefs
- Developing teachers’ abilities to connect across differences
- Empowering teachers as agents of positive systemic change to serve all NYC students
- Supporting teachers’ engagement, learning, growth, and empowerment
Workshop Spotlight
In the fall of 2019, MƒA established the Equity Advisory Committee (EAC), a group of 13 MƒA teachers who advise and collaborate with MƒA leadership in our efforts to prioritize and build on diversity within the MƒA community.
Members of the Equity Advisory Committee help to refine a shared definition for MƒA and provide feedback on action plans designed to foster an inclusive and empowering learning environment for all MƒA teachers.