At ACSA, we believe every child deserves access and opportunity to quality teaching and learning every day, regardless of his or her ZIP code or family income. Socioeconomic status, race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, nationality, sexuality, religion, and ability should not be barriers for educational attainment.

We focus on providing equity leadership training and support for ACSA leaders and members that focuses on building capacity in cultural proficiency as well as all areas of equity and diversity. We believe that school leaders must be intentional and deliberate in disrupting inequities that continue to perpetuate the disparities among student groups. Our mission statement is fundamental to our approach in being the driving force for an equitable, world-class education system, and the development of educational leaders to achieving equity.

ASCA has many professional learning opportunities that we support schools in identifying and addressing equity challenges, and we are certain that effective professional learning is one of the many tenets that play a crucial role in building courageous and equity-minded leadership.

Theory of Action

If ACSA partners with educational leaders to create an equity-driven culture that supports the building of conditions and capacity for equity and excellence, we will dramatically improve educational outcomes for all students, especially those marginalized, disenfranchised, and disengaged. This will lead to positive outcomes for students related to the following commitments of equity:

1. Decrease Chronic Absenteeism
2. Reduce Disproportionate Suspension and Expulsion Rates
3. Increase Early Postsecondary Opportunities
4. Recruit and Retain a Diverse Teaching Force
5. Embed Cultural Competence in School Practices
6. Partner with Parents and Community Leaders

Ensuring equitable outcomes for all students requires courageous leadership for equity across the system:

• ACSA Resource Hub
• California Equity Leadership Alliance (CELA)
• African American Leaders on Facebook
• LGBTQ Leaders on Facebook
• Asian Pacific Islander Leaders on Facebook
• Latina Leaders on Facebook
• Connect on Twitter
• Education Equity in California

Educational Equity Videos

Trauma Informed Practices Presentation

Equity Partner Webinars

Why attend a webinar? The next best thing to an on-site workshop, ACSA has partnered with Corwin to provide webinars for your opportunity to interact directly with the field’s most influential thought leaders on a range of critical issues. What’s more, they’re free. Invite your entire team for a start-to-finish professional learning experience. Or download the slides post-webinar and share with your colleagues.

BE HER RESOURCE: A Toolkit about School Resource Officers and Girls of Color

A joint project of the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality and The National Black Women’s Justice Institute (NBWJI).

LGBTQ Tools, Networking and Resources

For tools and resources to help administrators better serve their LGBTQ students and staff. Our goal is to connect LGBTQ educational leaders and allies and provide information and resources for the success of LGBTQ educators and the students they serve.

Summary of Discipline Data for Girls in U.S. Public Schools

Prepared by the National Black Women’s Justice Institute; Misha N. Inniss-Thompson; September 2017.

Equity Position Paper

Together our efforts must focus on closing the achievement gap in our schools and districts and on ensuring that all students meet standards.

Equity and Access Survey

Highlights from ACSA's 2015 Equity and Access Survey include many suggestions for championing educational equity throughout California.

Educational Equity Roundtable

Hosted by ACSA Diversity and Equal Access Executive Nicole Anderson, the roundtables are an opportunity for educational leaders to discuss the challenges educators face in addressing critical gaps in supports and mindsets in order to provide equitable schooling.

Membership

Increase diversity in ACSA membership and leadership through intentional recruitment, retention, and outreach efforts.

Communication

Increase all members’ awareness of equity and diversity issues that impact historically underserved leaders and students.

Professional Learning

Provide relevant equity leadership training and support for ACSA leaders and members that focuses on building capacity in cultural proficiency as well as all areas of equity and diversity.

The ACSA iLead Equity Team Lab* is designed to create a strong network of individuals trained and ready to lead their communities toward more equitable outcomes. We believe that creativity, innovation, and learning by doing, hallmarks of any laboratory, will allow us to experiment with new ideas and strategies. We will tackle the complex systems, leadership, policies and academic strategies needed to break through to equitable practices in schools.

The academy is designed for school site teams responsible for leading and coordinating reform efforts focused on addressing achievement gaps. Practical tools and tips are incorporated in every session.

Specific Themes Include:

• Build Cultural Proficiency to Advance Educational Equity
• Using the LCAP and SPSA plans to Leading & Design for Equity
• Using Data as an Equity Engine to Address the Needs of Student Groups
• Developing a strategic plan and vision for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
• Design a Continuum of Services and Support aligning local, state and federal priorities
• Understanding LCFF and Leveraging resources for all Student Groups
• Engaging Family and Community Partners for Equity and Excellence

*Lab activities (TBD)

For more information, contact:
Dr. Marguerite Williams | mwilliams(at)acsa.org | 916.329.3810

Our training is designed to give participants an opportunity to explore their unconscious or implicit bias through a facilitated dialogue and activities. The goal is to give each participant a unique experience. It is up to each participant to make connections from the training to their work assignment and to decide how to apply the learnings to their job/assignment. Learning about unconscious or implicit bias is just one part of becoming a culturally responsive educator. Our perceptions, assumptions, and expectations play a large role in student academic outcomes.

Specific Themes Include:

• Understand implicit bias and “how the brain works
• Learn how stereotypes “show up” in the school community – micro-aggressions
• Examine the historical context about the politics of identity and the dynamics of power and privilege

This service is customized to meet the needs of your school or district.

For more information, contact:
Dr. Marguerite Williams | mwilliams(at)acsa.org | 916.329.3810

The ACSA Equity Administrators Academy is designed to build leadership capacity and oversight to the development and advancement of systemic strategies. The Academy will focus on policies and academic strategies that close the achievement gap in efforts to implement promising and proven strategies in the district. Participants will learn how to conducts internal review and evaluation of existing resources and programs established to support underserved students.

The academy is designed for administrators or individuals responsible for leading and coordinating reform efforts focused on addressing achievement gaps.

Specific themes Include:

• Build Cultural Proficiency to Advance Educational Equity
• Using the LCAP and SPSA plans to Leading & Design for Equity
• Using Data as an Equity Engine to Address the Needs of Student Groups
• Developing a strategic plan and vision for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
• Design a Continuum of Services and Support aligning local, state and federal priorities
• Understanding LCFF and Leveraging resources for all Student Groups
• Engaging Family and Community Partners for Equity and Excellence

Learn More

ACSA, in conjunction with its equity partners, is proud to bring you a unique new professional development experience designed to build your cultural proficiency capacity in order to lead for equity. We have designed a rich program for district teams and individual leaders from all educational levels to assist in the development of deep belief systems and understanding of cultural proficiency that empowers you to be proactive and responsive to the diverse needs of the communities you serve.

CPSEL #5 Focus: Ethics and Integrity

• Reflective Practice
• Ethical Decision Making
• Ethical Action

Major Themes:

• Equity, culture, and community
• Cultural Proficiency
• Disrupting patterns of inequity

Sign Up for Interest List

Cost: $750

When: Customized Service
8:00am – 3:30pm

Empowering Change. Empowering Leaders

This course is designed to introduce the students to the foundations of a cultural proficiency framework using Randall Lindsey's work. This is an entry-level course for undergraduate and graduate students. The purpose of this class is to examine a cultural proficiency framework that will shift the culture of a school, district, or individual. At the end of the course, the ability of educators will be expanded to have more culturally proficient interactions with others who are different from themselves.

In 21st Century classrooms, educators face diverse environments where change is the norm, where school communities, staff and student demographics are increasingly diverse in race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and ability. This course will address the mindset of educators to move from seeing cultural differences as a problem to learning how to authentically interact with others. Educators will compare and contrast the historical timeline of education in the past with our current educational system.

Topics covered include:

• Cultural Proficient Leadership
• Cultural Proficiency
• The History of Public Education
• Leading from Inside-Out
• Overcoming Barriers to Cultural Proficiency
• Discovering Self and others: Guiding Principles to Cultural Proficiency
• Seeing and Responding to Differences: Macro- and Micro-aggressions

Register Now

Cost: $599*

For more information, contact:
Dr. Marguerite Williams | mwilliams(at)nass.us | 916.329.3810

When: Weekly class sessions on Tuesdays
4:30–6:30pm

Download event flier

*Participants will earn three credits through the University of California, Riverside

This program will provide each participant with the tools required to develop an Equity and Social Justice Plan to implement in their setting, whether that is the classroom, the school or the school district. Each plan is based on the principles inherent in social justice and the plan will only be the starting point for each participant’s work. Following the development of their plan, participants will be assigned a job-alike mentor who will work with the participant in implementing their plan. At six months and again at one year, participants will meet to review and discuss their work in implementing the plan.

Course Expectations:

• Participants will be expected to complete pre-class assignments prior to each session
• Participants will be expected to attend each session and participate in every class discussion
• Participants will be expected to complete and implement their Equity and Social Justice plan

Register Now

Cost: $599

For more information, contact:
Dr. Marguerite Williams | mwilliams(at)nass.us | 916.329.3810

When: Weekly class sessions on Mondays
4:30–6:30pm

Download event flier

*Participants will earn three credits through the University of California, Riverside