Dansville Central School District

In this video, Ani Rosario, a teacher who previously taught in the Dansville Central School District, shares the work of their teacher book club and Cultural Awareness committee. Ms. Rosario and her colleagues created safe spaces to discuss current issues and challenges and consider how to best support all students and address emergent issues of equity.  Ms. Rosario presents how their teacher-led initiatives led to increased teacher awareness of issues of equity and implementation of restorative practices. Ms. Rosario and members of the Cultural Awareness Committee also coordinated with the school district to develop a stronger Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy, a curriculum review, and a review of the school code of conduct. Ms. Rosario encourages teachers and staff to come together as a multi-faceted and coordinated approach to work related to equity and access—where school boards can focus on policy changes and teachers and staff can address school-level changes—can lead to substantial change.