Identity Safe Spaces at Home and School

Becki Cohn-Vargas is a consultant and curriculum specialist who spent over 35 years as a bilingual teacher, principal, curriculum director, and superintendent in Pre-K-12 school districts. Debbie Zacarian specializes in working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations. She has 30+ years' experience as a university faculty member, education service agency leader, and district administrator.

Contents Foreword ?Claude Steele ?xi Acknowledgments ?xiii Introduction ?xv 1. ?Understanding Identity Safety ?1 What Is Identity Safety, and Why Does It Matter? ?3 Taking Action ?12 Partnerships Between Home and School ?17 Looking Ahead ?21 Additional Resources ?21 2. ?Creating a Culture of Caring ?23 What Is a Culture of Trust and Caring, and Why Does It Matter? ?25 What Do We Mean by Culture and Cultural Way of Being? ?25 Taking Action ?28 Child Development as an Ever-Growing, Expanding, Interactional Process ?30 Partnerships Between Home and School ?38 Looking Ahead ?44 Additional Resources ?45 3. ?Understanding Our Own Identity ?46 The Role of Rituals Coupled with Positive Interactions ?50 Understanding the Phenomena of Racial Trauma in Addition to Adverse Childhood Experiences ?53 How Can We Examine Our Own Implicit and Explicit Biases to Support Identity Safe Spaces? ?54 Self-Reflection as a Lifelong Process ?61 How We Can Share Vulnerabilities ?62 Partnerships Between Home and School ?63 Facilitating Conversations about Multidiverse Identities ?64 Looking Ahead ?65 Additional Resources ?65 4. ?Supporting Positive Identity Development ?66 What Is Positive Identity Development, and Why Does It Matter? ?67 Taking Action ?74 Partnerships Between Home and School ?84 Looking Ahead ?87 Additional Resources ?88 5. ?Harnessing the Power of Connectedness, Cooperation, and Compassion ?89 What Are Connection, Cooperation, and Compassion, and Why Do They Matter? ?90 Taking Action ?92 Partnerships With Home and School ?102 Looking Ahead ?110 Additional Resources ?110 6. ?Building Empowerment, Agency, and Resilience ?112 What Are Empowerment, Agency, and Resilience, and Why Do They Matter? ?113 Taking Action ?120 Empowering Students' Identities as Learners ?123 Partnerships Between Home and School ?124 Looking Ahead ?131 Additional Resources ?131 7. ?Moving Away From "Same Old Habits" to Professional Growth ?132 The Changing Role That Educators Can Enact: Moving Away From the "Same Old Habits" ?133 Moving from a Strengths-Weaknesses Binary to a Strengths-Based Stance ?134 Supporting Identity Safe Practices at Home ?136 Engaging in a Cycle of Inquiry ?137 Tools for Engaging Families ?140 Partnering with the Larger Community ?140 Professional Growth Tools for Evaluating, Strengthening, and Celebrating Home-School Partnerships ?141 Professional Growth Tool for Identifying What is Occurring and What to Add ?143 Closing Thoughts ?147 Additional Resources ?149 References ?151 Index ?161 About the Authors ?171