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Please make sure your resource post includes the following:

1) Your name

2)A link to a resource

3) A brief summary of the resource and your perspective on why it is useful/meaningful (why it is important?)

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PBS American Experience, Lincoln Memorial. In this article Kirk Savage, discusses the monuments honoring Lincoln. The Freedmen’s Memorial erected in 1876, which was funded entirely by freed blacks, depicts Lincoln standing over a crouched “slave.” Done so, because it was designed entirely without their input, but instead with white philanthropist’s input.

In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was built, once again without African American input, and this time only featured Lincon. There was no mention of the abolition of slavery, and instead, text inscriptions focused on the preserving of the nation. Savage notes, however, that the absence of an African American, in the monument allowed African American visitors to fill the missing piece with themselves. Savage then documents the series of events staged at the memorial that allowed blacks to “claim” this new monument, such as Marian Anderson’s 1939 Easter performance, where Anderson was spatially situated in photographs as an equal with Lincoln, upending the design of the Freedmen’s Memorial to Lincoln.

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Long before Marian Anderson's dramatic recital on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, African Americans had worked and struggled to lay claim to Lincoln's memory in public space. From 1876 to 1922, the major monument in the nation's capital to the martyr president was not the temple on the mall but a statue in Lincoln Park one mile due east of the Capitol, paid for entirely by the donations of formerly enslaved Americans, mostly Black soldiers in the Union Army who generously gave their meager earnings to the project. This Freedmen's Memorial to Abraham Lincoln stood directly on axis with a massive statue of George Washington, seated on a throne, overlooking the east front of the Capitol. For decades these two memorials, one mile apart, constituted the single most important configuration of monuments in Washington, before the National Mall would assume that honor in the twentieth century. Even after the mall's construction, however, it took Anderson's concert to center Black agency in how the nation remembers Lincoln. Her 1939 recital would transform public understanding of the Lincoln Memorial and inspire future Civil Rights leaders and other activists to stage protests there.

In 1876, however, the Freedmen's Memorial was the first public monument in the U.S. financed by African Americans (and remained the sole example until the 1920s). Its dedication before a huge interracial crowd that included President Grant, his Cabinet, the Supreme Court and many members of Congress, was a singular moment of validation for a people who had endured the " social death " of slavery. As Frederick Douglass said at the dedication ceremony, anticipating the backlash against Black freedom that lay ahead, "when the foul reproach of ingratitude is hurled at us, and it is attempted to scourge us beyond the range of human brotherhood, we may calmly point to the monument we have this day erected to the memory of Abraham Lincoln."

The Emancipation Memorial in Washington's Lincoln Park. Public Domain

Yet despite the strategic importance of the monument's visibility, Douglass knew it was deeply problematic. He and the Black donors whose generosity had made it possible had no voice in the monument's design, which was decided by a small group of elite white philanthropists who controlled the funds. When the monument was unveiled, Lincoln stood like a saint blessing a lowly slave, a crouching, semi-nude Black man, forever powerless and subservient at Lincoln's feet. Even though the Black soldiers in the audience knew better than anyone that the destruction of slavery had depended on the combined efforts of many-not least the hundreds of thousands of Black civilians and soldiers who escaped, bled and died for the cause of freedom-the monument's design reverted to the old familiar formula of the white savior. While Douglass despised this imagery, the monument for decades was the focus of annual emancipation celebrations in the capital, and by 1900 it had become known as the Emancipation Monument.

The new temple to Lincoln on the mall, which opened in 1922, further challenged Black claims on Lincoln's public memory. As problematic as the older monument's imagery was, it had centered the story of emancipation in the capital's memorial landscape and in the nation's image of Lincoln. In a single stroke the new Lincoln Memorial marginalized the Freedmen's Memorial and demoted its message from mainstream to minority memory.

The majestic marble temple designed by Henry Bacon completed a brand-new monumental core in Washington, D.C., a mile-and-a-half-long formal axis on the opposite side of the Capitol from the older axis east of the building. The new axis connected the Grant Memorial at the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial on the bank of the Potomac-the two great leaders of the Union war effort bookending the great space. This pairing was the main wedge of a master plan for central Washington that created a spectacular National Mall, a vast space dedicated to the triumphal story of the nation's reunion, under Republican leadership, after the Civil War. This new vision literally had no place for the theme of Black liberation, no room for reminders of the great struggle over racial justice that had driven the politics of Reconstruction and created the Freedmen's Memorial, however faulty its imagery. As the new National Mall became the most important monumental real estate in the U.S., the Freedmen's Memorial found itself stranded in a declining residential neighborhood, one that was going out of fashion and would soon become predominantly Black.

On the mall, in the inner recesses of Bacon's temple, Daniel Chester French's colossal statue of Lincoln focused on him alone, his silent struggle with the burdens of wartime leadership. The inscription on the wall above him celebrated his role as savior of the Union rather than as hero in the abolition of slavery. As before, African Americans were entirely shut out of the memorial planning that led to these design decisions. But this time around they faced a further insult: They were compelled to sit in a segregated rear section at the memorial's dedication in 1922. There they heard President Harding echo what was already apparent in the conception of the new mall. His speech downplayed the theme of emancipation and elevated Lincoln instead as the preeminent symbol of national "unity."

Every Black person in that audience knew that the unity Harding celebrated was cruelly false-built on an apartheid system of Jim Crow that had crushed the rights, the opportunities and the very health and lives of millions of Black Americans. The only African American allowed to mingle that day with the white VIPs was Robert Moton, Booker T. Washington's successor at Tuskegee Institute, who tried to introduce some honesty into the proceedings. He drafted a bold, blunt speech that bore the unspoken trauma of recent lynchings, North and South, white mob violence in the "Red Summer" of 1919 and the Tulsa massacre of 1921. In a stark rebuttal to Harding's unity, he wrote that the nation could not endure "half privileged and half repressed...half protected and half unprotected...half free and half yet in bondage." The memorial they were dedicating "is but a hollow mockery, a symbol of hypocrisy, unless we together can make real in our national life, in every state and in every section, the things for which he died." And yet these searing words were never heard: The Republican politicians on the Lincoln Memorial Commission forced him to remove those passages and deliver an anodyne message more in keeping with the self-congratulatory tone of the event. While the national Black press boiled over with outrage at the segregated ceremony, the mainstream white press did not even cover their reaction-an indication of just how thoroughly the Jim Crow system had infected the news media, the federal government and the landscape of commemoration.

Nevertheless, even in such a repressive climate, African Americans soon began to assert their own claims to the Lincoln Memorial. Groups big and small saw how well the monument functioned as a backdrop, much better in fact than the old Freedmen's Memorial. In front of that older monument, they could not avoid being conscripted by its imagery into a Jim Crow narrative of black subservience. On the steps leading to the Lincoln Memorial, however, they could stand proudly, stylishly, rightfully claiming the memorial as theirs, too, however much whites wanted to hoard it for their own "unity." Ironically, the absence of emancipation imagery in the colossal sculpture gave Black visitors the space they needed to make their own representations. At the first large organized Black event there, an African Methodist Episcopal Zion convention in 1926, the audience heard the principal speaker directly contradict Harding's interpretation and reaffirm instead the view that Lincoln's claim to immortality rested on emancipation, not reunion. But while all these acts were important precursors to Anderson's concert, they did little at the time to intrude on white consciousness.

Marian Anderson changed all that. Primed by the national controversy surrounding the refusal of the Daughters of the American Revolution to allow her into their concert hall, the world was watching and listening on that Easter Sunday in 1939. When Anderson walked down the upper flight of steps, she situated herself against the body of Lincoln above and behind her. It was a symbolic reversal of the Freedmen's Memorial: Now the two figures, Black and white, were partners, not opposites. For a brief but indelible moment, Black memory and American memory aligned as one. Her voice seemed to emanate from the deepest recesses of Lincoln's temple and to fill the great canyon of the National Mall. Singing to and for America, she began with the patriotic "My Country 'Tis of Thee." But as the recital continued, a subversive emotional plot emerged. From that first stirring anthem in the soprano register, she closed the concert in the deep reaches of her magnificent contralto with the slow, mournful "Trampin," a traditional spiritual ending in the haunting phrase "tryin' to make heaven my home." It was, in song, what Moton had wanted to express in oratory: the ongoing hope of America's Black community in the nation's promise of equal opportunity, counter-balanced and checked by a seemingly never-ending, grinding struggle to make that heaven a reality.

Anderson's concert not only transformed the memorial but changed the National Mall forever, turning it from a triumphal vista into the symbolic center of America's moral conscience. However, as her final song suggested, this shift in representation would not hold without struggle. In the aftermath of the concert, others leapt in to promote a popular imagery of racial reconciliation. No doubt with Anderson fresh on his mind, Frank Capra went to the memorial later in 1939 and filmed on location a silent, elderly black man paying his respects to Lincoln, while a white boy nearby read out loud the Gettysburg Address, for his film about democracy Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Three years later the photographer Marjory Collins made a series of publicity images for the war effort entitled "Negro Boys Admiring the Lincoln Memorial" (although admiration is hardly detectable in their faces, turned away from the camera as they are). Simple and patriotic, these images visualized Black homage to American ideals in order to boost democracy in its struggle against fascism.

A publicity photo for the Office of War Information entitled 'Negro boys admiring the Lincoln Memorial,' 1942. Credit: Marjory Collins, Library of Congress

Black activists had other ideas in mind, however, rejecting these images of passive reverence and reclaiming the memorial for their own political agency. In 1957, during the Eisenhower administration, Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders organized a national "prayer pilgrimage" to the memorial. He made clear there would be no "lobbying": They were not coming as a trade association or a labor union pressing for their own special interests. They came, rather, "to arouse the conscience of the nation," to hold it accountable to its fundamental promise of equality, as pledged in the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution. The question they posed was not what favors a Republican administration could bestow on them, but rather whether America itself would live up to its own ideals as professed in the figure of Lincoln and his speeches carved on the memorial walls. Six years later this effort culminated in the epic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where King, standing in Anderson's spot, gave the speech that would itself become a landmark in American history.

Throughout U.S. history, many groups had tried to lay claim to public monuments for their own agendas, but never had a major monument been so utterly transformed by direct action, and so dramatically thrust into the national psyche. Even the openly revolutionary Black Panthers, who occupied the memorial steps in 1970, chose to join their own radical claims of conscience to a now distinctly American tradition of protest for racial justice.

People gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for a Black Panther Convention, June 19, 1970. Library of Congress

All this helps explain why a photograph of National Guardsmen in body armor and black glasses, arrayed in military formation across the steps of the memorial, during the Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020, alarmed so many Americans. The memorial, a site of hope and conscience, was suddenly altered into a dystopian vision of militarized civic life. This viral image appeared to many a stark depiction of disproportionate response to Black activism, which, after all, had historically embraced the Lincoln Memorial and turned it into something much better than it was ever intended to be.

The story of the Lincoln Memorial from its inception has been the story of Black activism trying to save white America from its own delusions of supremacy. Amazingly, Black action appropriated and redefined this most white of monuments, but, inevitably, could not liberate the memorial entirely from the repressive forces that still shape the society around it. As Marian Anderson said so prophetically in song that Easter Sunday in 1939, we are still trampin', trampin', tryin' to make heaven our home.

Kirk Savage

Kirk Savage is the author of Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape.

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Who Owns a Monument? | American Experience | PBS

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Long before Marian Anderson's dramatic recital on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, African Americans had worked and struggled to lay claim to Lincoln's memory in public space.

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PBS Iconic America, Statue of Liberty. In this video Alan Kraut, chair of the Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island History Advisory Committee points out that the shackles at the statue’s feet symbolizing the abolishment of slavery, used to be in her hands in earlier versions. He sees this move, from hands to feet, as representing the decreasing importance for the statue to represent abolition.

Lonnie Bunch, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution elaborates on this change in design, noting that that the idea came from the celebration of emancipation, but that over time (1865 – 1886), the acknowledgment of abolitionism became less important, and that in many ways the “United States had given up on bringing the North and South together, including African Americans.” Bunch even points out that it’s hard for the shackles or chains to be seen since the statue is so high on its pedestal.

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The Statue of Liberty as a Symbol | Iconic America | PBS LearningMedia

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Learn about the Statue of Liberty and its ties to emancipation. This clip from Iconic America examines the original meaning of the Statue of Liberty and how that meaning has changed over time.
Students take a closer look at the statue and notice many of the details that help to make the statue so iconic. They will also examine the Statue of Liberty as a symbol for immigration and abolition in the United States.

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This story on the National Park Service’s website discusses what lead to the erection of the Statue of Liberty in 1886. After the Union’s victory in 1865 Édouard de Laboulaye, who was president of the French Anti-Slavery Society, began pushing for a gift to the united States celebrating the end of slavery, with the hopes of encouraging a return to a democratic government in France. Images of a broken shackle appear at the statue’s feet symbolizing the end of slavery.

However, the article notes that “attitudes towards the Statue in the African American community were ambivalent and uncertain,” as it represented “bitter ironies of America's professed identity as a just and free society for all people” when it was just beginning to recognize African Americans as citizens. As such, the Statue was rarely used as a relevant symbol for the African American struggle.

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Abolition - Statue Of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)

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National Park Service, Statue of Liberty NM

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This video from C-SPAN’s Local Content Vehicle in Dec. 2010 documents Monument Avenue in Richmond before statues removal in 2020.

Sarah Shield Driggs gives a brief history of how Monument Avenue came to be, and insight into the purpose of it. In the 1890s, the statues erected started with Robert E. Lee, Jeb Stuart, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson and Matthew Fountaine Morey. Later, in the 1990s, Richmond native and national tennis star Arthur Ashe was added after some controversy. She notes that some objected to its location, since Monument Avenue had been focused on Confederate heroes, but others argued that Monument Avenue was more about heroes than Confederate heroes. The city council and Arthur Ashe’s widow agreed to add a 20th century hero to Monument Avenue.

At the end of the video Driggs notes that African Americans, as well as others, were offended by Monument Avenue for decades, and that by adding Ashe it helped to make Monument Avenue for everyone, “it makes it a modern street, a street where everybody has a stake, and many more people feel welcome here.”

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This news report from April 2022 documents what has happened to the sites on Monument Avenue in Richmond since their removal in 2020.

Originally Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)was given one million dollars by the state (or Commonwealth) to create a plan using a community driven initiative: historians, artists, and urban planners.

However, VMFA has not had any part in planning since the end of 2021 citing that the Commonwealth ceded the land to the city of Richmond Richmond alone will decide the future. This seems to have had an inequitable impact by silencing the diverse group initially charged with planning the sites’ renewal.

Richmond Resident and VCU student, Amel Aksough takes a positive look on the statues’ removal: “Personally, I think that we got rid of some history and we made new history.”

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VMFA scrapped from 'reimagine Monument Avenue' project; Richmonders confused about next steps

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This Padlet was created during my Makerspace course over the summer as a curated resource hub exploring how school libraries can use makerspaces to foster creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. It features a wide range of articles, videos, and examples of how educators integrate makerspaces into K–12 settings to encourage student-driven learning. The Padlet also includes an Equity & Inclusion section focused on ensuring that all students, regardless of background, ability, or access to technology, can participate meaningfully in hands-on, inquiry-based learning.

Reflection on Equity and Justice:
I wanted to share this resource because makerspaces are more than just creative learning environments, they can be powerful tools for educational equity. When thoughtfully designed, makerspaces give every student the chance to explore STEM, design, and innovation in ways that honor diverse learning styles and lived experiences. The Equity & Inclusion section emphasizes how representation, accessibility, and culturally responsive practices can transform makerspaces into spaces of empowerment rather than exclusion. This work is especially relevant for Title I schools like mine, where access to materials and technology can make a profound difference in closing opportunity gaps and building confidence in all learners.

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Bridget Looney’s study examines how K–8 teachers use maker practices to advance equity and inclusion, especially for girls and students from low-income, Black, and Latinx communities. She found that effective makerspaces emphasize creativity, collaboration, and culturally responsive teaching rather than just access to technology. By using familiar, low-cost materials and centering student voice, teachers created safe, empowering environments where all students could see themselves as makers. This work is especially relevant for Title I schools, showing that equitable maker education depends on intentional pedagogy and community-building, not just resources or equipment.

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Project: I will create no-prep, easily accessible Morning Meeting lessons for teachers at my school that focus on equity, inclusion, and diversity.

1)This NC Department of Public Instruction site connects NC Standard Course of Study standards with Social and Emotional Learning. There are outlined connections and pillars relating to each subject--the 5 main ones being Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision-Making. These are useful because they serve as a great baseline to start designing from.

2) Responsive Classroom is a website dedicated to the reasoning behind and creation of impactful Morning Meeting lessons. As someone who has never had to facilitate morning meetings, I really had no framework or prior knowledge to know how to design lessons. This site provides free planning guides and graphic organizers.

3) This site provides a list of children's books that can serve as material and context for morning meetings about equity, inclusivity, and diversity. I asked the librarian at my school to pull any books from the list that were available, and she not only did that, but also included the ones that are available in our public library. This is a great resource and way for teachers to access these books freely at any time and will help me design an accessible morning meeting series.

4) This NAEYC website provides a great article on how to teach about holidays, cultures, etc. without bias and without "stirring up" any feelings of discontent. In the school where I work, there are sure to be parents that oppose any instruction about different religions, or any hint that classrooms are "celebrating" holidays other than Christian ones. This website does a great job of explaining how to teach about diversity without necessarily "celebrating" other cultures and holidays.

5) What better source than fellow educators? This site links to a blog written by an educator with fabulous linked resources on how to teach about other holidays and cultures. She includes videos, articles and books, digital resources, and other ideas to create inclusive and engaging lessons. I'm excited to delve even deeper into all the resources and to include hem in my morning meeting lessons.

***6) Honorable mention: the one and only chatgpt.com. He helped me find many of these resources and organize them in a cohesive way!***

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NCSCOS & Social and Emotional Learning Alignment | NC DPI

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On this page, you will find documents and resources that reveal the current alignment between social and emotional learning competencies and the NC Standard Course of Study. You will also find activties and practices to strengthen the integration of social and emotional leanring competencies within the specific content areas. You may explore individual content areas below, or you can find all resources for all content areas in this table.

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Equitable AI Implementation in K12

Bethanie Colwell

Research Questions:

What can we learn from successful models of the first wave of digital integration to inform how best to integrate AI and equity now?

What models have succeeded at supporting families at home and closing the digital divide?

How can those models be modified and replicated for the AI Age?

In what ways does including educators, students, and families from historically marginalized communities in AI tool design or selection processes influence perceptions of trust, cultural relevance, and classroom equity?

1. Williamson & Eynon (2020) – Historical Threads in AI in Education

This study shows how earlier ed-tech waves reinforced inequality when schools “digitized drill” instead of transforming learning. It argues that AI risks repeating this if systems adopt it for efficiency rather than empowerment. True equity requires participatory governance: students, families, and teachers co-designing how AI tools are chosen and used.

Williamson, B., & Eynon, R. (2020). Historical threads, missing links and future directions in AI in education. Learning, Media and Technology, 45(3), 223–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2020.1798995

2. Zhai (2023) – ChatGPT for Supporting Education

Zhai identifies cognitive offloading as the next equity frontier. Cognitive offloading can be defined as students using AI to skip the mental work that builds reasoning. This warns educators that simply allowing AI without scaffolding deepens cognitive inequity: privileged learners use it to extend thinking, while others use it to bypass it. For equitable outcomes, teachers must sequence AI use after core reasoning tasks and explicitly teach AI literacy.

Zhai, X. (2023). ChatGPT for supporting education: Opportunities, challenges, and future directions. Frontiers in Education, 8, Article 120. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.120

3. Holmes et al. (2022) – The Ethics of AI in Education

Holmes et al. translate abstract AI ethics into practical guardrails: local context, transparency, and teacher agency. This matters because bias and harm often emerge when tools ignore language diversity, disability, or cultural nuance. Their ethics framework is daily classroom practice, not policy slogans.

Holmes, W., Porayska-Pomsta, K., Holstein, K., Sutherland, E., & Baker, R. S. (2022). The ethics of AI in education: Towards a community-wide framework. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 32(4), 611–652. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-021-00239-1

4. Superville (2024) – AI’s Impact on Black Students

Superville centers racial justice, highlighting how algorithmic bias can reinforce anti-Black stereotypes in automated grading and feedback. The article calls for “racial literacy for technology,” teaching students to see bias in data and design, which is reminding me of “Coded Bias” from MIT researcher Joy Buolamwini. The author helps reframe AI literacy as both technical skill and critical consciousness.

Superville, D. R. (2024, June 10). What educators need to know about AI’s impact on Black students. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/technology/what-educators-need-to-know-about-ais-impact-on-black-students/2024/06

5. Vander Ark (2025) – Advancing AI Through Equity and Access

Vander Ark shifts the conversation from adoption to access plus agency. He urges schools to treat AI integration as a moral design challenge, measuring who benefits, not just who participates. Districts like Montour, PA and programs such as Tech Goes Home Boston show us how family digital literacy, PD, and infrastructure investment turn AI from privilege to public good.

Vander Ark, T. (2025, July 24). Advancing AI through equity and access. Getting Smart. https://www.gettingsmart.com/2025/07/24/advancing-ai-through-equity-and-access/

6. Adams (2024) – How a Tennessee District Is Using AI to Close Literacy Gaps

This case study demonstrates AI’s potential when embedded in MTSS. Wilson County Schools use AI-powered reading feedback to extend teacher capacity rather than replace it, especially supporting English learners and early readers. It shows that implementation quality, educator PD, and oversight determine whether AI narrows or widens literacy gaps.

Adams, C. (2024, April 10). How a Tennessee district is using AI to close literacy gaps. K-12 Dive. https://www.k12dive.com/news/how-a-tennessee-district-is-using-ai-to-close-literacy-gaps/748916

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Centering Diverse Voices in Social Studies

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Centering Diverse Voices in Social Studies

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Resource 1: Impact of Racial Representation in Curriculum Content

Source: Western Journal of Applied Research and Research (WJARR), 2024

This peer-reviewed research examines how diverse racial perspectives in K-12 curricula influence students' racial identity development, self-esteem, trust in education, and academic outcomes. When students see themselves reflected in curriculum materials, they feel valued and experience improved academic performance. The research directly addresses structural inequities by calling for curriculum reform to ensure all students see reflections of themselves in subjects that have historically excluded or distorted non-White populations.

Resource 2: The Connection Between Belonging and Representation

Source: AMLE (Association for Middle Level Education), 2023

Research shows that students who feel they have a voice in class are seven times more likely to feel motivated, and when students see themselves in curriculum materials, books, and posters, they experience increased belonging and motivation to learn. The resource identifies the "racial school climate gap" as a structural barrier where students of color feel excluded in school resources, media, and books, and emphasizes that students who feel welcome and valued invest more in their education with longer-lasting results and higher academic achievement.

Resource 3: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in Schools

Source: EdGate Blog, 2024

This resource explains how DEI concepts are being integrated into K-12 curricula, distinguishing between diversity (representation of different identities), equity (fair and just treatment with necessary resources), and inclusion (ensuring all feel valued). State initiatives like New York's culturally responsive-sustaining framework and Washington's CCDEI standards aim to elevate historically marginalized voices and empower students as agents of social change. By recognizing that equity considers individual needs rather than treating everyone identically, and by systematically addressing "deeply rooted biases in curricula" and "economic and social barriers," schools work to replace.

Resource 4: Teaching Indigenous Perspectives and History

Source: Multiple institutional resources including Facing History & Ourselves, NEA, Historica Canada, and The Indigenous Foundation

These resources address the structural absence and misrepresentation of Indigenous perspectives in traditional curricula, providing frameworks for teaching accurate Indigenous history beyond stereotypes and "whitewashed" narratives that misrepresent colonization. They emphasize using primary sources from Indigenous communities, centering Indigenous resilience and resistance, and incorporating Indigenous pedagogies while acknowledging that many teachers feel uncomfortable due to gaps in their own education. By centering Indigenous voices and accurate history, students can understand current justice issues like missing Indigenous women and land sovereignty, and all students can engage in truth and reconciliation while developing critical consciousness about historical injustices and systemic inequities.

Resource 5: Making History Matter: Teaching Intersectional History

Source: Blog post and educational resource by educator Samantha Malone Cook, 2024

This resource emphasizes that studying intersectional history promotes social equity by including diverse voices not traditionally included in Eurocentric, arguing that "children should not long for their own image" and that all students need to see themselves reflected in history while gaining exposure to broader experiences. By treating curriculum as a vehicle for developing critical consciousness, students can understand how historical patterns of marginalization connect to contemporary social justice issues like reproductive rights and environmental justice.

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TextBlaze is a Chrome/Browser add on that allows you to create a bank of comments for responding to documents and other written work. This allows for more equitable grading and responses to ensure the user is consistent in their responses as well as helping to eliminate mistakes. For users that are prone to typing mistakes or have other obstacles to typing fidelity - this tool allows you to create a bank of responses as well as incorporates proofreading. As someone with an chronic eye disability - tools like this help shield users from the unspoken judgment that comes with "typos" and other online "gaffs" that can be harshly judged particularly in the world of academia. My research will be focused on equitable grading policies particularly in terms of A.I usage - a tool like TextBlaze ensures that instructors are responding consistently to student work and creates a bank of responses so educators can track those responses.

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A powerful text expander Chrome extension. Optimize everything you type with auto text snippets, templates and macros.

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Voice out is a chrome/browser extension that allows you to record comments verbally using text to speech tools. It can read aloud any Google Doc, PDF, webpage, or book with text to speech and it supports natural sounding voices in 60+ languages & 100+ voices. While this technology s not new - it's efficacy and the fact that is free means that it provides a service that most would have to pay for and provides that service to those will vision and other related disabilities. This type of resource would often be costly for those who need it most as well as those who likely already have financial obstacles in relation to their medical needs. VoiceOut is a tool that educators can utilize to provide feedback to students writing - which is usually very time consuming but by using this, it can expedite the feedback and allow educators to hold students accountable as well as ask for resubmissions in an more expendiante way. In the time of A.I usage, using VoiceOut to review student work allows educator a quicker turnaround for grading and feedback, ensuring that when/if students use A.I, educators can quickly respond and interact with students' work.

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Voice Out - #1 Text-To-Speech Extension for Chrome

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Voice Out lets you read aloud any Google Doc, PDF, webpage, or book with text to speech in 60+ languages & 100+ voices. Get started for free!

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Draftback is a chrome extension that shows the number of edits a user has made on a google document. For a teacher who grades on Google documents - draftback can show if the document has an unusually low amount of edits - suggesting large areas of text were copy and pasted. This will allow instructors to more effectively hold students accountable for A.I usage and/or plagiarism and save costly time reviewing version history. Instructors currently don't have reliable ways to identify A.I usage without reviewing version history which depending on the length of the document can be very time consuming. With Draftback, you can have a reason to go looking for copy and paste that isn't subjective or based on a student's abilities but is based on real reliable date and numbers - this prevents grading discrimination against students, particularly weaker writers.

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Brisk Teaching is an A.I tool for educators that not only can help educators detect A.I usage in students submissions but it can provide feedback and generate questions based on standards and rubrics. While some educators may feel nervous about utilizing A.I in their own work, this tool allows teachers to learn more about all that A.I can do and better understand how and what students are using A.I for. It can also help provide consistent feedback and grading with guidance as well as generate depth of knowledge questions.

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Free AI Tools for Teachers and Educators – Brisk Teaching

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Brisk is the best AI for teachers and schools, offering free AI tools for education that fit seamlessly into your routine. With an AI lesson plan generator and tools for instruction, feedback, and differentiation, Brisk helps lighten your workload. Grade essays before the bell or create lesson plans in seconds. Install now and thank yourself all year!

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While some school districts are blocking websites like ChatGBT - microsoft Copilot is an A.I tool that many students have access to - particularly in districts like mine where the Office365 suite are the offered tools for students (outlook for email etc...) - To understand what an "A.I" voice sounds like - educators can use tools like CoPilot to test their own prompts and assignments to see what responses it would generate. A.I writing voices are generally distinct and can be distinguished from the typical voice of a student or novice writer - so educators are using this tool to test typical responses. This can help educators more consistently recognize A.I voice or establish a threshold for when they suspect A.I usage.

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Microsoft Copilot is your companion to inform, entertain and inspire. Get advice, feedback and straightforward answers. Try Copilot now.

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Family Literacy Equity Toolkit Courtney Spikes 

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Family Literacy Equity Toolkit Courtney Spikes 

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My project will focus on a Family Literacy Equity Toolkit that gives teachers easy ways to involve all families in reading at home. It will include tips, handouts, and resources that support families from different cultures, languages, and income levels.

Resource 1 Equity in Family Engagement Toolkit

https://familieslearning.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Equity_in_Family_Engagement_Toolkit_Folder-FINAL_002.pdf

This toolkit centers on ensuring families are “seen, visible, and valued” in school partnerships. It offers reflective questions, practical steps, and case studies for educators. It directly tackles inequities in family engagement by recognizing barriers (like language, culture, or socioeconomic status) and provides ways to overcome them. Teachers can use it to design inclusive reading programs that actively welcome all families, not just those with time, resources, or English proficiency.

Resource 2 Supporting Families Use of Literacy Infographics

https://www.michigan.gov/mileap/-/media/Project/Websites/mileap/Documents/Education-Partnerships/Family-Partnerships/Supporting_Families_Use_of_Literacy_Infographics.pdf?hash=CAD6DFBF9927E7ED9E36581958B5C11C&rev=d583729c2b2b49a9b428a916b518089f&utm

A collection of visually friendly infographics that break down simple literacy practices parents can use at home (like talking, reading, and singing together). Infographics simplify complex guidance, reducing barriers for families with limited English, literacy skills, or time. This combats inequity by giving all families accessible entry points. Teachers can share these in multiple languages or send home copies so parents across income and education levels can engage in daily literacy.

Resource 3 Interactive Literacy Activities Toolkit

https://ed.psu.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/ILA%20ToolKit%20FINAL_3.pdf

Offers parent child activities designed for home or school settings, with printable handouts and easy instructions. By providing low cost, simple activities, this toolkit helps bridge the resource gap for families who may not afford books, apps, or tutoring. It promotes literacy as a shared family activity regardless of background. Teachers can hand these out as take-home activities, ensuring every family has concrete, culturally adaptable literacy practices.

Resource 4 Families and Schools Partnering for Children’s Literacy Success

A comprehensive toolkit with guides, facilitator materials, infographics, and activities that encourage schools and families to work together on literacy goals. It addresses systemic injustice by showing how schools can shift from a “school centric” approach to true partnership, where family knowledge and culture are valued. Teachers can use this toolkit to run family workshops, literacy nights, or ongoing programs where all families have a voice in literacy learning.

Resource 5 How Families Can Partner With Schools on Literacy Development

https://www.improvingliteracy.org/resource/how-families-can-partner-with-schools-on-literacy-development?utm

A web based guide that explains clear ways families and schools can communicate, collaborate, and support literacy growth. It highlights justice in literacy by framing parents as coeducators, countering the inequity that arises when families are excluded due to language or cultural differences. Teachers can share this guide with parents or use it as a template to build parent newsletters, resource lists, and equity-focused family reading plans.

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Sean Wallace - Equity in Music Education 

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Sean Wallace - Equity in Music Education 

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“National Arts Education Status Report 2019” (Arts Ed Data Project) — This national report compiles data on arts education (including music) across U.S. schools, showing trends, disparities, and gaps in student access to music and arts programs. This will be useful in providing actual data on access.

“The Crisis in Music Education Resulting from the Demise of Educational Institutions” by Rolando Angel-Alvarado -

This article argues that decline or restructuring of educational institutions exacerbates inequities in music education, as reduced institutional support undermines access and program stability. I think this will be useful in providing a zoomed-out perspective of education as a whole and the effects on music in specific.

“Music Education in the Urban Classroom: Issues of Equity and Access” (Lindenwood thesis) — This thesis investigates how equity and access manifest in urban school music programs, exploring barriers like funding, resources, institutional priorities that limit student participation.

“Equity and access in music education: conceptualizing culture as barriers to and supports for music learning” — Butler, Lind, & McKoy propose a conceptual framework that frames five interacting dimensions (teacher, student, content, instruction, context) through which cultural and racial factors may function as barriers or supports in music learning. This is a good example of a way to combat inequities. I read it from a design perspective as well, so I may include that perspective.

Equity in Music Education: Cultural Appropriation vs Cultural Appreciation - Karen Howard This article discusses approaches for music educators when teaching music from other cultures, navigating the thin line between appropriation and appreciation. Howard provides a practical checklist to help teachers reflect on their instructional choices, considering factors like authenticity, context, representation, and power dynamics.

Benefits of Music Education

The Royal Conservatory created this infographic that displays information and statistics from neurology studies that indicate the physical mental benefits of learning music. This isn't specific to equity, but I do plan on using some information to emphasize the importance of music as a component of a well-rounded education.

At the Nexus of Ethnomusicology and Music Education - Patricia Campbell

This article talks about the fields of Ethnomusicology (one I likely would've been in if not for COVID) and Music Education. Campbell also introduces two newer fields that are actively trying to create equitable music learning spaces: Applied Ethnomusicology and Community Music, as well as some online resources for teachers wanting to teach outside of their wheelhouse. I'd like to use this as additional examples of the innovative ways in which people are addressing the inequities and inequalities in music education.

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National Arts Education Status Report 2019 - Arts Education Data Project

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The Arts Education Data Project (AEDP) provides the first-ever look at the status and condition of arts education in the U.S. using actual student participation…

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Religious Dietary Observance in Public School Lunch

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Religious Dietary Observance in Public School Lunch

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Religious Dietary Observance in Public School Meals

The scope of this project is meant to address how socio-economic status and food insecurity intersect with religious freedom in public schools. The following resources have been compiled to evaluate how offering nutritional options to diverse student populations relates to equity. Equity principles surrounding religious diversity, public health, nutritional access, fairness, and inclusivity will be examined through this research.

Resource 1: Religion in Public Schools

Source: Lupu, I. C., Davis, E., & Masci, D. (2019, October 3). Religion in the Public Schools. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/10/03/religion-in-the-public-schools-2019-update/

This study provides a broad overview of how Freedom of Religion pertains to public schooling under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The report examines how the Constitution operates to protect freedom of religious expression while avoiding the establishment of religion in public schools. Legal precedent maintains that public schools must operate from a place of neutrality regarding religion and cannot be seen to endorse one faith over another. This resource provides a precursory baseline for understanding how the law has both expanded and limited schools’ purview over religious freedom.

Resource 2: National School Lunch Act

Source: Hynd, E. (2016, December 1). National School Lunch Act of 1946. The Congress Project. https://www.thecongressproject.com/national-school-lunch-act-1946

This resource explains the significance of the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) and subsequent establishment of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). These are both cited as foundations for requiring public schools to provide meals for students. They address equitable access and adequacy (nutritious and culturally appropriate). This resource also outlines the legal provisions subsidizing or offering free school breakfast and lunch, recognizing the socio-economic reality of students facing food insecurity. The NSLA and NSLP establish the basis for an argument that schools be required to offer vegetarian, Kosher, and Halal options for students under Freedom of Religion.

Resource 3: Halal and Kosher School Lunch Pilot Proposal

Source: NYC Comptroller, & Stringer, S. M., Halal and Kosher School Lunch Pilot Proposal (2018). Retrieved from https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/Halal_Kosher_Pilot_Proposal.pdf.

This resource is a public-policy proposal put forward by the Office of the New York City Comptroller that outlines a plan to test the possibility of offering Halal and Kosher meal options in NYC Public Schools. If adopted, this policy could provide necessary context to assess the feasibility of adopting these practices on a federal level. It relates to equity principles by providing reasonable accommodations for minority faiths and highlights the intersection between inclusive school lunch and food insecurity. The plan is framed in a neutral and non-preferential way, pursuant to the provisions of the Establishment Clause.

Resource 4: Villivalam, Olickal Law Brings Halal and Kosher Food Options to Schools

Source: Villivalam, Olickal Law Brings Halal and Kosher Food Options to Schools. ISDC. (2025, March 21). https://www.illinoissenatedemocrats.com/caucus-news/46-senator-ram-villivalam-news/6110-villivalam-olickal-law-brings-halal-and-kosher-food-options-to-schools

In March of 2025, Illinois State Senator, Ram Villivalam and Illinois State Representative, Kevin Olickal successfully authored and passed the Faith by Plate Act, making Illinois the first state to legally require that schools offer Halal and Kosher meal options to students. This law is another, more recent example of policy-makers attempting to provide inclusive school lunches compatible with religious dietary observance. The law is a valuable template for how other states can implement similar policies to expand fair, inclusive, and nutritionally sufficient options for Jewish and Muslim students.

Resource 5: State Regulations to Support Children’s Cultural and Religious Food Preferences in Early Care and Education

Source: Looby, A., Frost, N., & Gonzales-Nahm, S. (2019, December 12). State Regulations to Support Children’s Cultural and Religious Food Preferences in Early Care and Education. https://link.springer.com/. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-019-02833-1?utm_source

This journal article outlines the findings of public health researchers examining the extent that the United States either requires or allows Early Care Education Centers (ECEs) to provide inclusive nutritional options for religious minorities. While not part of the public school system, this study examines how administrative regulations for ECEs determine whether and how educational institutions can meet the cultural and spiritual needs of children. The findings of this audit found that few states in the U.S. had strong regulations supporting cultural or religious food preference.

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Harding University High School where RAMS are resilient!

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Overview of Proposal: Structural Equity through Hackathon Integration

My proposed project which is titled  “AP Computer Science Hackathon at Harding University High School”  directly addresses educational equity by embedding a project-based learning (PBL) Hackathon within a Title I school. The plan intentionally targets students who are often excluded from high-level computing opportunities, especially those from low-income, racially diverse backgrounds.

By designing structured, scaffolded pre-event lessons, differentiated supports (UDL accommodations, immersive readers, flexible formats), and a culminating collaborative experience, the project dismantles structural barriers that typically restrict access to advanced computer science learning.

The proposal therefore acts as a justice-driven intervention, expanding who gets to code, collaborate, and create.

Resource Connections and How They Illuminate Equity in the Proposal

1. Levinson et al. (2022)  “Conceptions of Educational Equity”

This article defines multiple models of equity (equal outcomes, resources, experiences, or growth) and warns against vague “equity talk” that fails to shift systems.

The Hackathon design operationalizes “equal experiences and growth trajectories” by giving Title I students a rigorous, AP-level, collaborative computing experience typically reserved for affluent schools.

Implications for equity are seen as the project moves beyond equal access to equal opportunity for enrichment, redefining what high-quality STEM education looks like in under-resourced schools. It promotes systemic fairness not simply offering a course, but transforming the experience to match elite academic opportunities.

The Justice Connection reflects redistributive justice, giving historically marginalized students access to social capital and skill development that bridge opportunity gaps.

2. Nachbauer et al. (2024) — “How Schools Affect Equity in Education”

This resources examines how school-level structures (teaching practices, extended learning opportunities) impact achievement gaps.

My Hackathon proposal introduces a structural change that extends AP learning beyond exams through a real-world Hackathon. It institutionalizes enrichment as a part of the curriculum rather than an afterthought.

This proposal aligns with Nachbauer’s finding that extended-day and authentic learning experiences narrow performance gaps by boosting motivation and self-efficacy among underserved students.

The goal of the Hackathon will be to promote structural justice by reimagining how time, space, and curriculum can be distributed equitably within schools serving low-income communities.

3. Wu et al. (2025) “Can Program Structure Advance Equity?”

The focus of this article is to demonstrates how clear policies and structured program design improve equity more than informal or ad hoc interventions.

This Hackathon proposal follows a systematized ADDIE-aligned structure from pre-event skill analysis to reflection ensuring all students have predictable, equitable access to preparation and success.

The implications for equity is to create a design that minimizes disparities in informal support networks (e.g., who already codes outside school). The use of scaffolding, lesson templates, and facilitator protocols creates a transparent, equitable learning system.

Aligning with procedural justice will be accomplished by ensuring all learners know what success looks like, have tools to reach it, and receive fair facilitation regardless of prior background.

4. Reinholz & Shah (2021) — “Equity and Equality in Data Visualization”

This article focuses on how data representations can influence teacher understanding of inequity. Since the Hackathon project will require ongoing reflection and assessment from infographics to team-model evaluations and journal writing, these artifacts will allow educators to collect, visualize, and analyze student engagement and learning patterns.

Embedding reflective data practices ensures inequities in participation, skill confidence, and teamwork is visible and addressable. Teachers can use this evidence to refine support for underrepresented learners. The Justice connection will be met by demonstrating recognition justice and ensuring every student’s experience and outcome are seen, recorded, and valued rather than masked by averages.

5. MacFarlane et al. — “The Science of Equality in Education”

It is important to emphasize reducing bias and stereotype threats through environmental and institutional design rather than individual remediation. In my proposal I have chosen to use UDL strategies, flexible assessments, and collaborative models to reduce psychological barriers for students who may feel marginalized in advanced computing spaces. The emphasis will be on affirming instruction (via GLEAM principles) and trusted teacher-student relationships which fosters psychological safety and identity-affirming pedagogy.

The learning environment created through the Hackathon project itself will become an equity tool that transforms the culture from exclusionary to inclusive.

The goals is to reflect recognition and representational justice, where each learner’s identity and voice are central to the design of the learning experiences.

In Summary: The Equity and Justice Nexus

My Hackathon Project Plan is not simply an instructional design it’s a systemic equity intervention. It operationalizes justice by:

1. Redistributing access to high-value STEM learning experiences.

2. Recognizing and affirming marginalized learners’ abilities and cultural capital.

3. Representing students equitably within curriculum design and instructional leadership.

Through its structured, inclusive, and reflective design, the proposal embodies the principles illuminated across the five articles: clarity of purpose (Levinson), structural redesign (Wu), data-informed inclusivity (Reinholz), extended opportunity (Nachbauer), and environment-based justice (MacFarlane).

In sum, the Hackathon project at Harding University High School serves as a model for educational and structural equity, bridging the gap between opportunity and access, while advancing justice-centered instructional innovation.

References:

Levinson, M., Cornwell, J., & Shanker, R. (2022). Conceptions of educational equity. AERA

Open, 8(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584221121344

Nachbauer, W., Neugebauer, M., & Rumberger, R. W. (2024). How schools affect equity in

education: Teaching factors and extended day programs. Social Science Research, 117,

102972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.102972

Wu, C., Johnson, J. A., & Brown, E. (2025). Can program structure advance equity in

graduate education? Innovative Higher Education, 50(1), 45–67.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-025-09808-x

Reinholz, D. L., & Shah, N. (2021). Equity and equality: How data visualizations mediate

teacher sensemaking about racial and gender inequity. Contemporary Issues in

Technology and Teacher Education, 21(3), 443–471. https://citejournal.org/volume-21/issue-3-21/mathematics/equity-and-equality-how-data-visualizations-mediate-teacher-sensemaking-about-racial-and-gender-inequity/

MacFarlane, J., Godsil, R., & Goff, P. (2017). The science of equality in education. Perception

Institute. https://perception.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Science-of-Equality-Education.pdf

Tatapudy, P., Wallace, A., & Pagano, L. (2024). Visualizing inequities: A step toward

equitable student data use. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 23(2), ar45.

https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.24-02-0086

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Don't Forget About Me: Reclaiming the Voice of the Black Man in a Silenced America- Rakeem Spearman

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Don't Forget About Me: Reclaiming the Voice of the Black Man in a Silenced America- Rakeem Spearman

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Alexander, M. (2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.

hooks, b. (2004). We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity.

National Urban League. State of Black America reports.

https://www.ted.com/talks/nate_evans_jr_emotional_fluency_the_language_black_boys_aren_t_taught_jan_2022?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Explanation for these sources:

These resources give a real and powerful look into the experiences of Black men in America. Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow breaks down how mass incarceration continues to hold Black men back through systemic racism disguised as justice. bell hooks’ We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity takes a deep look at how society shapes Black manhood and the pressure to live up to certain images that often harm emotional and mental growth. The National Urban League’s State of Black America reports bring in data and current issues, showing how racial inequality still impacts Black men across education, jobs, and justice. Nate Evans Jr.’s TED Talk, Emotional Fluency: The Language Black Boys Aren’t Taught, highlights how Black boys are rarely given the space or language to express emotion, which connects to larger conversations about mental health. Finally, Don’t Forget About Me: Reclaiming the Voice of the Black Man in a Silenced America centers the personal stories and voices that are too often overlooked. Together, these sources give both the facts and the human side needed to understand and support the success, healing, and leadership of Black men.

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"We spend so much time listening to the things people are saying that we rarely pay attention to the things they don't," says poet and teacher Clint Smith. A short, powerful piece from the heart, about finding the courage to speak up against ignorance and injustice.

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Addressing Low Academic/Technology Preparedness in Students from Low SES Households

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Addressing Low Academic/Technology Preparedness in Students from Low SES Households

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Resource 1:

American Psychological Association. “Education and Socioeconomic Status.” American Psychological Association, 2017, www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/education.

Discusses the education disparities that students from low SES backgrounds deal face, such as less opportunities to practice fundamental skills, less experienced educators, and less access to resources. Important in providing background on the topic to show the importance of intervention.

Resource 2:

- Youtube. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=bqLL1x9SbBwcX8p8&v=HewXL8HrYlA&feature=youtu.be

TED Talk incomplete, however a great story from a young man about his family being poor and how that impacted him academically and socially. Important because he was able to overcome due to getting support from a program. This is a prime example of why my topic is necessary. Students of low SES are not incapable, many just lack resources and support. With some training they can become more equipped to succeed in higher ed and beyond.

Resource 3:

Қорқыт Ата атындағы Қызылорда университеті, Қазақстан, Abilkhairova, Zh. A., Baimaganbetova, Zh. T., Қорқыт Ата атындағы Қызылорда университеті, Қазақстан, Bekmurzaeva, R. A., Қорқыт Ата атындағы Қызылорда университеті, Қазақстан, Nurgaliyeva, S. A., & С. Аманжолов атындағы Шығыс Қазақстан университеті, Өскемен, Қазақстан. (2021). Chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://pedagogy-vestnik. Ksu. Kz/apart/2021-104-4/12. Pdf. Bulletin of the Karaganda University. Pedagogy Series, 104(4), 101–107. https://doi.org/10.31489/2021Ped4/101-107

This infographic goes into more detail about how low SES impacts student performance and why. It also highlights how parents are involved which is important because I not only want to train students, but parents as well. One advantage that most high earning households have is a higher level of parent involvement, which ultimately leads to more success in students. With the right training and resources, low earning families can have the same success.

Resource 4:

Digital Opportunity for Youth Issue Brief Empowering Parents through Technology. 2010.

Discusses the importance of digital literacy amongst parents and how the odds for students success increases. Also discusses facts about increased student success by simple parent involvement. Affirms the idea that parents need to be trained as well as students.

Resource 5:

Miller, Meghan. “How States and Districts Can Close the Digital Divide to Increase College and Career Readiness.” Center for American Progress, 30 July 2024, www.americanprogress.org/article/how-states-and-districts-can-close-the-digital-divide-to-increase-college-and-career-readiness/.

Discusses how the type of engagement with technology that is typical today is part of the reason for the gap and different ways this gap can be addressed. Provides information that could increase "buy in" and support from parents and school for the trainings.

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Technology Integration for Equitable Teaching 

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Technology Integration for Equitable Teaching 

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Enriching Your Classroom Through Equitable Technology Integration - IDRA

This article talks about how technology can either widen or close equity gaps depending on how schools use it. It highlights how students from low-income backgrounds and English language learners are often given outdated tools or stuck with drill-and-practice software instead of engaging, creative tech experiences. I like that it promotes seeing diverse learners as needing remediation to recognizing their cultural and linguistic assets and using technology to build on those strengths. This is important for my project because it can help me to help teachers to understand that equitable technology integration isn’t just about having the tools, but about using them in ways that include and empower students who are often left out.

How technology can improve equitable access to education | EY - MENA

This podcast episode explores how large-scale technology initiatives can improve equitable access to education, using India’s DIKSHA platform as a real-world example. It highlights how multilingual content, diverse delivery formats (like mobile apps, TV, and radio), and teacher readiness play a role in reaching all learners, especially those who have been historically underserved. I find it important to my project because it shows that equity in technology isn’t just about having devices; it is about designing tools and content that include language learners and students with different needs. Knowing how another system approached access and inclusion gives me ideas for how K–5 teachers here can use digital tools more intentionally to support their diverse learners, especially ESL students. This podcast also ties directly to equity and justice because it shows how access to education is not fair unless technology is designed for everyone not just those who have the resources.

Unpacking K-12 teachers’ technology-supported, equitable practices: A mixed-methods systematic review - ScienceDirect

This article reviews a decade of research on how K–12 teachers use technology to support equity, and it shows that most efforts still come from a neoliberal mindset, meaning the focus is often on helping marginalized students catch up rather than transforming learning in inclusive or culturally responsive ways. The review also points out that technology is mostly used for basic skills and digital competency, while deeper goals like student agency, civic engagement, and multicultural inclusion are less common. I believe this is useful for my project because it gives me a realistic picture of how schools are currently approaching equity through technology and where the gaps are. Basically, it is a reminder that intentional planning, not only having access to devices, is needed if we want tech to support our diverse learners especially multilingual and marginalized students.

These 60+ Teacher Websites Are Getting Attention for All the Right Reasons | Edcafe AI

Edutopia offers a rich collection of articles, videos, and practical guides on K–12 teaching strategies, with a strong focus on equity and technology integration. It provides teachers with real-world examples and actionable ideas for creating inclusive and engaging learning experiences. I think this resource is relevant to my project because it gives K–5 teachers concrete strategies and inspiration for using digital tools to support all students, including English language learners and other historically underserved groups. This can give me ideas for my PD workshop and best practices that are research-informed and classroom-tested. It’s all about giving every student a fair shot and making sure every voice is heard, which is exactly what educational justice is about.

ISTE | Home

ISTE is a big resource for teachers looking to use technology in ways that really put students first. They give standards, webinars, and examples that show how digital tools can help all kinds of learners and make learning more fair. Their resources focus on what actually happens in classrooms, not just theory, which makes them really practical for teachers who want to use tech to support equity. I think this is a great fit for my project because it gives guidance and credibility to the PD I’m creating. It also helps me shape a workshop that shows how technology can be used to include everyone and give all students a fair chance to succeed.

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How AI is helping students improve in reading and writing

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1. https://youtu.be/eRQ3L0kMlpc?si=xhkqpCFlG_Z3x1Bw

This resource outlines a specific AI tool called Quill that has been shown to improve reading outcomes. This app offers data for teachers to drive instruction. The instant feedback feature allows students to be reflective learners. I believe this resource is important because it demonstrates how AI can be useful in a authentic learning setting.

2. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/how-a-teacher-used-an-ai-tool-to-help-her-students-reading-comprehension/2025/07

In this Article, a middle school teacher utilizes AI to enhance her middle school students' reading comprehension. She strategically places AI in her classroom to improve reading outcomes. The students can generate images and produce prompts to describe them. This helps to build their comprehension techniques. I find this resource useful when examining how children decode in literacy. The creative/graphic portion of AI can assist students with this comprehension skill.

3. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1423545.pdf

In this study, data from a group of high schoolers is utilized to examine how effective the use of AI is in reading comprehension. The study concluded that students who used the AI platform to assist with reading skills scored significantly higher than the students who did not use the technology. I find this useful when presenting that AI can be useful with intentional instruction. Also, instruction is personalized to students' needs.

4. https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/22/tech/america-literacy-ai-schools

This article states that literacy is at an all-time low in the nation. Researchers propose that AI can help bridge the reading gaps following the pandemic. To increase teaching effectiveness, AI platforms can be strategically put into learning plans. I find this article meaningful because it doesn't insist on AI replacing textbooks or teachers, but rather building on the foundation set by historical methods.

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How AI is helping students improve in reading and writing

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5. This infographic shows how educational core values can be integrated in the digital promise era. The middle represents fundamental values, and the corresponding AI practices surround them. It demonstrates how AI can ethically support digital literacy. This resource is meaningful because it gives an understanding of society where AI fits in literacy today.

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1. The Risks of Leaderboards in Learning Environments (E-Learning Industry)
Leaderboards can create inequity by favoring learners who already have more time, resources, or confidence. This study recommends inclusive alternatives like personal progress tracking and team goals.
https://elearningindustry.com/downsides-of-using-leaderboards

2. Untapped Potential: Boosting Adult Learning with AI and Gamification (2025, Digital Promise)
This report shows how AI and gamification can expand learning access for adults but only when systems are transparent and free of bias. It emphasizes the need for equity checks in learning technology design.
https://digitalpromise.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Boosting-Adult-Learning-Report.pdf

3. Game-Based Learning and Inclusive Pedagogy in Adult Education (AHEAD Journal)
This article highlights how game-based learning can be redesigned to promote inclusion by using cooperative game mechanics and flexible participation options. It argues that equitable gamification must avoid one-size-fits-all designs.
https://www.ahead.ie/journal/Level/Levelling-the-Playing-Field-Game-Based-Learning

4. Gamification Toward Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (2024)
This article explores how gamification intersects with power, fairness, and representation. It emphasizes that game mechanics must be culturally responsive and avoid competition-only models that disadvantage some learners.
https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241223068

5. Barriers to Gamification Adoption in Education (2025)
This article reviews barriers that prevent equitable use of gamification, including limited resources, teacher bias, and unequal technology access. It shows that inequities are often built into systems and can be addressed through inclusive design.
https://doi.org/10.1177/01655515241230264

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This article critiques the idea that simply providing access to makerspaces is enough to ensure equity. Vossoughi, Hooper, and Escudé argue that makerspaces must be intentionally designed with an understanding of culture, identity, and power. They emphasize that students bring rich cultural knowledge and lived experiences to maker activities, and that these forms of knowledge should be recognized as legitimate and valuable. The authors also highlight how some makerspaces unintentionally privilege certain communication styles, tools, or “types” of knowledge, which can alienate students from marginalized backgrounds. The article provides examples of learning environments that honor students’ identities and use collaborative, relational approaches to building maker-centered learning.

Intersection with Equity & Justice:
This resource directly connects to educational equity by showing how maker education can either challenge or reinforce existing power structures. It argues that equity is not achieved through access to tools alone but through culturally responsive design that values students’ diverse ways of knowing. This is especially relevant in a Title I school like mine, where many students’ strengths are rooted in community knowledge, creativity, and resilience qualities that traditional academic structures often overlook. The authors’ call to reject deficit thinking and uplift students’ cultural assets aligns with my project’s goal of creating inclusive literacy and makerspace experiences where struggling readers and marginalized students can thrive.

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Gamifying reading is an equity-centered practice because it lowers barriers for students who struggle with traditional literacy tasks. For reluctant or below-grade-level readers especially in Title I schools, gamification provides alternative pathways to success that don’t rely solely on advanced decoding or comprehension skills. Tools like badges, streaks, challenges, and leaderboards increase motivation and help students build positive reading identities. This approach shifts power back to struggling readers by allowing them to experience achievement, track their own growth, and participate meaningfully even if they are not reading at grade level. By making reading feel accessible and enjoyable, gamification helps level the playing field and creates more inclusive literacy environments where all learners can thrive.

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This resource directly connects to literacy equity because reluctant readers are often those who have been underserved by traditional reading instruction especially in Title I schools. Students who read below grade level frequently experience frustration, shame, or disengagement, which can reinforce systemic inequities. The article’s emphasis on choice, representation, and accessible formats aligns with equity-centered teaching: it recognizes that all students deserve materials that honor their identities and match their developmental reading stage. By encouraging culturally relevant texts and flexible reading pathways (e.g., graphic novels, audiobooks), the strategies promote justice by ensuring that struggling readers are not excluded from meaningful literacy participation. This supports your project goals and directly addresses disparities in reading achievement and access.

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Literacy is the foundation upon which all learning is built. Without strong reading skills, students will struggle as they progress through their education. This need is non-negotiable and becomes even more urgent in light of the nation's latest-and first post-pandemic- reading scores, which have seen their biggest drop since 1990.

Nearly two-thirds of students from grades four through 12 aren't considered proficient readers for their grade level, and these numbers are trending in the wrong direction. As troubling as this news is, more alarming is the fact that a certain group of students is consistently left out of efforts to support targeted literacy instruction.

Students who have an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP), as well as those from Title I schools, typically receive special attention and services. However, many students from schools that aren't designated for Title I support and who haven't been diagnosed with a learning disability struggle with reading as well.

These students are on the cusp of grasping essential literacy skills-decoding, fluency, reading comprehension and vocabulary growth-but they need an extra boost to get them over the hump. Yet, because their skills gaps aren't significant enough to stand out, and because under-resourced educators are busy focusing so much attention on those students with the most severe needs, they often fly under the radar.

The students who don't qualify for special services but who still need additional support because they're barely scraping by belong to a group we call the "forgotten children" of literacy. The parents of these students want them to succeed, but they don't always know how to navigate the educational system and advocate effectively for their children.
The long-term impact of reading struggles
If students don't establish strong reading skills early on, it's extremely difficult for them to catch up, and they will often remain poor readers. Because so much of the curriculum depends on their ability to read and understand complex text, they're likely to fall behind in other subjects as well and develop negative attitudes toward learning.

Research suggests that students who aren't proficient in reading by the end of third grade aremore likely to drop out of high school, so literacy skills are a huge area of focus in grades K-3. However, reading instruction usually tails off after that, and there are often few supports in place for students who aren't strong readers by middle school unless they already receive special services.

This is particularly concerning as students encounter more compact text, fewer cues, smaller font sizes and an expectation that they can decode. As students move from "learning to read" to "reading to learn," there is an assumption that their comprehension is where it needs to be-and this is where we lose those kids even more.

Poor reading skills have a cumulative effect that can be devastating, following students throughout school and affecting their job and career choices.

If students can't read effectively, they can't understand content. They're getting poor grades on every test they take, but they see their peers doing well.

As these students continue to struggle, they feel frustrated, misunderstood, and overwhelmed. Those feelings compound over time, resulting in not only poor academic performance but low self-esteem as well. Students come to doubt their abilities, and this carries over into other aspects of their lives.
How can schools help?
Educators can cross one major hurdle simply by acknowledging the problem. K-12 teachers and administrators should recognize that many students struggle with literacy, share best practices, and strive to be open-not defensive-about this issue.

Teachers also need easy-to-use resources they can put in front of students who are struggling to read but haven't qualified for more targeted interventions. One way to help these forgotten students immediately is to give them the option of reading large print books.

The features offered in large print books-a 16-point font size, fewer words per page, more spacing in margins and between lines of text, and a clearer contrast between the letters and page color-are all important in helping struggling readers.

Research from the nonprofit organization Project Tomorrow shows that students report less anxiety about reading when using large print books. More than half (57 percent) of middle school students said they could focus more effectively and weren't as susceptible to distractions. More than half of students (54 percent) said they would enjoy reading in school more if all books were available to them in large print formats.

What's more, three-quarters of teachers in schools that made large print text available to students said those who were reading below their grade level improved their reading comprehension and retention while using large print books-and an overwhelming majority of teachers (95 percent) said they're likely to use large print books with their students.

As an added bonus, schools can use ESSER funding for purchasing large print books because the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act identifies them as an evidence-based intervention supported by Tier 2 research.

My daughter, Danielle, struggled with reading from an early age. I worked with her teachers to implement any and every new strategy with little success. In fourth grade, we discovered that she has two learning disabilities, both processing and memory, and an ADD diagnosis.

Danielle's teachers and I discussed supplemental resources that could help support her reading efforts in the classroom and at home. It was at that moment that large print books became an option. Danielle started using large print in class; at home, we'd read various large print titles together. Whether reading aloud or listening, Danielle could easily follow across the lines without losing her place. Danielle is a college graduate today, and I believe large print helped make that happen.

Large print books are a simple way to address the needs of the forgotten student with respect to literacy. As more students struggle to read, finding solutions that help everyone succeed-and not just those with the most significant needs-will be critical.
Related:
How to evaluate literacy programs that pledge to accelerate learning
8 predictions about literacy learning in 2023

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Sabine McAlpine, National Sales Director, Thorndike Press

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How to support reluctant readers with literacy strategies

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Literacy scores have plummeted, and many reluctant readers don't qualify for special services, but supports can improve reading skills.