Incorporate multicultural content wherever applicable by adding to, not changing, the base curriculum. In a literature unit, add books that highlight diverse authors and stories like “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi, which narrates an African slave’s generational journey across the Atlantic. In a science unit, add content that focuses on the achievements that women or people of color have contributed.  

• Strategy Two: The Transformative Approach  

Transform the curriculum to reflect multicultural values. This can be done by reframing content so that it includes multiple diverse perspectives. I.e. learning about WWII from the perspective of Jewish, German, and Japanese Americans, or African Americans soldiers.

• Strategy Three: The Social Justice Approach 

Include content that touches on current events and encourage students to reflect on what social action(s) can be taken. Prepare students to be change-makers. Ask students what problems they see facing their schools. What ideas do students have of how to better their communities?  

• Strategy Four: Student-led Discussions 

Facilitate open discussions and encourage students to share any questions, comments, or cultural insights they may have.  

Host activities that are open to the public such as cultural fairs or inclusive holiday celebrations. These allow the community to participate in other cultures while showcasing their own.  

• Strategy Two: Tandem Partners & Language Programs 

Language programs like Tandem Partners, afterschool tutoring, or organized workshops are an option for parents or students to get involved in extracurricular activities and exchange cultural knowledge. According to a blog post from AupairWorld (2017), the Tandem model partners two speakers of distinct mother tongues. Both conversational partners take turns communicating in either language to improve knowledge of their second, or target language. I.e. Someone wishing to learn Spanish partners up with a native Spanish speaker. While one learns Spanish, the other betters their English in an exchange.  

• Strategy Three: Listen to Parent/Community Feedback 

Be receptive to feedback or criticism from parents or the community. Open channels of discussion are important for maintaining a strong teacher/parent relationship. Shared goals should benefit student needs.  

• Strategy Four: Stay Aware of Community Issues 

Fundraising events can be organized to address community needs, such as a bake sale raising money, volunteer programs, or charity events.  

According to Grant (2021) curriculum should encourage “knowledge sharing” and meaningful discussions: “students should be encouraged to mediate various perspectives with the self-awareness of their own cultural lens" (p 122).  This means imploring students to learn about their own heritage, take pride in it, and dispense knowledge. Educators should show an interest in student's home lives and cultural experience.

• Strategy Two: Cultural Awareness & Critical Consciousness

Educators should stay aware of their own culture and how this affects their teaching philosophy. School systems also exist within a dominant culture, so educators must be aware of these cultural contexts as they have social impact. I.e. a school that operates on a Western canon may be unfamiliar to non-Western students.  

• Strategy Three: Check Biases 

Reflect internally and address any biases in the teaching approach, behaviors, or curriculum; don't stereotype or generalize. Educators should use their dispositions to their advantage when practicing culturally responsive teaching methods, i.e. a disposition of high expectations means that even students who are non-native speakers are held to reasonable standards; a disposition of fairness means that all students are treated equitably.  

• Strategy Four: Provide Culture-Specific Mental Health Resources 

Mental health resources like school counseling should be sensitive to diverse and multicultural needs. As the U.S Dept. Of Education advises, “Providing students equitable access to mental health services that are welcoming and inclusive with regard to race, ethnicity, culture, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, disability, and religion.” (p. 7). This gives struggling students a safety network and targeted care, i.e. LGBTQ students may receive care that addresses or affirms their unique needs.  

• Strategy One: Provide Accommodations & Differentiated Instruction

Respect diverse needs by providing students with proper accommodations. Differently abled students may need extra support, specialized devices, or accessibility aids. Students with various learning styles should also be accommodated by catering to their needs and offering different methods of instruction. i.e. lessons use a mixture of visual, auditory and kinesthetic (hands-on) learning.  

• Strategy Two: Include Diverse Learning Materials 

Ensure that classroom resources like textbooks showcase different people and ideas so that students don't just learn from a dominant perspective. This allows more students to feel represented by what they see and read in class. A physical classroom setup can include posters, decorations, and books that display diversity, like maps of the world. 

• Strategy Three: Avoid Tokenism  

Multicultural ideals should not be sporadic or sensationalized, instead they should be consistently incorporated into curriculum so that they become a normalized part of the classroom environment. Avoid tropes like only addressing racial issues during black history month.  

• Strategy Four: Setting Standards 

Educators can choose the classroom culture they wish to cultivate by setting norms and following rules. Enforce policies such as kindness, anti-bullying, and acceptance of differences. This creates a safe, welcoming environment for all students.  

• Grant, J. (2021). Ethnic Studies Is for Everyone: C. E. Sleeter & M. Zavala. (2020). Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Research. Teachers College Press.  (paperback). ISBN: 978-0807763452. Multicultural Perspectives, 23(2), 121–125. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/15210960.2021.1915092 

• U.S. Department of Education. (2023). Guiding principles for creating safe, inclusive, supportive, and fair school climates. https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/school-discipline/guiding-principles.pdf    

• 7 good reasons for choosing a tandem partner. AuPairWorld. (2017, September 22). https://www.aupairworld.com/en/blog/tandem-partner#:~:text=In%20the%20context%20of%20a,knowledge%20of%20their%20second%20language.