MONTGOMERY BLAIR HIGH SCHOOL
EQUITY INITIATIVES
The CAP is committed to diversity and equipping students and staff with anti-racist curriculum.
SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE? BOOK STUDY
CAP staff will engage in a book study throughout the year of Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk about Race. With her book we will explore the detriments of White Supremacy Culture, the prevalence of institutional racism, and remedies provided through anti-racist teaching.
During each meeting, presenters will:
Dive into the book’s chapters of focus in order to provide participants with rich discussion.
Connect the book’s contents to current cultural and pedagogical topics to provide actionable steps for individual growth and institutional change at Blair.
Provide innovative teaching strategies, with appropriate consideration for a remote learning environment.
Participants will use the book’s contents to:
Think critically about the ways in which White Supremacy Culture has led to policies and practices harmful to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) at Blair.
Revise said policies and practices in the framework of the CAP, its classes, and its curriculum.
Employ culturally relevant lessons that are inclusive and celebratory of BIPOC, and challenge biased institutional practices.
NEW RECRUITMENT VIDEO
CAP is committed to addressing the lack of diversity and representation in the program as well as in media and field of communications. A Pew Research study reveals, "Newsroom employees are more likely to be white and male than U.S. workers overall." Since the Latinx population at Blair makes up over 30%, our new video highlights our students and incorporates Spanish speakers and subtitles to ensure that our program's message is more accessible to more families. Click the logo to watch.
HUMANITIES CAMP
In June of 2019, we organized our first ever Blair Humanities Camp for BIPOC rising 8th graders to be immersed for a week in interdisciplinary learning. The week's thematic focus was on Stories & Identity. Students got a taste of CAP and presented projects on the final day revealing their learning in drama, film, history, and English. Our focus to recruit BIPOC students from the six feeder middle schools with historically lower CAP applicants was an intentional way to give students from those schools a taste of the CAP. Unfortunately, due to COVID, we were unable to run the camp in 2020 but did an online version this past summer in 2021.
OTHER STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Two of our teachers will be attending Racial Equity 10-Hour Facilitator Training Series (Train the Trainer) organized by Paul Gorski & the Equity Literacy Institute. Click the picture to the right to learn more about the training. Additionally, CAP staff participated in a professional development pre-service day focused on Equity. Find the training slides here.
ANTI-RACIST CURRICULUM
In each grade level, teachers are committed to diversifying the curriculum. In the 10th grade, for example, students identify and analyze essential questions related to oppressed groups, intersectionality, and privilege. They analyze the levels of racism, explore the historical roots of each, and apply their understanding using Critical Race Theory as a lens to understanding Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give and current cultural practices and events. See an English lesson from the unit here. In 11th grade, students continue their journey as equity warriors. Early in the year they examine Albert Einstein's The Negro Question and look at similarities in The Fire Next Time and The Fire This Time.
