Schools Archives - Scoot Education https://scoot.education/blog/category/schools/ Matching educators and schools thoughtfully Thu, 05 Sep 2024 06:13:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://scoot.education/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cropped-s-scoot-logo-black-and-blue-32x32.png Schools Archives - Scoot Education https://scoot.education/blog/category/schools/ 32 32 Our Promise To Diversity https://scoot.education/our-promise-to-diversity/ https://scoot.education/our-promise-to-diversity/#respond Sat, 27 Mar 2021 03:21:38 +0000 http://scoot.education/?p=4907 As a team working to help create exceptional classroom experiences across California, Scoot believes that having equitable representation and opportunities within our workforce is critical to successfully fulfilling our mission.

Diversity and inclusion have always been at the forefront of our minds. We’ve valued diversity and built our culture on it.

We haven’t been public about our efforts and promise to do so by publishing our new programs, initiatives, and contributions here on this page.

our diverse workforce

At Scoot, we have the honor of employing a diverse workforce. Approximately 32% of our substitute teachers identify as Black and a further 30% as a person of color. 50% of our office team are people of color. The school administrators and students we work with are just as diverse.

Are these steps below enough? No.

They’re just a start and you can expect more actions in the near and long term from us.

We want to be held accountable to our promises and continuously improve.

Below you’ll find some of the steps that we’re taking this year to become an even more diverse and equitable company.

diversity initiatives

Updating Our BE GREAT Values

Scoot believes that every student deserves a champion for their success, regardless of who they are. Equity is at the heart of this belief but we wanted to bring it to the forefront. Which is why we’ve decided to update our BE GREAT values.

We’ve changed the ‘E’ in BE to stand for “equity”. With this change, we’re reimagining how we can bring equity into everything we do. We value different perspectives and courageous conversations. And we’re committed to listening to feedback and implementing change based on it.

Our BE GREAT values have always guided us in our work and relationships. Now, we are proud to say that equity is one of those guiding values.

Becoming an Anti-Racist Educator Webinar

To better educate ourselves and our employees, we hosted a webinar on how to become an anti-racist educator.

Megan Nevels, an expert in anti-bias and positive school climate initiatives at K-12 schools shared tools to begin a journey towards anti-racism and empower us to incorporate them into teaching practices.

Juneteenth

We’ve decided Juneteenth is a holiday we’d like Scooters to celebrate, and we will be giving the day off in honor of the sacrifices of all involved in ending slavery.

We’re proud to join a growing list of companies honoring the day and hope to see it become a federally recognized holiday.

Mandatory Anti-Racism Training

Scoot’s anti-racism and racial awareness training will become a mandatory part of our teacher hiring process by January 2021.

Educators will learn:
• key terms and language related to anti-racism
• research on how racism shows up in education
• strategies to disrupt racism in learning spaces
• ways to respond to racist language and remarks
• how to best support colleagues of color in a school setting

Scoot Fund

We created a Scoot Fund for consultants to support students and classrooms who present an urgent need.

This idea was inspired by our education consultant, Maurice Green who met a student named Jayshawn while on a school visit. Jayshawn didn’t have a lunchbox or backpack because his single mother didn’t have enough money. Maurice grew up on the Southside of Chicago and resonated with Jayshawn’s story. So he sponsored a new backpack and lunchbox and hand-delivered the gifts to Jayshawn.

We want to empower our consultants to continue these acts of generosity whenever they see an urgent need.

]]> https://scoot.education/our-promise-to-diversity/feed/ 0 Becoming An Anti-Racist Educator – Webinar https://scoot.education/blog/becoming-an-anti-racist-educator-webinar/ https://scoot.education/blog/becoming-an-anti-racist-educator-webinar/#respond Sun, 18 Oct 2020 20:53:30 +0000 http://scoot.education/?p=717 In support of the Black Lives Matter movement, we’re making changes to better educate ourselves and our employees in the pursuit of becoming anti-racist.

Watch the webinar recording on “Moving Towards An Anti-Racist Teaching Practice For Non-Black Educators”

Get your workbook

What to expect on this webinar

This informational webinar is led by Megan Nevels, an expert in anti-bias and positive school climate initiatives at K-12 schools. She’ll share tools to begin a journey towards anti-racism, and empower you to incorporate them into teaching practices.

During the first 45-minutes of the webinar, Scoot educators will learn:

  • key terms and language related to anti-racism
  • research on how racism shows up in students, teachers, and classrooms as early as pre-school
  • teaching strategies to disrupt racism in learning spaces
  • ways to respond to racist language and remarks
  • and how to best support colleagues of color in a school setting.

Following Megan’s presentation, we’ll close with an open discussion where educators can share experiences and ask questions.

Who should attend this anti-racism webinar

This webinar’s content is catered primarily to non-Black educators. We’ve heard from many Black colleagues that they are experiencing extreme grief and exhaustion during this time and that even being in mixed-race spaces right now is painful.

We understand racism is multi-faceted. Colorism is an aspect of racism and exists in communities of color. Therefore, we encourage all non-Black educators to attend this webinar to reflect, contribute, and learn from one another.

About the host, Megan Nevels

Megan Nevels is the Assistant Education Director at a leading civil rights organization, where she implements anti-bias and positive school climate initiatives at K-12 schools. A decade of leading theatre for social justice with young people led her to a career of training educators in arts integration, culturally competent curriculum, and anti-bias teaching. Prior to her current position, Megan developed successful year-long teacher training programs at the Skirball Cultural Center.

She is passionate about guiding participants through the self-reflective work of anti-racism and building the skills to disrupt systemic racism in every facet of life. Megan received her MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities at the University of Texas at Austin and received numerous local and national awards for her research.

Learn more about Scoot’s diversity initiatives

]]> https://scoot.education/blog/becoming-an-anti-racist-educator-webinar/feed/ 0 Resources to Educate Yourself On Black Oppression https://scoot.education/blog/resources-to-educate-yourself-on-black-oppression/ https://scoot.education/blog/resources-to-educate-yourself-on-black-oppression/#respond Sun, 18 Oct 2020 20:46:06 +0000 http://scoot.education/?p=710 There have been countless unjust killings of Black people that reflect the dehumanization of Black life in America. This eventually led to the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013 which became a platform for amplifying anti-Black racism.

From before the creation of this movement to the future, the responsibilities of white and other non-Black individuals have remained the same.

Part of being a non-Black ally of the movement is acknowledging personal privileges and that we cannot fully understand the lived realities of our Black community. However, we should actively educate ourselves on the systemic racism Black people have faced and continue to face in this country.

In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist. – Angela Y. Davis

It is vital that we find ways to learn so we can use these lessons to inform our own behavior and biases not only in life but also within classrooms. ​ Below, you’ll find a compilation of many widely circulating resources that help us learn and do better.

Resources to educate yourself on black oppression & the Black Lives Matter Movement

-BOOKS TO READ-

There are a ton of books that break out of this country’s racist narrative and question deeply rooted beliefs of what we think America is. Read to better understand the conversation about racial justice and why it’s so important. Below is just a portion of the literature:

-MEDIA TO WATCH-

Shows and movies are also great options to become more informed about the Black experience in America.

  • Explained: The Racial Wealth Gap (Netflix) – Explained is a series by Vox that explores a wide range of topics. The Racial Wealth Gap is the last episode of season 1 that can help viewers better understand the concept of “white privilege.”
  • Time: The Kalief Browder Story (Netflix) – A true-crime docuseries about the story of a teenager wrongfully charged with theft and jailed at Riker’s Island prison for over 1,000 days.
  • When They See Us (Netflix) – A true-crime docuseries based on the Central Park jogger case where 5 teenage boys were wrongfully taken into a nightmarish interrogation and convicted of a crime they didn’t commit.
  • 13th (Netflix) – A documentary analyzing the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.
  • Who Killed Malcolm X? (Netflix) – An insight into Malcolm X, his beliefs, and his mysterious death.
  • Dear White People (Netflix) – A comedy-drama television series that follows several Black college students at an Ivy League institution, touching on issues surrounding modern American race relations.
  • The Hate U Give (Hulu) – About a teenager who witnesses the fatal and wrongful shooting of her childhood friend by a cop and must decide whether or not to testify.
  • If Beale Street Could Talk (Hulu) – A drama about a young couple fighting for justice in the name of love and the promise of the American dream.
  • Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 (Available to rent) – Candid footage shot in the 1960s and 1970s focused on the anti-war and Black Power movements.
  • Selma (Available to rent) – A historical drama based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by James Bevel, Hosea Williams, Martin Luther King Jr., and John Lewis.
  • Just Mercy (Available to rent for free in June in the U.S.) – A legal drama film about the true story of Walter McMillian, who, with the help of a young defense attorney, appeals his murder conviction.

-PODCASTS TO LISTEN TO-

Listen to the conversations and thoughts of great thinkers. It will always be important to talk less and listen more.

-ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW-

Stay in the know by following prominent figures and organizations in the Black community.

-RESOURCES FOR PARENTS ON BLACK LIVES MATTER-

Having conversations with your kids about racism is tough and can get uncomfortable, but it’s vital to raise anti-racist kids amid the protests over police brutality.

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