ABSTRACT

How does a school system create an educational environment that values diversity and directly addresses racism, sexism, classism, handicap, and other forms of institutionalized beliefs and behaviors that present barriers to student achievement? For the last five years, Valuing Diversity in Schools has worked to create fundamental change in the educational paradigm and practice within several school districts in the United States. This chapter describes the process and outcomes in one urban school district, where its Valuing Diversity in Schools program recently won national recognition at the national conference of American Association of School Administrators. It offers a glimpse of the potential for a transformative approach that focuses on social justice, sees diversity as central to democracy, and links the context and practice of the classroom with that of the larger school system and community.