ABSTRACT
Establishing a lens of equity and social justice: The world-wide shift to emergency remote learning illuminated inequities in education and caused further inequities in learning for students who had less adult support, access to reliable wireless Internet and technology, and digital literacy. The development and design of New Code Academy began just after the killing of George Floyd, approximately 10 miles away from the district offices. These two historical events impacted society and, in particular, educators profoundly and opened a door for more discussion and learning about and prioritization of historically marginalized students within schools. Through the equity framework defined by Rochelle Gutierrez, we will describe how we considered and designed for 1) access, 2) success, 3) identity, and 4) power within an online elementary school. In this chapter readers will have access to activities and strategies woven into the curriculum and program design to create a culturally relevant online classroom, hear about how the school supported students with less home support or who previously had basic needs taken care of through school, and what it looked like to translate research-based best practices for equity into the online school.
