Our Mission

Working together as a team, we will end the predictive value of race, class, gender, and special capacities for our children’s success through high quality teaching and learning for all. We seek to build relationships with families and communities to ensure that every student succeeds. We will know every student.

Our Mission

Culturally Responsive Educator Program

« Office of Equity Education

Learn More Here

ACPS Culturally Responsive Educator Framework

ACPS Culturally Responsive Educator Framework 2023-24

Click Here for the ACPS Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Assessment

CRT Characteristic #1: Culturally Responsive Teachers acknowledge, validate, and incorporate the cultural influences of all students, while reflecting on their own personal cultural lenses.
1.1 Reflects on personal cultural influences, including the way these may impact communication styles, expectations, and unconscious biases.
1.2 Fosters classroom environments that create opportunities for access and achievement by acknowledging, valuing, advocating, and affirming social and cultural diversity in all aspects of the learning process.
1.3 Analyzes, selects, and integrates inclusive curriculum and instructional resources that represent and validate social and cultural diversity by connecting classroom curriculum and instruction to the cultural examples, experiences, backgrounds, and traditions of all learners.

CRT Characteristic #2: Culturally Responsive Teachers teach to and through culture as they plan curriculum and instruction that is differentiated, rigorous, and relevant.
2.1 Disaggregates assessment, engagement, behavioral, and attendance data by student social and cultural groups and identifies and applies differentiated strategies to address growth and learning needs of all students with specific attention to students who are impacted by equity, opportunity, and achievement gaps.
2.2 Considers and utilizes assessment modes that help diverse student groups best demonstrate learning.
2.3 Guides students to develop the skills necessary to communicate and engage with diverse groups in ways that support anti-racist and anti-bias communities while promoting classroom dynamics that enhance belonging, inclusivity, and respect for difference.

CRT Characteristic #3: Culturally Responsive Teachers build positive learning partnerships with students, families, and communities.
3.1 Builds meaningful, culturally responsive partnerships with all students anchored in affirmation, mutual respect, validation, and high expectations so that all students are supported to achieve rigorous academic goals.
3.2 Develops culturally-conscious, asset-based partnerships with families by putting structures in place for meaningful collaboration, including communicating with families in their home languages, in order to build trust and form mutually agreed upon learning goals for students.
3.3 Pursues a community partnership approach to education by inviting the cultural wisdom of the community into the classroom and building on community funds of knowledge to support the education of all students.

The Credentialing Process At- a - Glance

What are the requirements for a Culturally Responsive Credential?

The Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain (Hammond) book study is a Pre-requisite for credentialing.
To earn an ACPS Micro-Credential, complete the Three "Micro-Courses".
To earn Full Certification, candidates will submit a product showing Professional Learning, Growth, Evidence of Application and documentation of Student Growth. (Guidelines Found at this Link)

Where should I start?

Log into the Professional Learning Management System (PLMS) and choose the “Courses” tab. Under “Find Courses by Tag” select “Culturally Responsive Teaching and Equity".
Choose the Book Study, Micro-Courses, or Certification Cohort to register for the year.

Who can help me?

Your building Diversity Resource Teacher (DRT), other educators going through the process, credentialed co-workers, instructional coaches, equity specialists.

What if I’ve done a book study already?

We still recommend starting with the book study if you haven't taken it in a while. If you're certain that you've recently participated in a Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain book study but don't have credit in PLMS, reach out and we can provide you with a form to request credit.

CRT and the Brain Book Study

Culturally Responsive Teaching Book Study

Zaretta Hammond’s Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain should complete it this year, either through their school or a division-level virtual book study. The Office of Community Engagement will offer book studies via Zoom on Division Professional Learning Community (DPLC) days during the times set aside for culturally responsive teaching work for each grade level. Registration for book studies will be available in the Professional Learning Management System (PLMS) the week of September 5.

All participants must register through the PLMS in order to receive credit toward credentialing and the 15 recertification points for course completion. Participants will complete assignments via Schoology and will attend at least four of the five synchronous sessions to receive credit.

Instructional Design

An introduction of the Culturally Responsive Teaching characteristics
Whole group instruction on the four quadrants of Hammond's Ready for Rigor Framework
Individual and Small Group Reflection
Application of key concepts through documentation in the workbook companion

Click here for a link to the Book Study Course Outline for 2023-2024.

Book Study Workbook Companion

This workbook is designed to support deep reflection and prepare credential candidates to understand the relationship between the book study assignments and the credentialing process. The purpose of the workbook is for candidates who are pursuing the credential process to document their professional learning, professional growth, as well as documenting shifts that you are preparing to make in your instructional practices with space to collect data and examples of the impact these shifts have on student growth. Aspects of this workbook can be used in your credentialing submission.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Who may apply for an ACPS CRT Certification?

Do I need to attend the monthly certification cohort meeting?

Can I pursue both a micro-credential and CRT Certification simultaneously?

Educators are free to pursue micro-credentials and CRT Certification in sequence. However, they may not pursue these in the same year. For example, an educator that has completed the micro-credential may apply for certification in the following year. Certified educators should not pursue a micro-credential; we offer many opportunities to extend learning through leadership to CRT Certified educators.

What happens after CRT Certification?

Those who meet the certification requirements are awarded at our annual ACPS Diversity Conference. Certification recipients will also be invited to present their work at this conference. Our hope is that all of our certification recipients will continue in their CRT practice, become CRT facilitators and equity leaders on their campuses, thus igniting the process for other educators in our division.

Credentialing Resources

Contact Us

ACPS Equity Specialist Team

Rosaura Gonzalez-Muniz: rgonzalez@k12albemarle.org	Melissa Hairston: mhairston@k12albemarle.org
Steven Turner: sturner@k12albemarle.org	Megan Washburn: mwashburn@k12albemarle.org
Full Team: acpsequityspecialists@k12albemarle.org

Ayanna Mitchell - Director of Equity Education (amitchell@k12albemarle.org)

Eric Irizarry - Director of Equity and Community Partnerships (eirizarry@k12albemarle.org)

Spotlight on Culturally Responsive Educators

ACPS Gathers to Celebrate Educators Receiving Culturally Responsive Teacher Credentials

Community Information Session Policy JBA

Congratulations to CRT credentialed and Diversity Resource Teacher Jessica Eisenhauer for your outstanding work as an educator and equity leader at Monticello High School. When people ask what is the difference between a "good teacher" and a "Culturally Responsive Teacher", you are a shining example. Thank you for all you do.

Congratulations to our own Pecola Conner for being named the 22-23 Classified Staff Member of the Year. Her colleagues describe Pecolia Conner as someone who "holds her students to high standards, both in terms of academics and behavior." That is one of the many reasons Ms. Conner was chosen as ACPS' 2022-23 Classified Staff Member of the Year.