The College of Education at Oregon State University, along with many institutions of higher education across the United States, has taken additional measures to support racial justice, equity, and inclusion , following the deep and significant challenges the country has faced over the past year. As a College dedicated to education, our outreach often takes the shape of providing impactful experiences in learning, inquiry, and research. Although the College has always supported equity and inclusion, our increased focus on supporting racial and social justice this year was met with a timely response from the state in the offering of a grant in the amount of $160,000 from Oregon’s Department of Education, Educator Advancement Council.
This grant has dedicated funds to the creation of a course to support the teaching of antiracism for in-service educators with the following call and rationale: “In response to the current and on-going challenges we face as a state and as a nation with regard to racial justice, the Educator Advancement Council (EAC) wants to partner with Oregon public university education programs to host an online, antiracist course for current Oregon teachers.”
The grant is guided by several key aims as described the EAC language:
- To support Oregon teachers as critical, antiracist educators.
- To deepen the learning of teachers on antiracism through reflection and connection with other teachers on race and bias in education.
- To support in-service teacher development of antiracist pedagogical knowledge.
- To foster an awareness of how racism impacts success and belonging for students of color.
About the seminar
The “A Teacher’s Journey to Antiracism” seminar will run from April 19, 2021 to May 28, 2021 and will be taught by a highly experienced educator in diversity and inclusion.
The aim of this seminar is to support Oregon teachers to become critical, antiracist educators. It explores how antiracist perspectives and actions can be incorporated into curriculum design, teaching strategies, and interactions with students and parents.
The seminar will be online; however, participants will also be part of a facilitated, district-based group focused on making district, school, and community connections. District Facilitators will meet regularly with participants in district-based groups.
For this seminar, participants will complete 2-4 hours of work per week and earn approximately 24 PDUs (Professional Development Units).
Spots are exclusive to teachers in our partner districts. Specific districts have information about how to apply. This blog page’s purpose is to house the course’s details in the early stages of this initiative.
Application deadline: March 31, 2021
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It’s great to learn that grants are available for educators that allow for anti-racism courses. My friend is a teacher at school, and he recently told me that racism is a rising problem where he works. I’ll tell him to consider anti-racism courses for the school he works at.