Richardson Independent School District Implements Racial Literacy Lessons For Students starting in Pre-K

In March 2018, the Board of Trustees approved the creation of the RISD Division of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. On May 31, 2020, the Superintendent announced the creation of a Richardson Independent School District (RISD) Racial Equity Committee for “the purpose of directly confronting, addressing, and dismantling systemic racism in Richardson ISD”. The Board of Trustees recognized “that systemic racism is a significant contributor to the inequities that exist in our society and in our school district”. Hence, the RISD Equity Committee was created along with several lesson plans for students.

Here’s the breakdown:

PreK-2nd Grade students “share a dialogue about color.”

3rd-4th Grade students “describe aspects of their identities such as race, gender, ability, religion, and more.”

5th-6th Grade students learn “how is our identity formed? How do we label ourselves and how are we labeled by others? How are our identities influenced by how we think others see us? How do our identities inform our values, ideas, and actions?”

7th-10th Grade students “will describe how microaggressions (in its three forms) directly cause pain and send harmful messages about groups of people.”

Teacher Training, including Session: Dismantling the Hierarchy of Cultural and Linguistic Value. Excerpt below: