Over my two decades in education, I’ve had the opportunity to hold many exciting positions but the one that is dearest to my heart is when I was a principal at a state school. My students were deaf and/or hard of hearing, and they taught me so much about life, diversity, equity, and inclusion. This is where my desire for advocacy was birthed! Here’s the story. I was hired to increase the school’s graduation rate that was well below the state’s requirements. So, it was a surprise when during my first year in a new state, on a new job, my heart skipped a beat or two when I opened up the writing prompt for the state’s writing assessment. It’s been nearly twenty years and I still remember the prompt, “How Does Listening to Music Make You Feel?” I am fairly sure that after you read the prompt, you too are now thinking exactly what I was thinking almost twenty years ago. How can a student with a total loss of hearing and/or hard of hearing really answer this question in its totality? My deaf students later told me that although they were not able to hear the music, they could feel the vibrations from the music and that was important. However, it is without debate that the question still had a level of bias. Knowing this, I wanted to jump into action, but I confess that at 34 and this being only my second principalship, I really didn’t know what the first action step should be. When I recovered from the shock of the prompt, I put in a call to the state’s assessment department.
I remember the call like yesterday. I spoke with the assistant superintendent over assessment and explained that we were definitely facing a quagmire. That conversation catapulted a series of events and actions that positioned me and my staff to receive support from the state department that had never happened before. From this interaction, the state department gained insights into the issue of test bias concerning students with sensory disabilities, and we successfully addressed and rectified the situation. Each year, the education department met with a team of teachers around the state to look at assessment questions and give voice on whether or not the questions were biased towards any group of students. What was missing, representation from schools for students with disabilities as well as teachers with sensory disabilities. That summer, my teachers received a seat at the table! The state department provided interpreters and my teachers educated others about sensory disabilities and highlighted how test questions could introduce bias, thereby hindering student achievement. My teachers also learned during those summer sessions as well, and I dare say that the collaboration helped to close some academic and opportunity gaps. When I tell this story people often want to know whether or not my students still had to take the writing assessment? My students all wanted to answer the prompt. They thought that it was important for them to let people know that they are just like everyone else with perfect hearing. I share this story because as we discuss DEI along with the various definitions, it is important to keep in mind that we all grow and learn when we accept each other’s differences and experiences. Let’s continue to educate all students.
Sincerely,
Linda, Lead Learner
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