Giving Compass' Take:

• Dale Mezzacappa summarizes Philadelphia schools' new initiative to uproot structures of explicit and implicit racism across all levels of education.

• How can we train teachers on the underlying effects of structural injustices? What can we do to offer all students a truly equitable education? How are you supporting policy like Philadelphia schools' new initiative in your community?

• Read about how you can use your giving to support successful, place-based initiatives for racial justice.

Superintendent William Hite announced Tuesday the launch of an equity coalition, a comprehensive initiative to end racist practices in the Philadelphia School District, with plans to confront issues ranging from selective admissions policies to educators’ implicit bias.

The coalition “is an organized effort to uproot systems of inequity,” Hite said in a briefing for reporters. The initiative will begin with committees made up of educators and other district employees, and it will eventually include parents, students, and community members.

“We are starting this effort with a laser focus on race and racism, because...it is the root to all systems of oppression,” said Sabriya Jubilee, the district’s director of planning who is helping to lead the initiative.

The equity coalition will focus on a wide array of problems, including the racial achievement gap, selective admissions policies, teacher diversity, and the underrepresentation of Black and Latino students in advanced courses. It also will look at issues related to special education students, immigrants and English language learners, gifted programs, and LGBTQ students.

“Simply put, the lives of each and every child that are connected to the school district of Philadelphia depend on this work of the equity coalition,” said April Brown, principal of the Laura Waring Elementary School in Center City, who will head the professional learning group.

Philadelphia, the poorest big city in America, is a mostly Black and Latino district surrounded by mostly white, affluent suburbs, an example of the systemic racism and segregation common to metropolitan areas.

Read the full article about Philadelphia schools' new initiative by Dale Mezzacappa at Chalkbeat Philadelphia.