Anti-Bias / Anti-Racism Training
Our Anti-Bias/Anti-Racist (ABAR) training takes a whole school approach, recognizing the ways in which bias and racism are present in all aspects of a learning community – from curriculum to governance. Our work in ABAR training is thus ground in the acknowledgment that internalized bias and tenets of white supremacy guide the judgments society makes; effectively insidious in even the most well-intentioned and “woke” educator.
“Grow Society showed me that bias was leading me to interact with students and colleagues in ways that I didn’t expect. GS supported me in building new mindsets, implementing new practices, and in setting a metric to measure the impact of my words and actions.” Washington County Schools
“In the past diversity training had always felt like an attack and something to avoid. Grow Society’s EDI and ABAR Training taught us how to use privilege and influence to serve our colleagues where we once hindered them.”University of Dublin
At Grow Society, we focus on processes and practices of recognition and the unlearning of misinformed, generalized, and acculturated mindsets. ABAR is not a formula or toolkit. Rather, it requires a commitment to un-learn and re-think much of what your school community may believe to be true – evidenced both by word and actions. While we believe in whole community approaches, we begin ABAR work by first supporting the adult members of a learning community. Adults operate as key figures whose mindsets directly inform, and ultimately determine, decisions made within the community.
In order to ensure that our work provides space for the myriad of lenses and frameworks that educational practitioners in a variety of roles bring, we specialize in ABAR training for cross-functional decision-making teams. This may look like a team comprised of a school administrator, family communications coordinator, grade team leaders, social worker, and school aide. The objective is to ensure representation from all stakeholders in order to support a school community that, in time, can independently turn-key their learnings as the community grows and changes and that can sustain their newly-developed ABAR practices.