Learning for Equity: a Network for Solutions
North Carolina is a learning and action network of twenty organizations from across North Carolina working to improve educational outcomes for students of color, and other marginalized students, with learning differences. As a network we are working at the intersection of educational equity and learning differences to advance our work to reduce race and income disparities in educational outcomes among students with diagnosed or undiagnosed learning differences and create learning environments where students will thrive. Our organizations participate in a network that regularly meets to learn, address common challenges, and explore opportunities to amplify effective strategies for change at classroom, school, community, district, and state levels.
How We Work
Our network envisions a just society where collective power is shared and students have access to a quality education that is well-resourced, trauma-informed, data-informed, and history-informed where families are valued as experts and all students experience positive outcomes. In this vision the education system will be inclusive of all students regardless of a student’s race, learning difference status, (dis)ability, preferred language, mental health, geography, income, or gender.
Values
In our individual and collective work towards this vision we prioritize:
As individual organizations we work towards this vision in a variety of ways. As a network we are working towards this vision with a focus on two main issue areas:
- Teacher and school administrator coaching, mentorship, and support
- Threat Assessment Team assessment, evaluation and impact
LENS-NC believes that all students deserve a welcoming, supportive, and rigorous learning environment rooted in asset-based approaches to teaching. This requires that teachers, staff, and administrators are not only well versed in the best practices to support students who are marginalized by race, learning differences, or income but also empowered to implement changes in their own schools to create learning environments where students can thrive.
LENS-NC believes that all students deserve a welcoming, supportive, and rigorous learning environment rooted in asset-based approaches to inclusion and belonging. This requires that students are able to safely navigate relationships with peers, teachers, administrators, and other school staff while remaining in the classroom. Threat Assessment Teams implemented in North Carolina public schools in March 2024 have the potential to do harm to students by removing them from classrooms for actions not taken and by disproportionately targeting individual groups and/or students- by diminishing a sense of safety and belonging in school. Without sufficient monitoring, data collection, and evaluation, Threat Assessment Teams have the potential to harm students more than they help students.
