Webinar Recap: Becoming an Ally – How School Leaders Can Support an Inclusive School Culture

Webinar Recap: Becoming an Ally – How School Leaders Can Support an Inclusive School Culture
Resources

In September 2021, the Vector Solutions K-12 Education team hosted a webinar with Catherine Mattice titled Becoming an Ally: How School Leaders Can Support an Inclusive School Culture that focused on providing school and district leaders with tangible tools for creating an inclusive environment, where everyone is involved in sustaining a positive culture.

Catherine is the founder and CEO of Civility Partners, an HR consulting firm focused on helping organizations create respectful workplace cultures. Catherine is also the author of numerous Vector Training courses for K-12 educators and staff in the areas of Human Resources, Discrimination, Diversity & Inclusion, and more.

The webinar included the following helpful information and resources:

  • Overview of the various roles that allies play (e.g. advocate vs. sponsor), plus strategies for turning reinforcers of negative behavior into advocates and allies.
  • Explanation of the origin of bias and definitions of four different types of bias, including: confirmation bias, expectation bias, cognitive dissonance, and associative reasoning.
  • Review of several risk factors that increase our likelihood to engage in bias and strategies for minimizing the chances of bias occurring.
  • How to combat microaggressions using tried and true intervention methods including asking questions, relying on basic human values, and organizational core values.
  • Guidance for school and district leaders to help facilitate and participate in inclusive meetings by creating a code of conduct, starting every meeting with it, and ensuring all measures are taken to ensure inclusivity (accommodating disabilities, diverse speakers, etc.).
  •  Resources for further education on inclusive behaviors.

In addition to the resources and strategies shared by Catherine, the webinar also included a brief introduction to Vector Solutions’ online staff training courses for K-12 schools focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion topics, an overview of our Diversity and Inclusion Program for K-12 Teachers and Staff and High School Students, and a review of the online Student Safety & Wellness Courses for students in grades 6-8 and 9-12.

Interested in learning more about how Vector Solutions can help you support an inclusive school culture? Watch this webinar or request a demo to learn more about our training and solutions.

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