Statement from Jonah Edelman, Stand Executive Officer
In late 2020, following a spring and summer in which hundreds of district leaders and school boards across the nation declared their commitment to racial justice in the wake of the George Floyd killing, Stand for Children Leadership Center established the Center for Antiracist Education (CARE) to develop the tools and resources educators and schools were demanding and achieve impact on a broad national scale.
In less than two years, CARE assembled the relevant research and created tools that provided needed clarity about what antiracist curriculum and instruction looked like. These resources have been lauded by district leaders, academics, and educational professionals.
CARE developed and piloted a professional learning program. Although well-received, the pilot demonstrated that transforming mindset and changing behaviors required significant human support. A self-guided online program that could scale nationally cannot meet our bar for quality.
At the same time, a dramatic shift in the political climate halted equity and inclusion efforts in schools across the nation and, in some places, put antiracist educators’ safety and jobs in jeopardy. That, combined with two pandemic school years and teacher shortages, has left districts struggling, and even those that remain committed are reluctant to add anything new.
Recognizing the operational and external barriers to producing impact at scale, in close dialogue with the CARE team, we made the difficult decision to discontinue the program. Stand will make the CARE materials available for others to use and build on, and the CARE team encourages educators to continue to use the principles, research briefs, and framework in their practice.