Opening Doors
An Implementation Template for Cultural Proficiency
- Trudy T. Arriaga
- Randall B. Lindsey - California State University Los Angeles, USA
Foreword by David Verdugo
School Change, Reform, & Restructuring | School Culture | Working with Minority Students
See how one school district made Cultural Proficiency real—and how you can too!
In spite of Brown vs. Board of Education, true integration and corresponding equality of educational opportunity is still far from reality in American schools.
Opening Doors tells the story of Ventura Unified School District's successful implementation of cultural proficiency, which opened long-closed doors for marginalized students and returned gains on every key success metric. Most importantly, it will empower you to do the same for your school or district. Resources include:
- A method for evaluating the impact of educational decisions on students' access to learning
- A clear three-year implementation plan for making your school culturally proficient
- A content-rich companion website that includes templates and forms for implementing the book’s suggestions
It is long past time to make cultural proficiency real by ensuring universally equal access to educational resources for all students. This book removes the remaining barriers to the achievement of this ideal.
—Rosemary Papa, Professor
Northern Arizona University
“The book is full of compassion, conviction and hope—pure heart, pure corazón—in the quest to tackle inequality and the opportunity gap head on.”
—Gilberto Q. Conchas, Professor of Educational Policy and Social Context
University of California, Irvine
This powerfully insightful and thought provoking book, takes us on a journey to culturally proficient actions.
The authors challenge districts to examine practices that create inequity.
Endeavors toward culturally proficient values are critical in a time where we struggle to answer ‘Why can’t we close the educational gap?
This book provides inspiration for those institutions that are examining and asking the difficult question of, “Where do we even begin?”
“The authors’ have provided the most comprehensive blueprint for starting or revamping an institution’s program for cultural proficiency by allowing one to start with self-understanding before addressing others. Emphasizing that changes happen when leaders use cultural proficiency to do their work!”
If your school or district is ready to move from “talking the talk” to “walking the walk” this text will assist you in your journey.
School Leaders will be inspired and understand the urgency of putting a plan into action.
It is exuberating to see how Ventura Unified School District brought theory into practice that directly influenced the individual and organizational core values to benefit their students!
Her book will be at the top of my list as a must read recommendation for all my colleagues at the District Office.
The book is full of compassion, conviction and hope—pure heart, pure corazón—in the quest to tackle inequality and the opportunity gap head on.