"I would gladly participate in another grant project. I think my involvement in the Diversifying Teachers Project has equipped me and given me the tools and confidence to participate and bring substantial input to the program."

"I was able to hear great advice in terms of how to approach interviews and it helped me gain a bit of confidence there. I think knowing to not jump to the first school district you see is helpful and understanding how to identify what red and green flags are present in my environment."  

"The CEAR Project created a safe space for educators and CBO's to create connections that encouraged the sharing, questioning and learning of antiracist curriculum building. This project further inspired me to question everyday practices and ensure I create a safe and welcoming space for all in my own work."

"I thought the tools for creative instruction were insightful and well explained. I intend to use them more in my day-to-day efforts to address the issues in my district related to diversity, equity, and inclusion."

"The need to identify and review what is working and not working with cost-benefit analysis is sooo helpful. Also, the racial affinity group is motivating to me and will have a great influence on our work for the district."

"The most valuable thing I learned today was that there are other neighboring districts who share the same lack of cultural diversity in staffing. The ability to network with a team who is vested in similar changes will influence many of my decisions and ability to provide more meaningful input for this project."

"It is our plan to continue this work even as the grant ends. We will continue to try and persuade the BOE and Building Administrators on just how powerful consistency is when recruiting and hiring. How long? This should remain a progressive and ongoing initiative and should not end. Education is constantly changing and it is the students that should be considered - always."  

"Through our CEAR project, I highly resonated with key principles of culturally responsive education (CRE) such as validating students’ experiences and values, disrupting power dynamics that privilege dominant groups, and empowering students to maximize their potential."

"CEAR has been so valuable in connecting faculty, teachers, and community organizations to better prepare teachers. It is changing the teacher education curriculum to place the community at the center."

"Writing curriculum with a team that included community members helped me reflect on my teaching and challenge myself to engage in anti-racist work, thus simultaneously engaging and supporting my students and their families."

"As an educator, and as a mother of black sons, I was afforded the opportunity to create a curriculum that specifically meets the needs of those important to me in mind. It's easy to talk about antiracism, but a whole other endeavor to engage in the work of creating a curriculum to support educators in teaching students about what it is to be antiracist and work within our schools and communities to create an antiracist world."

"I really enjoyed the mini-workshop from the Radical Pedagogy Institute. I learned a lot about CRT and how we can help challenge the barriers set in place."

"CEAR has been so valuable in connecting faculty, teachers, and community organizations to better prepare teachers. It is changing the teacher education curriculum to place the community at the center."

"It's easy to talk about antiracism, but a whole other endeavor to engage in the work of creating a curriculum to support educators in teaching students about what it is to be antiracist and work within our schools and communities to create an antiracist world. It's been a lot of work, but totally worth it, knowing that students will be able to engage in important antiracist conversations in the classroom."