West Wind uses research and personal narratives, equity-focused improvement cycles, and student voice to help educators and leaders make visible the invisible. We support leaders to identify and address the ways that race shows up in interactions with educators, students, families, and communities; assess curriculum and instruction for equitable practices; and create opportunities for professional learning. Our philosophy is grounded in the understanding that adults learn through a combination of receiving information, practicing and receiving feedback on values, beliefs and practices.
We provide customized supports to schools and districts across the country. Some of the work that most excites us includes:
- Equity Audits and Focus Groups for districts and buildings;
- Equity Instructional Rounds;
- Professional and Leadership Development at all levels for districts, AEAs, and educational organizations;
- Coaching;
- Understanding Data with an Equity Lens; and
- Recruitment and Retention of staff of color.
In addition, our approach to serving you includes several unique opportunities that we customize for your context and needs:
- licensure renewal courses for teachers and administrators;
- professional development for teachers and leaders on cultural proficiency and implicit bias, which we customize to your context and specific areas of concern;
- summer institutes for teacher leaders, principals and assistant principals, and central office staff;
- personalized development plans based on the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), a cross-cultural, valid assessment to measure perceived and actual cultural competence for individuals or teams;
- equity audits, equity-focused instructional rounds, and equity policy reviews to identify patterns of inequity that can be difficult to spot yet possible to overcome;
- consultations, coaching, and evidence-based programs to diversify your workforce, retain staff of color, and address conflict; and
- facilitation through cycles of equity improvement to identify what works in your unique contexts and grow your Equity Agency℠.
