Features Overview
“Before Equity Scholars I think I was good at seeing my students as individuals but now I see them as individuals within a cultural context. I understand--because I’ve experienced it--the power of connecting to the history, the strength and the struggles of their communities. This has changed everything about how I teach.”
-Christina Dunner, Teacher
"Since working with ATAPE Group, everything has changed about how I think about curriculum and planning. When I first started to make my lessons culturally relevant lessons, I couldn't believe how much more engaged my students were and how the quality of their work improved. My ATAPE coach has helped me learn to create culturally relevant units that support and require my students to become deep thinkers. I have such a sense of urgency now to make all of my lessons meaningful, relevant and rigorous. I can never go back."
-Dyneesha Brown, 2nd Grade Teacher, PS 43
“I wanted to say a HUGE thank you for facilitating the COVID Informed Culturally Responsive Social Emotional Planning Professional Development. I have attended a few of your sessions and each one has been so positive and impactful to my role and my overall practice as an educator and lifelong learner. I would love to keep in contact and perhaps have you visit the site! Thank you again.”
-Kaila Bridgeman, Education Specialist at MS 522K
"A big part of why Young Leaders Elementary is making such dramatic growth is because of the thoughtful literacy and equity work of the ATAPE Group. Their leadership coaching has been invaluable in my development as a leader for equity. The grade level coaching with our 2nd and 3rd grade team had a tremendous impact on our teachers and on our kids' learning. I am grateful for the time our coach took to listen and to push my teachers, myself and my team to think more deeply about issues of equity, culturally relevant instruction and critical literacy. We have learned to implement stronger literacy practices which are yielding stronger YLE readers.”
-Jaleelah Cooke, Principal, Young Leaders Elementary School, NYC
Castle Bridge School invited ATAPE to help us pull the pieces together after a year of trying to do anti-bias and equity work on our own, followed by hiring a group that came in with an established set of activities that ripped the scabs off and did not have the skill to see us through bridging the chasms. Our staff relationships were at an all time low. ATAPE does not start with a preconceived notion of what sort of conversations and activities a school staff needs, it recognizes that each school is a unique community with its own set of quirky dynamics that have to be understood. They interviewed each staff member separately and developed a needs assessment document that then began our work. We worked with a smaller staff team and then brought things to the whole staff. For the first 5 months they were very hands on, with the intention all along to build structures that we could maintain and use ourselves. After a few months they had drafted an extensive document called Castle Bridge 2.0 which we continue to use almost 2 years later. Our contract was up, but we thought we would continue the following year. Then the pandemic hit. As disorienting as the pandemic has been, we have been able to continue our anti-bias and equity work using the documents and structures we got from ATAPE to make meaningful change and knit our staff back together. Staff are proud of the work we've done and refer fondly and frequently to ATAPE.
-Julie Zuckerman Ed.D, Founding Principal, Castle Bridge School, NYC