New standards will train educators in anti-racist ways

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The Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) is currently proposing new standards that would govern the preparation of teachers in Minnesota. The newest draft would ensure that teacher preparation is explicitly anti-racist in order to ensure teachers have the tools to be better supports to students of color. The standards also demand that new teachers understand how to affirm all students in their full selves and identities.

Simply put, these standards would be good for Minnesota's students and would produce even better teachers than the stellar ones we already train.

Research supports training more culturally responsive and sustaining teachers. Culturally responsive education raises graduation rates. It increases reading comprehension and math computational skills. It increases student standardized test scores. Research even says supportive and openly affirming teachers can literally save the lives of LGBTQ students who are considering suicide.

Expectedly, though, on Aug. 24 at the public comment administrative law hearing regarding the standards, person after person used overtly racist language, racist dog whistles, overtly transphobic and homophobic language, and many outright false claims to urge Judge James Mortenson to reject the proposed standards.

Contrary to the critics' claims that the standards were created in secret, they were tirelessly crafted by a diverse group of teachers, teacher educators, parents, and PELSB staff and board members, drawing upon research-based best practices for each and every change.

Despite what detractors claim, the only thing "radical" about the new standards is how clearly they commit to training teachers who can better teach and support all of our kids, but especially those most marginalized in our school systems.

If, like me, you want our teachers to be trained in more overtly anti-racist ways and in ways that give them tools to better support students with disabilities, LGBTQ students, multilingual students and other marginalized students, please take the time to navigate to the state's public comment site to speak out in support of Revisor's ID Number 4615; OAH Docket No. 5-9021-36362.

Let's speak up for all of Minnesota's children. Do not let the hateful and bigoted outcry be the only voices speaking out about teacher preparation standards in Minnesota that could truly be a game changer for Minnesota's students and teachers. If you care about closing what so many call the "achievement gap," here's one major step we can take! Individuals and groups can log post-hearing comments until Sept. 13, at 4:30 p.m.