Jimmy D. Hart serves as an author, coach, mentor, speaker, and trainer devoted to building up people and working with organizations to improve how we serve and support each other. Having completed his M.Ed. and Ed.S. degrees, his work to build leaders and coach adults began in 2000. He served as a teacher for seven years, a school administrator for 10 years, and as a school district leader for 13 years. Serving as a coach, and mentor, he has helped others in his community and nation to live empowered lives. His work as an educator has provided an opportunity to speak and train on building community, diversity, and leadership for over 25 years to thousands of college students, educators, businesses, service providers, and community leaders.
Culturally Responsive Learning Communities Require R.A.I.© (Respect, Affirmation, & Inclusion)
Nationally, many K12 Agencies have a long history implementing efforts to address Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In Arizona, DEI efforts are decades old, yet progress seems to be non-existent, elusive, and at most, slow for many campuses in our state. However, such efforts can be seen in the number of school districts creating DEI central offices, emphasizing recruitment and retention efforts of underrepresented populations, and even creating DEI policies. Yet, African American representation on school boards, leading school districts, leading schools, and providing direct instruction to students still remain well below equitable ratios. Furthermore, large gaps in African American student participation in advanced level classes and exclusionary discipline practices continue.To address the slow rate of advancement for both African American educators and students, agencies must focus their efforts on creating culturally responsive learning communities using R.A.I.© as a framework for success – Respect, Affirmation, and Inclusion. Whether you are six, forty-six, or eighty-six, we all want to be respected, affirmed, and included. In this interactive session, educators will engage in an inside out approach to creating strong school and district communities using R.A.I.© as a Framework to get buy-in from all stakeholders.