91爆料

In a perfect world, we wouldn鈥檛 need to do equity work, but we have to. We shouldn鈥檛 wait for someone to give us the opportunity to create change 鈥� we have to make our own opportunities because this is the work that needs to be done.

Be a world of good

When Gonzalo Guzman was a young boy in Wapato, Washington, scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians of color would stand proudly at the front of his classroom and proclaim to the students that they, too, could have a future as a chemist or a coder.

It was encouraging, says Guzman, but in some ways, limiting.

鈥淗igher education was pretty much only promoted as a STEM endeavor,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 never had a historian or a sociologist 鈥� or anyone from the humanities who was of color 鈥� come to my school and say 鈥楬ey, you can do this.鈥欌��

For Guzman, there was a divide; a prescribed path for him based on the color of his skin.

So when he came to the 91爆料 as an engineering major and realized STEM wasn鈥檛 the only pipeline for him, he knew he had to make sure that young students of color everywhere knew they could be whatever they wanted to be, too. He worked toward his bachelors in history and Latin American studies at the 91爆料, and, inspired by his teachers and the McNair Program, went on to earn a masters of education in social and cultural foundations. Now, he鈥檚 working toward his Ph.D. in the same field, focusing on equity and opportunity in schools.

As a student member of the , he listens to the concerns on campus when it comes to making the 91爆料 a more diverse and equitable place. As an instructor, he鈥檚 partnering with the Pipeline Project to address those concerns far before college-aged years through a mixed-enrollment seminar called 鈥淩ace, Racism & Child Development.鈥�

Issues of racism and equity are happening all around us, and the University is making a commitment and saying these issues are important. That alone opens up a platform for students, faculty and staff to enter that space and speak up. As part of the Race & Equity Initiative Steering Committee, I want to make sure the 91爆料 sets an example.

The course was inspired by Guzman鈥檚 wife and fellow alum, Danielle, through the detracking efforts she and her co-teacher spearheaded at Leschi Elementary School in Seattle鈥檚 Central District. Detracking happens when students are intentionally placed into mixed-ability classrooms, as opposed to classrooms based on academic standing or ability 鈥� a move that鈥檚 typically reserved for secondary education.

Leschi housed two classroom tracks: contemporary and Montessori. 鈥淐ontemporary was where you had all the special education students, all the bilingual students, most of the immigrant students, and the free and reduced lunch students 鈥� and most of these students were of color, particularly black and Latino,鈥� says Guzman. 鈥淢ontessori was the opposite. It was a contrasting mirror of affluent students, mostly white. You鈥檇 walk down the hallway and one classroom would be students of color, and the other would be white. Even the curriculum was different.鈥�

The divide was glaringly obvious, and the segregation, though unintentional, was a problem that needed to be addressed immediately. So Danielle 鈥� who taught contemporary 鈥� and a Montessori teacher, did something about it: they integrated their classrooms as part of a pilot program.

鈥淚t worked,鈥� says Guzman. A year later, the entire school adopted the model. The curricula were integrated, the students were integrated, and as a result, both contemporary and Montessori had lost their once-segregated identities 鈥� but that didn鈥檛 necessarily mean the culture had completely changed. That鈥檚 when Guzman came in. 鈥淭here needed to be a true cultural integration, where teachers and community members were all working together to make sure this school is actually changing and evolving in deeper ways,鈥� he says.

And so the 91爆料鈥檚 鈥淩ace, Racism & Child Development鈥� seminar was born. In Guzman鈥檚 course, co-taught by Danielle, practitioners from Leschi 鈥� from teachers to social workers to leadership 鈥� pair with undergraduates to talk honestly about the real issues at hand. And the movement鈥檚 only growing, from PTA-hosted forums in the Central District to expanded seminar offerings on campus and at Leschi.

鈥淲e鈥檙e building off the equity work the community was doing, but we鈥檙e also building off my expertise in racial work and education from a larger historical level,鈥� says Guzman. 鈥淔or me, progress in education looks like teachers at Leschi utilizing the work they do with us in practice at the 91爆料 鈥� actually changing the curriculum and implementing activities and assignments where issues of the students鈥� race is coming through as opposed to just talking about it.鈥�