Educational Equity Partnership Project

Collage of EEPP in action photos.

by Teresa Crane | Wednesday, Sep 11, 2019

The Department of Curriculum, Culture and Educational Inquiry (CCEI) and Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) proudly launched the Educational Equity Partnership Project (EEPP) in Fall 2017. EEPP is funded by a Teaching Incentive Fund (TIF) grant awarded to BCPS. The TIF program supports projects that develop performance-based teacher compensation systems in high-needs schools to increase students’ access to effective educators, which leads to heightened student academic achievement.

During this three-year partnership, CCEI professors from FAU engage approximately 60 educators from 32 Title I schools in professional development modules that integrate five inter-related thematic strands: culturally relevant pedagogy, multicultural curriculum, education for equity, community building and advocacy. Participants meet weekly for each six to eight-week module where they engage in readings, discussions, and work on culminating projects designed to enhance their professional practice. During Module 2, guest speaker, Bill Bigelow, curriculum editor of Rethinking Schools and veteran High School Social Studies teacher, shared his insights with the participating teachers. These teacher leaders have conducted school-based research projects and developed curriculum and equity-oriented actions plans for implementation in their classrooms and schools.

The sustained partnership offers an alternative approach to teacher professional development and university-school partnerships. The research-based modules continually evolve through implementation and are responsive to participants’ needs and feedback, creating spaces for critical reflection, research and collaboration towards equitable practice. EEPP provides opportunities for educators at the university and in schools to learn with and from one another as recommitment is made to addressing the pressing issues of educational inequity that are experienced in policy, curriculum and practice.

Scheduled delivery of modules:

Module 1: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Completed Fall 2017
Module 2: Developing Multicultural Curriculum, Completed Fall 2018
Module 3: Equity in Schools and Society, Completed Spring 2019
Module 4: Parental Inclusion & Community Engagement, Fall 2019
Module 5: Leadership & Advocacy in Diverse Communities, Spring 2020