Equipping Schools to Meet the Needs of a More Diverse Classroom

Sabia Prescott, Jenny Muñiz, and Kristina Ishmael wrote for Pacific Standard about equity and inclusion in the classroom with diverse learning needs.

Classrooms today look much different than they did even just a couple decades ago. The number of students of color enrolled in public schools, for instance, has increased, and they're expected to be the majority of high school graduates by 2025. Likewise, the number of students with disabilities, English learners, and LGBTQ students in pre K-12 has increased steadily over the past 10 years.

For all these different types of students, there are just as many different learning styles and needs. Consider students with disabilities. They may need learning materials with adaptable text or professional development guidelines for teachers. English learners, meanwhile, may require materials with more visuals to scaffold English acquisition. Different still, it's important for queer students to see people like them recognized—and normalized—in the curriculum.