Annotation of Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education Facilitator Guide

This Annotation Guide is a complement to the Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education Facilitator’s Guide designed by NYC’s Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Working Group and in conjunction with New York University’s Metro Center. The Facilitator’s Guide is structured as a series of 10 discussion-based professional learning sessions. This Annotation Guide is meant to serve as a “how-to” for out-of-school-time (OST) tutoring providers as they use the Facilitator’s Guide to support the development of culturally responsive and sustaining OST tutors. It is recommended that OST tutoring providers read and ground themselves in the Facilitator’s Guide prior to engaging with the Annotation Guide. 

Feedback on the Annotation Guide’s utility is continually welcomed and encouraged here. OST providers are also encouraged to reach out directly to NYC’s Culturally Responsive Sustaining Working Group for specific questions related to the Facilitator’s Guide they developed. For other questions related to content and professional development matters consider reaching out to NYU’s Metro Center for ongoing support and guidance. 

The context used to inform this guide, and within which high impact tutors operate, is as follows:

  1. High-Impact tutoring supplements (but does not replace) classroom experiences
  2. High-impact tutoring responds to individual needs and complements existing curriculum
  3. Students work with a consistent tutor who is supported by ongoing oversight and coaching
  4. Tutoring sessions include a minimum of three sessions per week in individual or small groups
  5. High-impact tutoring is embedded in schools either during the school day or immediately before or after the school day
  6. High-Impact tutoring programs are grounded in equity, ensure safety of students, and that the program elements and leadership work together creating a cohesive well-run program

Term Definitions

  • Tutor: an out-of-school-time (OST) individual who is working as a tutor for K-12 students 
  • OST tutor coach: an OST program leader that coaches and provides ongoing support to tutors 
  • OST tutoring provider: a tutoring program that provides high-impact tutoring during out-of-school-time (OST) hours. Those hours may include before or after school programs and/or summer programs 

Additional Considerations/Recommendations

  • OST tutoring providers engaged in after school tutoring dedicate one day per month for engaging in Sessions 1-10 and create and share a calendar with tutors in advance (if and where possible) to note session dates. 
  • OST tutoring providers that offer summer programming dedicate one day per week (for 90 minute + blocks) to engage in Sessions 1-10, and create and share a calendar with tutors in advance (if and where possible) to note session dates 
  • As the Facilitator Guide states on page 7, sessions are at least 90 minutes in length to allow tutors to have thoughtful engagement with the material (specific time applications are included in the Facilitator Guide as additional guidance). 
  • OST tutoring providers invite CR-SE experts from their respective fields and external speakers from the community (including families and  served by the program) to highlight key ideas and themes from the session (guidance for optimal moments to invite guest speakers are provided within the Annotation Guide).
  • OST tutoring providers offering after-school programming email out pre-work (at least) 3 weeks in advance to encourage thoughtful tutor engagement. The email outlines how much time tutors can expect to dedicate to the pre-work (i.e., Facilitator Guide notes 90-120 minutes of pre-work). 
  • OST tutoring providers offering summer programming email out pre-work (at least) 1 week in advance to encourage thoughtful tutor engagement. The email outlines how much time tutors can expect to dedicate to the pre-work (i.e., Facilitator Guide notes 90-120 minutes of pre-work). 

Opening Frame (p. 1-2)

The Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Facilitators Guide designed by NYC’s Culturally Responsive Working Group in conjunction with New York University’s Metro Center is a resource designed to engage education stakeholders, including OST tutors, in furthering their development as culturally responsive and sustaining practitioners. OST tutor coaches are encouraged to use this resource in their unique contexts as designed as it represents collective thinking from students, educators, policymakers, researchers, community members, and parents on how to develop the orientations, mindsets, behaviors and habits of stakeholders committed to equity and justice and delivering a culturally responsive and sustaining education to students. This document uses a lens typically associated with teachers and school-based staff, and as a result, must be used in conjunction with a grounded understanding of the context and setting where OST tutoring is occurring. Places where such considerations exist, brief annotations for how OST tutor coaches can make informed decisions based upon their tutoring context is included.

Opening + Table of Contents (p. 3-4)

The opening and table of contents provide an outline of the goals of the Culturally Responsive Working Group, information on the specific members of the group as well as the table of contents that reveal the range of topics for discussion contained in the Facilitator Guide. OST tutor coaches can skip to different topics throughout the interactive guide to learn more about a particular session topic. The majority of the resources contain active links to readings, videos and other sources of information. 

Introduction (p. 5)

The introduction narrates the origin of the guide by the NYC Culturally Responsive Education Working Group, a committed body desiring to see culturally responsive and sustaining educational practices applied throughout New York City’s public schools. The introduction asserts that those who desire to improve the educational outcomes of the city’s most vulnerable populations need to understand that vulnerability is created by the historical and ongoing structural and material realities of racism, xenophobia, and oppression, and serve as the root causes for predictable underachievement patterns across differing racial, cultural, and linguistic groups. The hopes of the working group are included and OST tutor coaches are encouraged to read, reflect, and draw connections to the context of their OST tutors. It marks an opportunity for OST tutor coaches to share these hopes with OST tutors as they develop as culturally responsive and sustaining practitioners. 

Preparing to Facilitate (p. 6-8)

All OST tutor coaches are encouraged to review the section “Preparing to Facilitate” as it outlines key considerations for OST tutor coaches regardless of facilitation skills. Specifically, it provides support on how to gather people and how to use the guide. OST tutor coaches that create smaller learning experiences for their tutors through peer learning communities (PLCs) facilitated by OST tutor coaches may find this guide useful for those types of structured learning environments. The guide names unequivocally the work of being a culturally responsive and sustaining educator requires, but is not limited to, the discussion of race and racism. The discussion guide highlights a process to support OST tutor coaches and OST tutors in this effort. The guide also highlights the purpose behind session structures (sessions move in an intentional progression from Session 1 to Session 10 with a similar flow) as well as other key features of gathering including circle format, discussion protocols and key takeaways. OST tutor coaches will have to make individual assessments about which sessions they deliver as some sessions may fall outside the scope of an OST tutor’s direct responsibilities (see Session 5: CRSE + Relationships: Teachers, Staff and Students as an example). 

Session 1: Setting the Foundation for Anti-Racist Work and Conversation (p. 9-10)

Session 1 reveals how culturally responsive and sustaining education (CR-SE) is a form of anti-racism work that serves as a critical method for practicing equity within the context of schooling. OST tutor coaches committed to equity are encouraged to prioritize building a community of learners amongst OST tutors; a community built on trusting relationships since relationships are foundational for (1) honest and frank conversations about race and racism and (2) developing as culturally responsive and sustaining tutors. For OST tutor coaches what this can mean is building in intentional time for training sessions (or other structures) so OST tutors can develop deeper connections with their colleagues. Session 1 is an important session that affords OST tutor coaches this critical opportunity. 

Additional considerations for OST tutor coaches are included below. 

  • PRE-WORK: Community agreements set the foundation for a budding learning community to honestly share and develop trusting relationships. OST tutor coaches can consider the below resources as supplemental pre-work to the recommendations within the Facilitator Guide. The additional pre-work supports OST tutors in developing collectively chosen community agreements that support them in sharing honestly and in facilitating deeper relationships with their colleagues. 
    • OST tutors are encouraged to complete both the pre-work assigned in the Facilitator Guide and the below additional pre-work to support creating Community Agreements: 
    • OST tutors answer pre-work reflection questions related to the Community Agreements and come to Session 1 prepared to discuss: 
      • Which of these agreements (or guidelines) resonate with you? 
      • Which ones will be difficult for you?
      • Which agreement (guidelines) do you need for a “Safer Space” so that you can have honest conversations with your colleagues?
    • OST tutors read: “Courageous Conversations About Race Protocol.”

Session 2: Understanding Racism + Oppression (p.11-12)

Practicing equity through being a culturally responsive and sustaining OST tutor requires developing a complex understanding of racism as a system and structure that creates group-based advantages and disadvantages based upon characteristics like race, ethnicity, skin color, language, gender-identity, socioeconomic class and more. Session 2 offers OST tutor coaches a method for introducing this structural understanding to OST tutors by introducing what’s commonly referred to as the 4Is of racism. The resources show how racism (in combination with other exclusionary structures like heterosexism, classim, religious oppression and ableism) create the context for why an anti-racist educational approach (i.e., culturally responsive and sustaining education) is the necessary approach for OST tutors. 

  • PRE-WORK: 
    • OST tutor coaches provide three different resources to serve as additional pre-work material for Session 2 so that OST tutors can develop shared language and (at minimum) a working understanding of racism and oppression as structures that impact both their lives and their students’ lives. 
      • 4Is of Racism located here.
      • 4Is of Oppression located here
      • OST tutors choose and watch a total of three videos from Race Forward’s “What is Systemic Racism?” series, an 8-part video series that shows how racism shows up in our lives across institutions and society: Wealth Gap, Employment, Housing Discrimination, Government Surveillance, Incarceration, Drug Arrests, Immigration Arrests, Infant Mortality. 
        • Watch: “What is systemic racism?” with an introduction from Renku Sen. 
        • Watch: Eight-video series (~1 min/video). 
        • Reflect: 
          • What is similar across the different examples? What is different across the different examples? What connections do I see to my own life? What connections do I see to our students’ lives?

Session 3: Introduction to Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education (p.13-15)

Session 3 introduces OST tutors to culturally responsive and sustaining education as a pedagogical framework for anti-racist teaching. OST tutor coaches are encouraged to support OST tutors in learning and understanding key terms and ideas, and analyzing how CR-SE as a framework can be applied to an OST context. 

  • ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: OST tutor coaches prioritize The Equity Rubric from the organization, Bright Morning. Specific rubric domains and indicators most pertinent to an OST tutor context are highlighted and suggested below for OST tutor coaches. 
  • OST tutors review: Equity Rubric including the rubric domains and specific indicators provided. 
    • I. Teacher Beliefs (p. 3 Indicators 1-7)
    • II. Relationships and Culture (p. 4-5 Indicators 1-9, 11-14)
    • III. Class Environment (p. 6 Indicators 1-8)
    • IV. Rigor and Expectations (p. 7 Indicators 1-7)
    • V. Access and Participation (p. 8-9 Indicators 1-7, 10-11)
    • VI. Student Performance (p. 9-10 Indicators 1-6)
    • VII. Curriculum and Instruction (p. 1-7, 9, 11-14)
  • OST tutors rate themselves on the “Teacher Beliefs” and “Relationships and Culture” Equity rubric domains as post-session work for discussion in Session 3. 
    • What 2-3 rubric strands were strengths for you? 
    • Which 2-3 rubric strands represent areas for growth?
    • What is one thing that challenged you?
    • What is one way this will be useful for you as an OST tutor?

Session 4: CR-SE & Me: Personal, Local and Immediate (p. 16-17)

Session 4 establishes a personal, local, and immediate context for OST tutor coaches and their OST tutors to discuss race and racism. Within this session OST tutors share their own racial autobiography which serves as an analytical tool for examining the impact of race and racism in their own lives. The lens OST tutors develop is then extended to analyze and discuss the ways in which race and racism play out in the lives of students and their immediate communities. Additional considerations for pre-work and community circle are provided below. 

  • PRE-WORK: OST tutor coaches have OST tutors craft their stories in advance of the session to allow for more thoughtful engagement with their stories. The utility and power of racial autobiographies comes from the personal archaeological analysis done by OST tutors, which creates the conditions for a more complex and nuanced understanding about race and racism in their lives and the lives of their students. 
    • OST tutors write a response to the following: What impact does race have on your own life? When was the first time you noticed your racial identity?
    • (OPTIONAL) OST tutors read: “The First Condition: Getting Personal Right Here, Right Now” (p. 87-91 from Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Racial Equity, 2nd Edition). 
  • OPENING COMMUNITY CIRCLE: OST tutor coaches use community circle to revisit the additional resources from Session 3’s post-work to reflect on the Equity Rubric before diving into the remainder of the session. 
    • OST tutor coaches ask: Choose one reflection question from the postwork for discussion in the community circle. 
      • What 2-3 rubric strands from the Equity Rubric were strengths for you? 
      • Which 2-3 rubric strands represent areas for growth?
      • What is one thing that challenged you?
      • What is one way this rubric can be useful for you as an OST tutor?

Session 5: CR-SE & Relationships: Teachers, Staff & Students (p. 18-19)

Session 5 builds upon the strengths of OST tutor coaches in prioritizing positive relationships with students given relationship-building is a central role in being a culturally responsive and sustaining OST tutor. This session offers an opportunity for OST tutor coaches to invite guest speakers that include teachers and school-based staff to further orient OST tutors to the importance of building trusting relationships with these school-based stakeholders. Additional considerations in regards to pre-work and supplemental resources for Session 5 are also provided below. 

  • PRE-WORK: OST tutor coaches use the CR-SE Framework to highlight the responsibilities of OST tutors in creating a warm and welcoming environment for their students. OST tutor coaches review p. 26: “Creating a Welcoming and Affirming Environment” to focus OST tutors on the actions of a teacher, the role most aligned to their own responsibilities. OST tutor coaches with sessions longer than 90 minutes can also review the indicators on p. 20, 32, and 33 of the CR-SE Framework to provide space for OST tutors to explore the complexity of the larger school-based ecosystem. 
    • OST tutors read: CR-SE Framework: Creating a Welcoming and Affirming Environment (p. 26) 
    • OST tutors read and answer reflection questions in advance of the session:
      • In what ways have we actively built and nurtured relationships?
      • In what ways have we neglected intentional relationship building? How does that impact our tutoring program?  
      • In what ways can we proactively build and nurture these relationships? 
  • ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: OST tutor coaches can extend the learning from Session 5 by incorporating these additional resources into the series.
  • Guest speakers: OST tutor coaches can use this session as an opportunity to further orient OST tutor to relationship-building by inviting a panel of students, teachers, and school-based staff from current schools where OST tutors are working. OST tutor coaches are encouraged to make panels manageable in size and to uplift a diverse range of voices that represent multiple student, teacher, and staff-based perspectives. OST tutor coaches are encouraged to consider the needs of panelists to ensure an inclusive space. 
    • Key things to consider: Sharing questions to panelists in advance, time of day, accessibility, childcare, financial compensation, providing meals etc., in addition to having a translator and ASL interpreter on hand for bi/multilingual panelists. Ideal panel sizes range from 4-6 people with an equal distribution of  students and teachers.

Session 6: CR-SE and Relationships: Families and Communities (p. 20-22)

Session 6 builds from Session 5 by centering OST tutors in their strength of building relationships with families and communities. As OST tutor coaches support OST tutors to commit to culturally responsive and sustaining practices, OST tutor coaches are encouraged to implement this session from the series regardless of their strengths in building relationships with families. It is important for OST tutors to view families through a warm, affirming, welcoming and sustaining lens as families are integral sources of knowledge when it comes to their students. Finding methods to harness that information in service of learning is how tutors can continue to develop as culturally responsive and sustaining practitioners. Additional resources to support OST tutor to demonstrate asset-based approaches to families are provided below.

  • ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
    • Guest speakers: OST tutor coaches can use this session as an opportunity to further orient OST tutors to relationship-building by inviting a panel of parents, families, and community members to share with OST tutors. It is recommended panelists come from partnership schools where OST tutoring partners have existing relationships in order to ground OST tutors in their local context. Panels are encouraged to be manageable in size and uplift a diverse range of voices that represent multiple family and community perspectives. OST tutor coaches are also encouraged to consider the needs of panelists to ensure an inclusive space. 
      • Key things to consider: Sharing questions to panelists in advance, time of day, accessibility, childcare, financial compensation, providing meals etc., in addition to having a translator and ASL interpreter on hand for bi/multilingual panelists. Ideal panel sizes range from 4-6 people with an equal distribution of family and community representation.

Session 7/8: CRSE, Curriculum and Pedagogy (p. 23-26) 

Session 7 examines the importance of high expectations and rigorous instruction along with the role of inclusive curriculum and assessments in a culturally responsive and sustaining classroom. OST tutors not may not have decision-making power when it comes to curriculum selection, but OST tutoring coaches are encouraged to include this session in the professional development series. Empowering OST tutors with knowledge of what inclusive curriculum and assessments can look and sound like will empower them to be humble advocates for students and families when they perceive and/or experience misalignment between the principles and practices of CRSE within their tutoring context. Additional considerations for pre-work are included below. 

  • PRE-WORK: OST tutor coaches can select specific indicators from the CR-SE Framework to support OST tutors in applying the framework’s “Fostering High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction” and “Inclusive Curriculum & Assessment” approach to their work. The Facilitator Guide offers discussion questions included below to increase OST tutors’ meaningful engagement with the material. 
    • OST tutors read indicators: “Fostering High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction” (CR-SE Framework p.27).
    • OST tutors read: “Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment” (CR-SE Framework p.28). 
    • OST tutor pre-work reflection questions to answer in advance of session based on reading pages 27-28 in the CR-SE Framework:
      • Based on the CR-SE Framework, where are we as an institution and as individuals upholding the beliefs and practices of fostering high expectations and rigorous instruction? Identifying inclusive curriculum and assessment?
      • Where are we falling short?
      • What are some elements that have challenged us in meeting these expectations? What are some possible solutions to those challenges?
      • What do we need in order to make progress and meet the needs of our students?
      • What can you do to better meet the needs of students? What is within your locus of control?

Session 9: CRSE and Disrupting Systems of Inequity (p. 27-28)

Session 9 asks OST tutors to zoom out and reflect on the larger educational system and the disruptions necessary to center a culturally responsive and sustaining education for students (intentionally) marginalized and made vulnerable by the educational system. Additional considerations for community agreements and extended learning activities are provided below to support OST tutors. 

  • COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS: 
  • ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: OST tutor coaches use the session as an opportunity to create a community-based panel featuring different local grassroots organizations. The purpose of the panel is to support OST tutors in understanding the interconnectedness of educational injustice and how communities exercise agency by fighting for and demanding justice in the face of these inequities. Consider partnering with Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to see if they may be able to support you in putting this together. 
    • OST tutor coaches convene a community-based panel that represent the following: 
      • Community-based organizations (including community elders) 
      • Faith-based organizations 
      • Parent/Family advocacy organizations 
      • Student organizations 

Session 10: Closing (p. 29-30)

Session 10 provides OST tutors an opportunity to audit their tutoring context and plan for next steps in their own development. OST tutor coaches are encouraged to prepare OST tutors for self-assessment by encouraging OST tutors to revisit the Equity Rubric where OST tutors can evaluate their growth and determine next steps in their development. Discussion questions are shared in advance as supplemental pre-work in order to support these goals. Additional support for the session is provided below. 

  • PRE-WORK: 
    • OST tutors review: Rubric domains and indicators from the Equity Rubric. 
      • I. Teacher Beliefs (p. 3 Indicators 1-7)
      • II. Relationships and Culture (p. 4-5 Indicators 1-9, 11-14)
      • III. Class Environment (p. 6 Indicators 1-8)
      • IV. Rigor and Expectations (p. 7 Indicators 1-7)
      • V. Access and Participation (p. 8-9 Indicators 1-7, 10-11)
      • VI. Student Performance (p. 9-10 Indicators 1-6)
      • VII. Curriculum and Instruction (p. 1-7, 9, 11-14)
    • OST tutors re-evaluate themselves on the “Teacher Beliefs,” “Relationships and Culture” and “Curriculum and Instruction” domains and reflect on the following questions: 
      • What are you noticing based on your audit? How does this compare to your initial ratings? What do you feel proud of? What was surprising?
      • What are 1-2 next steps for you? 
      • How can you increase your spheres of influence? What places and spaces can you become a part of to support your personal and professional growth?