About the Book
An introspective response with LGBT communities for positive change
A Culturally Proficient Response to LGBT Communities is a guide for educators to collaboratively combat issues of discrimination, inequity, and bullying through the review of current policies, practices, and deeply held assumptions about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered (LGBT) communities. This inside-out approach carries readers through a personal journey of reflection to action by using the Tools of Cultural Proficiency to examine their values, beliefs, and assumptions about how LGBT communities are served educationally.
Creating safe and welcoming schools includes both setting effective and appropriate policies and the inside-out analyses of one’s own beliefs and values. Resulting cultural proficiencies, steeped in self-reflection, boost empathy and improve learning environments. On this simple, powerful premise, readers will find:
Inside-out growth through personal stories and case-studies
Reflection through activities and prompts appropriate for individuals and teams
Insight into current responses to bullying
Using this first step for positive systemic change, school leaders can elevate understanding and propel schools toward safe and diverse-friendly environments.
"This book provides essential tools for educators who want to make schools safe and welcoming for all students. I could not put this book down. In my nearly 25 years of education I have not come across a resource that handles the needs of LGBT students as sensitively and supportively as these authors have using the tools of Cultural Proficiency."
—Gunn Marie Hansen, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services
Orange Unified School District, CA
Table of Contents:
Foreword by Timothy Kaltenecker
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Introduction
I. Introduction--Background, Challenges, and Opportunity
1. Setting the Context
Getting Centered
Going Deeper
2. The Tools of Cultural Proficiency
Getting Centered
Going Deeper
3. Equality and Equity Are Both Important, Just Not the Same
Getting Centered
Going Deeper
4. Understanding Our History Helps Shape Our Future
Getting Centered
Going Deeper
II. Westfield Unified School District
5. Creating Safe Space: Moving From Compliance to Advocacy
6. Assessing Cultural Knowledge
Getting Centered
Valuing Diversity
Westfield Unified School District Case Story
Going Deeper
7. Valuing Diversity
Getting Centered
Valuing Diversity
Westfield Unified School District Case Story
Going Deeper
8. Managing the Dynamics of Difference
Getting Centered
Managing the Dynamics of Difference
Westfield Unified School District Case Story
Going Deeper
9. Adapting to Diversity
Getting Centered
Adapting to Diversity
Westfield Unified School District Case Story
Going Deeper
10. Institutionalizing Cultural Knowledge--You, Your School, and Your Community
Getting Centered
Institutionalizing Cultural Knowledge
Professional Learning for General Educators
Going Deeper
III. Next Steps
11. Moving From Bystander to Ally
Why We Do This Work
Resources
Resource A1 – Book Study Guide
Resource A2 – The Apps of Cultural Proficiency
Resource B – Quick Glossary
Resource C1 – Sexual Orientation Questionnaire
Resource C2 – Unpacking the Knapsack of Sexual Orientation Privilege
Resource D – Community Resources
Resource E - Cultural Proficiency Books’ Essential Questions
Cultural Proficiency Books Matrix
References
Index
About the Author :
Randall B. Lindsey is Emeritus Professor at California State University, Los Angeles. He has served as a teacher, an administrator, executive director of a non-profit corporation, as Interim Dean at California Lutheran University, as Distinguished Educator in Residence at Pepperdine University, and as Chair of the Education Department at the University of Redlands. All of Randy’s experiences have been in working with diverse populations and his area of study is the behavior of white people in multicultural settings. His Ph.D. is in Educational Leadership from Georgia State University, his Master of Arts in Teaching is in History Education from the University of Illinois, and his B.S. in Social Science Education is from Western Illinois University. He has served as a junior high school and high school teacher and as an administrator in charge of school desegregation efforts. At Cal State, L.A. he served as Chair of the Division of Administration and Counseling and as Director of the Regional Assistance Centers for Educational Equity, a regional race desegregation assistance center. With co-authors he has written several books and articles on applying the Cultural Proficiency Framework in various contexts.
Email – randallblindsey@gmail.com
Website - CCPEP.org
Twitter - @RBLindsey41 Richard M. Diaz Ms.Ed., is director of the Riordan Leadership Institute a program of the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce. Richard helps train business professionals become board members of nonprofit agencies in the Greater Los Angeles area. Through his work Richard has assisted many nonprofits to bring in new and diverse leadership to their organizations. Richard also consults with local nonprofits and their boards. He assists boards to review their mission and vision. Richard began his career as an elementary and middle school teacher and later supervised student teachers for Immaculate Heart College. He is a world traveler and lives with his partner, Gerry, of 23 years. Kikanza Nuri-Robins helps people to close the gap between what they say they are and what they actually do. Whether she is in a corporate boardroom, the fireside room of a retreat center, or a convention center auditorium, Kikanza uses her skills and insights to help people and organizations that are in transition – or ought to be. She shares her observations and recommendations with clarity and candor, while gently encouraging them to face the difficult situations that challenge their skill sets and their values. She leads people to this growing edge with unswerving focus, an understanding heart, and laughter that rises from the seat of her soul.
Since 1978, Kikanza has worked as an organizational development consultant in a variety of settings including education, health care, criminal justice, and religion, focusing on leadership development, change management, and cultural proficiency. Her clients range from school districts, to university faculty, to government offices and non-profit organizations. The connecting thread is her passion for working with people who want to making a difference for others.
Kikanza studied at Occidental College, the University of Southern California, and the San Francisco Theological Seminary. She is the author of many articles and five books, including: Cultural Proficiency and Culturally Proficient Responses to the LGBT Communities. Kikanza lives in Los Angeles where she spends her discretionary time as a textile artist.
Raymond Terrell, EdD. retired as Associate Dean for Research and Diversity and member of he department of Educational Leadership at Miami University, Oxford< Ohio. He previously worked at California State University, Los Angeles where he served as Professor of Educational Administration and for five years he was the Dean of the School of Eduction. His journey in education began in a public school district where he taught English to junior and senior high students;. He also was a principal and an assistant superintend in the same district. Dr. Terrell is co-author on a number of books including , Cultural Proficiency: and a A Manual for School Leaders, Cultural Proficient Leadership. His books and numerous articles and life’s work have all focused on issues of equity and inclusion Dr. Delores B. Lindsey served as assistant principal, principal, and county office administrator. She served as Executive Director of the regional school leadership center. Delores uses her skills as Cognitive Coach and Adaptive Schools trainer blended with her understanding and skills as a cultural proficiency trainer to design and implement the 10-Day Certification Program for Culturally Proficient Educational Practice. She served as assistant professor at California State University San Marcos for more than 10 years. She retired from the institution; however, she has not retired from the education profession. Her primary focus is developing culturally proficient leaders. She helps educational leaders examine their organizations’ policies and practices and their individual beliefs and values about cross-cultural communication. Her favorite reflective questions are, Who are we? and, Are we who we say we are? Delores and her husband, Randall (her favorite SAGE/Corwin author), continue to co-write about the application of the four tools of Cultural Proficiency. Her most recent publications which are on Corwin’s bestseller list are Leading While Female: A Culturally Proficient Response for Gender Equity, and My Leading While Female Journey: A Guided Reflective Journal with Trudy Arriaga and Stacie Stanley.
Review :
"A Culturally Proficient Response to LGBT Communities is one of the most authentic books I have ever read on how to be more inclusive and equitable to the LGBT school community. The reflection, dialogue, and going deeper sections provide educators with the opportunity to do the inside-outside work necessary to be a culturally proficient educator inclusive of LGBT colleagues, students, and parents/community members. This book contains numerous practical applications written in the context of the cultural proficiency framework, guiding principles, tools, and continuum that make it immediately applicable and user friendly for schools."
"With the goal of genuine inclusion and equity for the LGBTQ community, this is a timely and superbly written book for educational leaders striving to support personal transformation and social change in their schools and beyond."
"Culturally proficient persons are urgently needed who will take the initiative to change prejudicial beliefs and educational practices, biased interactions, discrimination, or bullying directed toward anyone in the LGBT or broader community. This text enhances the critical reflection, will, and skills needed to help make cultural democracy a reality for all."
"Cultural competence as a construct requires a commitment to address more than race, ethnicity, gender, disability and socioeconomics. LGBTQ students are often bullied or excluded, are statistically over-represented among teen suicides, and have lower graduation rates overall. Because of fear, shame, and peer pressure, they often suffer in silence. The needs of these students are often overlooked because educators are unaware, uncomfortable, or poorly informed. The culturally competent school is proactive in its awareness of the needs of these students, its willingness to intervene, and its skills in working with LGBTQ issues."
"LGBT students want to be respected and understood as individuals; not just as a member of a demographic group or other impersonal category. Our schools and districts should be a safe, healthy, secure and inclusive environment for all employees and students. We need to ensure that there is a teacher in every classroom who cares that ALL students are treated with respect."
"This book provides essential tools for educators who want to make schools safe and welcoming for all students. Utilizing the conceptual framework of Cultural Proficiency, the authors expertly discuss a case analysis and practical example of one school district delving into providing equity and inclusion for their LGBT community. Throughout the book there are discussion sections and personal reflection opportunities to engage educators in dialogue about school responses to LGBT students - including bullying, adult perceptions, engaging bystanders, and providing resources. The glossary of terms that relate to LGBT communities is also exceptionally helpful in framing conversations and creating an understanding of this important topic for educators. I could not put this book down; in my nearly 25 years of education I have not come across a resource that handles the needs of LGBT students as sensitively and supportively as these authors have using the tools of Cultural Proficiency."
"The authors of this text apply their proven expertise of the deeply relational notions of Cultural Proficiency to the needs of school children marginalized by homophobia and heterosexism. Discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity are only rarely and controversially included in educational discourse, even while students such as Zac—quoted in the book’s introduction—notes that, ′I did not feel safe in my own school, a place where I am supposed to be able to be myself and learn who I am.′ In this text, the authors make it absolutely clear that school is the place for addressing issues of equity and for advancing a more generous and accepting society. Most of us have seen messages from the It Gets Better campaign, a project designed to bring attention and commitment to providing hope for lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and other bullied human beings. In this inspiring text the authors show how it gets better. And just as importantly, they explain why it must get better—because, according to Zac, the bigotry and intolerance ′hurt me and it hurts everyone.′"
