5 Ways to Advocate For Diversity in Your Child’s School Curriculum

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Do you feel like your child’s school curriculum is diverse? If not, there are ways that you can advocate for that within your community that are easier than you think!

Back in June, whenever all of the Black Lives Matter protest starting and both individuals and companies started taking a cold hard look at the way they live their life and conduct business, I vowed to speak up on and do my part to advocate for change. As a parent, that starts right here in my home and within my community. While our school district is diverse, which was actually a huge deciding factor in where we bought our home, I think there’s more that can be done.

If you’re looking at your school and the current curriculum and feeling the same things, I encourage you to read on and learn a few simple things that can be done right within your child’s school.

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5 Ways to Advocate For Diversity in Your Child’s School Curriculum

This is something that has honestly been weighing heavy on me and I think that it’s really important that we start speaking up as parents about making sure that there is more diversity in the place where our children are spending the most time: school.

More than ever, parent involvement is crucial in our children’s education.

The School Library Journal, reported back in 2018 that only 22% of school librarians reported that their book lists were “somewhat diverse.” Digest that for a second. How do you think lack of representation makes kids feel? Pretty awful.

Kiera Parrott, the reviews and production director for School Library Journal, shared with Romper in an email, “Books and other media provide mirrors — they reflect back to us our own experiences. When a child sees themselves in a book — a town, a school, a family, a protagonist — who looks like them, who has similar experiences as them, they are getting the message that our wider culture sees them and values them. It’s a form of affirmation.”

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So if you’re looking to make a change in your child’s curriculum, here are some great ways to start:

1. Know that there is power in numbers.

Speaking with other parents is a great first place to start. Don’t want to go door to door? Check our your districts local Facebook group and start a conversation there. There is most definitely power in numbers and if you can get a large group of people on board, or even get a petition for change signed, this is a great place to start.

2. Talk to the superintendent and principal.

Talk to the people in charge of making the decisions. Let them know that you need to see more representation in the school curriculum.

Photo by Alexas Fotos from Pexels

3. Attend the board meetings.

Get your face out there. Be at the meetings where the big decisions are being made. Speak up.

4. Call them out.

Start by asking the school about what their anti-racist and anti-bias policies are. Does the curriculum and school library match up? If not, they need to be called out.

5. Start a neighborhood book drive.

If all else fails, start a neighborhood book drive to get the right books in the hands of everyone. This can also be done in addition to your other efforts.