Liberatory Design for Equity in School

Over the past decade, Vermont schools have moved education on a path from rigidity and standardization to flexibility and personalization-a radical shift intended to redesign public education to fit the needs of the 21st century. The biggest obstacle we face, though, is public education’s troubled history of inequity. Since its creation, public education has struggled to move beyond its outdated industrial model that has disempowered marginalized populations over time. At Winooski Middle/High School (WMHS), we confront the ramifications of this history each day as we work to create a system that will remedy the wrongs of the past while preparing our diverse population of students for the demands of the future. As we look to flexibility and personalization to address the latter, though, we heighten the need to design for equity; without doing so, we risk perpetuating injustice and widening the opportunity gap. My Rowland Fellowship will address the questions: “How might we design flexibility and personalization through a lens of equity? And how might we embed a reflexive and inclusive process focused on equity into the fabric of Winooski?”

To guide the project, I will use the Liberatory Design framework-an equity-centered design process created by the Stanford school and the National Equity Project. The first phase will focus primarily on research. At the outset, I will form a Liberatory Design team comprised of student, parents, and educators. Together, we will empathize with the community and use our insights to define the equity challenges facing WMHS. Through readings, discussions, and field site visits, we will also dedicate much time to learning about proficiency-based, flexible learning environments and the cognitive demands they require. During the second phase of the project, the Liberatory Design team will develop prototypes that address our own equity challenges and test them with stakeholders to receive feedback for refinement. By the end of the year, we will have designed and started to implement structures that will help all students access more flexibility. With a system grounded in equity, we will see our students develop a deeper sense of purpose and have the means to pursue flexible and more meaningful journeys.