IDRA provide professional development, coaching and innovation to school programs to support teachers serving diverse student populations, including emergent bilingual students.
Culturally sustaining schools address fundamental equity concerns by holding high expectations for students and providing the highest levels of support for all students to succeed. IDRA supports schools to implement practices at the following critical levels: (1) culturally sustaining schools, (2) culturally sustaining leadership, (3) culturally sustaining educators, and (4) culturally sustaining pedagogy.
IDRA’s work has shown that schools, with equitable resources, can develop the capability to make a difference in the lives of all children. Success in school means having quality teachers, teachers who know their subject, who know effective instructional practices, who have the resources they need and who value their students. For example, through its Transition to Teaching programs, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, IDRA partnered with universities and more than 55 public school districts across Texas to prepare a new generation of skilled, effective teachers to lead and innovate in schools that need them most. Building on these programs and IDRA’s experience in classrooms and teacher professional development, we assist schools and school districts to build capacity to serve students in diverse classrooms.
IDRA’s hub of resources is designed for educators, families and policy advocates, particularly in the U.S. South, who want to make sure students receive a strong, truthful education in our public schools. Launched in 2022, our hub provides tools for teaching in a climate of classroom censorship.
VisionCoders is a new eighth grade computer science course being developed by IDRA in partnership with Texas A&M University–San Antonio and 12 schools in seven Bexar County school districts. In this course, middle school students who are in at-risk situations will become software designers who create educational games for prekindergarten, kindergarten and first grade students. This field-initiated, research-based program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
When schools closed due to COVID-19, IDRA immediately responded to educators and families so students could continue learning. IDRA launched Learning Goes On to serve as a hub for instructional materials, webinars, policy updates, student and community insights and other information and resources.
IDRA’s Knowledge is Power is a national resource for educators and advocates to help you do your work for equity and excellence in education in the midst of classroom censorship policies.
IDRA provides on-site and virtual training and technical assistance to thousands of teachers and students across the country and to schools, school districts and other groups. Sample service package include:
IDRA has published online courses and stand-alone technical assistance toolkits to support educators, leaders and communities on equity and desegregation.