Sheldon :

Welcome advocates to another episode of the Leading Equity Podcast, a podcast that focuses on supporting educators with the tools and resources necessary to ensure equity at their schools. Today's special guest is Dr. LeTanya Lawrence. So without further ado, LeTanya, thank you so much for joining us today.

LeTanya Lawrence:

Thank you so much for having me, Sheldon.

Sheldon :

Pleasure is mine. I'm ready to get into this topic. You've done a lot of research when it comes to retention in your home area. And before we get into that topic, I'd love for you to share a little bit about yourself and what you currently do.

LeTanya Lawrence:

All right. So I am a mom of three beautiful unicorns, black unicorns. My oldest, Elijah, has epilepsy and autism. My middle girl, that's my leader. She goes by Dr. [Brewbery 00:00:45]. And then my youngest addition, who is a doc baby, Josiah. They are the love of my life, but becoming a mom made me a better educator and leader. So on that note, I am also a board director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut. And I'm a special education administrator in an urban school district in Connecticut. I started my love and my joy and my passion for education and equity about 20 years ago.

               I was a freshman in high school and I was recruited by a program called Today's Students, Tomorrow's Teachers program, where they just, quite frankly, they looked around the classroom. There weren't many models that looked like me, right? And so you have to know what you can aspire to. And so when you can't see that in the classroom, the outcomes we know can be very different depending on the individual. And so I was very fortunate to be a part of that program and they guided me and they mentored me all throughout college. And even now post-grad, I'm a mentor to some of the up and coming educators.

               And so there's my passion and my love for equity and being a student who was born and raised in New York, right? And then getting married and coming to Connecticut and the classrooms are very different. Even in the urban city I live in, very different. And so I started to become curious about that. Why is it? I grew up in an urban school district, why does this district look different? Why do the student makeups look very differently racially, ethnically, linguistically? And so here we are. I continued down that path of curiosity, which led me to my most recent study and research.

Sheldon :

Well, I'm really excited to get into it. And I appreciate you sharing how you got into education. And so you're into special education now. And I'm kind of curious to know, as far as representation and even in your area, as far as the work that you're doing in special education, what are you seeing for your student population that are coming in?

LeTanya Lawrence:

Well, I work specifically with a group of students who are socially and behaviorally and emotionally challenged, right? They tend by the outer world to look at those students that are discarded by the mainstream classrooms. But what you start to notice is that that's where a majority of our black and brown students are. So you're noticing that the students who have disabilities and they receive special education services, there's a disproportionality among the races. And then when you go to the instructional level or even the leader level, you see a lot less of the educators and the teachers reflective of the student population that they serve.

               In the State of Connecticut, less than 10% of educators are educators of color. 5% of educators are black and even fewer percentage of those educators are females, black females specifically. So this level of disproportionality between our students, racial and ethnic and linguistic backgrounds with our educator population and our leader population, that's something that has to change. Connecticut's committed to that mission. And so my curiosity in that, it just continues to grow. That's what drives me as a researcher.

Sheldon :

Okay. All right. And I'm glad you had the stats because some people would say, "Okay, why is that such a big deal when we think about our educational workforce?" And we can go national, but let's hone in on Connecticut. Like you said, why does it need to change so badly in today's times?

LeTanya Lawrence:

If I can think of two words, I can think about a deficit mindset. So we talk about cultural dissonance in my research where that's the mismatch between the educator's ethnicity and linguistic background and the students. And what we've noticed is despite how well-prepared the educator is, and hey, maybe they've had culturally responsive training. If they don't share that lived experience, then the expectations for those students, those black and brown students, they tend not to be as high as they could be. So when you're talking about getting students to really tap into their potentials, when that's absent, that's how the opportunity gap grows.

               And I want to be very careful in saying that I think it's... I'm at the state where I think it's more than representation. My pastor will tell me, "Not everybody who looks like you is for you." So along with representation, there has to be this level of critical consciousness. That you understand that your impact of being in that classroom, it's not just about what you look like, but it's about the fact that you're taking your role at any level, leadership, para educator, parent, educator in the classroom, you're taking your role so seriously because you know that it's the difference between night and day, but some of our kiddos have an appropriate reading levels. And really slowing, and hopefully eliminating that prison to pipeline system.

Sheldon :

I second what you're saying. I have my own personal experience. Because you've said something I think is very powerful. Just because you look like your students doesn't necessarily mean that you're good to go. It's leg up. I would say it helps. But I remember when I got my first teaching job, I went overseas to the Virgin Islands. I looked like everybody there. And I came in there with my Yankee, they used to call me Yankee all the time.

LeTanya Lawrence:

Oh boy.

Sheldon :

And I came in there with my state side stuff. And even though I looked like the kids, I didn't understand the culture. I didn't know their traditions. I didn't know the community at all. I didn't know anything about island life. And I was like, had to get humbled up and like, okay, I'm a guest, even though I can identify and I listen to a lot of the same music and there're some things that are similar because of the ethnicity, however, there's a lot of things that I don't know. And I think you're exactly right. Just because there is some sort of connection, there's still some cultural competency that you still need to develop. We all have room for growth.

LeTanya Lawrence:

Absolutely. And taking a step further because sometimes I think people look at cultural responsiveness as like this checklist of a mindset, right? There's this list of things that I'm going to do to really impact my practice with students of color. But the truth of the matter is it's really a level of intelligence. And it's embedded in everything that you do from the way that you interact in your community to the way that you interact in your classroom, outside of the class with parents and staff members. And so really when we're talking about developing a critical consciousness in our workforce that is ready to take down systems of oppression, that's the direction we need to go into.

               And so when I noticed that not only could I not find a workforce that was reflective of the student population, but as a black female, I'm curious. So I spent time as a special education director in the State of Connecticut and we had an annual conference. And at the annual conference, I was one of two black women directors in the state that lasted for one year. And then I was the only one. And then there were none.

Sheldon :

Wow.

LeTanya Lawrence:

And so it makes you think, okay, so what's happening in this deep level of culture within some of our school systems even? There are those things that are above sea level and we get it right? You can totally tell what a high school's mascot is, but then there are some deep rooted practices that can ultimately make or break a relationship that a educator has in their school.

Sheldon :

Now, some might argue, especially... I'm going to play the devil's advocate for just one moment. And not that I'm against you, because I agree with everything that you're saying. I just know some folks will push back and say, "Well, our school districts, there might be some areas where there's some open, very explicit type of conversations that, or experiences that some of our teachers of color have had that has driven them out of a district or out of their position. They've moved on because of flat out racism that's just, it's just open, it's out there. Versus another person who comes into a predominantly white space may not have the same type of experience that are out and open and as blatant, but they still might leave after so long.

               How do you respond to someone that might say, at the end of the day, it's on the person who comes in, that teacher of color, how they navigate through the system, it's on them when it comes to whether or not they stay.

LeTanya Lawrence:

I'm a firm believer that spaces are co-created, right? So we need co-conspirators that are making spaces safe, not just for white people, but for all people of color. And so when you don't have that, the ownership is on the school community before the educator enters the space to make sure that it's welcoming. Do I want to come back another day? Do I have a office space? If I'm an administrator, do I have a classroom already identified for me? Do I have a class list that's the worst of the worst in the school? Those are all decisions that the teacher, specifically the black women of color that I'm referring to, those are decisions they're not responsible for.

               What they are responsible for is how they interact with those different environments if they're able to code switch and how they choose to show up and critically interrupt things that are just not right. Not good practices for children of color, just not good practices at all. And so really in my research, one of the things I was not expecting to talk about but really came through my chapter five was really talking about truly a culturally responsive mentoring model. And for so long, we've looked at teacher mentoring practices. Like for example, in my home state, we have a state approved mentoring model. Every teacher interacts with it for about two years.

               There's online models, there's supposed to be a mentoring component, but it's all driven through the school district. And it's on the school district to develop those mentoring relationships. And I'm coming from a different angle where that's not enough. I think that it's important as a black woman to be critical of my own interactions with folks. It's important for me to choose mentors, not just those that look like me, but those that I reach out to and I can invite as expert. For far along, those mentors have been assigned to teachers. Sometimes that pairing, depending on how it goes, can be make or break for that teacher.

               But I think there's also that need where you have to develop in that educator, that intellectual curiosity that causes them to reflect on practices and say, "You know what, Tanya today, wasn't a good day in class. The engagement was a little bit off. What can I find? What resources, what partners can I develop critical relationships with so that I can further my own practice?" It can't be all external. There's got to be an intrinsic motivation behind teacher development. And so I think that as a black woman and representative of not all, right? So I don't stand to be the spokesperson of all black women educators. We come in many shades and colors and have different talents.

               But the common experience in the women who participated in my study was that they really sought mentors that were worth the while. They all participated in their state approved mentoring program, but no one gave them the critical feedback that they needed. So we talk a little bit [crosstalk 00:13:31]-

Sheldon :

We they getting paired up with women, black women mentors, or what did that look like?

LeTanya Lawrence:

No, they weren't being paired with black women mentors. In one example, one of the black women educators who was a special education early childhood teacher was paired with a first grade special education teacher who was a white woman. So they're not working in the same building. They're a little off in terms of their years of schooling. One is just in a different part of her career and our newer teacher, she needed more support. So what I found as a common experience is black women were seeking out their own mentors. These were their critical sisters. Some in most cases were mostly black, but some were just, I needed to connect with someone who had a common experience.

               Either we were both guidance counselors, or we were both special education teachers within the same building. We need to give educators, specifically black women educators that opportunity to develop their own growth plans.

Sheldon :

Okay. That was going to be my question. So based off of your research and thinking about retention and specifically our black women retention, so it sounds like a mentor program is something that could be effective if it's done with fidelity, what does fidelity look like in a mentoring program that's going to specifically support our black women?

LeTanya Lawrence:

Right now I'm in the process of developing a model that I call the Blossom Model. And it really helps the black woman educator to navigate those unique spaces. As you mentioned very clearly, there are going to be moments where there is above the sea level racism. It's very obvious. It interrupts and leaves a level of damage that is impactful on the teacher's career. But there are also those microaggressions that they may not be aware of. And so I'm really looking at in the Blossom Model, a three tiered approach to critical system reflection is what I call it. The opportunity to develop sisterhood. So seeking out your own critical partners, your own critical mentors and developing those relationships and ongoing conversations.

               And if they are so fortunate, it will happen within the school day. But we know that the best conversations are the ones that are happening outside of those environments. The opportunity for teacher identity awareness. So as I mentioned to you earlier, just because I look like you doesn't mean that we have the same experience. So understanding what that means as an educator. How am I showing up every day to work racially, ethnically? I love your experience where you talked about going to the Virgin Islands, was it? To teach, right?

Sheldon :

Yeah.

LeTanya Lawrence:

You looked like them, but you lacked that ethnic piece, or at least that common experience. And so how does that impact and influence the ways that we interact with students? Because how I interact with some Latina or Latino students maybe different from my Asian students. And so I need to be able to recognize that within myself, because it's not just students, it's also parents, it's also other educators. It's also other leaders. So that opportunity to really reflect and doing some deep work. I've been very fortunate to go through the courageous conversations about race practitioner process and really just understand my own racial autobiography.

               What does that mean and how does that impact me now? But also an opportunity for rebirth. So as I'm constantly journaling and I'm reflecting on these experiences that may be racialized or not racialized, as I'm developing these critical system partnerships, as I'm developing more of an awareness of my own identity and how that shows up in the work each day, how am I evolving? That comes through rebirth. And so understanding that this is a cyclical process. Just like racial identity development, there's no start and no end. And depending on the environment that you're in or the space, like you mentioned, I might go back a couple steps. And understanding that that's okay as long as we can reflect on how did we get there?

Sheldon :

Okay. So you are a black woman educator, special education. You're one of, I'm assuming one of few. Were you currently the only one or are you just representing a small population of black women in your field?

LeTanya Lawrence:

I am still a part of that small percentage. And when you look at the leadership level in the state, you might look at 3% in general as leaders of color. And that goes across all levels.

Sheldon :

Everybody.

LeTanya Lawrence:

Supervisors, superintendents, assistant principals, principals. Yeah. So I'm still a part of that small group of educators of color who have managed to go into leadership roles and stay there.

Sheldon :

So that leads me to my next question, because you said that you're modeling or preparing a framework called the Blossom Framework. What do you do? How are you supporting yourself? What does it look like for LeTanya in your daily experiences so that you can stay fulfilled and retain and continue on in your position? As you said, you're part of a 3% of color, and that's specifically black women. What do you do?

LeTanya Lawrence:

Recently I've been reflecting on that. And I don't think that my recipe will be one that everyone can be successful with, but it's what works for me. And so I talk about my different buckets of work within myself. To the points that you've made recently about your own mental health and awareness is I have a balance. I have my family bucket and I start to notice when that's low, because family is what, especially in these past two years of the pandemic, really keeps you balanced. At least it's helped me to stay balanced. And so sometimes hand in hand, it may look like a three mile walk with these beautiful unicorns out in the neighborhood when the weather permits.

               Sometimes it may look like just an independent journey through a little woosah, some yoga, some reflection, some meditation, definitely making sure almost daily, if not more than daily, prayers, right? Asking God as I have a strong spiritual connection as being a woman of God, I know that there's nothing that I'm put through for no reason. God has a plan. And so constantly reflecting with the father, talking to him about my next steps. Sometimes challenging him when I don't agree with the plan. And I'm like, "Are you sure that you wanted me to talk to this person?" And just really balancing work. And so this really came out in one of the major themes of my research.

               We talk about this notion of black girl magicians at work. What we have to do as black women educators to stay a step ahead of the game. That may mean that I might be overdressed compared to my peers because the moment that I go casual, the stares happen, the comments happen publicly and in private. It may look like I am making sure that I'm checking in with every single parent by phone or in person before I have an upcoming IEP meeting or before the next family night happens. And so we talk about those little things that we are kind of forced into doing because of the double standard that exists.

               But the other major theme, which is not something that I was expecting, and this really came from coding the information, words from one of my participants, sometimes feeling like a placeholder. We call that the placeholder effect. So while I know I am a black woman educator in the classroom, or I know that I have been assigned the most challenging students in the school, am I expected then to clean up and there'll be someone waiting to swoop in and really benefit from the fruits of my labor? That's something that we have to challenge ourselves with on every day. And I was so fortunate to work with a handful of phenomenal women who said, "Okay, well, I do positive affirmations for myself."

               The moment I have those inner thoughts of doubt, I remind myself I'm enough. Or I take a mini me break. I actually use my prep to go to Dunkin' Donuts and get a cup of coffee. Or I actually go and take a walk out of a meeting when it gets too intense and I am not ready to approach the group yet. And so those two things, they go hand in hand, right? We need to be able to interrupt these negative thoughts or these feelings of being unworthy to be where we are because our kids need to see us. And in the same notion, we have to recognize and accept our success as black women to persist in the field because our kids need to hear our voices.

               They need to know our stories. They need to know that they too can overcome some of the disparate outcomes that they're currently facing. I come from humble beginnings myself. Born and raised in the South Bronx, living in deep poverty. My mother prioritized education. I've dealt with the microaggressions even from some of my own cousins after my first year of college saying, "Oh, look who came back, it's the little white girl." But I'm black. We do that to each other. We make jokes sometimes not knowing how deep it hits, but we have to be able to battle that. We have to be able to support one another so that we can persist in the field.

Sheldon :

Because sometimes when we talk about recruitment, we talk about teaching as kind of the primary piece. But I just think about the other positions that are in our school districts, such as school counselors, school psychologists. When it comes to our administrators. So APs and principals and district superintendents, all of those different positions where we already have a low representation in our teaching field of black women, but then again, those other positions. When I read Push Out, I learned so much about how our young black girls are adultified and treated as... I mean, just that whole... We don't talk about a lot.

               And we do tend to hone in on our black boys and I don't want to take away from that. But I do think that we need to have more conversations about how our black girls are being treated in our school systems. So just having more representation, not just for teachers, but just in our additional positions at our schools, to me are so important.

LeTanya Lawrence:

Absolutely agreed with you. And I was so fortunate. We had a phenomenal guidance counselor in a large urban school district and she talked about just that. And being able to be the guiding light for just black students, Latino students. She was the only guidance counselor of color in her school district at that level and one of two women of color in her middle school building. And so we talked about how even some of her black students are objectified with the dress code. Some of their black girls can walk into school wearing leggings, for example, and immediately get a disciplinary action.

               Whereas some of her white female students were not receiving the same treatment. And so she talked about how she was really mentoring to some of the younger sisters trying to keep them on the right path, but just encouraging them. We got to let them know they are enough.

Sheldon :

Absolutely. Well, LeTanya, it has definitely been a pleasure having you on. And I consider you as providing a voice and leading equity. What is one final word of advice that you can provide to our listeners?

LeTanya Lawrence:

I think that having the will and the skill to do the work that's needed is not enough unless we're really ready to dive in on the deep end. I'm a firm believer that even with the most recent efforts, diversity is not the same as inclusion. So I encourage you the next time you hear a parent voice, a student voice, an educator's voice, a leader's voice of color, no matter what your nationality, race or ethnicity is, ask yourself, what can I do to amplify that voice? Be a co-conspirator, support the cause, because that's how we are going to achieve equity.

               It's really making sure that those spaces, whether they're PWI spaces or urban settings, really making sure that those settings are ready for us when we come, because we will come.

Sheldon :

If we have some folks that want to connect with you, what's the best way to reach you online?

LeTanya Lawrence:

You can follow me on Twitter. I am @UptownMagic. It's no secret I'm from the Bronx. So that's where the uptown comes from. And you can definitely find me on LinkedIn, Dr. LeTanya T. E. Lawrence. My mother wanted me to be certain that I put those two middle names in that she gave me.

Sheldon :

All right. Well, thank you again. It's truly been a pleasure [crosstalk 00:27:59]-

LeTanya Lawrence:

Absolutely. Thank you so much, Sheldon.

Are you subscribed to the podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Now if you enjoy listening to the show, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other advocates find the podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!