NWEA.org | 503.624.1951 | 121 NW Everett St., Portland, OR 97209 Equity Statement|1
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
Equity Statement
What we believe
NWEA
®
strives to be an industry leader in educational equity. Equity is the fair treatment, access,
opportunity, and advancement for students that facilitate their individual success and belonging.
Our organization’s mission, Partnering to help all kids learn
®
, is the foundation for our commitment
to reflect, value, and support the educators, students, colleagues, and communities we serve.
Employing student-centered teaching and learning is the basis of an equitable educational practice.
Enacting equity helps educators identify and eliminate the barriers to access and opportunities that put
students at a disadvantage. Our entry points for equity framework can be used as a tool to help talk about
equity, to support educators in their instructional practices, and to provide stakeholders with a structured
way to begin to address the impact of systemic injustices in education.
NWEA.org | 503.624.1951 | 121 NW Everett St., Portland, OR 97209 Equity Statement|2
How we take action
When it comes to enacting equity, educators need a way to approach
equity from a dierent perspective so that it doesn’t feel like one more
thing to implement. Our equity-focused workshops are anchored in
the entry points for equity: mindsets, relationships, products, spaces,
processes, and systems.
The entry points for equity is a framework to guide the equity
conversation by empowering educators with tools to put equity into
action. This positions educators as change agents while building their
capacity to remove barriers for their students.
Practices of an equitable and excellent education
• Using an asset-based mindset
• Holding high expectations of students
• Creating a welcoming, inclusive, and arming environment
• Building relationships with the community
• Providing high-quality teaching and learning
• Employing formative practices to improve student understanding
NWEA.org | 503.624.1951 | 121 NW Everett St., Portland, OR 97209 Equity Statement|3
Using the entry points to act on equity
The six entry points are how we access our understanding of and experiences with equity. Opportunities
for equitable teaching and learning are everywhere. Entry points help us highlight where those
opportunities are—and provide starting points where those opportunities don’t exist.
Mindsets
Educators’ mental attitudes, along with their empowering or disempowering beliefs about students, impact
their teaching and learning. Beliefs about content, pedagogy, and students can influence teaching and
instructional decision-making.
Relationships
Building and maintaining psychologically safe relationships with students is critical. Knowing that all
relationships begin with the self, educators should explore how their experiences as learners shaped how they
think about education, how they engage with content, and what they believe about their students’ potential.
Products
Access to rigorous content and the use of high-quality instructional materials are essential for equitable
instruction. Educators need ample time to examine the tools used to support teaching and learning—such
as curricula, text, and digital programs.
Spaces
Students’ identities are strengthened when they feel a sense of belonging and when their identities are
armed and validated. Educators should intentionally design and examine the environment they create for
learning from a student’s perspective.
Processes
Processes are the routines, procedures, and protocols used in day-to-day teaching and learning. Equitable
processes ensure all students are empowered to succeed. Eective processes help ensure that learners
understand what they’re learning, how they are learning, and why they are learning.
© 2023 NWEA. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be modified or further distributed without written permission from NWEA.
NWEA and Partnering to help all kids learn are registered trademarks of NWEA in the US and in other countries.
The trademarks and names of other companies and products mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
JUL23 | EEL11453
Equity Statement|4
Systems
Each school or district has essential systems in place to serve students. Consider the decision-making
structures and policies you use to support learners and how educators are supported in being best
equipped to help all students learn.
Equity will always be a key component of teaching and learning, and the entry points for equity
framework helps us talk about equity and make it a priority in our work. We can approach the equity
conversation in timely, relevant, and purposeful ways using any of the six entry points to create better
outcomes for students.
Our products and services
We partner with educators to help all kids learn through ongoing learning development opportunities.
These solutions are designed to support educators who are working directly with students as well as
leaders and coaches supporting educators in their professional growth.
Products Our equity workshops are based on the book The Equity Expression: 6 Entry Points for
Nonnegotiable Academic Success a joint publication of Corwin® and NWEA A complimentary copy of
the book is available with certain workshop purchases
Services Our equity workshops are available for purchase
• Leveraging Data for Equity—Understand how data identities impact the way we engage in data
conversations.
• Equity-Focused Data Frames—Examine how dispositions and beliefs can impact data
conversations.
• Equitable Instructional Practices—Explore barriers to student success and pathways for teachers
to increase student agency.
• Equity Foundations—Learn the NWEA entry points for equity framework and how to use it as a
guide for equity conversations and decision-making.
• Exploring Authentic Mindsets and Relationships—Make sense of how to build psychologically safe
relationships and amplify your agency as an equity-empowered educator.
• Equity in Action: Processes—Delve into how an educator’s day-to-day processes and practices are
ways to enact equity.
Connect
Get in touch with your account manager directly or call 866.654.3246 to be routed
to them. We’ll be happy to discuss your needs.