Introduction

You have shown all kids of color that there is a way out of this crap.

—Student, class of 2020

During my first three years in the classroom, starting in 2009, I taught intensive reading to grades 7–8 students. More than 95 percent of students were Black, and more than 95 percent of students received free or reduced lunch. Most of my students were older than typical grades 7–8 students, ranging from fifteen to eighteen years old. Due to not performing at grade level on state assessments, these students did not have electives; they were required to take my intensive reading class without support facilitation. This meant I was the lone teacher to over twenty students with varying reading levels, required to provide an individualized education plan to each student. Many teachers are in similar settings with little to no help in navigating daily classroom interactions with students.

The teacher’s edition of the intensive reading curriculum stated exactly what teachers should say and provided scenarios for the best student responses. The district had chosen this curriculum, judging it to be the best for the student population, and routinely observed and evaluated how well teachers followed the program. According to program data, teachers who followed the script with fidelity would achieve academic success. I followed the script with fidelity. My classroom library was stocked with books for all

reading levels. If a student was a beginning reader, I had picture books or comic books of The Odyssey by Homer (1996) and Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (1989). If a student was a more advanced reader, I had copies of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (1987) and Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix (1998). My collection contained over fifty different books, and I had two to five copies of each book to promote collaborative reading. My room contained a reading corner with beanbag chairs, ambient lighting, and soft music. I arranged students into small groups of no more than seven members at a time to provide differentiated instruction, scaffolding, and individualized support.

The program’s goal was that all students demonstrate growth or achieve a passing score on the state assessment. My lesson plans were complete with everything necessary for my evaluation: teacher and student scripts, differentiated instruction, accommodations or modifications for exceptional student education, higher-order-thinking questions, possible scaffolding opportunities, rubrics (program, teacher, and student made), and room in the margins for my notes.

Despite the robust resources the program provided and my faithfulness in following its directives, I was still unprepared. I was the third reading teacher my students had that year. Having had two other teachers before me within a five-month time frame, they expected me to abandon them. So my students started out tough. They wanted to know if I would stay with them. And I did. When they realized they couldn’t run me away like they did the others, they finally asked: “Why we always got to read about these White people? Black people don’t write books?” It took a great amount of trust for my students to ask this question. Once they realized I was there to stay, they confided in me that they wanted to explore literature they could relate to. My students wanted to see themselves in the curriculum and trusted that I would provide the resources and strategies for representation. Supporting my students to be seen and heard was the first step to enhancing their engagement and learning.

I realized then that I needed to transform my teaching. The students from my first year of teaching were tired of the script. They felt that the scripted program rendered them deficient. The lack of representation silenced their voices and ideas. To be honest, I followed the script because I thought my students didn’t know how to read, craft sentences, and interpret meaning in texts. I considered them deficient. The curriculum considered them deficient. Their behavior had reflected those expectations for years. I needed to shift the dynamic to seeing and treating my students as empowered rather than deficient.

In the years since I taught that intensive reading class, I have had the privilege of traveling with my students from grade 7 to grade 12. I was able to change grades each year and travel upward with my students, crafting a robust English curriculum based on student input and school-based collaborative teams. I wanted students to feel included, and I wanted them to read broadly and deeply. I have intentionally presented students with more diverse articles, books, poems, speeches, and visual information. I began small by