These are challenging and overwhelming times, when educators must balance meeting learning goals and finding ways for their students to safely and responsibly engage with contemporary issues—a practice which we know helps develop communication and critical thinking skills while increasing their future participation in civic life. So what happens when a school district is struggling to navigate diverse perspectives among students and staff? How can educational leaders and teachers guide and center difficult conversations on complex issues while still creating safe and inclusive spaces where all voices feel heard?
The Background
When the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) found itself trying to answer these questions in 2024, their leaders turned to Facing History & Ourselves for expertise and support. After a few initial conversations, we entered into a dynamic three-year partnership focused on shared training, tailored staff learning experiences, and follow-up educator support.
With each year dedicated to a new cohort of schools, we set out with the following goals in mind:
- Empower teachers with tools to navigate the challenges in today’s polarized landscape.
- Build the capacity of school leaders and educators to navigate complex discussions across differing perspectives and identities.
- Help school communities recognize and stand up to bigotry and hate, develop empathy, and engage in civic agency.
For nearly 50 years, Facing History & Ourselves has been working to equip schools, districts, and teachers with the tools they need to shape the future by nurturing empathy, curiosity, and civic responsibility in young people. We were grateful to answer the call from the SDP and embark on one of our most ambitious district partnerships yet.
The Work
The first step of every district partnership is establishing strong relationships between Facing History and school leadership teams to better understand the unique needs of each academic community. In the words of our lead Program Associate for the Philadelphia partnership: "Work like this requires trust."
For the SDP, we began with tailored professional learning sessions designed to introduce educators from the first 10 schools we’re working with to Facing History’s approach to identity and belonging. This helped create a knowledge base and a core group from the district engaged with our work. From there we also began holding regular engagement meetings for additional educators and leadership teams from a wider range of schools. This tiered process—pairing training with consistent check-ins—helped ensure buy-in, giving participants the opportunity to ask questions and have any doubts or hesitations assuaged.
Once we'd laid the groundwork we began introducing signature Facing History learning to leaders, educators, and staff across the district. This included:
- Multiple Fostering Civil Discourse sessions, which garnered more than 200 participants from across the district.
- Special access for select educators to our online Brave Classrooms mini-course—97% of whom say they would recommend the training to a friend or colleague.
- And a special Teaching for Equity and Justice workshop designed specifically for leadership teams from this year's participating schools.
These offerings—combined with regular planning meetings throughout the year, recurring office hours, and a customized digital hub with toolkits and teaching materials—gave educators and leaders throughout the district new strategies and supports for managing difficult conversions, creating more inclusive learning spaces, and cultivating a school district where every student thrives.
The Impact
~1,000 educators served in the first year of partnership
28 tailored workshops offered across the district
Following each session, participants were asked to offer feedback on their experiences with us—and we’re deeply proud that the responses were overwhelmingly positive. Here’s a sample:
- “All teachers can benefit from this content regardless of subject matter.”
- “This is an opportunity to become more informed… I have more resources to use so that I feel more comfortable addressing these things in the classroom.”
- “I’m leaving with tools to have difficult conversations and ways to respond to uncomfortable conversations.”
- “The interactive nature of the course, including discussions and activities that encouraged critical thinking and reflection, stood out as particularly effective. Engaging with peers and discussing complex topics created a supportive environment that fostered deeper understanding and empathy. This collaborative learning experience reinforced the importance of open dialogue in combating prejudice and promoting inclusivity.”
- “I am leaving further understanding the need to press into implicit biases within interactions with students and even within my practice.”
- “I thought I knew how to face history, but there’s so much I don’t know.”
Looking Ahead
As we begin year two of our partnership in Philadelphia, we're looking forward to making an impact on a new cohort of school communities using the principles that have guided our approach since 1976. We remain incredibly grateful to the educational leaders and teachers who have consistently shown up to this partnership ready to learn and connect, understanding the importance of this work and ready to do whatever it takes to become the educators that their students need and deserve in this complex time. We can’t wait to share more about this partnership as we continue to build district relationships and work together to create a future free from bigotry and hatred.
Are you a district leader looking to spur student engagement, support educator learning, and foster a more equitable education environment in your schools? Connect with us today to learn more about our partnerships for school districts.
