Centering the needs of underserved people often has a broader impact on the community. The same is true in schools.

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September 23, 2021
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** Dear John,
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The term “curb-cut effect” is rooted in decades of disability activism. Named for the ramps that make sidewalks more accessible to and from the streets, this effect has come to illustrate a broader phenomenon: If we focus on equity for those most underserved, the entire community benefits.

As policy expert Angela Glover Blackwell famously writes, “When the nation targets support where it is needed most—when we create the circumstances that allow those who have been left behind to participate and contribute fully—everyone wins.”

This is also true in schools.

In the cover story of our new Fall magazine, LFJ Senior Writer Cory Collins explores how the pandemic demanded curb-cut thinking and a focus on equity. “The best solutions were designed to help students and families least supported by the system,” he writes. From universal meal programs to more accessible technology to improved family engagement, the best policies “proved widely beneficial.”

It’s a useful reality and tool for educators advocating for more equitable policies and schools. But as Collins notes, “Curb-cut thinking will lead to widespread benefit, but that isn’t the goal. The goal is equity for those being denied equity.”

Or, as Dr. Ashley Woodson, director of the Abolitionist Teaching Network’s Virtual Freedom School says, “Black kids have to be enough.” LGBTQ kids have to be enough. Kids with disabilities have to be enough. The students and families who are being erased or ignored by our systems—they have to be the center of our advocacy.

Alongside these communities, we can create something new.

For more on the curb-cut effect and championing equity in schools, read the full feature story ([link removed]) .
As always, thanks for all you do for students.
Jalaya Liles Dunn
Director, Learning for Justice
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