"The authors have ensured that the use of cultural proficiency by educators provides the Common Core State Standards with the 'step towards the place where equity and access are realized for all learners.' Equity and access, two of the pillars of equity in education, are essential if meeting individual student needs are truly to occur."
"America’s goal to reach proficiency for all students cannot be achieved without equity and a lens of social justice in the classrooms. A Culturally Proficient Response to the Common Core: Ensuring Equity Through Professional Learning gives not only theory and rationale for this important change in thinking, but also the guided steps to collaborate and reflect as part of the change process."
"The dynamic shift within the new school community will task school leaders to approach CCSS through a culturally proficient lens in order to effectually reach the hearts and minds of the contemporary underserved student community. Cultural proficiency infused with CCSS will challenge educators to teach and lead differently to close the learning gap, bring about greater equity in education, and increase the possibility for greater human capital for the next generation of students.
"I commend the authors for their courageous leadership as they address the need for teachers to connect students to learning with the addition of equity in the Common Core State Standards. Teachers are called to action to self-reflect and to value cultural proficiency and advocacy as an integral component of daily instruction and philosophy of inclusion."
"Successful rollout and implementation of the Common Core Standards in our schools in the coming years will be highly contingent upon our individual and collective capacities to view our historically underserved students and our schools through a Cultural Proficiency lens, and provide all of our students’ access to meaningful, challenging and engaging learning experiences in our schools.