During the first Summer Institute which focuses on preparing teacher leaders at the middle school level, the workshop facilitator attempted to address equity from a practical perspective. Teachers were first introduced to the concept of equity by reviewing and discussing the article, "An Indian Father's Plea" by Robert Lake (Medicine Grizzlybear). The facilitator who is a math specialist with an ESL and special ed background, introduced the concept of using a rubric to assess the degree to which equity is addressed in classroom practice. The rubric presented here was developed during that one session and is intended as a first step in increasing the awareness level of the importance of addressing equity directly in the classroom. Teachers will refer to this "draft" equity rubric over the course of the school year and discuss its usefulness and subsequently modifiy and refine it as needed. When the equity rubric is formally revisited at the end of the school year or during next year's summer institute it may very well look very different.
Other readings related to equity which were assigned during the summer institute included: "Using Assessments to Improve Equity in Mathematics" by Karen Cole, et.al in Educational Leadership, March 1999; "Assessing Mathematics Learning for Students with Learning Differences," by Lee Cross and Michael C. Hynes in Arithmetic Teacher, March 1994; and "Developing Communication Skills in Mathematics for Students with Limited English Proficiency," by Gilbert J. Cuevas, in Mathematics Teacher 84, no.3 1994.
