I am honored to be part of a powerful, collaborative team that co-created and co-curated this booklet: “Relevant Education Grows All Learners (REGAL) Learning Pods: Bringing out the royalty in students, centering Black humanity.” Co-Authored with Dr. Tiece Ruffin, Marta Alcalá-Williams, and Miranda Willams and cover art by Jasmine Washington.

You can receive a free, digital copy by emailing us at regalpodauthors@gmail.com .

A few goals of this guidebook:

• Highlight research, tools, and resources for curriculum and instruction and co-creating a learning environment  where students, parents, community, and educators partner to address educational priorities.
• Explore innovative approaches to education that draw from the roots of Black Freedpeople Schools, Free African Society, Freedom Schools, and historical and modern Black scholars.
• Explore the intersection of public health during the pandemic and addressing racial inequities pervasive in U.S. schools.

From the booklet:

Education has been a dehumanizing enterprise for hundreds of years. Education influences the health, well-being, and future of a person. “It takes a whole village to raise a child.” Crisis demands things be done differently.

WHAT is the REGAL Learning Pods Model and its origins? This model is an invitation to intentionally design learning environments that bring out the royalty, genius, and uniqueness of each student, centering the humanity, gifts, and dignity of each individual and culture. It’s an invitation for small groups of people to work together to bring their dreams for the education of children to life while caring for the health and well-being of themselves and the others in their group. And it’s an approach for creating true access to quality, relevant, and racially equitable education in the United States education system. REGAL Learning Pods draw upon a legacy of educational development from 19th century Black educators and Freedpeople Schools, Freedom Schools from the 1960s, recent Children’s Defense Fund-sponsored Freedom Schools, and current Black scholars. The model also builds upon traditions of self-determination where different communities of color organized their own opportunities to learn.

This collaborative effort was partially funded by Dogwood Health Trust and is definitely a labor of love bringing together a University of North Carolina Asheville Teacher educator and Asheville City Schools (ACS) parent (Tiece Ruffin), ACS’ Executive Director of Equity/ Community Engagement (Marta Alcala-Williams), an ACS High School Senior, Racial Equity Ambassador Program Mentor, and AVID Ambassador (Miranda Williams), and an educator and community organizer for equity (Ashley Cooper).