About East Ed
Founded by Randolph Carter
As both the founder of East Ed and a member of the Black Panther Party, Randolph has devoted his career to promoting equity and diversity in education and communities. He was a Fellow in the Harvard University School Leadership Program, Graduate School of Education, where he received a master’s degree in education with a school leadership qualification. He is currently a doctoral student in the School of Education Leadership and Change at Fielding University. He was a middle school reading specialist, a school administrator, and while at the National Association of Independent Schools, he directed their equity programming and founded two of their signature projects: People of Color Conference and Student Diversity Leadership Conference. Randolph has also served on numerous school boards, including Fielding Graduate University and the Institute for Community Enrichment. He is a member of the Education Committee of the New Press. His publications include peer-reviewed articles and book reviews published in national journals.
Our Mission
Our work at East Ed, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2000, is centered around the pursuit of academic excellence via equitable teaching practices and healthy school climates.
We work with PreK-12 schools, colleges and universities, and educational communities across the U.S. Fundamentally, we seek to develop a clear implementation plan that connects all diversity and equity work to increased achievement for all students, most importantly those who have been traditionally underserved by our schools.
We frame our equity work in education as a strategic opportunity: How can we leverage what we know about the benefits of diversity in our classrooms?
Utilizing current research in the field of anti-bias education, we know how to move schools from having “best intentions” to developing real strategies for transformation and measurable outcomes for success. In particular, we know that schools have to shift from the notion of a “student achievement gap” to framing our collective work as an “expectation” gap.
Workshops and Coaching for Administrators
We conduct workshops and coaching sessions for senior-level administrators that explore what leadership practices look like via an equity lens. We also have extensive experience working with boards to clearly articulate the role of governance in achieving academic equity. We have worked with numerous administrative teams to develop best practices and increase important equity skills such as giving and receiving feedback, utilizing equity-based classroom observation protocols, addressing systemic issues of inequality via enhanced policies/procedures, and collection and analysis of data to support strategic professional development plans. We have designed measurements to support long-term planning (3-5 years), assess progress, and delineate new areas for growth and intervention. Our current research project is a new teacher evaluation and assessment tool derived from equity teaching principles.
Professional Development for Classroom Teachers
During the school year, we offer professional development opportunities for classroom teachers across the country. This includes recruitment and retention workshops to support teachers of color and ensure their well-being in predominantly white institutions. We conduct curriculum audits and develop strategies for implementing anti-bias teaching methods across all grade levels and subject areas. Our Assessing for Equity series helps school leaders and teachers to shift cultures of assessment in service of more equitable outcomes for students.
Student Leadership
and Facilitator
Training
Randolph Carter, East Ed's founder, has been a leader in the field of student activism for over 3 decades. He founded NAIS’s Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) for high school students, and East Ed continues to support regional diversity and equity conferences for students in grades 4-12. We can facilitate multi-school or district projects including design as well as facilitator training for students. Our model supports students leading students and centering them in the design and execution of the event to ensure collaboration and solidarity.
Regional Conferences
and Agency
Collaboration
We have had great success partnering with regional associations and other non-profits to design and facilitate workshops for a range of attendees. Let us know if you would like to partner on a conference or project. For example, we directed the Equity as Excellence Conference in San Francisco in collaboration with the California Teacher Development Collaborative (CATDC). Both our executive director and associate director offered keynote speeches and workshops for all attendees. For five years, this conference served school leaders, building administrators, board members, and teachers from across the country.
Parent Engagement
We also offer parent engagement opportunities as we know how important it is to include families in our pursuit of equity. They are critical partners in the work to ensure the success of all children in our schools. Finally, we have designed and facilitated student diversity leadership conferences since our inception, and we are very proud of the work we have done to support and develop the next generation of young people who seek to leave the world a better place than they found it.
Not a School?
We work with a number of community-based and for-profit organizations who want to develop their skills to support an anti-bias workplace. Please contact us for more information.