“By offering sustainable and practical resources to teachers and families, this text stands out as an exemplar for combining research with practical action…. The layout of the text does an amazing job of building upon each topic, where the reader will feel themselves progressing through the context as they read chapter by chapter…. This text is a critical tool for those aiming to combat inequity and build stronger, more inclusive educational communities."
—Teachers College Record
“A groundbreaking book that brings the Identity Safety framework to bear on all we do. It is both practical and insightful. But it especially brings into view the tremendous power that parent-school partnerships can have in overcoming inequity. There is no better time for this book to arrive.”
—From the Foreword by Claude Steele, social psychologist and a professor of psychology at Stanford University
“This compelling book combines up-to-date research with portraits of students, parents, and educators who share ways to foster positive identity development and achievement. The authors provide tools to engage families in cultivating student diversity as an asset and strength-based practices for promoting equity, agency, compassion, and belonging at home and at school. This book provides a valuable blueprint for school teams and family engagement partnerships focused on equity.”
—Linda Darling-Hammond, president, Learning Policy Institute and professor emeritus, Stanford University
“This exciting, bold book explains why identity safety matters for all students and the implications for home-school collaboration. Information and activities help us look within ourselves to explore our own identities and our own implicit and explicit biases. There are great tools to consider for building agency and resiliency, which move away from the ‘same old habits’ by offering professional growth tools for evaluating, strengthening, and celebrating home–school partnerships. In essence, this is a book that combines empowering knowledge and practice to enact important identity safe spaces for everyone at school.”
—Margarita Espino Calderón, professor emerita, Johns Hopkins University
“The publication of this seminal text comes not a day too early. Cohn-Vargas and Zacarian offer up a multitude of proactive interventions to support all K–12 kids. My graduate students in Educational Leadership will be required to read every important, research-based page.”
—Donald Cox, professor, Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, CA
“Cohn-Vargas and Zacarian extend previous literature advocating identity safety in classrooms to foreground how partnerships between home and school can help foster unique identities in young people. The fundamental importance of identity, and how it can develop in caring cultures, are explored in both theoretical and practical terms. This book is essential reading for communities that value diversity as a means to equity and strive actively to empower their youth with pride in personal identity.”
—Penelope Watson, honorary academic, University of Auckland
“How can a multidiverse population of students be made to feel emotionally safe enough to prosper from the education they are offered? In their text Identity Safe Spaces at Home and School, Becki Cohn-Vargas and Debbie Zacarian answer this question, so relevant today, with research-supported practical ideas. Appropriate for college courses as well as professional development experiences, this much-needed resource for K–12 educators and administrators describes how to design identify safe practices that support students at school and how to partner with families to extend a sense of well-being at home.”
—Diane Lapp, Distinguished Professor of Education, San Diego State University
“I highly recommend this book, with deep gratitude to the authors and the courageous contributors who shared their stories. This book comes at a time when many of our children and youth are vulnerable on multiple levels in their schools and communities. Every educator and education leader who is committed to creating identity safe environments, where all learners can enter being fully themselves and reach their potential, will find in this volume inspiration, a firm theoretical and research foundation, and clear action steps to take in support of affirming multidiverse students. Thank you!”
—Cristina Sánchez-López, Paridad Education Consulting
“Becki Cohn-Vargas and Debbie Zacarian don’t just tell us how to build identity safe spaces that challenge inequality; they show us through research, practice, and lived experience. Many families and educators struggle with knowing what to do and how to do it, and these experts give us practical tools and strategies that can be used to change lives today.”
—Mary C. Murphy, Class of 1948 Herman B Wells Endowed Professor, Indiana University
“It has never been more important than now to create identity safe spaces both at school and at home. Becki Cohn-Vargas and Debbie Zacarian’s new book recognizes this urgency and offers a powerful, comprehensive approach to achieve it.”
—Andrea Honigsfeld, professor, TESOL Program, Molloy College
“It’s never been more important to make schools and classrooms genuine places of belonging for all kids and all families. But how do you do it? Becki Cohn-Vargas and Debbie Zacarian show how educators can welcome every child and their whole self to school. If you want to make every kid’s identity an asset in school, this is the place to start.”
—Greg Walton, professor of psychology, Stanford University
