Why Your Anti-Racist PD Isn't Actually Changing Anything with Dr Abby C. Emerson

She studies why anti-racist professional development in schools so often fails to change how teachers actually treat students — and what works instead. Dr Abby C. Emerson is an assistant professor of Childhood Education at Hunter College, CUNY, where her research spans anti-racist and abolitionist teacher education, restorative justice, and the critique of whiteness in educational spaces.

She's been named National Association for Multicultural Education's Critical Teacher of the Year, and this fall she releases her book, From Anti-Racism to Professional Learning for Liberating Schools, with Harvard Education Press.

Most schools running anti-racist professional development hit the same wall: teachers learn the theory, reflect on their own bias, update a unit — and the discipline data doesn't move. Dr. Abby C. Emerson studied schools across New York City to find out why, and she found the fix isn't another workshop. It's handing the mic to students.

📚 What You'll Learn Why the three most common anti-racist PD strategies rarely change discipline outcomes How one high school's student-led equity committee exposed teacher bias that surveys never could Why "call-out culture" undermines anti-racist work faster than it builds it How to communicate proactively with parents before backlash starts Why breaking curriculum change into small, sequenced steps outperforms sweeping overhauls 🔨 Breaking Down the Old Rules 🧠 Key Insight #1: Why Anti-Racist Professional Development Doesn't Change Discipline Data What's broken: Schools run PD on structural racism, individual reflection, and curriculum revision, then assume the culture has shifted. The shift: Track whether discipline outcomes actually move — not whether teachers can articulate the theory. Impact: Educators reported updating their curriculum while the same students kept getting pulled out of class for the same behavior, because the PD never reached school-wide policy. 🧠 Key Insight #2: The Student Voice Committee That Exposed Teacher Bias What's broken: Adult-only equity committees rely on surveys and self-report — data teachers can rationalize away. The shift: One high school trained students on its equity committee to collect, analyze, and present discipline data directly to staff, with no teacher in the room. Impact: Teachers only reversed their denial when white students said out loud that Black classmates were being punished for the exact same behavior they weren't. 🧠 Key Insight #3: Why Call-Out Cu