Antiracist Team Rubric

Overview & Instructions

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Overview

This rubric is an adaptation of Tuckman's Stages of Team Development. It was inspired by and borrows from National Equity Project's Stages of Team Development using an Equity Lens, the Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist, Multicultural Institution, and is organized to reflect Wheatley's Six Circle Model. This rubric merges multiple resources together and was created for school and system leaders who seek to create antiracist learning cultures in their organizations. It relies on the following definitions:

• Antiracist Learning Cultures: when student learning and experience drives all decision making, and adults are strategically learning and collaborating across differences to identify and interrupt racial oppression within themselves and every school policy - to ensure everyone thrives!

• Racism and antiracism: In How to be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi writes "A racist policy is any measure that produces or sustains racial inequity between racial groups. An antiracist policy is any measure that produces or sustains racial equity between racial groups. By policy, I mean written and unwritten laws, rules, procedures, processes, regulation, and guidelines that govern people."

• Racism and other forms of oppression: This rubric has been designed specifically to support school teams to build antiracist learning cultures, therefore it focuses on race. It can be amended to other forms of oppression.

• "Students and families closest to the pain" is an expression adapted from U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley who says in this campaign video that "The people closest to the pain should be the closest to the power, driving and informing policy making."

• MVVG: A team's work should be aligned to the organization's mission, vision, values and goals. This acronym is used throughout the rubric.

Instructions

Complete all four fields at the top of the page (Name, Organization, Email, and Date). Submission will not be possible without these fields populated.
Think about your current team dynamic and assess the team on each category by checking the boxes of those statements that resonate. The checkboxes are flexible tools for reflection: you can select items from different columns, you don't need to check every box in a column, and checking boxes is optional. Select only those that accurately describe your team's current state.
Using the boxes you've checked as a guide, provide an assessment by selecting the appropriate stage from each dropdown menu for every Circle and Component.
All dropdown selections are required. The progress bar will show your completion status.
After all stages have been selected, click the Submit button to send your assessment.

Important: The checkboxes throughout this rubric are for your personal reflection and will appear in your PDF copy. They help you think through which stage best describes your team but will not be submitted or aggregated with your team's data. Only the stage selections (dropdowns) are recorded.

Assessment Progress

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Technical Aspects

STRUCTURES

Component	Forming	Storming	Norming	Performing
Structures	Structures do not guide the groups' work.	Structures are minimal and/or reproduce racist outcomes: group meets inconsistently meeting time is not used effectively to advance the school's mission, vision, values and goals (MVVG)	Structures effectively guide the group's work and actively interrupt racist outcomes: group has regularly scheduled meetings; time is purposefully used to advance the school's mission, vision, values and goals (MVVG) group uses effective systems and structures to create an antiracist learning culture group members are being developed as antiracist leaders	Structures maintain an antiracist learning culture within the team: team codesigns liberatory structures to advance the schools' mission, vision, values and goals (MVVG); including ones that hold them accountable to students, families and staff team is intentionally developing others in the school community as antiracist leaders
Component - Structures:
Roles and Responsibilities	Roles and responsibilities of group members are not defined.	Roles and responsibilities are unclear and/or reproduce racist patterns and practices: roles and responsibilities are loosely aligned to the school's MVVG frustration about individual vs. team responsibilities confusion about roles roles reinforce racist stereotypes	Roles and responsibilities are clearly outlined and actively interrupt racist patterns and practices: roles and responsibilities are aligned to the school's MVVG shared understanding and acceptance of roles and responsibilities roles and responsibilities match group members strengths and skill sets	Roles and responsibilities are collectively designed to create and maintain an antiracist learning culture within the team: roles and responsibilities are strategically aligned to the school's MVVG team members work effectively across difference to leverage their individual and collective strengths to achieve the school's MVVG
Component - Roles and Responsibilities:
Goals	Goals do not exist and/or do not guide the work of the group.	Goals are unclear and/or reproduce racialized outcomes: goals are written from a deficit mindset group members disagree about what the goals should be	Goals are written to actively interrupt racialized outcomes and guide the work of the group: goals honor students' assets group has a shared understanding of the goals and the 'why' behind them	Goals are clearly outlined and aligned to the vision for an antiracist learning culture: goals honor assets of the entire community liberatory goals were co-designed by the community
Component - Goals:
Circle - Structures:

PROCESSES

(Operations)

Component	Forming	Storming	Norming	Performing
Decision Making	Decision making processes do not exist and/or are not clear to all group members:	Decision making processes and their outcomes are ineffective and reproduce racialized outcomes: student learning and experience data does not exist or is not clearly organized for analysis and action student learning and experience data does not inform decisions student data analysis protocols are used ineffectively and possibly lead to actions that reproduce racism people, especially people of color, do not feel heard and a part of decision making processes	Decision making processes and their outcomes actively interrupt racialized outcomes: student learning and experience informs decision making group regularly analyzes student learning and experience data group analyzes data disaggregated by race; makes connections to systemic racism and begins to interrupt patterns of racism group analyzes decisions as they are made for unintended racialized outcomes; adjusts accordingly group uses structures to ensure equity of voices in decision making; including listening to others who are not on the team	Decision making processes and their outcomes are liberatory: student learning and experience drives all decision making team regularly and effectively analyzes student learning and experience data disaggregated by race; makes connections to systemic racism and interrupts patterns of racism data analysis informs liberatory design team analyzes decisions and new designs as they are made for unintended racialized outcomes; tracks the outcomes of their decisions over time for racialized outcomes; adjusts accordingly team has efficient and inclusive structures for listening to multiple stakeholders; they make key decisions with the community to create and maintain an antiracist learning culture.
Component - Decision Making:
Conflicts	Conflicts are nonexistent or rare: group members are polite group members do not express their authentic feelings and beliefs	Conflicts are addressed in ways that reproduce racist stereotypes: conflicts are ignored or addressed in ways that create more harm group members start to express their authentic feelings and beliefs; some feel unheard or unsupported complaints are common	Conflicts are effectively addressed through processes designed to interrupt patterns of racism: group develops shared agreements to navigate conflict group members express their authentic feelings and beliefs; they listen to each other, especially across difference group members have a solution oriented approach to problems	Conflicts are resolved through healing, liberatory processes: team embraces conflict as necessary for growth team effectively uses processes to resolve conflict and heal from harm team members express their authentic feelings and beliefs; they listen deeply, believe what they hear and are responsive; they challenge each other in order to reach the school's MVVG
Component - Conflicts:
Feedback	Feedback processes do not exist or are not used.	Feedback processes and their outcomes reproduce racialized patterns and outcomes: feedback is one-directional feedback is random, untimely and unstructured feedback is not aligned to goals or rooted in evidence feedback reproduces racist stereotypes	Feedback processes and their outcomes actively interrupt racialized patterns and outcomes: group develops processes to ensure they can effectively give and receive feedback feedback intentionally interrupts racist patterns feedback is aligned to the school's MVVG feedback is rooted in evidence group gets feedback from the community	Feedback processes and their outcomes are liberatory and produce antiracist outcomes: team members seek out feedback trusting that it will be honest, aligned to the school's MVVG and will result in their growth feedback honors the unique identity and contribution of each team member team creates and uses effective systems for getting feedback from the community; responds to what they hear
Component - Feedback:
Circle - Processes:

PATTERN

(Strategies) The systematic ways in which a system focuses its key strategies to accomplish its mission and goals.

Component	Forming	Storming	Norming	Performing
Theory of action	Theory of action does not exist or does not guide work.	Theory of action reproduces racist ideas and/or is leading to racialized outcomes.	Theory of action is rooted in interrupting racialized outcomes.	Theory of action is strategically co-designed to create an antiracist learning culture.
Component - Theory of action:
Race and racism	Race and racism are not discussed at all or are only brought up by a few people: little or no awareness of the racist policies and the role of systemic racism in our public institutions, especially education. little or no awareness of the liberation movements, especially those connected to education.	Race and racism are discussed in ways that does not support individuals to identify and interrupt racism in their leadership, practices and policies: discussions create more harm and further misunderstanding people use avoidant expressions such as "We're not racist." or "We need to talk about class." or "We're woke." growing awareness of systemic racism in school practices and policies; might create conflict and a "sense of urgency" to fix policies and people growing awareness of liberation movements that can be the foundation of design group members do not understand or value the balance of personal & policy work	Race and racism are discussed in ways that support group members to identify and interrupt racism in their leadership, practices and policies: discussions deepen understanding and create connections across difference group understands the current manifestation of systemic racism in schools group accepts responsibility for collaborating across difference to interrupt racism group assesses whether or not school practices and policies are reproducing or interrupting racism; takes action to interrupt racist outcomes group uses liberation movements as a foundation for design group values and actively engages in personal & policy work	Race and racism are discussed in ways that lead to healing and the creation of liberatory practices and policies: team intentionally designs liberatory practices and policies with the community; tracks the outcomes of their designs over time for racialized outcomes; adjusts accordingly team is strategically learning and skilled at working alone and across difference to interrupt racism in their leadership and schools' practices and policies
Component - Race and racism:
Circle - Pattern:

The Green Line

This line designates the separation between technical aspects (Structure, Pattern, Process) and adaptive aspects (Relationships, Identity, Information) of equity work. Both dimensions are critical for creating organizational success and antiracist learning cultures.

Adaptive Aspects

RELATIONSHIPS

Component	Forming	Storming	Norming	Performing
Collaboration	Collaboration is not happening or is ineffective.	Collaboration across difference is ineffective or not aligned to the school's MVVG; inhibited by unclear roles and responsibilities: group members disagree on the role of racism within school practices and policies group members don't feel heard or listened to group members vie for position and power	Collaboration across difference is effectively aligned to the school's MVVG; based on clear roles and responsibilities: group has a shared understanding of systemic racism in schools and begins to identify and interrupt racism within school practices and policies group listens to each other productively, especially across difference	Collaboration across difference is productive and strategically aligned to the school's MVVG; rooted in leveraging roles and responsibilities: team consistently identifies and interrupts racism within themselves and the schools' practices and policies listening across difference is the foundation for everything the team does
Component - Collaboration:
Trust	Trust doesn't exist due to the newness of the group.	Trust is minimal, especially across difference there is some suspicion between group members trust has been broken and needs to be repaired	Trust is actively being developed amongst and between group members: when it is broken, it is effectively repaired. there is mutual respect, shared purpose and appreciation across difference the group can rely on each other	Trust exists at a high level between team members; it is not easily broken and when it is, it is effectively repaired there is openness, deep respect, shared purpose, support and appreciation across difference the team has high confidence in the each other
Component - Trust:
Circle - Relationships:

INFORMATION

Component	Forming	Storming	Norming	Performing
Information	Information is elusive.	Information is only held by those with power; there is a perception of no transparency: information is shared as a directive with little opportunity for collective meaning making too little or too much information is shared group members are unsure how to access information lack of clear, accurate information leads to rumors	Information is shared and there are effective communication systems: there are opportunities for the group to co-construct knowledge the 'just right' amount of information is shared information is stored in a way that is readily accessible when group members need it	Information is readily shared and there are effective multi-directional communication systems. team actively shares information and knowledge to build collective understanding everyone in the community has the information they need to advance the school's MVVG
Component - Information:
Circle - Information:

IDENTITY

Component	Forming	Storming	Norming	Performing
Group Identity	Group identity does not exist or is not strong: lack of clarity about the mission and vision of the group looking for sense of belonging establishing individual identities group is not accountable to anyone	Group identity is fractured: there is not a shared antiracist vision to drive the work of the group there is disagreement over the role of race in the learning culture characteristics of wsc are present in many of the groups' practices and policies	Group identity is developing as an antiracist team: group commits to ongoing struggle of dismantling racism and wsc group develops a vision for an antiracist learning culture group members are accountable to each other groups' strengths and limitations are assessed; the group develops a plan to address its limitations group develops systems that hold them accountable to students and families closest to the pain group members are strategic learners	Team identity is strong and rooted in a shared vision for an antiracist learning culture: team has and uses a plan to manifest the vision team dismantles racism and eliminates wsc in their practices and policies teams' strengths and limitations are well known team is accountable to the full community
Component - Group Identity:
Racial Identity	Racial identity is ignored or not discussed.	Racial identity is discussed in ways that creates harm, especially for people of color: group members are not supported to productively reflect on their racial identity and identify how they may have internalized racism discussions create conflict, harm or division amongst the group	Racial identity is discussed in ways that creates individual and collective understanding: group supports each other to reflect on their racial identity group learns more about themselves and each other - leading to effective partnerships and collaboration across differences group supports each other to identify and interrupt internalized racism in their personal and collective leadership	Racial identity is discussed in ways that support the team to be liberated leaders: team identifies and interrupts internalized racism in their personal and collective leadership in ways that are healing team leverages their individual strengths and works effectively and productively across racial differences to reach the school's MVVG
Component - Racial Identity:
Racial Composition	The racial composition of the team is not discussed.	The racial composition of the team is not diverse and does not reflect the racial composition of students.	The racial composition of the team is diverse and reflects the racial composition of students: group ensures multiple perspectives are listened to and included as decisions are made	The racial composition of the team is diverse, and is proportional to the racial composition of students: team is actively recruiting people to ensure it represents multiple perspectives team has systems for ensuring multiple perspectives are included as decisions are made
Component - Racial Composition:
Circle - Identity: