Black students with disabilities deserve grade-level instruction, not permanent remediation. Rigor is love, and love shows up in planning, scaffolding, feedback, and time. Lowering the bar protects adults more than it serves students. Raising the bar, with support, builds skill and dignity.
Begin at the grade’s standard. Unwrap it into the knowledge, language, and skills students must demonstrate. Map each IEP goal to parts of that standard. Identify bridge supports that connect the learner to the work. Think of models, sentence frames, manipulatives, visual schedules, guided notes, and assistive technology. The question is not whether the student is ready. The question is how we will make the work accessible without removing the rigor.
Break learning into weekly wins. A win might be mastering a concept, increasing words correct per minute on a grade-level passage, or producing a paragraph with a clear claim and two pieces of evidence. Post the week’s target where the student can see it. Teach into it. Rehearse success. Then check progress on Friday with brief, aligned tasks. If a student misses the mark, respond; do not retreat. Provide tutoring that is scheduled, predictable, and aligned to the exact gap the data reveals.
Instruction must be explicit and culturally responsive. Use examples, texts, and contexts that reflect Black brilliance and lived experience. Teach language directly. Name cognitive strategies out loud. Provide opportunities for productive struggle in a classroom that feels safe. Maintain dignity as a nonnegotiable value. Students deserve meaningful feedback that celebrates growth and identifies the next move.
The connection to carceral systems is visible when expectations shrink. When Black students are tracked into watered-down work, the message is clear: they are not valued. Futures are being managed, not cultivated. We counter that message with standards-aligned instruction, transparent goals, and evidence of learning that students can see.
Rigor is love. Love is a plan, a calendar, a conference, a high five, and another chance tomorrow.
Thoughts Processed 