Begin With Their Culture
Begin With Their Culture
Dwayne D. Williams

Welcome to Begin With Their Culture

Join us in our Mighty Network

About Us

Begin With Their Culture 

This is a community of practice for educators, practitioners, community leaders, and parents who embrace culturally responsive teaching and training.

Communities of Practice

Communities of practice (CoP) are groups of people who share a common interest or passion for something they do and seek to learn how to do it better by sharing ideas and working together on an ongoing basis (Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner, 2015).

This space was created to provide a community of practice for individuals who follow the work of Dwayne D. Williams. The goal of this space is to work within a community of practice to learn on a deeper level the concepts and ideas that are associated with Dwayne’s work around culturally responsive practices, including culturally responsive MTSS/RTI, culturally responsive social-emotional learning, culturally responsive trauma-informed supports, and culturally responsive school-based groups. Individuals who have attended Dwayne’s keynote talks, breakout sessions, and community events are welcome to join the community, as well as anyone who has not attended his events but desires to learn about his work.

Like Music to My Ears: A Hip-Hop Approach to Addressing Social Emotional Learning and Trauma in Schools 

As part of this community practitioners and community leaders who are working from Dwayne’s culturally responsive SEL and trauma-informed curriculum, Like Music to My Ears, can share ideas, experiences, questions, and concerns as they become proficient with and better at implementing the curriculum with students within their respective schools and communities.

An RTI Guide to Improving Performance of African American Students 

Members who are reading and working from the book An RTI Guide to Improving Performance of African American Students can discuss the book content, gain ideas and insights from others who are working from the book and become more proficient with problem-solving using a cultural lens.

Don’t Have Any of Dwayne’s Resources Yet? No Sweat!

It is not necessary to have any of Dwayne’s resources to become a member of this community. The goal is for all community members to share ideas and best practices with working with culturally diverse learners.

Benefits of Joining our Community

There are many benefits to members who join our community, including

  • space to collaborate with educators, practitioners, and community members who have a shared interest in becoming culturally responsive educators and support providers,
  • access to theoretical frameworks that Dwayne uses that guide his work around culturally responsive practices and groups--frameworks that you can use that will support your work,
  • feedback and ideas from educators, practitioners, and community members who are currently implementing the curriculum Like Music to My Ears and from educators who are reading the book An RTI Guide to Improving Performance of African American Students, 
  • best practices on culturally responsive strategies that have been shown to boost engagement among culturally diverse learners,
  • articles on the importance of identity development and how identity may be associated with engaging and disengaging in various activities in the classroom, 
  • ideas around how to build academic identity among students who disengage academically,
  • strategies that educators and practitioners can use that are associated with youth culture--and more!

Exclusive Benefits

  • Free group coaching (within the community) with implementing resources and products authored by Dwayne D. Williams,
  • Free one-on-one coaching should members have specific challenges with implementing Dwayne’s curriculum or books,
  • Discounted speaking rates should you want Dwayne to provide professional development for your colleagues at your location,
  • Discounted rates should you want Dwayne to speak with your students about his experiences growing up in poverty, experiences with being homeless, and how he bounced back from traumatic events.

Expectations as a Community Member

The essence of communities of practice is ongoing dialogue and collaboration around a shared interest or passion. Thus, in order for all to benefit and learn within this community, it is necessary that we not only gain or “take” from others as they share, but also that we provide feedback and share narratives and experiences of our own journey of becoming culturally responsive educators.

Welcome to the community!

I look forward to becoming even more effective with working with culturally diverse learners because of you.

I am because we are!