The 2021 Magna Awards: Grand Prize & The 2021 Magna Awards: First Place
School districts both small and large across the country are removing barriers for students. The three Grand Prize 2021 Magna Award winners and 12 First Place winners exemplify school district innovation and creativity in achieving educational equity.

Bridging the Homework Gap
The work of a small urban district in southwestern Ohio to eliminate the homework gap during remote learning could serve as a model for schools across the country that collectively serve the 16.9 million children without high-speed internet.

Digital Equity for All 
Digital inequity will lead to long-term consequences unless school board members place finding solutions to this issue at the top of their priority lists.

Justice Leaders
Washtenaw Intermediate School District Interim Superintendent Naomi Norman discusses how the Michigan district prioritizes equity, including its work with educators, nonprofits, and church leaders, to provide training on bias, diversity, race, and the long-term effect of poverty on generations of students.

To Live Out Loud
How some urban districts are leading the way in extending lifelines to LGBTQ students, a population who face higher rates of bullying, discrimination, rejection, and suicidality than their peers.

Love, Not Hate
As the nation grapples with a startling increase in hate crimes and high-profile attacks against Asians and Asian Americans, schools are doubling down on their commitment to AAPI students.

Online Discipline Gap
Exclusionary school discipline practices and policies have long been under fire for disproportionately increasing rates of suspension and expulsion of minority (especially Black), low-income, and special education students. Accounts suggested the same disparities were replicated in virtual learning during the pandemic

Dismantling Institutional Racism in Education (DIRE)
NSBA Chief Transformation Officer Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs explains the importance of NSBA’s Dismantling Institutional Racism in Education initiative and offers suggested actions for school leaders.

Equity Lessons Learned
The pandemic and protests over racial and social justice shined a light on how districts are dealing with long-standing inequities that students and staff of color face. A look at some of the lessons learned.

Diverse Teachers Matter
Recruiting and retaining teachers of color are essential to district equity efforts. How districts are developing a racially diverse workforce through grow your own programs, strategic partnerships, and other initiatives.

The Past Is Our Present
Educators across the country, including two former National Teachers of the Year, are rethinking how they teach U.S. history, incorporating relevant lessons and encouraging students to think critically.

Who Tells Your Story 
Former Superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools Linda S. Lane has been leading an effort since 2007 to encourage the College Board to offer an Advanced Placement Black History class. Why that remains important and a status update.

The Condition of Native American Students 
Using federal data, NSBA’s Senior Research Analyst Jinghong examines educational trends for American Indian and Alaska Native students, who make up 1 percent of the student population.

Black Students in the Condition of Education 2020
Using federal data, NSBA’s Senior Research Analyst Jinghong examines educational trends for African American students and fids a very unsettling national picture