The Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools is thrilled to welcome the TAP for Equity program as the Research Center’s most recent additions. This newly minted Metro Center subunit team functions as an Educational Partnership Center funded by the New York State Education Department’s Office of Special Education (OSE) with the mandate to implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Blueprint for Improved Results for Students with Disabilities.
A Special Education Technical Assistance Partnership, or TAP, serves two primary purposes: provide tools and resources for families and professionals, as well as offer direct support to the specialists within the Educational Partnership. In addition to sharing tenets of bilingual and culturally responsive education, TAP for Equity at NYU Metro Center aims to ultimately build district capacity through building the capacity of the NYSED OSE Educational Partnership to address long-standing academic and social gaps for students with disabilities, particularly students with disabilities who are culturally and linguistically diverse.
TAP for Equity will be responsible for supporting multiple stakeholders, inclusive of educators, leaders, and families through curriculum development, classroom instruction, and intervention in support of English Language Learners/Multilingual Learners. The leadership of this unit requires a great knowledge, vision, and the ability to empower others. After leading an arduous and exhaustive candidate search, NYU Metro Center’s Deputy Executive Director of School Change and Community Engagement, Dr. María G. Hernández was assured that she found the ideal candidate to lead this new Metro Center Subunit. Dr. María G. Hernández has described this new hire as an uber-talented educator who “... is primed to be in a leadership position.” The Deputy Executive Director of School Change and Community Engagement goes on to share that the candidate selected to lead the TAP for Equity at NYU Metro Center team:
... brings so much talent, expertise and leadership to the role of the Director of TAP for Equity. She fully puts her heart and soul into how she leads and moves equity.”
NYU Metro Center is proud to welcome Briana Santiago Ravdin as the Director of TAP for Equity. In this capacity she will oversee the development and delivery of professional learning content that informs the relationship between teaching, learning, social identity, and cultural context. Briana holds an Ed.M. in Education Policy & Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.S. in Teaching English (Grades 7-12) from NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
Briana Sanitago Ravdin began her career in the nonprofit sector, supporting the strategic planning and initial implementation of the Cypress Hills (Brooklyn) Promise Neighborhood initiative and building a coalition of over 20 neighborhood schools and community-based organizations as a support system for children from cradle to career. She also previously worked at NYU Metro Center as a Senior Project Associate in the Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality, where she partnered with New York State school districts to address disproportionate disciplinary rates for Black and Latinx students with disabilities, facilitating systemic change through providing technical assistance and implementing data-driven action plans to advance racial equity in student outcomes. Most recently, Briana developed and delivered professional learning content for TAP for Equity while based at its prior home institution, the Center on Culture, Race & Equity at Bank Street College of Education.
“I am beyond excited that Briana is back at Metro” exclaimed NYU Metro Center’s Reed Swier, upon first hearing the news that she accepted the position of Director with TAP for Equity. He continued to share that
Six years ago, when I first came to work with the Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality [at NYU Metro Center], Briana played a pivotal role in supporting my learning in the field. I was fortunate enough to shadow her as she led multiple districts and regions in their efforts to center equity and culturally responsive education. Now as I serve as the co-director of Innovations in Equity and Systemic Change, we are back in a learning community together. The TAP for Equity team and TAP’s state-based partners will benefit greatly from Briana’s deep commitment to equity and justice for our students.”
Rest assured the entirety of the Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools shares a similar excitement in having the TAP for Equity program join our ranks in service of improving equity and opportunity for historically marginalized communities. NYU Metro Center enthusiastically welcomes Briana Santiago Ravdin, her exemplary leadership and commitment to equity-based practices to the Metro family.