McGraw Hill Forms New K-12 Equity Advisory Board to Guide the Company's Focus on Educational Equity

The McGraw Hill Equity Advisory Board, consisting of six experts from different fields of work, will advise the company on product development, content and other initiatives

News provided by

McGraw Hill

Mar 17, 2021, 08:47 ET

NEW YORK, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- McGraw Hill today announced the formation of an Equity Advisory Board for its K-12 business. The new board, which will convene for the first time this month, is comprised of six leaders from different fields of work, including academia, law and school administration.

Consisting of six experts from different fields of work, the McGraw Hill Equity Advisory Board will advise the company on product development, content and other initiatives.

"At McGraw Hill, we have a long-held vision of unlocking the potential of each learner, and key to fulfilling that is improving equity in our schools and classrooms," said Dr. Lanette Trowery, Sr. Director, Learning Research & Strategy at McGraw Hill. "That focus on equity has never felt more important than it does today during the COVID-19 pandemic and amidst reinvigorated efforts around issues of educational equity and social justice. Our new Equity Advisory Board will guide our work in this area, helping ensure we're doing all we can to support the success of each and every student."

Every child has intrinsic value and unlimited potential for a bright future. Education must ensure that the factors which make each child unique become the building blocks of the success they choose and a force for change in the world.

The Equity Advisory Board will:

Provide insights and guidance on national and global trends in educational equity, culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy, and social justice
Engage in discussions and planning of new ideas and business innovations in relation to educational equity in McGraw Hill products and projects
Review current product development practices, processes, and products and provide insights into ways of incorporating equity practices and frameworks 
Advise McGraw Hill team members on equity-focused research efforts related to product development

Meet the McGraw Hill Equity Advisory Board:

Dr. Courtney Koestler
Director, OHIO Center for Equity in Mathematics and Science, and Associate Professor of Instruction, The Patton College of Education at Ohio University

Dr. Koestler' scholarly interests and expertise center on diversity, critical literacy, and critical pedagogies in early and elementary education, teacher education, and mathematics education. Dr. Koestler is a proud, former public-school teacher and spends time each week working with children and teacher-colleagues in classrooms.

Will Lopez, Esq.
Deputy General Counsel, Cooley LLP

In his role, Mr. Lopez advises the firm on legal ethics, risk management, conflicts of interest and other professional responsibility and compliance issues. Mr. Lopez was the recipient of a McGraw Hill Merit Scholarship in 2004, put together the first Law School LGBT Civil Rights Conference in Illinois in 2011, and chaired the Diversity Committee of the LGBT Bar Association of New York from 2017-2019.

Nancy Yao Maasbach
President, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA)

As the President of MOCA, Ms. Maasbach combines her experiences in managing organizations, knowledge of U.S.-China relations and research on redefining the American narrative.

Dr. H. Richard Milner IV
Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair of Education and Professor of Education, Department of Teaching and Learning at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University

Dr. Milner's research, teaching and policy interests concern urban education, teacher education, African American literature, and the social context of education. Professor Milner's research examines practices and policies that support teacher effectiveness in urban schools. His work has appeared in numerous journals, and he has published seven books.

Dr. Christian Sawyer
Principal, Denver Public Schools

Dr. Sawyer is a nationally recognized leader and career-long educator who holds equity as his core value. With twenty years of school leadership and classroom teaching under his belt, Dr. Sawyer has led large teams of urban educators to embrace equity-minded growth, build innovative approaches to teaching and learning, and expand access, opportunity, and achievement in his schools.

Dr. Mariana Souto-Manning
Professor of Early Childhood Education and Teacher Education, Teachers College at Columbia University, and Founding Co-Director, Center for Innovation in Teacher Education and Development (CITED).

Dr. Souto-Manning holds additional academic appointments at the University of Iceland and King's College London. Dr. Souto-Manning's research critically examines inequities and injustices in teaching and teacher education, (re)centering methodologies and pedagogies on the lives, values, and experiences of intersectionally-minoritized people of Color.

McGraw Hill
McGraw Hill is a learning science company that delivers personalized learning experiences that drive results for students, parents, educators and professionals. We focus on educational equity, affordability and learning success to help learners build better lives. Headquartered in New York City, McGraw Hill has offices across North America, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and makes its learning solutions for PreK-12, higher education, professionals and others available in more than 75 languages. Visit us at mheducation.com or find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.