Street Data by Shane Safir Summary

"Street Data" presents an anti-racist framework for transforming education by prioritizing qualitative insights from marginalized students and families. The book challenges overreliance on standardized test scores, advocating instead for "street data"—lived experiences and community voices—to drive equity-centered school change. Key themes include humanizing data practices, systemic equity redesign, and pedagogical shifts toward student brilliance and cultural wealth.

This book is essential for K-12 educators, administrators, and policymakers committed to equitable school transformation. It offers actionable strategies for educators seeking to center marginalized voices, dismantle biased systems, and redesign learning around cultural wealth. School leaders implementing anti-racist initiatives or community-centered reforms will find its frameworks particularly valuable.

Yes—it provides a groundbreaking, actionable model for equity-focused education reform. The book ranks as a Corwin bestseller praised for its practical tools to flip data practices toward healing and liberation. Its emphasis on amplifying student voices offers a vital counter-narrative to deficit-based systems, making it indispensable for modern educators.

Shane Safir (Brown University history graduate, Stanford MA in Education) is a former principal focused on student-centered pedagogy. Jamila Dugan brings expertise in equity leadership development. Together, they combine research on anti-racism, holistic assessment, and community-driven transformation.

Street data is qualitative, experiential evidence gathered through deep listening to marginalized communities. Unlike standardized metrics, it captures "eye-level" insights on learning barriers and cultural wealth. The authors frame it as emancipatory—diagnosing root inequities while recentering education around student potential.

The book outlines a 3-part equity cycle:

1. Flip the Dashboard: Shift focus from test scores to community narratives
2. Pound the Pavement: Collect street data via ethnography (e.g., student interviews)
3. Build Coherence: Redesign pedagogy and policy around this data

This model rebuilds systems "from the student up" by amplifying voices traditionally excluded.

Safir and Dugan critique "big data" (like test scores) for:

• Perpetuating deficit views of marginalized students
• Ignoring systemic racism embedded in measurement
• Prioritizing what’s measurable over what’s meaningful

They argue standardized metrics mask inequity instead of addressing it.

Key methods include:

• Listening campaigns: Structured dialogues with students/families
• Classroom ethnography: Observing learning in context
• Asset mapping: Documenting community cultural wealth

These approaches replace extraction with partnership, treating communities as experts.

This iterative process involves:

1. Choosing a margin-centered inquiry (e.g., "Do Black students feel represented?")
2. Gathering street data through relationships
3. Acting on findings collaboratively
4. Measuring impact via student experiences

The cycle positions vulnerability as essential for sustainable change.

The framework explicitly:

• Calls out racialized achievement gaps as systemic failures
• Rejects "gap-closing" rhetoric that blames students
• Centers anti-racist pedagogy through co-created solutions
• Demands adult accountability in cultural shifts

Some note the book avoids prescribing specific curricular goals, potentially leaving implementation open to interpretation. Others highlight challenges in scaling qualitative methods across large districts. However, these critiques underscore the need for contextual adaptation rather than rejecting the model.

Amid AI and shifting demographics, the book equips educators to:

• Counter algorithmic bias with human stories
• Design resilient systems through community wisdom
• Address pandemic-era learning loss via culturally responsive approaches

Its focus on healing and collective wisdom meets today’s urgency for equitable innovation.