During the COVID-19 pandemic, issues regarding social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect were at amplified levels. Pacific Oaks College (PO) endeavored to keep its promise and maintain its mission and core values by connecting Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris, 2012) with Engaged Pedagogy (Florence, 1998) to leverage critical actions as real practice during distance learning. To explore how this occurred, the authors engaged in self-reflection practices by employing autoethnographic accounts. The overall goal is to examine the significance of community partnerships, students’ online readiness, and instructional practices used to pivot practice during the pandemic. Preliminary findings indicate that PO’s critical action to build strong community partnerships was successful. The “COVID Slide” (Kuhfeld et al., 2020) indicates that students may experience learning loss and elevated levels of depression and anxiety. This institution, faculty, students, and other constituents adapted its practices so that students could be provided opportunities to engage in research, internships, teaching practice, and fieldwork projects. Instructional systems (Fuhrman, 1990) that provide levels of support have become even more critical during distance learning. We sought to understand how instructional practices (Coburn et al., 2016; Desimone et al., 2002; Honig & Hatch, 2004) that support students and value their communities and cultural assets address educational disparities experienced by students of color. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the evolution, design, and facilitation of teaching and learning. The most responsive college, one that invests in supporting inclusive and equitable online learning experiences, will be best prepared to adapt to the teaching approaches of the future. The implication for practice is to radically rethink teaching practices from examining the disruption of learning to intentionally include equity-focused teaching strategies.