"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.

Transcription

1 "A Regional Model For School District Collaboration To Create More Equitable Academic Outcomes For Students of Color" PA PIRC Family Engagement Conference Harrisburg, PA April 14, 2011 Dr. Robert L. Jarvis Director of the Delaware Valley Minority Student Achievement Consortium Co-Director of the New Jersey Network To Close the Achievement Gaps Penn Center for Educational Leadership Graduate School of Education University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." - Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird 1

2 GOALS OF EDUCATIONAL EQUITY Goal 1: Comparably High Academic Achievement And Other Student Outcomes Goal 2: Equitable Access And Inclusion Goal 3: Equitable Treatment Goal 4: Equitable Opportunity To Learn Goal 5: Equitable Resources Goal 6: Accountability Dr. Bradley Scott, Intercultural Development Research Association NORMALIZATION OF FAILURE You know normalization of failure is a problem in your school or district if: Your staff, students, parents and community have grown accustomed to the predictability of academic outcomes (particularly with respect to race and class) Teachers, administrators and parents rationalize low achievement by pointing the finger at others, rather than accepting responsibility People believe that culture and biology determine intelligence rather than access to resources and educational opportunity There is no sense of urgency about addressing low achievement Dr. Pedro Noguera 2

3 CREATING MORE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES FOR ALL STUDENTS It s A Process, Not A Program. It Is A Continuous Process Of Individual And District/Community Self-reflection. It s About Clarity Of Shared Vision And Purpose Transformed To Shared Action. It s About Courageous And Transformational Leadership At All Levels. CRITICAL OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN GAPS IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS Access to High Quality Preschool and Kindergarten Learning Experiences Opportunities To Learn At High Levels Of Intellectual Engagement Throughout The K-12 Continuum Access To Enriched, Engaging And/Or Pre-College Level Curriculum in High School Inclusion In The Most Challenging and Inspiring Curriculum, Appropriate Learning Support Opportunities, And Most Real-World And Meaningful Learning Experiences The District Has To Offer 3

4 IT S COMPLEX: FACTORS AFFECTING OUR STUDENT S ACADEMIC SUCCESS Past Learning Opportunities And Experiences Attitudes Toward Learning, School And Academic Life Physical Well-being Personal And Social-emotional Well-being Intellectual Development Learning And Study Behaviors Nature Of Class Instruction, Curriculum, Assessment And Academic Support CRITICAL FACTORS IN MOVING TOWARD EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE Communication Of High Expectations Meaningful Participation & Engagement Caring And Respectful Relationships Opportunity- Access- Inclusion Revisiting Assumptions About Children s Ability- Capacity- Potential 4

5 THE DELAWARE VALLEY MINORITY STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT CONSORTIUM Founded in 2004 the Delaware Valley Minority Student Achievement Consortium is an organization dedicated to supporting its 27 diverse member districts in PA, NJ and DE, two county intermediate units and PSEA in significantly closing their achievement gaps, and significantly increasing the number of traditionally underachieving students of color among their most successful. WHAT HAVE WE BEEN ABOUT? Responding to Districts Shared Challenges Around More Successfully Addressing The Learning And Developmental Needs Of Their Increasingly Diverse Student Populations And Communities Taking A Systems Approach To Examining And Changing District Policies And Classroom Practices That Reinforce The Achievement Disparities Observed Among Subgroups Actively Addressing Achievement And Attainment Disparities At The District And Community Level- Beyond Individual Schools Facilitating Engagement And Professional Learning Among Administrators, School Boards, Teachers, Counselors, Support Staff, Students, Families, And Communities Within And Between Districts Collaborating, Networking, Developing Key Partnerships And Sharing Promising Practices, Information And Resources 5

6 AREAS OF FOCUS Leading And Organizing For Equity Enhancing The Learning And Development Of Our Diverse Learners In Our Schools And Classrooms Building Impactful Family-communityschool Partnerships DISTRICT TEAM PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES Annual 2-Day Fall Conference Monthly District Team Closing the Gap Seminar- Workshop Series Annual Middle and High School Student Leadership Institutes Principal Workshops School Board and Superintendent Workshops Regional Minority Educator Networking Sessions School Counselor Workshops Parent and Community Workshops Consortium Educator of Color Recruitment Fair Task Force Meetings and Activities 6

7 WHERE DO WE OBSERVE THE GAPS? Standardized Assessments (AP, IB, PSAT/SAT Scores, State Tests) Grades/GPA Enrollment Patterns in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Honors, Gifted- Accelerated-Enriched, Math and Science Enrollment Patterns in Title 1-Remedial Programs, Special Education Discipline Referral Rates and Consequences Extracurricular Involvement Attendance Rates and Patterns High School Graduation Rates College-Going Rates/Attending First College Of Choice College Persistence and Success COMMITTEES AND TASK FORCES Superintendents Steering Committee Research and Data Task Force Recruitment and Retention Task Force School Counselor Challenges of Practice Curriculum and Instruction Challenges of Practice Family-Community-School Partnership Task Force 7

8 LEADERSHIP MATTERS!!! Forwarding A New Vision Maintaining A Sense Of Urgency For Change Allocating Resources Supporting The People Who Support The Children KEY DISTRICT LEADERSHIP TASKS Doing Own Self-Reflection On Beliefs, Values, Purpose of Schooling Building And Sustaining A Shared Vision For Equity And Excellence With Internal And External Publics Establishing District and School-Wide Student Learning Goals And Expectations For Staff And Student Performance With Non- Negotiables Organizing A Constructive Process For Using Data For Initiating and Monitoring District-Wide Change And Improvement In Student Learning Getting The Right People On The Bus Recognizing And Rewarding Continuous Improvement Identifying, Developing, And Scaling-Up Most Promising Practices And Strategies Developing Connected Constituencies- Administrator/Teacher And Family Community Leadership Assuring Equity In District Policies 8

9 LESSONS WE ARE LEARNING The Underlying Causes Of Student Underachievement In Our School Systems Are Complex!!! There Are No Quick Or Easy Solutions To Closing The Gaps- The Work Is Difficult And Everyone Has A Critical Role And Responsibility To Play: Students, Families and Schools It Truly Takes Village - Family And Community Involvement And Partnership In Providing Support To Their Children Is Essential- We Need More District- Community Models That Are Evidencing Success There Is No Holy Grail -There Are No Silver Bullets - There Are No Magic Literacy/Math, Tutoring, Mentoring Programs, Summer School Programs LESSONS WE ARE LEARNING All Students Need To Be Exposed To Diverse/Multicultural Perspectives In School Experience We Need To More Closely Monitor Underperforming Students Progress Through More Frequent Formative Assessments of Their Learning Parents/Caregivers Need To Be Kept In The Know As To How Their Children Are Progressing, And How They Can Be Supporting Their Children At Home Beyond Our Traditional Thinking About Parent Engagement We Need To Be Thinking About And Encouraging Parent And Community Partnerships Within And Across-District School-Family-Community Collaborations Are Powerful: There Are Many Promising Programs. Practices And Interventions Within Our Districts And Beyond That Need To Be Shared 9

10 LESSONS WE ARE LEARNING Student And Parent Perceptions Of Their Experiences In And With Our Schools Are Critical In Helping Us Better Understand What Is Behind The Test Scores And Student Engagement With School Our Students And Some Parents Are Hungry To Be Heard And To Be Part Of The Solution! We Need To Listen And Offer Meaningful Avenues For Participation And Shared Solution-Finding, and Student Support Program Development Caring, Respectful, Supportive And Trusting Student- Teacher Relationships Are At The Core Of The Challenge, And Are Essential For The Success Of Our Diverse Students Many Parents/Caregivers Of Color Need Our Support In Navigating The Complex Formal And Informal Systems In Our Districts, As Well As Support In Advocating For Their Children LESSONS WE ARE LEARNING Eliminating Achievement Gaps And Sustaining Progress At The District Level Is A Significant Top Level Leadership (Superintendent and Board) Imperative And Challenge, And There Are Few Models Of Sustainable Success No Two Districts Are The Same: Community And School District Context, Shifting Demographics And History Play A Key Role In Defining How The Gaps Play Out And Why They Persist Shared Leadership And Mutual Accountability Are Critical To Successful Efforts... District Leaders And Parent Leaders Must Together See Themselves As The Guardians Of Equity We Must Together Organize Around A Vision And Plan That Integrates The Concepts of Equity, Access And Excellence For All 10

11 LESSONS WE ARE LEARNING Districts That Are Moving Forward Are Organizing And Developing Focused Action Plans: Concepts Of Equity, Access And Closing The Gaps Are Engrained In District Goals And Strategic Plans Race Matters-As Do Class And Gender: Racism, Classism and Sexism Are Alive And Well In Our Society And Are The 800 Pound Elephants In The Room! Realities of Differential Power, Privilege, Access To Critical Knowledge/ Social Capital Need To Be Unpacked Districts That Are Moving Forward Are Having Ongoing Courageous Conversations About Their Race/Class/Gender Achievement Gap Challenges With Their Internal And External Publics Achievement Gaps In Our Districts Are Reflections Of Opportunity To Learn Gaps: Gaps That Exist As Children Enter Our Schools, And Gaps That We As School-Family-Community Systems Create and Perpetuate As Children Move Through The Grades LESSONS WE ARE LEARNING Our Traditionally Unexamined Practices Of Ability Grouping At The Elementary Level And Tracking At The Secondary Level Exacerbate The Observed Achievement Disparities Our Historic Focus On Measuring And Sorting Must Be Replaced By An Emphasis On Discovering, Unpacking And Nurturing Talents In All Of Our Students- Both In And Out Of School All Students Need To Be Exposed To Intellectually Rigorous Instruction, Curriculum And Meaningful And Engaging Learning Experiences- The Best The District, Community And Family Have To Offer! We Need To Collectively Challenge All Of Our Students To Higher Levels Of Thinking, Sense-making, And Understanding And Explicitly Model And Teach Them The Strategies For Learning At High Levels Of Understanding 11

12 LESSONS WE ARE LEARNING Appropriate and Student-Validated In-School Structures And/Or Programs Are Essential To Support Our Underachieving Students Our Individual And Collective Assumptions About Individual And Subgroups Of Students Abilities-Capacities-Potential To Learn And Succeed Need To Be Seriously Reexamined Our Lower Expectations For And Assumptions About Our Underachieving Students Significantly Impact Our Decisions About Them, Our Choice Of Interventions And Ultimately Their Future Success Trajectory We Need To Seek To Better Understand The School Experiences Of Our Students Of Color And Other Students Outside The Mainstream Culture- Those Who Are Successful As Well As Those Who Are Not! LESSONS WE ARE LEARNING Districts Will Be More Successful Working In Collaboration Than Working In Isolation- There Is Intellectual And Political Capital In Numbers Even In Our High Achieving Districts, Teacher Assignment Matters- Our Best And Most Experienced Teachers Need To Be In Front Of Our Most Challenged Students All Educators In The System Must Be Expected To Take Responsibility For Improving Student Learning There Should Be Some Non-Negotiable Expectations For Using Agreed Upon Classroom Practices For Teaching Students Strategies For Learning How To Learn Similarly All Parents/Caregivers Must Assume Responsibility For Their Children s Learning And For Supporting Them In Charting A Course For School And Life Success 12

13 THE SHARED LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE Understanding The Core Issues In Our Schools, Homes and Communities That Foster Unequal Educational Outcomes Moving Beyond Individual Self-Interest To Collective Self-Interest Recognizing This Is Not A Zero-Sum Game Claiming Our Power To Influence And Organize Collaboratively For Change CONTACT Dr. Robert L. Jarvis Penn Center for Educational Leadership Graduate School of Education University of Pennsylvania 3440 Market St Room 504 Philadelphia, PA rljarvis@gse.upenn.edu 13