Equity Matters

June Issue, 2009

	Reinventing Education: A Transformative Agenda

We must reinvent a future free of blinders so that we can choose from real options.

- David Suzuki

As the nation’s legislators consider the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 (No Child Left Behind), persistent achievement gaps for African American, American Indian, and Hispanic students indicate that what we’re doing now isn’t working for many of the children in our schools. We will not solve these issues by merely looking in classrooms, curricula, or schools but by also ensuring access to a fair and equitable system that raises and distributes resources in ways that redress the inequities of the past by bringing the technologies of the future into each and every school. More than reinventing schools, we must reinvent our systems of education so that students and educators have the tools, the dispositions, and the knowledge base for 21st century education. Continuing to utilize the same approaches to education that worked for some but not all of our grandparents does not respond to the fast-paced, information rich, globally connected environments that swirl around our everyday lives.

Today’s students need teachers who can guide and coach how information is gathered, analyzed, interpreted and used to deepen understanding, build a greener environment, sustain quality of life while expanding opportunity throughout the planet, create connections across cultural and racial divides, and respond to a variety of world views.

Focusing on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics must come with a lens that continues to interrogate for what and whose good? Reexamining ways of organizing schools is not only important for improving student outcomes, it’s also a matter of equity. Our schools serve an increasingly diverse student population (56.5% White, 20.5% Hispanic, and 17% Black, according to NCES), yet 83% of teachers and 84% of school principals are White.

The intransigence of achievement gaps for students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds reveals that this cultural mismatch may be one of the factors impacting school outcomes, and appears to support the presence of a hidden curriculum in schools that guides students from historically majority backgrounds (White, middle class) into managerial occupations while leading students from historically minority backgrounds (African American, Hispanic, low SES) into “working class” occupations (Anyon, 1980).

What can we do about it? Many school districts, particularly those located in urban environments, are trying new ways of serving students, including KIPP Schools, International Baccalaureate programs, Early College High Schools, gender separated classes, as well as

fundamental changes in practice such as Response to Intervention and Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems. Like the small schools initiative, these are all focused attempted to solve some of the problems that we face in education. And, like most initiatives, they both offer promising practices while simultaneously creating other dilemmas.

In this month’s Equity Matters, we’re featuring some of the promising approaches that we’re seeing in the field. In Tempe, Arizona, a local school district is partnering with the teacher preparation program at Arizona State University to develop Professional Learning Schools that will “grow” new dually-certified teachers with the skills to teach in urban schools. In California, a new initiative is working to align standards and systems from preschool through college (P-16) to ensure a comprehensive, cohesive education for students. These and many other critical, research based strategies offer hope that our educational systems can evolve to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

We’d love to hear from you about other initiatives around the country!

Anyon, J. (1980). Social class and the hidden curriculum of work. Journal of Education (Boston) 162(1), pp. 67-92.

Equity in Action

Urban Professional Learning Schools Initiative

The Urban Professional Learning Schools Initiative (UPLSI) is changing teacher education. By partnering Arizona State University and local Tempe Arizona elementary schools to create professional learning schools, university students have the opportunity to learn the craft of teaching by spending more than 800 hours co-teaching in urban classrooms under the direct supervision of dedicated and highly-qualified K-5 educators. Through a series of performance-based assessments (PBAs) students explore what it means to work with diverse populations in urban classrooms and what this means for their understanding and practice in the areas of identity, culture, learning, classroom and behavior management, and assessment. Instead of basing their knowledge solely on theory, teacher candidates are able to combine the theories they learn in their traditional university classrooms with the realities they explore in their residencies to help build a place where theory and practice unite to create the best education possible for all students. Upon graduation, teacher candidates begin their official teaching careers closer to the level of third-year teachers than first-year rookies. This additional expertise has direct and lasting effects on their students. Additionally, because teacher candidates are prepared in urban schools, the “realities of urban education” are not a surprise to them.

P-16 Initiative

The P-16 Initiative integrates a student’s education beginning in preschool (P) through a four-year college degree (“grade 16”) to create a system that links each education level guided by the principle that success in college begins in prekindergarten. The goal of the P-16 system is to increase student achievement, increase access to college, influence teacher preparation, and improve the transition from high school to college. California has recently initiated a P-16 program that highlights culturally responsive practice among its recommendations. By utilizing culturally responsive practices California is striving to help educators teach all students effectively. The Equity Alliance at ASU is working with Dr. Shadidi Sia-Maat and the California Department of Education to create a professional learning module to pilot with interested districts.

Tools You Can Use

Books

Leading Change in Your School: How to Conquer Myths, Build Commitment, and Get Results (2009) by Douglas Reeves. This book uses real-life examples from “change leaders” to show educational leaders how to create the conditions for change, in addition to planning, implementing, and sustaining significant change in their schools. The book also provides planning models for change that include focused goals and action plans, Change Readiness Assessments, and tips on selecting the best teachers and administrators for your leadership team.

Stuck in the Shallow End: Education, Race, and Computing (2008) by Jane Margolis. Recent surveys indicate a disproportionately low number of African Americans and Latino/as receive undergraduate degrees in computer science. In this book, Jane Margolis visits three Los Angeles public high schools: an overcrowded urban high school, a math and science magnet school, and a well-funded school in an affluent neighborhood. Margolis explains the many ways in which physical access to computers is not the same as intellectual access and how this difference plays out to perpetuate the racial inequality in computer sciences. Listen to an interview with the author on The MIT Press Podcast.

Online
Publications

Department of Education ARRA fund use ideas To provide equitable career and educational opportunities we must dramatically improve student achievement and close the achievement gap. ARRA identifies four core reforms that will help the nation meet this goal: (1) adopting rigorous college- and career-ready standards and high-quality assessments; (2) establishing data systems and using data for improvement; (3) increasing teacher effectiveness and equitable distribution of effective teachers; and (4) turning around the lowest-performing schools. Many organizations are creating publications to provide ideas and recommendations on ways to use funds that fall within the core reforms identified by ARRA. Topics include: student achievement, quality instruction, English language learners, Title I, promising state approaches, and more. Learning Point has also developed a website providing multiple resources providing guidance on the Act for school personnel.

Education as a Vital Global Marketplace Represents the Future This article originally published in Edutopia magazine explores the ways in which students are taught around the world in places such as Austria, Uganda, Chile, Pakistan, India, and many others. Many of the stories include innovative ideas for American educators and facilitate a deeper understanding of cultural differences and similarities in educating youth.

Upcoming Events

February 16-17, 2010 : Leadership for Equity and Excellence Forum in Phoenix, Arizona The Equity Alliance at ASU in collaboration with the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt) and NIUSI LeadScape is proud to announce our upcoming forum: Reinvest in Equity: Building Bridges and Tearing Down Walls

July 14-17: LeadScape Summer Institute, in Washington, DC. LeadScape principals are looking forward to the 2009 LeadScape Summer Institute, July 14-17 in Washington, DC. This year our professional learning activities focus on creating classroom practices that involve ALL children in learning, including examining issues of power and privilege, cultural responsive literacy, and creating resilient classrooms. Special guest Beth Doll will show how to create class maps to help improve relationships and outcomes using student and teacher input.

July 9-11: Partnership for Global Learning Forum for Policymakers and Practitioners The Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning is hosting its second annual national forum at the Marriot Crystal Gateway in Arlington, VA. Topics include: defining global competence, using stimulus money to transform schools, benchmarking to world standards, new models of elementary school, and tools for schools to assess “how global are we?”

July 14-16 or July 28-30: Education and Agriculture Together (E.A.T.) Foundation Ag Tour and Seminar This workshop combines classroom instruction with hands on experience to immerse educators, administrators, and counselors in the world of agriculture. The goal of the workshop is to educate teachers, both locally and statewide in California about agriculture and its direct and indirect impact in their lives, as well as the lives of their students.

Online Tools

The Global Education Collaborative is a website is designed to create a community for teachers and students interested in global education. Members can contribute to the site by adding media, conversation, and collaborative project ideas.

Global Challenge Award provides students with project-based learning experiences to solve climate issues. High school students around the world work collaboratively on projects called “Student Challenges” that can be incorporated into the curriculum or offered through after-school programs, both of which are set up with the assistance of Global Challenge staff. By forming international teams to solve real-world climate issues, students learn the importance of science, technology, and experience a global collaboration and communication. This program’s aim is to empower students “to believe that they can make a difference not only on their own lives and national economies but on the planet itself.”

Magnet Schools of America is closely tied to public school choice and the educational reform model, and they continue to provide academic excellence in a racially diverse environment. Magnet Schools focus on providing students with tools to help them succeed in a diverse society. A strong focus is placed on instruction that promotes equity, diversity, and academic excellence for all students

Equity Alliance at
ASU Online

Visit our website: http://www.equityallianceatasu.org/.

Check out our NIUSI-LeadScape guest writers blog: www.niusileadscape.org/bl/.

Featured Work: Speaking of children...by Carol Christine

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