Schools that Serve Diverse Student Groups Well

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Schools that Serve Diverse Student Groups Well

• San Diego State Universitys
• Achievement Gap Summit
• Joseph F. Johnson, Jr., Ph.D.
• November 21, 2008

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National Center for Urban School Transformation
Dedicated to identifying, studying, and promoting
the best practices of Americas highest achieving
urban schools in a manner that supports urban
districts in transforming teaching and learning
http//www.ncust.org
4th Annual Symposium May 7th - 8th, 2009 in San
Diego
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NCUST Studies Schools that Achieve Impressive
Results for Diverse Populations

• Majority of students meet low-income criteria, no
  selective admissions criteria, and in an urban
  district yet
• Higher achievement than state average and higher
  than 90 percent of similar schools
• Small or no achievement gaps
• Exceed AYP criteria for at least two years
• Low suspension/expulsion rates
• High attendance rates
• High graduation rates
• No disproportionate racial/ethnic enrollments in
  gifted or special education
• Other evidence of high achievement

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Truth 1

• Its About Attitude

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Educators Believe

• In schools that serve diverse groups of students
  well, educators believe they can make a
  difference in the lives of all children. They
  envision academic excellence for their students
  and they believe they have the capacity to make
  the vision reality.

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Educators Care

• Schools that achieve better results for diverse
  groups of students have climates that help
  students and their families know they are valued
  and respected.
• Parents perceive that educators respect the
  challenges they face and care sincerely about
  their children. Parents feel more than welcome
  They feel valued as partners in their childs
  education.
• Students perceive that educators place a high
  priority on their current and future success.

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Educators Are Goal-Driven

• In schools that serve diverse groups of students
  well, educators keep attention to key goals at
  the forefront of the daily life of their schools.
  Goals are not simply slogans they are reasons
  for coming to work.
• With every goal, educators develop strategies for
  gauging progress regularly. By reporting
  progress, goals remain a high priority for
  everyones work.

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Educators Care about Each Other

• In schools that serve diverse groups of students
  well, educators understand the power of mutual
  respect. They create cultures in which trust is
  commonplace. Educators perceive that they are
  valued as part of an effective team.
• Educators handle disagreements promptly in a
  respectful, professional manner.
• These schools foster powerful collaborations that
  make individuals feel supported and valued.
  These collaborations lead to a strong sense of
  efficacy a feeling that together, we can
  accomplish anything!

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Students Learn to Value Each Other

• In schools that serve diverse groups of students
  well, educators develop programs and practices
  that help students learn to value each other and
  the diverse groups of students in their community
  and in the world.
• Educators build student leadership that
  reinforces acceptance of others.

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Truth 2

• Its About Access

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Educators Give Students Access to Challenging
Content

• In schools that serve diverse groups of children
  well, care is taken to ensure that all students
  have access to challenging academic coursework.
  This means, first, that educators have a clear
  understanding of what constitutes challenging
  academic coursework.

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Educators Inspire Pursuit of Goals

• In schools that serve diverse populations well,
  leaders help all students dream new futures.
  They help students know that educators care
  deeply about their personal success and
  well-being. They help students understand how
  decisions today impact goals tomorrow.
• Educators help students believe in their
  potential to excel in more rigorous coursework
  and ultimately to excel in life.
• Similarly, leaders help parents renew hope for
  their childrens future. They help parents
  understand the actions that must be taken to
  ensure children access to their goals.

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Educators Continuously Deepen Their Content
Knowledge

• In schools with impressive results for diverse
  groups of students, administrators and teachers
  regularly engage in opportunities to deepen their
  knowledge of key academic content. Teachers
  acknowledge their need to learn and grow and they
  help construct opportunities to improve their
  mastery of content.
• Professional development is part of the culture
  of these schools. Professional development
  includes opportunities for learning, trying,
  receiving feedback, and trying again.

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Educators Pursue Depth

• In schools that serve diverse populations well,
  teachers do not teach everything however, they
  teach the most important things exceptionally
  well.
• Faculties in these high-achieving schools use
  data to identify and prioritize the key standards
  that must be taught exceptionally well.
  Cross-curricular integration facilitates deeper
  understanding.

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Truth 3

• Its About Assessment

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Strong Schools Create Ways to Gauge Progress

• In schools that serve diverse populations well,
  educators develop assessment strategies that help
  them know that students are making progress in
  learning critical content.
• In these schools, assessment is a crucial part of
  instruction.
• Teachers see assessment results as tools for
  improving the quality of their teaching.

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Assessment Leads to Support for Teachers and
Students

• In successful schools, assessment results help
  determine professional development needs.
• As professional development initiatives are
  implemented, assessment results are used to gauge
  the effectiveness of those efforts.
• Assessment results lead to tailored interventions
  designed to ensure student progress.

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Truth 4

• Its About Adaptation

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Educators Continuously Adapt Instruction to
Ensure Learning

• In successful schools, educators are continuously
  learning how to adapt instruction in ways that
  help students learn well.
• Educators learn to instruct in ways that are
  responsive to the learning strengths,
  backgrounds, cultures, interests, and prior
  knowledge of students.
• Educators learn to instruct in ways that make
  learning exciting and fun.

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Educators Create Safety Nets

• Strong schools have systems for promptly
  identifying students who are having difficulty
  learning key content. As well, they have systems
  for responding effectively. These safety nets
  operate before school, during school, after
  school, on Saturdays, and/or during
  inter-sessions.
• Educators evaluate intervention programs
  regularly to ensure they are meeting student
  needs. Ineffective programs are modified or
  eliminated.

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Truth 5

• Its About Accountability

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Everyone Focuses on Progress

• In schools that serve diverse students well,
  students, teachers, and administrators share a
  sense of responsibility for generating progress
  in learning.
• In these schools, leaders monitor both student
  performance and teacher instructional improvement
  regularly. Leaders spend significant time
  observing instruction. They know what progress
  is made and where attention is needed.
• Administrators lead educators in analyzing data
  to assess the impact of programs, policies, and
  practices on all students and all groups of
  students. Findings lead to carefully considered
  adjustments.

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Educators Celebrate Progress

• In schools that serve diverse students well,
  small and large student successes are celebrated
  frequently and sincerely. Students from all
  backgrounds and ability levels are eager to
  participate and engage because they perceive real
  opportunities for their personal success.
• Leaders in these schools continuously remind
  people about the big picture the ways in which
  their efforts will change lives. By
  acknowledging progress, they inspire commitment,
  which generates more progress, which leads to
  greater acknowledgement of effort, ad infinitum.