Closing the Achievement Gap - Washington State School Directors ...

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What Districts Are DoingBellevue School District (www.belnet.bellevue.k12.wa.us) is working toraise standards for all students and lower the dropout rate by using AdvancedPlacement (AP) as an anchor for the overall improvement of studentachievement. In six years, the district has gone from scattered APcourse offerings to a district where all high schools offer a full AP or InternationalBaccalaureate program and district curriculum development is tiedat all levels with AP curriculum and tests. More than 70 percent of thedistrict’s current senior class has taken at least one Advanced Placementcourse.Technology can be a great equalizer for students. The Bridgeport SchoolDistrict (www.bridgeport.wednet.edu) is a model for using technology toreduce the differences among students. Bridgeport went from 80 percentwhite in the mid-nineties to 86 percent Hispanic and at the same timeexperienced enrollment and funding declines. The district addressed thesechanges by retooling its schools with technology. Bridgeport began bygetting donated computers to families and then working with AmeriCorpsand Wilderness Technology to promote a “make it and take it” program inwhich students build a computer for themselves and take it home. With afederal grant, the district is connecting the school and homes to theInternet.The Manson School District (www.manson.org) operates a successful duallanguage program at the elementary level. The program merges the mostsuccessful aspects of second language learning with a challenging academicprogram. Students will learn to read and write first in their dominantlanguage and be part of the Manson Elementary Language Leveling program.They will learn about other subjects in English and Spanish. Instructionwill be divided so that they will learn about half the time in eachlanguage. Lessons will not be repeated in each language but will build onone another.Cultural CompetenceRace and class inequities are deeply embedded in society’s institutions.Institutions, just as the people in them, must be culturallycompetent. This means that schools and school districts reflectpolicies, practices and structures that promote equity and respect for diversity.It also means that educators must understand the culture of poverty.As explained by Ruby Payne, in A Framework for Understanding Poverty,children bring with them “hidden rules” and patterns of thought, socialinteraction, cognitive strategies and other patterns of the class in whichthey were raised, and many are very different than those operating inschools driven by middle class patterns and rules.To close the achievement gap, there must be understanding of the impact oflanguage, culture, race and poverty on student achievement. Students fromWASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL DIRECTORS’ ASSOCIATION27
economically disadvantaged families and communities often have differentbasic values and needs, and it is these differences that often create conflictat school. Behaviors of students from cultures different from those of theteacher are often not understood and can be misinterpreted by school staffwho have had very different life experiences.The vast majority of teachers in Washington state are mono-cultural andmonolingual while student bodies are increasingly culturally diverse, bilingual,and English language learners.Students of color and students from poverty often bring experiences and anunderstanding of history and knowledge that they do not see representedin the teaching and learning taking place in the classroom. For example,relevancy of curriculum for American Indian students is questioned whenthey do not see their culture and languages represented in the curriculum.All staff must be trained in how their own culture and behavior affectsculturally and linguistically different students. These behaviors and culturaldifferences include how families perceive schooling, values and expectationsof the culture and simple things, like gestures and mannerisms.Staff need the skills to teach children to be “bi-cultural,” to succeed inschool and the workplace while remaining culturally proficient in theirhomes and neighborhoods.Attitude plays a key role in how individuals interact with each other. Biasedattitudes of particular cultural and socio-economic groups significantly altera school’s learning environment. A negative attitude breeds a negativeschool climate, and positive attitudes send clear messages that all are valued.Care must be taken to not let biased attitudes establish differentachievement expectations for students from different backgrounds.Questions to Guide the Discussion1. What dialogue on education and race have been held in the schoolsand communities? Do staff understand the impact of culture and raceon learning? Have they been educated about the culture of povertyand its effects on learning?2. What false assumptions are held about English language learners,children and families in poverty, and students who are culturallydifferent? What false assumptions operate about parent’s willingnessto be involved in their children’s education? What unresolved issuesabout race and class exist that are known to influence education?3. How culturally competent is the educational system, board and staff?What can be done to be more culturally responsive?28CLOSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP: A POLICY ACTION GUIDE
Page 4: Table of ContentsForeword .........
Page 7 and 8: My thanks to the members of the Ach
Page 9 and 10: Assess the achievement gap problem.
Page 12 and 13: Overview of the PolicyAction GuideT
Page 14 and 15: Understanding theAchievement GapWSS
Page 16 and 17: Data also show a clear pattern of a
Page 18 and 19: cient (LEP) students were dispropor
Page 20 and 21: All Students Can Learn:Evidence Tha
Page 22: The two building graphs are from Wa
Page 25 and 26: Allocation and Alignment of Fiscal
Page 27 and 28: What School Districts Are DoingIn t
Page 29 and 30: The No Child Left Behind Act (www.n
Page 31 and 32: What School Districts Are DoingThe
Page 33: Questions to Guide the Discussion1.
Page 37 and 38: “We need to look inside ourdistri
Page 39 and 40: 5. To what degree have new ways to
Page 41 and 42: “Closing the achievementgap requi
Page 43 and 44: “Where there are differentlevels
Page 45 and 46: What School Districts Are DoingKenn
Page 47 and 48: 5. To what degree are parents and c
Page 49 and 50: the classroom, grade level, school
Page 51 and 52: technology and professional develop
Page 53 and 54: tion, learning environments, progra
Page 55 and 56: Statewide 6th Grade ITBS Results: 2
Page 57 and 58: Train teachers to meet the demands
Page 60 and 61: ReferencesBrumbaugh, S. (1997). “
Page 62: Waymack N. & Drury, D. (Summer/Fall
Page 65 and 66: Gary Wilson Principal and Linda Hah
Page 67: Notes

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