April 1st - June 30st, 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LEADERSHIP .............................................................................................................................................................................. 1 THE EQUITY ALLIANCE AT ASU.............................................................................................................................................. 2 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Performance Criteria.................................................................................................................................................................. 3 GOAL 1: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE & PROFESSIONAL LEARNING.................................................................................... 4 Evidence........................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 1.1 Provide Technical Assistance and Professional Development........................................................................................................ 4 1.2 Developing a variety of platforms for dissemination and TA....................................................................................................... 7 Goal 1 Accomplishments............................................................................................................................................................. 7 GOAL 2: NETWORKING & DISSEMINATION......................................................................................................................... 8 Evidence........................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 2.1 Design and Maintain Communications Infrastructure............................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Develop and Maintain Networks............................................................................................................................................. 9 2.3 Proactive Dissemination Plan.................................................................................................................................................. 9 Goal 2 Accomplishments........................................................................................................................................................... 10 GOAL 3: RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT................................................................................................................................ 11 Evidence...................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.1 Conceptual Framework for Synthesis of Best Practices............................................................................................................... 11 3.2 Resource Clearinghouse.......................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.3 High quality products........................................................................................................................................................... 12 3.4 Tools for Assessing Equity and Leveraging School Improvement................................................................................................. 13 Goal 3 Accomplishments........................................................................................................................................................... 13 GOAL 4: CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.............................................................................................................................. 14 Evidence...................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 4.1 Engage in ongoing assessment................................................................................................................................................. 14 4.2 Assess quality of products and services...................................................................................................................................... 14 4.3 Engage in continuous refinement............................................................................................................................................ 15 Goal 4 Accomplishments........................................................................................................................................................... 15 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................................................. 15
2011 Š equityalliance
Leadership PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
STAFF
ADVISORY BOARD
Alfredo Artiles,
Arizona State University
David Gibson, Continuous Improvement and Evaluation Lead
John Copenhaver, Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center
Elizabeth B. Kozleski Arizona State University
Anna George, Evaluation Assistant
KEY PERSONNEL
Kristi Jackson, External Evaluator
Janet Gless, New Teacher Center, University of California – Santa Barbara
JoEtta Gonzales, Project Director Seena Skelton, Co-Director, Technical Assistance & Professional Learning
Shaunna Price, Administrative Assistant
PROJECT OFFICER Fran Walter, Project Officer, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Stephanie Hirsh, National Staff Development Council Mary Hudler, California Department of Education Irene Martinez, Fiesta Educativa, Inc. Ellen Moir, New Teacher Center, University of California – Santa Barbara Jose Padilla, California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. Gary Orfield, UCLA Civil Rights Project Dolores Ratcliff, Arizona Department of Education Robert Rueda, University of Southern California Jesús José Salazar, Los Angeles Unified School District Edward Lee Vargas, Kent School District Carlos G. Veléz-Ibáñez, Arizona State University
Equity Matters: In Learning, for Life
www.equityallianceatasu.org
1
The Equity Alliance at ASU The Equity Alliance at ASU is a regional equity assistance center (EAC) supported by a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, awarded through the Department’s initiatives to support Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act through rights training and advisory services for schools and communities to address equity and access issues in public education. Equity Assistance Centers provide technical assistance (TA) and training at the request of school boards and other responsible governmental agencies for the preparation, adoption, and implementation of plans for the desegregation of public schools. As defined by program guidelines, desegregation refers to equity—including desegregation based on race, sex, and national origin and the development of effective methods of coping with special educational problems occasioned by desegregation. In all, there are ten regional equity assistance centers in the U.S. The Equity Alliance at ASU is the EAC for Region IX, the southwestern region comprised of Arizona, California, and Nevada. Building on the educational theory, cutting-edge research, and the momentum of the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt), the National Institute for Urban School Improvement (NIUSI), and NIUSI-LeadScape, the mission of the Equity Alliance at ASU is to promote equity, access, and participation in education by supporting the capacity of States and local school systems to provide high-quality, effective opportunities to learn for all students, regardless of race, gender, or national origin, and to reduce disparities in academic achievement. Our approach is grounded in emphases on civil rights and cultural responsiveness, as well as the belief that all students can excel in academic endeavors if they are provided with access to highquality teachers, curricula, instruction, programs and resources, and their cultures, languages, and experiences are valued and used to facilitate their learning. Guided by a thematic focus on enhancing both understanding of equity in classrooms, schools, and school systems and the use of scientifically-based solutions, our approach addresses the gaps and priorities identified in recent, major policy and research equity reports (Artiles et al. 2005; Donovan & Cross, 2002; Ferguson et al., 2003; Harry & Klingner, 2006; Klingner et
al., 2005; Skiba et al., 2008; Losen & Orfield, 2002). Rather than view race, class, and gender as isolated factors, the center’s perspective suggests that the current inequitable conditions of schooling are connected to historical legacies of exclusion and inclusion based on normative assumptions about race, class, gender, and national origin that define who is considered competent and how difference is constructed (Minow, 1990). Indeed, schools engaged in equity work need to critique and transform such assumptions and focus on belonging, nurturing, and educating all students, regardless of differences in race, gender, culture, language, ability, or class (Artiles & Kozleski, 2007). This kind of work must be transformative to change systemic contributors to inequity. Both inclusivity and cultural responsiveness are grounded in transformative equity and social justice. Understanding how this perspective must inform classroom practice, school organization, and district policy is a hallmark of the successful work of the Equity Alliance at ASU personnel. In supporting state, district, and schools’ work to create equitable school systems, the Equity Alliance at ASU promotes the development of culturally responsive, inclusive educational systems. A major purpose of the Equity Alliance at ASU is to assist schools in complying with federal civil rights requirements through the adoption or improvement of policies and practices and to help parents, students, educators, and community members to understand their rights under federal law. The Center is responsive to states and school boards where students are at risk for language, racial, gender, ability, and national origin equity issues that affect student achievement. The Equity Alliance at ASU responds by working with districts, schools, and practitioners who are struggling to serve ALL their students equitably through developing and disseminating research based products, onsite technical assistance and coaching. Our relationships with Regional Resource Centers, Regional Educational Labs, Comprehensive Centers, the New Teachers Center, content centers, and other equity networks and professional organizations make us well poised to provide technical assistance to Region IX because we can create synergies between efforts.
The Equity Alliance at ASU serves as a resource to the Office of Civil Rights and Department of Justice in ensuring equity for all students, regardless of race, gender, or national origin, by pursuing the following outcomes: Reduce the over-representation of minorities in special education; Increase the representation of minorities in gifted and talented and advanced placement programs; Increase the use of scientifically-based, culturally responsive curricula and instructional practices in classrooms, schools, and districts including the provision of resource materials,
2
professional development and training on successful strategies for providing Limited English Proficient (LEP) students with equitable access to a high-quality education; Build local coalitions between higher education, preK-12 systems, communities, and families to provide equal access to highly qualified teachers, especially for students who are economically disadvantaged;
Support, develop, and disseminate effective approaches to school dropout prevention and reentry; Promote equity by addressing the special needs of high-risk students, including students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds; and Support districts transitioning to unitary status in desegregation cases.
2011 © equityalliance
Introduction Transformative equity assistance Goal 1 work requires TA & Professional De v. coordinated efforts that Goal 3 Goal 2 build Virtual Networks Clearinghouse capacity through ongoing Goal 4: Continuous Impromement professional development, supported by the use of cuttingFigure 1. Goals of the Center edge tools, frameworks and ideas. In addition, to be truly transformative, equity work is best institutionalized and scaled up through a distributive model of organizational change in which effective practices are systematically disseminated through school networks. The Equity Alliance at ASU’s approach thus centers on four key change levers (Figure 1): GOAL 1: On-Demand Technical Assistance and Professional Development GOAL 2: Networks of School Systems Engaged in High-Quality Equity Work GOAL 3: A Virtual Clearinghouse GOAL 4: Continuous Improvement and Evaluation This four pronged approach: • Provides the impetus and skills to make organizational change for social justice and equity outcomes, • Creates access to tools that will capture progress on critical equity issues and pressuring change for those who lag behind on educational achievement based on gender, national origin, and race, • Demonstrates how a focus on improving results for ALL students improves results for particular groups as well, • Provides resources and training in the areas of hate crimes, racial prejudice, disproportionality, ELL instruction, school completion, bullying, and sexual harassment, and
Performance Criteria The Equity Alliance Center is known for its high-quality human, technical and contentrich resources, which it creates in the context of fieldwork at all levels of the complex educational system. The Center also identifies, collects and disseminates high-quality resources from others’ research and development on equity matters. The outcome measures of our goals focus on the assessment of products and services in six domains (Figure 2) through the collection of data embedded within internal operations and through feedback from our clients and expert advisors: Q: Quality – Are our products and services rigorous and scientifically-based? A: We measure quality through feedback from our participants on our web-based products, evaluation from meetings, the number of long-term relationships we develop with districts, feedback from experts, by comparing our work to other equity assistance centers, and participating in ongoing conversations with national leaders, including the equity assistance center Technical Assistance & Dissemination Network. Q: Understanding – Do our products and services produce understanding? A: We measure understanding by the degree to which our participants indicate they understand and can use information from our print, electronic, and face-to-face delivery of information. The measure of understanding comes primarily from our end user evaluations, which we conduct after conferences, consultations, online webinars and via random surveys of our mailing list.
Q: Authenticity – Do our products and services reflect the current and foreseeable realities of our audiences? A: We measure authenticity by the degree to which our end users tell us that our products and services have immediate applicability to their contexts. We also ensure that products we create stem from field-based concerns and real experiences, which we garner through deep interactions in our Level 4 technical assistance. Q: Accessibility – Are our products and services accessible to families, students, and school boards in rural and suburban districts, small towns and cities? A: We measure success in accessibility by the demographics of our end users, information that we collect through surveys conducted at all levels of our technical assistance model. We look for broad audience participation across all of our conferences, consultations, and from those who find, download and use our products. Q: Usefulness – Are our products and services useful in developing and sustaining changes in student and staff behavior? A: We survey end users throughout the year to take measures on this criterion and ask experts for their opinions about our products and services. Q: Market share – Are we expanding our knowledge networks and reaching new audiences? A: We use online tracking tools to report increases in the number of requests for technical assistance, the number of new visitors to our web site, and which tools, products and pages they are downloading. We compare these results quarter by quarter and benchmark our performance to industry standards. We increase market share by leveraging these sources of information to take advantage of the yearly cycle of communications, conferences and other events that stimulate market response.
Figure 2. Six domains for assessment of products and serices
• Underscores our commitment to continuing to improve results.
Equity Matters: In Learning, for Life
We report on these criteria within the following “Accomplishments” section of each of the four goals of the Center.
www.equityallianceatasu.org
3
Goal 1: Technical Assistance & Professional Learning
Leverage continued improvement in research-based practices in schools through regional technical assistance and professional development supporting school, district, and state-wide development of assessment, referral, and instructional practices that address disparities related to race, national origin, and gender, as well as eliminating hate crimes, racial prejudice, and bullying/harassment.
The Equity Alliance at ASU provides technical assistance and professional learning experiences across a range of four tiers that represent different kinds of focus and levels of contact (Figure 3). Tier 1 is Resource Dissemination, the broadest outreach level, characterized by web products, Webinars, newsletters, brief useful documents, and monthly touch points. Tier 2 is Topic-Specific technical assistance requested by educational authorities in Region IX and usually result in one-time onsite consultations; other examples in this tier include video-conferences to meet specific needs, and facilitator training and accreditation. Tier 3 focuses on the development of a professional learning network and includes strategies such as multiple onsite consultations within a planned course of development, conference presentations, building leadership teams in schools, and developing professional learning plans. Tier 4 is the level where Systemic Change Partnerships are formed and maintained; at this level, we develop case stories of long-term interactions where the Systemic Change Framework is used as a constant comparative tool to promote transformation into a culturally responsive system.
Evidence 1.1 Provide Technical Assistance and Professional Development
Technical assistance and professional learning at Tier 4 is the most intensive, long-term work of the Equity Alliance. Staff made visits to all 3 states (AZ, CA, NV) during the quarter to work on two Tier 4 and 4 Tier 3 efforts. Progress in each was documented in Field Reports and Two- Step Processes, two evaluation tools that were developed last quarter. The tools helped us carry out proactive plans for each partner while creating and documenting a narrative of technical assistance activity. Here are highlights from each partnership. Arizona Kyrene School District. A plan took shape during the quarter that includes a yearlong series of activities involving supporting mentor teachers, a daylong professional learning opportunity, customized discussion prompts to be used by district leaders with new teachers during monthly meetings, and a culminating daylong session on culturally responsive teaching. State School District Refugee Liaisons. Staff presented a professional learning session to refugee liaisons from 35 school, district, and community agencies identified by the Arizona Department of Education. The training involved learning about and discussing ways to extend and expand efforts to meaningfully involve families in educatiovn. California
California Department of Education: Equity Alliance staff met in Sacramento with CDE and districts piloting the Culturally Responsive Teaching in California online professional learning modules. Discussions involved ways in which the districts were using the online learning platform to advance equity work. Staff also gathered information to improve the modules. Course 3 is in final stages of development.
Figure 3. Tiered model of technical assistance,
Davis Joint Unified School District: A second round of piloting the online California Culturally Responsive Teaching course will launch this Fall in two schools—one high school and one elementary school. Staff is working with district leaders, will present at an August staff retreat and will provide materials to support work with parent groups. Staff is also working with family-school
with key partnerships noted
4
2011 Š equityalliance
liaisons and disseminating information in order to further equity work throughout the community. Larry P. Workgroup: Staff members met with individuals from across the state of California to re-examine the 1979 “Larry P” court case and make recommendations for updating and revising district approaches to evaluating and identifying African American students for special education services. Included in this effort is a goal to develop a common definition of culturally responsive teaching practice in California. The Equity Alliance will assist the California Department of Education as work on this goal continues.
Outcomes for the 2-day training course included understanding the foundations of culturally responsive teaching, examining key strategies, using a walkthrough tool and process, and reflecting on data (Figure 4).
Understand the Foundation of Culturally Responsive Teaching
Nevada Washoe County: In collaboration with Washoe County’s Diversity and Equity Leadership Team, a 2-day Equity Walkthrough Training was held for principals and district leaders on May 17th and 18th. Participants read “Addressing Diversity in Schools: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy” prior to the training. We want to document this experience in some detail as it might be useful to others conducting equityfocused technical assistance. An “Equity Walkthough” is a strategy for involving school personnel and leaders in examining practices, collecting data for discussions and making decisions. The goals include: •
Frequent classroom visits by instructional leaders
•
School improvement planning
•
Professional development planning
•
Promoting school-wide reflective practice
•
Increased achievement for all students
These goals are addressed through: •
Frequent sampling of classroom activity and teacher practice, resulting in greater validity in what is observed.
•
Keeping a pulse on the quality of instruction in the school.
•
Identify trends and common areas valuable for professional learning.
•
Assembling better information about teaching practices that enable the school to address questions from the community and parents.
•
Identifying individuals who may be marginalized if assistance is not provided.
Equity Matters: In Learning, for Life
Use an Equity Walkthrough tool and process
Examine Key Equity Strategies for Creating and Sustaining Culturally Responsive Schools
Practice Focused Walkthroughs and Guided Reflective Thinking
Figure 4. Equity Walkthrough Training Outcomes
The training was initiated with an overview of culturally responsive classroom practice, so leaders would have a lens to use during their walkthroughs. After providing the foundation necessary, staff emphasized the methods to be used, and provided a format for conducting the walkthroughs, used videos to practice the methods and format, and held a debriefing prior to day’s end. Participants expressed feedback about the training: •
“Learned: Difference between equal and equitable. Delighted to be part of this team as it integrates beautifully with my journey in education. Anxious to learn more.”
•
“I like that I can now use another tool in helping myself and my staff to become more reflective in other ways.”
•
“Achievement is an equity concern. Looking close at instructional practices reveals issues that can be addressed reflectively to improve teaching and student learning. Thanks – this was very good.”
•
“I have learned that I have so much more to learn!!! Awareness is key. Walkthroughs have taken on a more meaningful practice. Can’t wait for more. I just need to build in opportunities to practice and reflect daily. More practice and time to reflect with colleagues. Thank you.”
www.equityallianceatasu.org
5
•
•
“This work is so important to our students and community. The awareness, intentional focus, of each teacher for each student across our district is what will make the cultural change in institutional racism – step by step. Thank you for assisting us in the ongoing process.” “I am looking forward to continuing this work. I have learned to really, really reflect on whether I am being evaluative or reflective.”
Of the 34 participants, 20 expressed interest in becoming district equity trainers able to carry out future Equity Walkthrough Training workshops, as part of a long-term plan for capacity building. This training is the first component in a series of sessions planned for training district equity trainers (Table 1). District equity trainers must: Be skilled presenters Attend all 3 Courses 1). Equity Walkthrough 2). Promoting Culturally Responsive Practices 3). Culturally Responsive RtI
Commit to co-presenting 2 sessions with fellow district equity trainer with feedback from EA staff during the 2012-13 SY Conference with EA staff before and after each session when presenting Table 1. District Equity Training Requirements Plans are underway to create additional training sessions based on follow-up surveys. See the Continuous Improvement section of this report for results from a survey of the training.
Staff met with the Equity and Diversity Education Department (EDE) at Clark County School District (CCSD) in April. Table 2 highlights the objectives and outcomes of this meeting:
6
Outcome
Discuss role of the EDE department in helping to shift towards Culturally Responsive Practices
The team identified action steps to collaborate with Human Resources and key district leaders to develop a district-wide equity video with embedded activities for all CCSD staff to be launched Fall 2011
Helping schools address the reasons for achievement disparities
Identified content emphasis for future Professional Learning related to core beliefs about equity and inclusive practices
Understanding change theory
Drafted a tool for helping school principals look at their readiness for change
The Systemic Change Framework – District level
Discussed key topic arenas for working with the district at large
Table 2. Objectives and Outcomes of Clark County Meeting.
Commit to co-presenting 2 sessions with EA staff during the 2011-12 SY
Clark County
Objective
The meeting centered on the emerging issues and needs of cultural change and leadership. Staff presented the Systemic Change Framework at the district level and provided information to help schools understand systems change. Activities embedded in the presentation led the EDE team to examine their current practices and identify both immediate and long term actions for positioning the department to serve other departments as well as schools. One immediate action is planning for a video that introduces CCSD employees to the EDE team, and outlines the services they provide, as well as an introduction to Culturally Responsive Practices. The EDE team also mentioned the desire to help teachers and principals feel more knowledgeable about ways to address bullying issues and discrimination specifically regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and
2011 © equityalliance
questioning youth. In response to this, staff sent copies of the “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth Matter” publication to the EDE.
Goal 1 Accomplishments
Example of the Systemic Change Framework in Action: As a result of changes in personnel at Clark County School District, the EDE is now directly supervised by the chief Superintendent, rather than the Assistant or Deputy Superintendent. This move elevates the department’s visibility and influence and positions the department as well as the Equity Alliance to have a broader, district-wide impact on equitable practice within Clark County. This also highlights the idea that the levels of the Systemic Change Framework are not static, and are prone to be impacted by the natural shifts and complexities of the educational system. It benefits the Equity Alliance impact to be flexible and adaptive in the way that it carries out its work and professional learning activities.
Accessibility
Summary of Technical Assistance Activities Table 3 offers a summary of the main technical assistance and professional learning activities of the quarter, discussed above. Partner
Where?
Developments Underway
Kyrene School District
Tempe, Arizona
Proposed scope of work with timelines
California Department of Education
Sacramento, California
Finalizing online CRT course
Clark County School District
Clark County, Nevada
Video to present the Equity & Diversity Department to all CCSD employees Key topic arenas for working with district at large through Systemic Change Framework
Washoe County School District
Washoe County, Nevada
Assisted a district in the development of a video introducing Culturally Responsive Practices.
Authenticity Participated in initial stages for a common definition of culturally responsive teaching and practice in California.
Market Share & Quality
Second & third training planning underway “Promoting Culturally Responsive Practices” & “Culturally Responsive RtI” Capacity building through training district-level equity trainers
Table 3. Summary of Quarter 3 Technical Assistance and Professional Learning
1.2 Developing a variety of platforms for dissemination and TA This quarter, activities included engaging staff in the continuous improvement of the Equity Alliance tools and platforms. New reporting tools developed last quarter were refined and utilized by TA staff and the information generated was fed into ongoing evaluation activities. Staff members were involved in researching, drafting and piloting a new measure of cultural responsiveness, which will be validated in use over the next several months. Research into improvements in online learning strategies is underway and will culminate in a decision about how best to develop and deploy online learning modules at scale. Additional information is offered in the next section.
Equity Matters: In Learning, for Life
Disseminated “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth Matter” targeted specifically towards a user-requested need.
Expanded influence at the district level in Clark County School District.
Understanding Engaged a district level Equity and Diversity Education team in understanding their role in influencing district-wide equity within a systemic change framework.
Usefulness Facilitated an Equity Walkthrough Training at Washoe County School District as the first of a series of sessions designed to train district equity leaders.
www.equityallianceatasu.org
7
Goal 2: Networking & Dissemination Engage regional clients, networks, and providers in peer-to-peer learning and inquiry to improve practice and results for social justice and equitable outcomes for all students. The Equity Alliance at ASU is noted for utilizing Web-based technologies to disseminate information and build and sustain networks with Region IX. We maintain and improve a communications infrastructure with a suite of embedded data gathering tools that give us a daily and weekly view of interests and concerns in the field. Our use of new social media such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter is developing an effective new breed of technical assistance tools and processes.
Evidence 2.1 Design and Maintain Communications Infrastructure
Figure 6. Updated Annual Reports Page
The Equity Alliance website went through several new revisions this quarter. These changes were intended to capture and enlarge the audience and enhance usability. One of the most striking changes made to the website this quarter was the addition of a “What’s New” newsfeed highlighting updates and stories at Equity Alliance (Figure 5). The feature stands out on the front page of the website, and grabs the attention of visitors, increasing traffic to other areas of the website.
Figure 5. What’s New Feature
8
The display of quarterly reports was updated (Figure 6) to make a clearer, concise presentation using Issuu software, a cutting-edge online publishing application that displays documents in a userfriendly format. Individuals browsing the website now have the ability to turn pages in documents similar to the way pages are turned in paper documents (Figure 7). Consequently, the format simplifies the document-browsing experience and improves usability.
Figure 7. Page-Turning Software Added to Equity Alliance Web Site
2011 © equityalliance
2.2 Develop and Maintain Networks In April, several Equity Alliance staff members attended and presented at the American Educational Research Association’s annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. This conference is an important showcase of the results of our research and critical inquiry, as well as an ideal venue to network with educational leaders from around the country. The following Table 4 is a summary of the presentations. As a result of attendance at AERA, 52 contacts were added to the Equity Alliance’s network.
2011 AERA PRESENTATIONS Artiles, A. J., King Thorius, K., Bal, A., Neal, R., Waitoller, F., Hernandez Saca, D. (2011, April). Beyond culture as group traits: Future learning disabilities ontology, epistemology, and inquiry on research knowledge use. Artiles, A. J. (2011, April). Toward an interdisciplinary understanding of educational inequity and difference: The case of the racialization of ability. Wallace Foundation Distinguished Lecture. Artiles, A. J., Session chair. Advances in Social Contexts of Education Interdisciplinary Research Lecture by Eisenhart, M. “We Can’t Get There From Here”: The Meaning and Context of High School Girls’ Engagement in STEM. Artiles, A. J., Session chair. Division G Vice Presidential Address by Duncan, G. The Schooling of Disposable Populations in a Wayward Society. Session chair. Hernandez-Saca, D.I. (2011). The Urgency of Paulo Freire for K-12 Education.
Staff also attended the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE) that took place from May 31st to June 4th in San Francisco, CA. A presentation entitled “Leadership Practices for Equity and Excellence” brought to attention the systemic impact of people, practices and policies on educational systems on bringing about educational change.
2.3 Proactive Dissemination Plan The third quarter saw 6,483 visitors to the main web site who used 22,373 pages of information. Over 3,490 people were new visitors. The Learning Carousel, our online clearinghouse that is counted separately, had 4,758 visitors who accessed 17,474 pages of information. Top content during the quarter on both accounts focused on the Leadership for Excellence and Equity Forum, a key yearly networking and professional learning event of the Equity Alliance. Two additional metrics we follow are the email communications and their penetration into different audiences (Table 5), and the loyalty of visitors, which is a measure of the number of revisits to the site during the quarter (Table 6). The industry standard for communications is 8.5% (and 13% for consultants) for “opens” (the number of people who open your mail from those who received it) and 8.9% (and 13% for consultants) for “click-through” (the number of people who act on something you offer them in the communication). It is evident in Table 5 that Equity Alliance is maintaining its outreach into its audiences and beating certain industry standards.
Hernandez-Saca, D.I. (2011). Valuing a Plurality of Research Methodologies in the Field of Learning. Kozleski, E.B. (2011). Black Education, Environmental Health, and Grassroots Organizing: Testimonies From the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Kozleski, E.B. (2011). Protecting the Rights of Participants in Rapidly Evolving Contexts: Aligning the Perspectives of IRBs, Investigators, and Institutions. Session Chair Kozleski, E.B. (2011). Teachers’ Sensitiveness, Attitudes, Preparedness, and Practice in Regarding Student Diversity. Kozleski, E.B. (2011). The Construction on Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education. Neal, R. (2011). African American Male Students Who Cool Pose. Neal, R. (2011). Journal of African American Males. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New Orleans, LA. Papacek, A., Neal, R., Huber, J.J. & Hernandez-Saca, D.I. (2011). Approaching Social Justice Praxis: Investigating Teacher Perspectives. Sullivan, A., & Artiles, A. J. (2011, April). Racial inequity in special education: Testing stratification explanations. Waitoller, F. (2011). A Cultural Historical Analysis of Teacher Learning: Developing Professional Identities Amidst Struggles for Inclusive Education. Table 4. AERA Presentations
Equity Matters: In Learning, for Life
www.equityallianceatasu.org
9
Visitor loyalty is a measure of the number of times someone returns to the site during a period of time. Higher numbers of visits indicates that the site offers people added value for every visit, since people would otherwise not return at all. People visiting the site near or over 100 times are making significant use of the site in their work, and other data from our surveys of audience suggest that these people are high level influencers in their systems (e.g. curriculum directors, superintendents, program directors, other technical assistance professionals). We report these visitors for both the main web site and our online clearinghouse of resources, the Learning Carousel. We see that 26% of the visitors to the main web site (494 people) return more than 9 times during the quarter and 15% of the visitors to the Learning Carousel (698) return multiple times to access online resources (Table 6).
Number of Emails & Audience Size
How many people less bounced who opened?
How many people clicked through?
Level 1: >9000
8 70675
8762 13%
1429 16%
Levels 2 : >1000
7 7510
895 13%
74 8%
Level 3: >100
2 465
48 11%
3 6%
Level 4: >25
7 185
45 28%
28 62%
Level of Mailing
Goal 2 Accomplishments The following list summarizes the evidence of accomplishment during this quarter, organized by our performance criteria.
Accessibility & Usefulness Increased usability via Issuu software that makes Equity Alliance web documents easier to read. Increased access and usability of Quarterly reports section of the website.
Authenticity & Understanding Conveyed the center’s vision, offerings and products to a broad audience of educational researchers and practitioner at the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting .
Market Share Added fifty-two new contacts to the Equity Alliance network.
Table 5. Third Quarter Email Communications for Levels of Technical Assistance
Times visited during quarter
Visitors to EA
Percentage of total audience
9-14
44
2.35%
15-25
57
3.05%
26-50
101
5.40%
51-100
133
7.12%
101-200
116
6.21%
201+
43
2.30%
Times visited during quarter
Visitors to LC
Percentage of total audience
9-14
182
3.83%
15-25
137
2.88%
26-50
121
2.54%
51-100
100
2.10%
101-200
153
3.22%
201+
5
.11%
Table 6. Visitor Loyalty Toward EA=Alliance and LC=Learning Carousel
Understanding & Quality Updated the website with a new feature “What’s New”.
10
2011 © equityalliance
Goal 3: Research & Development
Create, validate, and produce content-rich, cutting-edge scientifically based resources that translate educational research for diverse learners into practice for practitioners, administrators, families, and policy makers intended to assist schools in providing effective learning environments for all students. The Equity Alliance at ASU continuously creates and refines new resources that help lead the field of thought in equity and technical assistance. We maintain an openly accessible clearinghouse of information that serves thousands of people with hundreds of thousands of pages of information every year. We regularly create and update tools for technical assistance and make sure that our extended networks of equity advocates are aware of current, research-based information and practices they can use in their local settings.
Evidence: 3.1 Conceptual Framework for Synthesis of Best Practices The Systemic Change Framework guides many dimensions of our work, including the choices we make to add resources to our large and growing online library and clearinghouse – The Learning Carousel. This quarter we added 12 new works by others (Table 7).
Title:
Author(s):
Where are All of the Students of Color in Gifted Education?
Kathleen A. King, Elizabeth B. Kozleski, and Kimberly Lansdowne
Did You Know??? 10 Things Any School Can Do to Build Parent Involvement…. Plus 5 Great Ways to Fail!
John H. Wherry
Did You Know??? About the Difference Between “Parent Involvement” and “Family/Community Linkages”?
Dianne Ferguson
Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Strategies
Skiba, R.J.
¿Ya sabía esto? ¿Ya sabía lo que los estudiantes de la escula secundaria piensan acerca de la participación de sus familias en la escuela?
Carolyn Ottke-Moore
Did You Know??? What High School Students Think about Their Families Being Involved in School?
Carolyn Ottke-Moore
FCPS Culturally Responsive Student Services Guide Did You Know??? What Parents of Special-Needs Kids Think About Their Child’s Educational Program?
Anne Stilwell
Systemic Change Framework Rubrics Assessment Handbook
National Institute for Urban School Improvement
Did You Know??? About Four Ways to Increase Parental Efficacy?
Anne Stilwell & Dianne Ferguson
Did You Know??? About Successful Strategies for Involving Migrant Families?
Anne Stilwell & Dianne Ferguson
The Reflective Principal
Gail McGregor & Christine Salisbury
Table 7. Open access documents added to the Learning Carousel
Equity Matters: In Learning, for Life
www.equityallianceatasu.org
11
3.3 High quality products Scholarly publications are in progress in every quarter, adding to the Equity Alliance’s production of high quality products. This quarter included the following: Artiles, A. J., Kozleski, E. B., & Waitoller, F. R. (Eds.). (2011). Inclusive education on four continents: Unraveling Equity Issues. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Artiles, A., Kozleski, E. B., &De Gonzales, T. (2011). Beyond the allure of inclusive education in the United States: Facing difficult questions, tracing enduring challenges. Revista Teias. 12, 24, 285-308. Retrieved from the web: http://www. periodicos.proped.pro.br/index.php?journal=revistateias& page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=820. Published in Portuguese. Kozleski, E. B. (in press). Dialectical Practices in Education: Creating third spaces in the education of teachers. Teacher Education and Special Education. Kozleski, E. B. & Huber, J. J. (in press). System-wide Leadership for Culturally Responsive Education. In B. Billingsley & J. Crockett (Eds). Handbook on Special Education Leadership. Sage Publications Kozleski, E. B., Gibson, D., & Hynds, A. (in review). Transforming complex educational systems: Grounding systems issues in equity and social justice. In Defining Social Justice Leadership In A Global Context. J. Aiken (Ed). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
ly been punitive. These ineffective measures have done little to teach new behaviors and have frequently contributed to school failure for countless students throughout the US. School administrators, teachers, families, and students have the immense, shared responsibility of creating and sustaining safe and orderly learning environments where students are empowered to safely share their opinions and perspectives. These strategies are used at individual, classroom, and school levels to prevent and intervene culturally, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally. This collective endeavor is vital to improving learning outcomes for ALL students.” May 2011
Access and Participation: Summer Learning Edition Tracking may in fact be a significant determining factor in polarizing some students’ attitudes about themselves as winners and losers. -- George Ansalone & Frank Biafora “Disparate school outcomes between groups of students continue to plague U.S schools. Culturally and linguistically diverse students are less likely to graduate from high school, apply for, enter, and complete college. They are more likely than their white counterparts to be placed in Special Education and less likely to be placed in gifted education classes. Further, failure to engage girls in STEM subjects means that African American, Hispanic, and Native American women in particular are drastically underrepresented in the STEM field. Each of these (and many other) troubling outcomes can find roots in access to and participation in rigorous learning opportunities both within the school setting and outside school time.” June 2011
Newsletters are also an important feature in connecting evidencebased inquiry, analysis and reflection to real-world practice. The following are excerpts from three newsletters published this quarter that highlight critical themes in equitable education. April 2011
Culturally Responsive Behavior Supports ...the same kids who are least likely to do well in school are also the kids who are getting a disproportionate amount of discipline in school. And to show you the insanity of it, we typically discipline them by denying them school time. -- Pedro Noguera “Students need to feel physically and emotionally safe before they can focus their attention on actively participating in their own learning. Today many teachers and school administrators are often challenged to meet the diverse social and behavioral needs demonstrated by students. As the demographics have changed within many school communities, educators have struggled with proactively addressing the behavioral and social needs of an increasingly diverse population of students for a variety of individual and organizational reasons. One, among many, is that approaches to school discipline have traditional-
12
Planning for Culturally Responsive Schools When classrooms are organized into communities that are designed to encourage academic and cultural excellence, students learn to facilitate their own learning as well as that of their fellow students. -- Elizabeth B. Kozleski “Culturally Responsive schools do not just happen by chance. They happen because caring and knowledgeable individuals come together with ideas and plans that are carefully thought out, publicly scrutinized, and diligently executed. The best schools are intentional about everything they do - they are intentional about who is leading the school, who is teaching, how they use data to guide decisions, how resources are distributed, the way the curriculum is designed, the ways in which instruction is delivered, how progress is monitored, and the ways in which teachers and students are encouraged, engaged, and empowered. Everything is intentional, and nothing is left to chance.
2011 © equityalliance
Goal 3 Accomplishments But despite the best intentions, many schools continue to struggle with equitable outcomes for all students, and the culprit could be linked to the very idea of our intentionality. In other words, intentional about what? Teachers and leaders are inundated with demands to reform -- to do things differently. Tensions related to changing practice often come from multiple sources at the same time: district adoption of new curriculum materials, school participation in a district reform initiative, and new legislation or policy about service delivery for certain groups of students (e.g., ELL). In order for teachers and leaders to come to grips with the demands of innovation and reform, they need to be challenged and supported in understanding new theories of learning, new approaches to teaching, new policies, and the changing social context affecting students and communities. In order to be intentional about creating culturally responsive learning environments, they also need practice in distinguishing between evidence-based initiatives and the entanglement of promises offered through the extensive assortment of popular but unproven programs, initiatives, and designer-brand teaching fads. The time is right to be intentional about closing the gap between what we know and do to promote equitable learning opportunities and outcomes for all students.”
The following list summarizes the evidence of accomplishment during this quarter, organized by our performance criteria.
Accessibility & Understanding National-level data maps were created this quarter to visualize critical education data.
Quality & Authenticity Twelve new products were added to the Learning Carousel.
Market Share & Usefulness Three newsletters were sent out to over 10,000 contacts and helped connect our message to the right audiences.
3.4 Tools for Assessing Equity and Leveraging School Improvement Last quarter, we reported that a partnership had been created between the Equity Alliance and the Arizona State University Institute for Social Science Research in order to create a visual representation of education data pertinent to providing equitable educational outcomes for all children. At the conclusion of this current quarter, a prototype of the national-level maps was internally launched and is being readied for public use (Figure 8). The maps display data in the following categories: Least-Restrictive Environment (LRE), Disability Prevalence, Under-Qualified Teachers, and Risk-Ratios for LRE and Disability Prevalence. Next, the toolset will include district-level maps for Arizona, California and Nevada, as well as classroom-level maps for partnership schools.
Figure 8. New Data Maps Display
Equity Matters: In Learning, for Life
www.equityallianceatasu.org
13
Goal 4: Continuous Improvement
Engage in ongoing inquiry and program evaluation in order to continually improve efforts to support Region IX in providing high-quality opportunities to learn for all students. Continuous improvement at the Equity Alliance at ASU is a daily and weekly practice of embedded evaluation. We look at data as a constant companion of innovation, and rather than wait for reports a few times each year, we analyze and use information as it arises each week. We also promote these habits and capacities in our technical assistance work with partners.
Evidence: 4.1 Engage in ongoing assessment
To date, there is no standardized instrument of which we are aware to measure the impact of professional learning strategies on attitudes towards cultural responsiveness. Equity Alliance carries out professional learning promoting culturally responsive pedagogy in a variety of settings, and it became apparent to us that an instrument to measure the impact of our efforts would be highly useful. Subsequently, the Continuous Improvement team devised a 110-item scale, and the Arizona State University Institutional Review Board approved this instrument for pilot testing. Data is being collected for a target sample size of 300. The ultimate goal is to create an instrument that is less than 50 items, with strong enough reliability and validity to be used as a standardized tool.
4.2 Assess quality of products and services The Equity Walkthrough Training conducted at Washoe County School District was evaluated this quarter. Participants reported that they found this to be a high quality, user-friendly event (Figure 9). Ninety-nine percent (99%) of participants rated the training useful, deepening their understanding of equity, and of high quality.
14
Figure 9. High Ratings of Quality, Understanding and Usefulness in Trainings Some participant comments from the training included: •
The facilitators were excellent
•
[staff members] really set the tone when talking about their own personal experiences which drive the passion for what they do.
•
The more I learn and know the more I seem to want to know and learn!
•
I could use more time practicing focused walkthroughs. I was just starting to get the flavor of the non-evaluative process
•
I love the discussion on clearing up definitions and the way in which we use words as well as the very clear demonstration our group gave of how VERY easy it is to become evaluative in nature, even when we are focusing on NOT doing that. As we progress through the trainings I personally will really be watching for this and making mental notes of what appropriate responses may be.
The survey demonstrated the impact of the walkthrough training, and the feedback will help the technical assistance staff plan future events.
2011 © equityalliance
Goal 4 Accomplishments
4.3 Engage in continuous refinement In a broad-scale survey sent out in May to over 7,000 contacts, an overwhelming proportion of participants responded that they believe that Equity Alliance provides high or very high quality services, as evidenced by Figure 10. About 90% of respondents rated three of our services as high or very high: Consultation and Coaching, Professional Learning, and Continuous Improvement. Two other services were rated as high or very high by 80% or more of the respondents: Networking and Group Facilitation.
The following list summarizes the evidence of accomplishment during this quarter, organized by our performance criteria.
Accessibility & Market Share A semi-annual survey was sent out to over 10,000 contacts.
Authenticity & Quality Broad-scale survey participants report that Equity Alliance provides high quality services and products.
Understanding & Usefulness A survey instrument has been developed to measure the impact of professional learning strategies on attitudes towards cultural responsiveness, and is currently being validated.
Figure 10. User Ratings of the Quality of Equity Alliance’s Services Survey participants also pointed out that the Equity Alliance’s products are highly important for continuous improvement of attitudes and practices, use of research-based information, professional learning regarding inclusive education (Table 11). Comparatively, participants did not rate connection to data-driven decision making as high as the other categories (62% versus over 70%), but we believe that the current data mapping project mentioned in the Research and Development section of this report will help users visualize data to make decisions about their work and may improve the connection of data to decision-making.
Conclusion
During this quarter, the Equity Alliance demonstrated the value of its flexible, systems-oriented approach to professional learning and developed additional evidence of the importance and quality of its services to people in California, Arizona and Nevada. Activities of the quarter contributed new research-based knowledge to regional and national equity efforts and increased the number and quality of online resources. New approaches were introduced for public outreach and piloting and validation efforts are contributing to the improvement of learning resources such as online modules and a new measurement tool for culturally responsive practice.
Figure 11. User Ratings of the Importance of Equity Alliance Products
Equity Matters: In Learning, for Life
www.equityallianceatasu.org
15
April 1 - June 30, 2011
The Equity Alliance at ASU Region IX Equity Assistance Center Arizona State University P.O. Box 876103 Interdisciplinary B353 1120 S. Cady Mall Tempe, AZ 85287-6103 Phone: 480.965.0391 FAX: 480.727.7012 Email: equityalliance@asu.edu Web: www.equityallianceatasu.org
CFDA 84.004D: Civil Rights Training and Advisory Services Equity Assistance Centers Program U.S. Department of Education Award #S004D080027