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attitudes and practices to improve student achievement. Educational diversity identifies and openly discusses cultural differences and issues and gain respect for individuals who are different. The use of cultural knowledge and sensitivity to defend the rights and values of other groups is important. Learn to understand verbal and non-verbal communication with diverse individuals and or groups. Not addressing and facing these issues puts children and families at risk of not getting the educational support they need. Understanding the school culture may or may not align with the culture of the student’s home. Learning and understanding a family’s codes of behavior, such as their norms, values, beliefs, customs and how they communicate is essential in teaching diverse students. The classroom teacher is the most invaluable component of what a school system has in the social development of its youth. The teacher is the major part of the child’s adjustment to the American culture. Providing professional development for the teacher to ensure they understand how important it is to enhance the students’ self image, pronounce the student’s name correctly, share and understand the student’s thoughts, ideas and feelings. Invite parents to participate in the school. Have a home/ school connection and be responsive to non-traditional family structures. Plan instruction to include cultural histories and ask students what they need to be successful in school. To have a more inviting and culturally diverse school, school systems should hire employees that match the demographics of the students they teach. Assess your employee demographics. If you have 20 percent Hispanic students within a school, hire 20 percent of the employees of Hispanic descent. Attracting a wider pool of employees that reflect the population the school serves communicates the fact that diversity is important. Employ diverse professional job candidates with varied backgrounds and demographics. Employees and students will have a favorable attitude toward their workplace and school when initiatives are more demographically diverse. Schools are always concerned about public relations and test scores; the above-mentioned dimensions affect performance, motivation, success and how we model for our students a respectable society. When hiring for new staff, do you insist on a diverse pool of candidates to reflect your student population? Do you have focus groups, look policies, and know your own biases? Do they have a seat at the table and actually have input in the decisions being made? As an administrator, are you modeling being comfortable with people of diverse backgrounds? Do you know their goals, their motivations and how they like to be recognized? Do you know how to professionally give negative feedback to someone who is culturally different from you? When you have hired an employee, do you explain the unwritten rules? Are you continually monitoring policies, practices and procedures to ensure they do not impact different groups? Conduct employee attitude surveys, have mentoring programs and conflict management training. Are you listening to constructive feedback from staff on how to improve? Is immediate action taken when staff you supervise show disrespect for others in the workplace, for example jokes and offensive terms? Are assignments and opportunities for advancement are assessable to everyone? see CULTURAL page 110
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SPRING 2014 v SouthEast Education Network