Applying Culturally Relevant Strategies to Systemic Reform Los Angeles Unified School District NCRESSt Conference Creating Opportunities to Learn Denver,

Applying Culturally Relevant Strategies to Systemic Reform

Los Angeles Unified School District

NCRESSt Conference Creating Opportunities to Learn

Denver, Colorado Feb. 16-17, 2006

PresentersNoma LeMoine

Ebrahim MaddahianDaniel PattonRandy RossLiza Scruggs

Overview

• Defining the problem (Randy Ross)

• Framework (Ebrahim Maddahian)

• Historical Background (Liza Scruggs)

• Implementation (Noma LeMoine)

• Program Evaluation (Dan Patton)

• Discussion (All)

Defining the Problem

Randy Ross Ph.D.

What the Research Says:

• “There is a direct link between student achievement and the extent to which teaching employs the cultural referents of students” Geneva Gay, 2000

• “... for students who experience disproportionate levels of academic failure, the extent to which the students’ language and culture are incorporated into the school program constitutes a significant predictor of academic success” Jim Cummins, 1989

What happens when learning encounters are culturally relevant?

• High attendance rate

• Rigorous education program

• Sustained academic achievement

• Graduation from High School

• Post-graduation success

ATTENDANCE

• Attendance rates

• Suspensions (and expulsions)

Attendance Rates (Secondary, November 2005) for African-American, Native American, and Latino Students are Lower

88% 89% 90% 91% 92% 93% 94% 95% 96% 97%

Black/African American

American Indian/Alaska Native

Hispanic/Latino

All Ethnicities

Pacific Islander

White

Filipino

Asian

Source: LAUSD, January 2006

In 2004-05, LAUSD Schools Suspended African-American Students at an Alarming Rate

LAUSD Sub-Group Enrollment Suspensions

Ratio of Susp to

EnrAvg Days

SuspendedAfrican American 83,687 21,423 26% 1.6Hispanic 530,962 52,839 10% 1.4Asian 26,995 746 3% 1.4White 63,619 3,879 6% 1.4Other 20,252 970 5%All Students 725,515 79,857 11% 1.5

Source: LAUSD, January 2006

EDUCATIONAL RIGOR

• College-Prep Curriculum

• Special Education

Far fewer African-American and Latino Students Take College-Prep Courses

Ethnicity Number

% of 9th Grade Cohort

(Fall 2001)

% of 12th grade

students (Spring

2005)All Students 11,076 29% 54%African American 1,242 28% 60%Asian 983 52% 78%Hispanic 6,784 25% 49%White 1,518 38% 64%

Source: Jordan Rickles and Jeff White, “A-G Course Access and Completion,” Presentation to LAUSD Board of Education Educational Equity Committee, December 8, 2005, Program Evaluation and Research Branch

African American Students Suffer from Disproportionate Placement in Special Education

Item

American Indian or Alaska Native Asian

Pacific Islander Filipino

Hispanic or Latino

African American

White (not Hispanic)

Total Enroll.

Special Ed 328 1,362 161 940 56,370 14,602 9,444 83,207Enrollment 2,189 27,993 2,282 16,119 539,906 86,362 66,438 741,367Spec / Enr 15% 5% 7% 6% 10% 17% 14% 11%

Source: California Department of Education, Special Education Division.

Special Education Enrollment by Ethnicity, LAUSD, December 2004

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

• Proficiency in Reading and Math

• Passage of College-prep courses

Far Fewer African American and Latino Students Read Proficiently (Spring

2005) CST Achievement Gap - English Language Arts

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

AfricanAmerican

AmericanIndian

Asian Filipino Hispanic orLatino

PacificIslander

White (NonHispanic)

Ethnic Group

Percent at or Above Proficient

Achievement Gap

English Language Arts 2-11

Source: LAUSD Board of Education, Educational Policy Unit, 2005.

Far Fewer African American and Latino students are Proficient in Math (Spring 2005)

CST Ahcievement Gap - Math, Grades 2 - 7

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

AfricanAmerican

AmericanIndian

Asian Filipino Hispanic orLatino

Pacific Islander White (NonHispanic)

Ethnic Group

Percent At or Above Proficient

Achievement Gap

Math 2-7

Source: LAUSD Board of Education, Educational Policy Unit, 2005.

Far Fewer Latino and African-American Graduates Complete a College-Prep Curriculum (2003-04)

Subgroup All Female MaleAsian 65% 70% 61%Filipino 57% 64% 51%Latino 31% 33% 28%African American 41% 45% 36%White (not-Hisp) 51% 52% 49%All Groups 38% 40% 35%

Source: California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Unit.

GRADUATION

• Passage of high-school exit exam (CAHSEE)

• Graduation rate

Over ¼ of African American Students in the Class of 2006 may fail to pass the California HS Exit Exam

Ethnicity

Number of

Students Tested

Projected # of

students who will

not pass CAHSEE Percent

African American 4,751 1,286 27%American Indian 92 14 15%Asian 1,826 100 5%Filipino 1,121 41 4%Hispanic/Latino 23,608 4,347 18%

Pacific Islander 122 20 16%White (not H) 3,753 175 5%(Sub) Total (1) 35,273 5,983 17%

Source: LAUSD Board of Education, Educational Policy Unit, "CAHSEE FAILURE AND NON-GRADUATION: A

PRELIMINARY PROJECTION," August 31, 2005

Fewer Latino and African-American Students Graduated from LAUSD in 2005

74% 76% 78% 80% 82% 84% 86% 88% 90% 92%

HISPANIC

BLACK

ALL ETHNICITIES

AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVE

PACIFIC ISLANDER

WHITE

FILIPINO

ASIAN

Source: LAUSD, January 2006.

Resultant Statement of the Problem

• The gap in achievement for Latino and African American students in LAUSD schools is wide in part because these students’ learning encounters with teachers are insufficiently aligned with their core cultural referents.

Theoretical Framework For a Culturally Relevant and Responsive Education

Ebrahim Maddahian Ph.D.

Defining Culture from an Educational PerspectiveAmerican Heritage Dictionary defines “Culture” as:• The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns,

beliefs, arts, and all other products of human work and thought characteristics of a community or population.

• A style of social and artistic expression peculiar to a society or a class.

• Intellectual and artistic activity, and the work produced by it.

• The act of developing the social, moral, and intellectual faculties through education.

• A high degree of taste and refinement formed by aesthetic and intellectual training.

• The cultivation of the soul.

A careful analysis of this content includes the following elements:

• Behavior patterns, • Belief systems,• Human work products,• Human thought products, • Art forms, and • Human’s social, moral, and

intellectual development through learning that define a specific group of people

Learning Definitions:

• Behavioral modification especially through experience or conditioning

• The act, process, or experience of gaining knowledge or skill

• Knowledge or skill gained through schooling or study

• The process by which we receive and process sensory data, encode such data as memories within the neural structures of our brain, and retrieve those memories for subsequent use

What do we mean by CRRE

• A comprehensive system of education that incorporates student’s life experiences (emotional, social, cognitive and cultural) into schooling activities and processes.

Socio-Cultural Constructivism

• Biological and psychological growth do not occur in isolation, but start at birth through social interaction that leads to cognitive development

Important Concepts

• Zone of Proximal Development: The difference between independent learning without supervision and guidance and possible potential learning with guidance of a knowledgeable adult in collaboration with more able peers. (Vgotsky).

• Children develop their cognitive abilities and psychological tools necessary for learning and problem solving through cultural and social interactions. (Ladson-Billings).

• Teacher’s Role

Cultural Differences• People raised in different cultural environments may

behave differently – yet appropriately - in the same situation.

• They may show evidence of a different set of values about the same condition, may acquire the same knowledge in different ways and may demonstrate their learning in different modes.

• Since students from diverse racial, religious, and geographical backgrounds exhibit unique deep-seated cultural traditions of learning and of making sense of the world around them, it is essential for educational systems and educators to not only respect and value students’ cultural backgrounds and histories, but also to build instructional strategies appropriate for and relevant to them.

Culturally Relevant and Responsive Initiative in Los

Angeles Unified School District

ChronologyLiza Scruggs Ph.D.

Background

• Facts about the District

• Students

• Ethnicities

• Staff

• Communities

• Other Information

Background

• June, 2001, Hayes resolution adopted authorizing the development of an Action Plan to address the needs of African American and other underachieving students in the LAUSD

Background

• The Steering Committee

• Coalitions

• Conferences

• The Action Plan - 5 Tenets, 95 Steps

Researchers/Scholars collaborated with LAUSD

staff and community in 2001 about the relationship

between culture, teaching and learning

Instructional Practice

• Carol Lee– CRR Pedagogy

• John Rickford – Standard English Learners

• Roland Tharp – Classroom Ecology

• Vinetta Jones – Secondary Math

• Jomills Braddock – Policy

Teacher Quality, Standards and Parent & Student Engagement

• Phyllis Hart – Standards, coaches

• Sam Redding – Parents as partners

• Reginald Clark – Parent Involvement

• Jerome Freiberg – Student resilience

Background

• December, 2002 Huizar, Hayes, Tokofsky resolution adopted which expanded the closing the achievement gap initiative to specifically address the needs of Latino and African American students and embed culturally responsive pedagogy into all district initiatives

Background

• June 24, 2003, The Board adopted a motion/resolution to continue full support, implementation, and monitoring of the African Action Plan

School Policies That Promote Equity• Access to College Preparatory Courses• Elimination of Tracking and Remedial

Courses• Professional Development on Culturally

Relevant and Responsive Education and infusion into all instructional curriculums

• Support to Meet Student Needs (SELs/ELs)• Infusing Instructional Strategies That

Promote Equity & Access to Core Curricula• Continuous Assessment of the School

Culture and Programs

L. A. Unified School DistrictImproving Opportunities to Learn

Noma LeMoine Ph.D.Director, Academic English Mastery

Closing the Achievement Gap Branch

The Action PlanFor a Culturally

Relevant Education Than Benefits African American Students

and All Students

The Action Plans Tenets

• Tenet 1 - Opportunity to Learn (student focused)

• Tenet 2 - Opportunity to Learn (adult focused)

• Tenet 3 - Professional Development

• Tenet 4 - Parent Engagement

• Tenet 5 - Evaluation and Monitoring

Action Plan Recommendations

• Culturally Relevant and Responsive Instruction

• A College-Prep Curriculum • Academic English Mastery for Standard

English Learners • Highest Quality Teachers• Professional Development for all

stakeholders• Parent Engagement• District Accountability• District Monitoring

Local District Implementation

Local District Blueprints• Baseline data

• Action steps

• Allocation of Resources

• Internal monitoring

Tenet 1Recommendations

1. Central and Local District offices will provide comprehensive professional development for administrators, teachers, counselors, and coaches on Culturally Responsive and Culturally Contextualized Teaching to ensure that instruction for African American students is relevant and responsive to their learning needs.

2. Principals, counselors, and teachers in every high school in LAUSD must work closely with parents and students to ensure that all African American students know of, have access to, enroll in, and pass a college prep curriculum, including A-G course requirements, honors courses, and AP courses.

Implementing TENET 1

• A-G Initiative• Special Education Initiative

– Addressing disproportionality• Re evaluate AA Special Ed students• Ten School Pilot

• Initiative to address attitudes and beliefs– Consortium of scholars – One million dollars allocated over 3 years

• Algebra & Algebra Readiness Plan– 367 Math Coaches

Tenet 2Recommendations

1. Pursuant to its education of Standard English Learners (SELs), the district will continue to implement its Academic English Mastery Program (AEMP), which provides professional development for teachers and other school staff aimed toward improving the ability of schools to promote language acquisition in SELs.

2. The district must make every effort to ensure that African American children have equal access to the highest quality teachers and administrators within and across schools.

Implementing Tenet 2

• The Academic English Mastery Program • Small Schools Initiative• Human Resources • Changes in hiring practices

– Changes in procedures for interviewing teachers

DISTRICT INTERVENTIONThe Academic English

Mastery Program

Professional Development Program for Educating SELs

• Fall Educational Seminar Series• Intensive Summer Institutes • Periodic Curricular Focus Courses• Technology Training Courses • A Weekend Professional Development

Conference• Grade Level Student Achievement Teams

(GSAT)• Grade level Collaboratives• Instructional Academies

Professional Development Outcomes• Teachers build knowledge and understanding of

Culturally Responsive pedagogy• Teachers build knowledge and understanding of

Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy• Teachers engage in collaboration and study of

research-based instructional methodologies and infuse them into daily instruction

• Teachers are provided with opportunities to discuss, evaluate, & modify, their instruction based on observed students outcomes

Tenet 3Recommendation • Where change is expected and needed to

improve African American students opportunity to learn, the LAUSD must make every effort to ensure that its staff –Central, Local District, and School– and the external support providers responsible for change, are adequately trained and have the pedagogical knowledge and skill to effectively enhance the academic achievement of African American students.

Implementing Tenet 3

• One Million dollar contract with a consortium of scholars to deconstruct Negative Beliefs and Attitudes Towards students of Color

• Comprehensive Professional development Plan to build knowledge and understanding of culturally responsive instruction– District Response

• Literature Circles• Strategies Reference and Resource Manual• Professional Development Models

Tenet 4PARENT ENGAGEMENT

RecommendationParents should be

given the opportunity and tools to be the most

effective educational advocates for their

children.

Implementing Tenet 4

• Parent Ombudsmen in all 8 Local Districts

• Parent Involvement Centers on school sites– Staffed by trained parent/community

representatives– Provides parent education workshops

• Districtwide Parent…

Tenet 5Recommendation

Ongoing planning, systematic

monitoring, reporting

TENET 5RECOMMENDATIONS• The district will annually evaluate the actions taken

by various parties (Superintendents, Local Districts, Schools, Programs, Administrators, Teachers, and Staff) to close the achievement gap of African American students.

• The assessment should also include an analysis of the impact of those actions on student outcomes (attendance, course-taking patterns, and standardized test scores in reading, writing, language, and math).

• The District’s annual report should be completed and disseminated to the board and the summit of African American leaders, among others, no later than December 31 of each year, in order to ensure that:

• the evaluation gets externally and independently vetted • the evaluation guides the district’s future efforts to close the gap in

achievement of African American students.

Implementing Tenet 5

EXTERNAL MONITORING• External Monitoring Report No. 1• External Monitoring Report No. 2• External Monitoring Report No. 3• External Monitoring Report No. 4• External Monitoring Report No. 5• External Monitoring Report No. 6• External Monitoring Report No. 7

CRRE Action Plan Evaluation Findings and Activities

2001 to Present

Daniel Patton, Ph.D. Program Evaluation and Research Branch

Los Angeles Unified School District

Evaluation – Tenet 1

• The effectiveness of the District’s CRRE implementation will be assessed using:

- Standardized test scores

- Evaluation of CRRE prevalence in classroom practice.

- Special Education placement of African- American and Latino students

Findings: Tenet 1

• Student Achievement outcomes • Achievement gap persists

• Variability of achievement gap within ethnic groups and

across local districts

• CRRE Classroom Implementation Implementation study (Sept, 2004)• CRRE not implemented in LAUSD classrooms

Achievement Gap Case Studies (African-American and Latino)

• CRRE implemented more often in higher achieving schools

Findings: Tenet 1

– Progress: Reduced discipline and suspension rates• 75% of Local Districts reduced the number of African-

American students suspended over past three years.

– Persistent Challenge: Special Education referrals for African-

American & Latino students – Increase in Special Education referral rates for

African- American and Latino students from 1999 to 2003.

Evaluation – Tenet 1

• The effectiveness of the District’s CRRE implementation will be measured by:

• the documented scope & quality of the efficacious actions to implement CRRE;

• increased availability of A-G, honors, and AP courses to African-American students; and,

• the extent to which the gap in AA students’ enrollment in and passage of A-G & other college preparatory courses closes annually.

Findings: Tenet 1

• Increased enrollment of African-American students in college preparatory courses– A-G report

• 33% of Local Districts have increased the enrollments of African-American students in AP courses

• Closing the Achievement Gap in Student Performance on A-G, honors, and AP courses – Presented in Student Outcomes Report (Annual)

Evaluation – Tenet 2

• The effectiveness of the District’s CRRE implementation will be assessed by:– analysis of the scope and depth of AEMP’s

implementation in schools and classrooms with large proportions of African-American students;

– analysis of student achievement outcomes on standardized tests;

– the extent to which CRRE strategies are embedded in LAUSD’s Core Literacy and Math initiatives;

– creation of a master calendar of professional development that trains teachers to effectively instruct Standard English Learners.

Findings: Tenet 2

• Evaluation of Professional Development Implementation (Sept, 2004)– Raised consciousness re: CRRE– Obstacles to implementation

• Time• Clarity of methods• Professional development support• Resistance• Budget

Findings: Tenet 2

• Stakeholder Report (November, 2004)• Students did not perceive high levels of respect for

cultural diversity from school instructional staff

• Students did not perceive that all were treated equally by teachers and administrators

• Achievement Gap Case Studies (Sept, 2004)

• Narrowing the Gap schools had teachers with more experience and greater stability

Evaluation - Tenet 3

• The effectiveness of the District’s CRRE implementation will be assessed by:

• An analysis of the level of CRRE implementation scope and depth of implementation as demonstrated in schools with African American students

– Impact of Professional development on African-American student achievement

• Documentation of professional development delivery, utilization and budget allocations

Findings: Tenet 3

– Analysis of the level of CRRE implementation in schools and classrooms with African-American students

• CRRE Classroom Implementation Evaluation (Sept, 2004)

– Less than one-half of the teachers incorporated CRRE into instruction

– Only limited evidence of mutual respect and acceptance, respect for cultural diversity, and high expectations for student achievement

Findings: Tenet 3

• Achievement Gap Case Studies (Sept, 2004)– Narrowing the Gap schools had:

• More ‘hands-on’ administration • More collaborative teaching and learning• Parent involvement more geared toward

instruction

Findings: Tenet 3

• Evaluation of Effective School and Teacher Practices in the Ten Schools Program (May, 2005)– Higher performing schools exhibited

• Positive teacher-student interaction• Positive school staff relationships• Quality professional development• Evidence of CRRE school practice

Evaluation – Tenet 5(Recommendation 6)

• Parents – The quality of the district’s efforts to

engage AA parents in the education of their children will be assessed through an annual survey of AA parents.

Findings: Tenet 5(Recommendation 6)

Parents • Fifty-four percent (54%) of parent respondents viewed their

experience with teachers as positive and helpful.

• Few parents felt that their children’s cultural experiences were incorporated in their school experiences.

• Most parents said that their involvement in their children’s education consisted of helping them with their homework

• Obstacles to more active school-based involvement included:– Parents believed that they were not informed of pertinent

information by schools (23%)– Work schedules (19%)– Parents’ feelings of disconnection impeded their attendance at

school events (30%)

Copies of CRRE Evaluation reports are available at the Program

Evaluation and Research branch’s website:

[email protected]

Other Reports and Documents relative to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s District’s Closing the Achievement Gap Initiatives are available at the Closing the Achievement Gap wedsite: