Developing Culturally Responsive Educational Systems, Resources, and Practices

1. Developing Culturally Responsive Educational Systems, Resources, and Practices Evidencing Change for Culturally Responsive Systems: What data do we need and how do we use it?Evidencing Change for Culturally Responsive Systems: What data do we need and how do we use it?

2. NCCREStNational TA & D Center Provide technical assistance and professional development to close the achievement gap between students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and their peers, and reduce inappropriate referrals to special education.

4. � Theoretical principles that guide the work of the proposed Center: Nurture the creation of culturally responsive educational systems Culturally responsive educational systems are grounded in the belief that minority students live in a racist class-conscious society but they can excel in academic endeavors if their culture, language, heritage, and experiences are valued and used to facilitate their learning and development. These systems are concerned with instilling a caring ethics in the professionals that serve minority students, support the use of curricula with ethnic and cultural diversity content, encourage the use of communication strategies that build on students� cultures, and nurture the creation of school cultures that are concerned with deliberative and participatory discourse practices. Moreover, culturally responsive educational systems create spaces for teacher reflection, inquiry, and mutual support around issues of cultural differences. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Intersection of Culture, Learning, and Disability The genesis of minority representation is located beyond the borders of special education and this problem requires a solid understanding of the intersection of culture, learning, disability, and the socio-historical constitution of educational processes and outcomes. For example, cultural psychology and some developmental psychologists have produced a knowledge base on the link between learning and culture, social origins of learning; cultural mediation of human activity; educational anthropology classroom cultures that define what it takes to be competent, what counts as being articulate or smart, and the cultural capital required to navigate and use institutional resources for individual advancement. Others - sociology of education, organizational theory, cultural studies, legal studies, political science, social psychology, policy and fiscal studies, urban planning and urban geography, and history. These disciplines will assist the Center to understand overrepresentation and promote the use of research based knowledge around aspects such as resiliency in minority students� and families� lives, understandings of institutional processes and factors that can enable or constrain minorities� performance in various school contexts, and leadership issues in the administration of urban and suburban schools in the midst of multiple reforms, among others.� Theoretical principles that guide the work of the proposed Center: Nurture the creation of culturally responsive educational systems Culturally responsive educational systems are grounded in the belief that minority students live in a racist class-conscious society but they can excel in academic endeavors if their culture, language, heritage, and experiences are valued and used to facilitate their learning and development. These systems are concerned with instilling a caring ethics in the professionals that serve minority students, support the use of curricula with ethnic and cultural diversity content, encourage the use of communication strategies that build on students� cultures, and nurture the creation of school cultures that are concerned with deliberative and participatory discourse practices. Moreover, culturally responsive educational systems create spaces for teacher reflection, inquiry, and mutual support around issues of cultural differences. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Intersection of Culture, Learning, and Disability The genesis of minority representation is located beyond the borders of special education and this problem requires a solid understanding of the intersection of culture, learning, disability, and the socio-historical constitution of educational processes and outcomes. For example, cultural psychology and some developmental psychologists have produced a knowledge base on the link between learning and culture, social origins of learning; cultural mediation of human activity; educational anthropology classroom cultures that define what it takes to be competent, what counts as being articulate or smart, and the cultural capital required to navigate and use institutional resources for individual advancement. Others - sociology of education, organizational theory, cultural studies, legal studies, political science, social psychology, policy and fiscal studies, urban planning and urban geography, and history. These disciplines will assist the Center to understand overrepresentation and promote the use of research based knowledge around aspects such as resiliency in minority students� and families� lives, understandings of institutional processes and factors that can enable or constrain minorities� performance in various school contexts, and leadership issues in the administration of urban and suburban schools in the midst of multiple reforms, among others.

5. Practitioners and Administrators assume responsibility for the learning of ALL students from ALL cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Every student benefits academically, socioculturally & linguistically. Access to high quality teachers, programs, curricula, and resources is available to every student. Features of Culturally Responsive Educational Systems

6. What�s in an Educational System? Before you can act systemically, you need to know what aspects of a system you need to involve. NCCRESt has developed a conceptual framework for understanding culturally responsive educational systems that identifies three key elements that comprise an educational system: the people, the practices and the policies. People are key since educational systems are created to educate people, infants, children, adolescents and adults. Educational systems employ people. Teachers and other school practitioners work together to create effective learning communities for the students they serve. School leaders and other administrators help to keep the system flowing so that students enter, progress and graduate, teachers and other personnel are recruited, hired, coached, evaluated and retired in a constantly flowing process. Policies help to guide the people side of the work. They are created to maintain the learning process and reduce the amount of effort expended on activities other than learning like getting supplies to the classroom, deciding which students are assigned to which teachers, making sure that there are enough books, desks, classrooms and buildings to house all the students. Policies help parents and students know what to expect, what is expected from them and how the school calendar will flow from the time that school opens until the end of the school year. Practices are what people do. They include simple things like how students are greeted as the beginning of the year to how reading is taught in the classroom to how assessment occurs. While policies regulate the spheres in which people operate much of daily practice is up to the people who do the work: students and school practitioners alike. Practices also include how teachers interact with one another, their supervisors and the building leadership. The practices of administrators at central administration affect the lives of school personnel and the choices they make to involve themselves in decision-making. When we talk about making a system culturally responsive, we mean that people, policies and practices need to be assessed in terms of the degree to which they permit or impede culturally responsive action.Before you can act systemically, you need to know what aspects of a system you need to involve. NCCRESt has developed a conceptual framework for understanding culturally responsive educational systems that identifies three key elements that comprise an educational system: the people, the practices and the policies. People are key since educational systems are created to educate people, infants, children, adolescents and adults. Educational systems employ people. Teachers and other school practitioners work together to create effective learning communities for the students they serve. School leaders and other administrators help to keep the system flowing so that students enter, progress and graduate, teachers and other personnel are recruited, hired, coached, evaluated and retired in a constantly flowing process. Policies help to guide the people side of the work. They are created to maintain the learning process and reduce the amount of effort expended on activities other than learning like getting supplies to the classroom, deciding which students are assigned to which teachers, making sure that there are enough books, desks, classrooms and buildings to house all the students. Policies help parents and students know what to expect, what is expected from them and how the school calendar will flow from the time that school opens until the end of the school year. Practices are what people do. They include simple things like how students are greeted as the beginning of the year to how reading is taught in the classroom to how assessment occurs. While policies regulate the spheres in which people operate much of daily practice is up to the people who do the work: students and school practitioners alike. Practices also include how teachers interact with one another, their supervisors and the building leadership. The practices of administrators at central administration affect the lives of school personnel and the choices they make to involve themselves in decision-making. When we talk about making a system culturally responsive, we mean that people, policies and practices need to be assessed in terms of the degree to which they permit or impede culturally responsive action.

7. What is Systemic Change? SimultaneousRenewal in Multiple Layers of the System Systemic change is the process of identifying the components of a complex system and making strategic choices about the kinds of change that have a high probability of improving the critical products or outcomes. Systemic reform is based on an ecological model of change that mirrors the work of scientists working to understand and impact change in complex systems. It acknowledges that changes in one level of the system (say the molecular structures) can have both intended and unintended consequences that impact the functioning of the system as a whole. The systemic approach to reform also suggests that interventions that are seemingly innocuous may produce seismic results. In order for purposeful change to made, therefore, we must work at multiple levels in order to create the intended results.Systemic change is the process of identifying the components of a complex system and making strategic choices about the kinds of change that have a high probability of improving the critical products or outcomes. Systemic reform is based on an ecological model of change that mirrors the work of scientists working to understand and impact change in complex systems. It acknowledges that changes in one level of the system (say the molecular structures) can have both intended and unintended consequences that impact the functioning of the system as a whole. The systemic approach to reform also suggests that interventions that are seemingly innocuous may produce seismic results. In order for purposeful change to made, therefore, we must work at multiple levels in order to create the intended results.

8. Changing the vision� �Eliminating disproportionality is an adult issue.� (Joseph Olchefske, Superintendent of Seattle Schools) �We must change the way we think about ability, competence and success and encourage schools to redefine support so that the need to sort children is reduced.� (Testimony before the President�s Commission, 2002) Changing the Vision The genesis of minority representation is located beyond the borders of special education and this problem requires a solid understanding of the intersection of culture, learning, disability, and the socio-historical constitution of educational processes and outcomes. We need to broaden our understanding about the link between learning and culture, social origins of learning; and the cultural mediation of human activity. This requires learning on the part of adults and reconceptualizing what we know about teaching and learning for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse. We need to understand more about our classroom cultures from an educational anthropological perspective so that we can understand what it takes to be competent, what counts as being articulate or smart, and the cultural capital required to navigate and use institutional resources for individual advancement. There are many disciplines that can enhance our understanding of schools and their practices: sociology of education, organizational theory, cultural studies, legal studies, political science, social psychology, policy and fiscal studies, urban planning and urban geography, and history. Our own learning and growing is part of the process of systemic transformation.Changing the Vision The genesis of minority representation is located beyond the borders of special education and this problem requires a solid understanding of the intersection of culture, learning, disability, and the socio-historical constitution of educational processes and outcomes. We need to broaden our understanding about the link between learning and culture, social origins of learning; and the cultural mediation of human activity. This requires learning on the part of adults and reconceptualizing what we know about teaching and learning for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse. We need to understand more about our classroom cultures from an educational anthropological perspective so that we can understand what it takes to be competent, what counts as being articulate or smart, and the cultural capital required to navigate and use institutional resources for individual advancement. There are many disciplines that can enhance our understanding of schools and their practices: sociology of education, organizational theory, cultural studies, legal studies, political science, social psychology, policy and fiscal studies, urban planning and urban geography, and history. Our own learning and growing is part of the process of systemic transformation.

9. Access Participation Equity Why Culturally Responsive Educational Systems? Why Culturally Responsive Educational Systems? As populations become more diverse and more mobile, systems need to create more access points so that all families understand and can reach the services they need to flourish. Systems must be more than accessible, they must be organized so that families and their children are encouraged to participate, to learn, and to help educational processes improve. Systems must be equitable so that the educational needs and progress of some students are not privileged over the needs and progress of others. Questions like who benefits from the way things are now and is this the way to achieve equity must be asked as rules and policies are developed, implemented, and evaluated. Why Culturally Responsive Educational Systems? As populations become more diverse and more mobile, systems need to create more access points so that all families understand and can reach the services they need to flourish. Systems must be more than accessible, they must be organized so that families and their children are encouraged to participate, to learn, and to help educational processes improve. Systems must be equitable so that the educational needs and progress of some students are not privileged over the needs and progress of others. Questions like who benefits from the way things are now and is this the way to achieve equity must be asked as rules and policies are developed, implemented, and evaluated.

10. Questions- What do you see as barriers to access, participation, and equity in your systems? What are you doing that is assisting with the removal of those barriers? What do you need to continue to create opportunities for access, participation, and equity?

11. Building Culturally Responsive Systems Building Culturally Responsive Systems: Before you can act systemically, you need to know what aspects of a system you need to involve. NCCRESt has developed a conceptual framework for understanding culturally responsive educational systems that identifies three key elements that comprise an educational system: the people, the practices, and the policies. When we talk about making a system culturally responsive, we mean that people, policies, and practices need to be assessed in terms of the degree to which they permit or impede culturally responsive action. People: People are key since educational systems are created to educate people, infants, children, adolescents, and adults. Educational systems employ people. Teachers and other school practitioners work together to create effective learning communities for the students they serve. School leaders and other administrators help to keep the system flowing so that students enter, progress and graduate, teachers and other personnel are recruited, hired, coached, evaluated and retired in a constantly flowing process. Policies: Policies help to guide the people side of the work. They are created to maintain the learning process and reduce the amount of effort expended on activities other than learning like getting supplies to the classroom, and deciding which students are assigned to which teachers, making sure that there are enough books, desks, classrooms and buildings to house all the students. Policies help parents and students know what to expect, what is expected from them, and how the school calendar will flow from the time that school opens until the end of the school year. Practices: Practices are what people do. They include simple things like how students are greeted at the beginning of the year to how reading is taught in the classroom to how assessment occurs. While policies regulate the spheres in which people operate much of daily practice is up to the people who do the work: students and school practitioners alike. Practices also include how teachers interact with one another, their supervisors, and the building leadership. The practices of administrators at central administration affect the lives of school personnel and the choices they make to involve themselves in decision-making. Building Culturally Responsive Systems: Before you can act systemically, you need to know what aspects of a system you need to involve. NCCRESt has developed a conceptual framework for understanding culturally responsive educational systems that identifies three key elements that comprise an educational system: the people, the practices, and the policies. When we talk about making a system culturally responsive, we mean that people, policies, and practices need to be assessed in terms of the degree to which they permit or impede culturally responsive action. People: People are key since educational systems are created to educate people, infants, children, adolescents, and adults. Educational systems employ people. Teachers and other school practitioners work together to create effective learning communities for the students they serve. School leaders and other administrators help to keep the system flowing so that students enter, progress and graduate, teachers and other personnel are recruited, hired, coached, evaluated and retired in a constantly flowing process. Policies: Policies help to guide the people side of the work. They are created to maintain the learning process and reduce the amount of effort expended on activities other than learning like getting supplies to the classroom, and deciding which students are assigned to which teachers, making sure that there are enough books, desks, classrooms and buildings to house all the students. Policies help parents and students know what to expect, what is expected from them, and how the school calendar will flow from the time that school opens until the end of the school year. Practices: Practices are what people do. They include simple things like how students are greeted at the beginning of the year to how reading is taught in the classroom to how assessment occurs. While policies regulate the spheres in which people operate much of daily practice is up to the people who do the work: students and school practitioners alike. Practices also include how teachers interact with one another, their supervisors, and the building leadership. The practices of administrators at central administration affect the lives of school personnel and the choices they make to involve themselves in decision-making.

12. Engaging People Engaging People: Systemic change happens through the agency of people. Only people act. They use tools and are influenced by policies but it is people themselves who act. No transformation can occur without the explicit involvement of people. People engage in change as a result of ongoing discussion or discourse that helps to uncover issues that may not be apparent on the surface of daily life. For this kind of activity to occur, three elements are necessary: Presence. People need to be invited to come together. One of the biggest mistakes that happens at the beginning of any systemic reform effort is forgetting to make sure that people from different layers of the system are brought together. Participation. Because of the habits and patterns that are established over time, in any group there are members who are more vocal, more influential, and more powerful than others. There are many reasons for this phenomenon but for the time being, it is just important to acknowledge that these patterns of interaction occur. Unless something is done consciously at the beginning of a cycle of systemic change, these patterns will continue even though there are good will attempts to change the current paradigm. When people show up but for time honored reasons do not feel as if they are invited to speak or participate in the change process, they will withdraw and watch on the periphery. This often means that the very people that need to be part of the transformation are not able to participate in building the change. So, be conscious about using new approaches to engaging everyone and ensuring their participation. Emancipation. Investing in People means that we are also investing in removing barriers to their own choice making. Emancipatory investments are unpredictable because we do not know what participants may choose to do but by creating the possibility for their own learning (rather than imposing what we know best), we build a future for sustainable change because more people become invested in making choices and contributing to outcomes. Engaging People: Systemic change happens through the agency of people. Only people act. They use tools and are influenced by policies but it is people themselves who act. No transformation can occur without the explicit involvement of people. People engage in change as a result of ongoing discussion or discourse that helps to uncover issues that may not be apparent on the surface of daily life. For this kind of activity to occur, three elements are necessary: Presence. People need to be invited to come together. One of the biggest mistakes that happens at the beginning of any systemic reform effort is forgetting to make sure that people from different layers of the system are brought together. Participation. Because of the habits and patterns that are established over time, in any group there are members who are more vocal, more influential, and more powerful than others. There are many reasons for this phenomenon but for the time being, it is just important to acknowledge that these patterns of interaction occur. Unless something is done consciously at the beginning of a cycle of systemic change, these patterns will continue even though there are good will attempts to change the current paradigm. When people show up but for time honored reasons do not feel as if they are invited to speak or participate in the change process, they will withdraw and watch on the periphery. This often means that the very people that need to be part of the transformation are not able to participate in building the change. So, be conscious about using new approaches to engaging everyone and ensuring their participation. Emancipation. Investing in People means that we are also investing in removing barriers to their own choice making. Emancipatory investments are unpredictable because we do not know what participants may choose to do but by creating the possibility for their own learning (rather than imposing what we know best), we build a future for sustainable change because more people become invested in making choices and contributing to outcomes.

13. Questions- What works to ensure presence, participation, and emancipation? What challenges exist?

14. Educate Inform Equitable Emancipate Create Access Examining Policies Examining Policies: Creating policy that will transform schools and classrooms into culturally responsive milieus requires understandings of institutional processes and factors that can enable or constrain minorities� performance in various school contexts. While different constituencies affect policy at different levels of the system, policies continue to be set at each of these levels. The critical features of effective and sustainable policies include the educative function of policy. That is, that policies constrain some kinds of activities and sanction others because of fundamental beliefs about the individual rights of human beings. Policies should be developed in such a way that they educate the people that will be affected by the policy. This includes student polices. Second, effective policy informs. That is, it names the issue or problem that the policy is intended to effect. Consider IDEA (the Individuals with Education Act), when it was first passed, it provided evidence about the number of students with disabilities who were prevented from attending school (about 6 million students) as a foundation for the necessity of the law. Policies need to be equitable. That is, they need to ensure that the impact of the policy will be equitable across groups of people so that no one group will benefit at the expense of another group. Policies should emancipate. That is, that they should provide greater levels of autonomy and decision-making for the people impacted. Finally, policies should ensure access � access to goods and services that are available to everyone, rather than a particular, advantaged group. Examining Policies: Creating policy that will transform schools and classrooms into culturally responsive milieus requires understandings of institutional processes and factors that can enable or constrain minorities� performance in various school contexts. While different constituencies affect policy at different levels of the system, policies continue to be set at each of these levels. The critical features of effective and sustainable policies include the educative function of policy. That is, that policies constrain some kinds of activities and sanction others because of fundamental beliefs about the individual rights of human beings. Policies should be developed in such a way that they educate the people that will be affected by the policy. This includes student polices. Second, effective policy informs. That is, it names the issue or problem that the policy is intended to effect. Consider IDEA (the Individuals with Education Act), when it was first passed, it provided evidence about the number of students with disabilities who were prevented from attending school (about 6 million students) as a foundation for the necessity of the law. Policies need to be equitable. That is, they need to ensure that the impact of the policy will be equitable across groups of people so that no one group will benefit at the expense of another group. Policies should emancipate. That is, that they should provide greater levels of autonomy and decision-making for the people impacted. Finally, policies should ensure access � access to goods and services that are available to everyone, rather than a particular, advantaged group.

15. Questions- Think about a current policy that you are implementing in the district/school- what have you done to educate? Inform? Ensure equity?

16. Examining Practice Discourse Tools Collaboration Evidence Examining Practice: Discourse that creates a space for people to explore their ideas, their emotions and their relationships opens up the possibility for changes in attitudes, values, and beliefs. Without the opportunity to explore issues, policies can be mandated and complied with, but the potential for sustainability is fragile. Discourse is the glue that brings people together to explore new tools, examine the effects of their daily work, and collaborate to build better futures. Tools: People need tools to do their work. In schools and classrooms, these tools can be teaching techniques, curriculum materials, microchip technologies, assessment strategies or any of a number of instructional approaches and curricular standards and materials that support the education of students. Tools that people use guide and influence practice decisions. Having access to a data projector and a computer may mean that a teacher will choose demonstration over reading primary texts to teach a particular concept. Without access to these kinds of tools, the teacher may not even consider the use of demonstration as a teaching technique. Tools shape choice. In NCCRESt we have three important tools that can shape the kind of practice that goes on in classrooms: early intervention in general education, positive behavior supports, and literacy instruction. These tools, like others that teachers and other school practitioners can access, must stand the test of evidence. That is, is there evidence that these particular tools produce results for students with a variety of learning backgrounds, approaches, languages and intellectual abilities? In addition, teachers themselves need to be conscious of the kinds of evidence that they are gathering daily that tell them the degree to which students are flourishing academically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially in their classrooms. Finally, practice cannot be examined well without collaboration among peers, healthy tensions that are expressed and valued about what works for students. For those of you who are administrators, policy makers or researchers, in the audience, your practices can also be examined using these same principles: discourse, tools, evidence, and collaboration. Consider how you might engage with your colleagues in similar reviews of your own practices. Examining Practice: Discourse that creates a space for people to explore their ideas, their emotions and their relationships opens up the possibility for changes in attitudes, values, and beliefs. Without the opportunity to explore issues, policies can be mandated and complied with, but the potential for sustainability is fragile. Discourse is the glue that brings people together to explore new tools, examine the effects of their daily work, and collaborate to build better futures. Tools: People need tools to do their work. In schools and classrooms, these tools can be teaching techniques, curriculum materials, microchip technologies, assessment strategies or any of a number of instructional approaches and curricular standards and materials that support the education of students. Tools that people use guide and influence practice decisions. Having access to a data projector and a computer may mean that a teacher will choose demonstration over reading primary texts to teach a particular concept. Without access to these kinds of tools, the teacher may not even consider the use of demonstration as a teaching technique. Tools shape choice. In NCCRESt we have three important tools that can shape the kind of practice that goes on in classrooms: early intervention in general education, positive behavior supports, and literacy instruction. These tools, like others that teachers and other school practitioners can access, must stand the test of evidence. That is, is there evidence that these particular tools produce results for students with a variety of learning backgrounds, approaches, languages and intellectual abilities? In addition, teachers themselves need to be conscious of the kinds of evidence that they are gathering daily that tell them the degree to which students are flourishing academically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially in their classrooms. Finally, practice cannot be examined well without collaboration among peers, healthy tensions that are expressed and valued about what works for students. For those of you who are administrators, policy makers or researchers, in the audience, your practices can also be examined using these same principles: discourse, tools, evidence, and collaboration. Consider how you might engage with your colleagues in similar reviews of your own practices.

17. Questions- Choose an area of your practice- think about the tools you need, the opportunities for collaboration and discourse, and the evidence that this is an effective practice

18. So What Should be the Focus of Change? So What Should be the Focus of Change? Lasting change happens when agendas for change are implemented so that change happens in multiple levels of a system. Helping people understand and embrace the vision and rationale for change while giving them skills and support to make the change is essential. Realigning policies so that they support rather than impede change is necessary.So What Should be the Focus of Change? Lasting change happens when agendas for change are implemented so that change happens in multiple levels of a system. Helping people understand and embrace the vision and rationale for change while giving them skills and support to make the change is essential. Realigning policies so that they support rather than impede change is necessary.

19. How do we know what to change or where to begin? How do we know what to change or where to begin? When we embark on any process of improvement, we need evidence that tells us what is happening now, to whom, and why. We need to collect, analyze, and discuss the evidence so that our stakeholders embrace the same change goals and create the space for the change to happen. How do we know what to change or where to begin? When we embark on any process of improvement, we need evidence that tells us what is happening now, to whom, and why. We need to collect, analyze, and discuss the evidence so that our stakeholders embrace the same change goals and create the space for the change to happen.

20. Data about People Who are our students? What are their concerns? How are they doing? Are different groups of students experiencing different levels of success? What do we know about their school experiences? Data about People: We need to have data about our students and their families. There are many culturally responsive ways to collect information. Make sure that when you decide to collect information, you don�t just use one method to reach everyone. Think about data that may already exist but has not been analyzed. Some schools are looking at the number of students who are culturally and linguistically diverse who are being placed in academically advanced high school classes. Some schools and districts are looking at who is being placed in special education or other specialized services. There are many existing sets of data that can be analyzed in order to examine issues of access, participation, and equity.Data about People: We need to have data about our students and their families. There are many culturally responsive ways to collect information. Make sure that when you decide to collect information, you don�t just use one method to reach everyone. Think about data that may already exist but has not been analyzed. Some schools are looking at the number of students who are culturally and linguistically diverse who are being placed in academically advanced high school classes. Some schools and districts are looking at who is being placed in special education or other specialized services. There are many existing sets of data that can be analyzed in order to examine issues of access, participation, and equity.

21. People Students- who is achieving? Who is not? Who is in what programs? Families- What is involvement? Who is involved? Who is not? Communities- Have you identified community assets? Are community partners represented in all conversations? Practitioners- Do practitioners have time to work together? Do practitioners receive support, resources, and training? Is there a plan in place to recruit diverse practitioners? How do practitioners become aware of the importance of culture- their own, and others? Administrators- Do administrators come together to share successes and challenges? Do they have support, resources, and training? Are administrators committed to leading in a culturally responsive educational system?

22. What do we know about practices? What is being taught and how? What is being learning and by whom? What are the contexts for learning? Do they differ from classroom to classroom? From school to school? Why? What do we know about practices? What is being taught and how? What is being learned and by whom? What are the contexts for learning? Do they differ from classroom to classroom? From school to school? Why? What do we know about practices? What is being taught and how? What is being learned and by whom? What are the contexts for learning? Do they differ from classroom to classroom? From school to school? Why?

23. Practices Curriculum Instruction Assessment Pre-referral and referral processes Discipline Graduation and post-secondary supports

24. What do we know about policies? How do classroom policies affect different kinds of learners? How do school policies affect different kinds of learners? What about district or state policies? What policies help practitioners reach out to their students? What do we know about policies? How do classroom policies affect different kinds of learners? How do school policies affect different kinds of learners? What about district or state policies? What policies help practitioners reach out to their students? What do we know about policies? How do classroom policies affect different kinds of learners? How do school policies affect different kinds of learners? What about district or state policies? What policies help practitioners reach out to their students?

25. Policies Explicit Flexible Equitable Evaluated Revised

26. Culturally Responsive Practices � What are they? 5 minutes FINISH by 2:355 minutes FINISH by 2:35

27. Personal Individuals value cultural diversity as well as cultural similarities, holding respect for the unique characteristics of each individual, and acknowledging the similarities we all share as well. Individuals believe in the relevance of learning about and valuing customs, traditions and beliefs he or she is unfamiliar with, in order to understand and appreciate cultural diversity better. Individuals see themselves as agents of change, assuming the role and responsibility of providing students with empowering instruction, being committed with the political nature of their work. Individuals are aware of the influence cultural knowledge that children bring to school has in their way of thinking, behaving, being and learning. Individuals are interested in knowing about the lives of their students, getting to know more about student�s experiences outside school. Stan - here you might take this slide and create a set of examples from your own work that show the relationship between your belief system and your practices as a researcher and educator. You�ll have about 15 minutes 2:50Stan - here you might take this slide and create a set of examples from your own work that show the relationship between your belief system and your practices as a researcher and educator. You�ll have about 15 minutes 2:50

28. Personal What needs to happen in order for educators to develop these beliefs?

29. Professional Practices Values individual�s cultural and linguistic knowledge and skills, using them as resources for moving ahead, instead of focusing on differences or deficiencies Holds high professional and personal expectations for others Treats others as competent, assuming their success. Encourages others to develop a broader and critical consciousness about social inequalities and the status quo. Facilitates going beyond the constrained ways of knowing, and a single version of truth. Builds bridges between everyday experiences and new ideas Encourages individuals to apply cultural knowledge in their work Supports professional learning so that it becomes a contextualized and meaningful experience. Leads in multidimensional ways that surface beliefs, feelings and factual information in teaching practices. Debbie � this might frame your discussion as a teacher educator � FINISH BY 3:05Debbie � this might frame your discussion as a teacher educator � FINISH BY 3:05

30. Professional What needs to happen in order for educators to develop these skills?

31. Institutional Practice Provide organization members with opportunities to consume and create new knowledge, by embracing a �culture of inquiry�. Active work as scholars allows them to address problems or questions through the systematic study of teaching and learning. Promote a collaborative environment, by providing time for teams to share read and think together about what they are doing and how it improves cultural practice Encourage and organize the use of staff resources to gather and develop knowledge about culturally responsive practices, inside and outside the organization. Make effective use of everyone�s time, responsibilities and materials to provide learning opportunities about culturally responsive practices in daily work. Embrace organizational values, beliefs and norms that support culturally responsive professional communities. Adopt leadership styles that allow collaborative work at the different administrative levels. Wanda - institutional practice??? Finish by 3:25Wanda - institutional practice??? Finish by 3:25

32. Institutional What needs to happen in order for institutions to change?

33. Building Culturally Responsive Systems- Committing to an Equity Agenda Building Culturally Responsive Systems: Before you can act systemically, you need to know what aspects of a system you need to involve. NCCRESt has developed a conceptual framework for understanding culturally responsive educational systems that identifies three key elements that comprise an educational system: the people, the practices, and the policies. When we talk about making a system culturally responsive, we mean that people, policies, and practices need to be assessed in terms of the degree to which they permit or impede culturally responsive action. People: People are key since educational systems are created to educate people, infants, children, adolescents, and adults. Educational systems employ people. Teachers and other school practitioners work together to create effective learning communities for the students they serve. School leaders and other administrators help to keep the system flowing so that students enter, progress and graduate, teachers and other personnel are recruited, hired, coached, evaluated and retired in a constantly flowing process. Policies: Policies help to guide the people side of the work. They are created to maintain the learning process and reduce the amount of effort expended on activities other than learning like getting supplies to the classroom, and deciding which students are assigned to which teachers, making sure that there are enough books, desks, classrooms and buildings to house all the students. Policies help parents and students know what to expect, what is expected from them, and how the school calendar will flow from the time that school opens until the end of the school year. Practices: Practices are what people do. They include simple things like how students are greeted at the beginning of the year to how reading is taught in the classroom to how assessment occurs. While policies regulate the spheres in which people operate much of daily practice is up to the people who do the work: students and school practitioners alike. Practices also include how teachers interact with one another, their supervisors, and the building leadership. The practices of administrators at central administration affect the lives of school personnel and the choices they make to involve themselves in decision-making. Building Culturally Responsive Systems: Before you can act systemically, you need to know what aspects of a system you need to involve. NCCRESt has developed a conceptual framework for understanding culturally responsive educational systems that identifies three key elements that comprise an educational system: the people, the practices, and the policies. When we talk about making a system culturally responsive, we mean that people, policies, and practices need to be assessed in terms of the degree to which they permit or impede culturally responsive action. People: People are key since educational systems are created to educate people, infants, children, adolescents, and adults. Educational systems employ people. Teachers and other school practitioners work together to create effective learning communities for the students they serve. School leaders and other administrators help to keep the system flowing so that students enter, progress and graduate, teachers and other personnel are recruited, hired, coached, evaluated and retired in a constantly flowing process. Policies: Policies help to guide the people side of the work. They are created to maintain the learning process and reduce the amount of effort expended on activities other than learning like getting supplies to the classroom, and deciding which students are assigned to which teachers, making sure that there are enough books, desks, classrooms and buildings to house all the students. Policies help parents and students know what to expect, what is expected from them, and how the school calendar will flow from the time that school opens until the end of the school year. Practices: Practices are what people do. They include simple things like how students are greeted at the beginning of the year to how reading is taught in the classroom to how assessment occurs. While policies regulate the spheres in which people operate much of daily practice is up to the people who do the work: students and school practitioners alike. Practices also include how teachers interact with one another, their supervisors, and the building leadership. The practices of administrators at central administration affect the lives of school personnel and the choices they make to involve themselves in decision-making.

34. References Bowers, C. & Flinders, D. (1991). Culturally responsive teaching and supervision: A handbook for staff development. New York: Teachers College Press. Bowers, C. & Flinders, D. (1990). Responsive teaching: An ecological approach to classroom patterns of language, culture and thought. New York: Teachers College Press. Gay, D. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching. New York: Teachers College Press Hollins, E. (1996). Culture in school learning: Revealing the deep meaning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Irvine, J. & Armento, B. (2001). Culturally responsive teachers: Lesson planning for elementary and middle grades. New York: McGraw-Hill. Ladson-Billings, G. (1994) The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that�s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory into practice, 34(3), p.159-165. Lang, M., Olson, J., Hansen, H. & Bunder, W. (1999). Introduction. In M. Lang, J. Olson, H. Hansen & W. Bunder (Eds.), Changing schools/changing practices: Perspectives on educational reform and teacher professionalism (pp. 9-21). Louvain, Belgium: Garant. Lieberman, A. (1995). Restructuring schools: The dynamics of changing practice, structure, and culture. In A. Lieberman (Ed.), The work of restructuring schools: Building from the ground up (pp. 1-17). New York: Teachers College Press. Little, J. (1999). Organizing schools for teacher learning. In L. Darling-Hammond & G. Sykes (Eds.), Teaching as a learning profession: Handbook of policy and practice (pp. 233-262). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Villegas, A. M. & Lucas, T. (2002). Preparing culturally responsive teachers: Rethinking the curriculum. Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53(1), p.20-32.