Equity Initiatives: Struggles of the Latino Student

1. Equity Initiatives: Struggles of the Latino Student Teachers Teaching Teachers January 15, 2010

2. On your note card, please record answers to this question & statement: • Who or what motivated you to attend this session? • Write down 3 words on how your students would describe you. Questions for Personal Reflection

3. “They are lazy. It is mostly the students fault because they are not paying attention.”

4. “They don’t think they can make it. Their family didn’t finish school so they don’t think they will either.”

5. “People say they don’t know what it is. One girl took her Mexican flag and someone told her they were going to burn it someday.”

6. A Steering Committee formed in September, 2009, to identify district goals which could be implemented in the classroom; these goals focused on enhancing the present academic and future successes of our Latino population. What is Equity Initiatives?

7. The Steering Committee created a listing of “Hopes and Dreams” that might be implemented one day. Take a moment to look them over with us on the following slides. HOPES AND DREAMS: CALL TO ACTION

8. Have a paid translator for written school documents • Improve graduation rates • Make education a top priority – of students • Improve relationships/communication with parents – Listen to them • Create effective ways to educate bilingual students HOPES AND DREAMS OF EI

9. Become more culturally responsive • Students feel ownership in school • Students acculturation continues to grow • Encourage community groups/members to get involved as role models (similar to Big Brother and Big Sister) HOPES AND DREAMS

10. Access to resources (i.e. make students aware of academic resource centers, opportunities • Have our group be a good liaison to share knowledge w/colleagues • Student led initiatives

11. We continue to grow in our abilities to effectively identify barriers (i.e. surveys, etc.) • EQUITY= All disenfranchised students; consider other races and learning profiles • We need administrative support • We need to see the data – fail/success • Volunteers from the community for Parent-Teacher conferences

12. Get parents to attend Parent-Teacher conferences • Parents need to know expectations of classroom performance • Understanding the difference between social and academic language difficulties/challenges • Paid community liaison

13. Early identification of students’ needs • Reach out to the community culturally to draw families into academic importance • College opportunities for Latinos – communicate! • Systemized way for academically successful students to help less successful students – have a resource room for Latino students

14. Students who are disenfranchised would see school as a safe haven, a place to excel • Address racial/cultural issues • Staff needs to continue to deepen our understandings of working with the Latino community.

15. Families need to know that it is okay to interact with the teacher. – We need to increase our “marketing” of this information to the Latino community.\ • Need to get information about what is being done out to staff about Conexiones (Latino Parent Open House).

16. Central North # of Students Enrolled 1266 1442 Percentage Hispanic and multi-racial 15% 20.2% Graduation Rate of Latino students 97.1% 52.7% Low Income 9% 11.2% Mobility Rate 4% 17.5% Vital Statistics ( Data per 2009 District Report Card)

17. Latino Students Junior Scores Percentage of Overall Student Accomplishments on PSAE

18. PSAE REPORT CARD FINDINGS FOR JUNIOR CLASS ~Economically Disadvantaged (Free Lunch Program) 1. Academic Warning 3. Meets Standard 2. Below Standard 4. Exceeds Standards

19. Latino Juniors Enrollment Class # Students % Students Total 52 Prep English 12 23.1% Reg English 29 55.8% Hon English 7 13.5% ESL 3 5.8%

20. Of the 29 Latino students in Regular English during their junior year, roughly 11 students (38%) did not adequately pass Junior English. Only 18 students received a C or higher in the class. Similar trends were seen in the freshmen and sophomore English classes. Vital Statistics

21. Class Percent Freshmen: 25% Sophomore 29% Juniors 38% Seniors 5% Students with D or F in English

22. November 19th, the Equity Initiatives Steering Committee met with the Latinos Stand Up Club to obtain their overall impression of themselves as Latino students within Grayslake North community. Equity Initiatives Meet LSU

23. What percentage of your daily life are you personally affected by race?

24. Accommodations to Response • Write answers directly in test booklet• Dictate answers• Respond in home language • Accommodations to Timing/Scheduling • Allow extra assessment time• Provide breaks during testing• Administer in several sessions • Accommodations to Setting • Administer in small groups• Administer individually• Administer in separate room Modifications or accommodations on assignments and tests

25. Some ideas for assisting minority students with essential course content, access these websites: http://www.pde.state.pa.us/esl/lib/esl/Handout_2.25.2005_ACCOMMODATIONS_FOR_ELLs.doc http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/resabout/accommodations/intro/index.html#some_typical Accommodation Websites

26. your professionalism, • your viewpoints and • your time …with us today!! THANK YOU FOR Sharing…