Strategic Response to Diversity Gibraltar School District

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Strategic Response to Diversity Gibraltar
School District

• By Jill S. Boisvenue
• EAD 850 Issues and Strategies in
• Multicultural Education
• Michigan State University
• Spring 2007

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Rationale

• After experiencing an influx in the numbers of
  students of color within my first five years as a
  teacher in the Gibraltar School District, I see a
  need for developing a strategic plan for
  addressing the cultural and diversity needs of
  our students and our schools.

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Timeline
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Phase I

• Commitment to Strategic Process

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What is Multicultural Education?

• Every student must have an equal opportunity to
  achieve to her or his full potential.
  
• Every student must be prepared to competently
  participate in an increasingly intercultural
  society.
  
• Teachers must be prepared to effectively
  facilitate learning for every individual student,
  no matter how culturally similar or different
  from her- or himself.
• Schools must be active participants in ending
  oppression of all types, first by ending
  oppression within their own walls, then by
  producing socially and critically active and
  aware students.
• Education must become more fully student-centered
  and inclusive of the voices and experiences of
  the students.
  
• Educators, activists, and others must take a more
  active role in reexamining all educational
  practices and how they affect the learning of all
  students testing methods, teaching approaches,
  evaluation and assessment, school psychology and
  counseling, educational materials and textbooks,
  etc.
• Gorski Covert (1996 2000)

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Why Strategic Response?

• Our school districts demographics are changing
  and diversity is increasing
  
• Teacher survey is evidence that a serious
  response to diversity in the classroom is
  necessary
  
• District mission statement addresses all
  students therefore, all students needs should
  be considered, respected and met.
  

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Why Strategic Response?

• (All) Students need to
• Be actively engaged in learning
• Belong to a strong community in the classroom
• See themselves as able and capable learners
• Set personal learning goals
• Be learning in a variety of ways
• Be emotionally involved in their learning
• Learn at their own different rates
• Be involved in rich, in-depth inquiry
• Be able to learn best (with) the content
  connected to the world and to their lives.
  
• Have choice and clear expectations
• Brownlie, Fay Feniak, Catherine Schnellert,
  Leyton (2006)
  

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Why Gibraltar School District?

• Gibraltar School District is complied of students
  from four communities Woodhaven, Brownstown,
  Gibraltar, and some from Trenton.
  
• Demographics in all communities are changing and
  diversity is increasing.
  
• Staff Survey (pretest) shows a need for
  increasing diversity awareness and increasing the
  skills necessary to meet the needs of all of the
  students within our changing population. (United
  States Consensus Bureau 2000)

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Conscious vs. Blind
Color Blind Teachers/Staff treat all students th
e same, paying no attention to the color of their
skin.
Color Conscious Teachers/Staff are mindful of th
e diversity that exists and color is always
kept in the forefront of teaching practices and
pedagogy.
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Staff Survey (Pretest Posttest)
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Creating a Task Force

• Developing a Strategic Perspective
• Evaluating curriculum and instruction as a in
  terms of the cultural and diversity needs of our
  students.
  
• Diversifying the Task Force
• The elementary teaching staff consists of 87
  teachers, all of which are White. Therefore, it
  is important to include staff members who have a
  variety of cultural and social experiences.

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Mission Statement Should Drive Instruction

• Reevaluate our districts mission statement in
  comparison to reality.
  
• Alter the mission statement to include statements
  that show include all students and their needs.
  
• Develop a method of assessing accountability for
  teachers and their multicultural practices
  
• GSD MISSION STATEMENT
• The mission of the Gibraltar Schools, in
  partnership with students, parents and community,
  is to develop each student's skills, competencies
  and understanding necessary to think
  independently and make sound decisions, to
  realize self-worth, to adapt to the challenges of
  the future and to foster the process of lifelong
  learning.  Each student will develop and possess
  the skills necessary to be a functioning and
  contributing member of our society. Gibraltar
  School District, Wayne County, Michigan

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Phase II

• Data Analysis Collecting Baseline Data and
  Benchmarking at the District and School Levels

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Data Assessment
This shows the increase in diversity within our
school district and the surrounding communities.
The district demographics information is current,
where as the community demographics is from the
US Census 2000.
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Data Assessment
District Demographics as of April 2007.
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Data Assessment
Gibraltar School District Demographics by grade
level as of April 2007.
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Data Assessment
Demographics of the four communities that make up
the Gibraltar School District Woodhaven,
Brownstown, Gibraltar, and part of Trenton, MI
per the US Census 2000.
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Curriculum Analysis/ Multicultural Awareness

• Reading
• Rigby Balanced Literacy Program
• Accelerate Reader
• Star Reader
• Math
• McMillian/McGraw Hill
• Accelerated Math
• Star Math
• Science
• Discovery Works, Kent County
• Social Studies
• Kent County
• Writing
• Lucy Calkins Units of Study
• Write Time for Kids!

• An analysis will be conducted concerning all of
  the textbooks and teaching resources our district
  has purchased and of all that will be purchased
  in the future.
• Develop a standard guideline to be used when
  evaluating textbooks and teaching materials.

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Professional Development

• Provide district-wide professional development
  that addresses the culturally relevant concerns
  should be provided.
  
• Encourage teachers to attend additional workshops
  focused on multicultural education and meeting
  the needs of all students including those
  students of color.

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Parent and Community Involvement

• Evaluate our parent groups, district committees,
  community outreach, school programs.
  
• What percentage of these members are parents of
  color?
  
• Develop a plan to include parents of color and
  create a welcoming environment by reevaluating
  programs and groups and assessing them to see if
  they include cultural diversity and interest in
  and of themselves.

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Students of Color

• When disaggregating data for North Central
  Association accreditation, include an analysis of
  our students of color.
  
• Review this information in all of our districts
  forms Zangle Teacher Connection, NCA, MEAP,
  ITBS.
  
• Survey students to assess their feelings
  regarding the meeting of their needs in the
  classroom/school.
  
• Not only analyze the information, but use it to
  drive instruction and to drive our shift in
  making GSD a place where, literally, all students
  can learn.

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Phase III

• Implementation, Development of Diversity Goals in
  School and District Plan

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Develop Diversity Goals for

• Parental Involvement
• Curriculum and Instructional Practices
• Professional Development
• Students of Color
• Support Systems

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The development of the three Diversity Goals
should

• Be driven by data
• Promote diversity in our schools
• Follow our developed implementation plan
• Be measurable

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Phase IV
Integration Process
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Got Integration?

• Create buy-in while implementing our diversity
  goals by recognizing those staff members who are
  finding success with the implementation.
  
• Continuously assess the implementation process
  via staff surveys on a monthly basis.

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Phase V

• Evaluation

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Evaluation

• Monitor and reevaluate diversity goals via the
  data gathered over the course of the
  implementation.
  
• Compare the Staff Survey pretest and posttest and
  allow that information to drive the monitoring
  and reevaluating of the districts diversity
  goals.

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Resources

• Madesen, Jean, Mabokela, Reitumetse (2005).
  Culturally Relevant Schools Routledge Taylor
  Francis Group
  
• Nieto, Sonia (2004). Affirming Diversity The
  Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education
  Pearson Education, Inc.
  
• Gorski, Paul Covert, Bob (1996 2000) Defining
  Multicultural Education
  
• Steps Toward Multicultural Curriculum
  Transformation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23,
  2007, from http//www.edchange.org/multicultural/c
  urriculum/steps.html
• Brownlie, Fay Feniak, Catherine Schnellert,
  Leyton (2006) Student Diversity Classroom
  strategies to meet the learning needs of all
  students Pembroke Publishers
• Zangle Teacher Connection Gibraltar School
  District
  
• NCA Commission on Accreditation and School
  Improvement
  
• United States Census. (2000). Retrieved April 20,
  2007, from http//censtats.census.gov/pub/Profiles
  .shtml
  
• www.edutopia.com
• http//www.teachersagainstprejudice.org/
• http//www.uww.edu/learn/diversity/classroomdiscus
  sions.php
  
• http//www.jimwrightonline.com/pdfdocs/classic.pdf
  
  
• http//www.edchange.org/multicultural/
• http//en.wikipedia.org

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Appendix A Some Staff Surveys (pretest)
conducted as a means of assessing their own
beliefs and practices
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Appendix A
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Appendix A
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Appendix A