Transcript Facilitating a Meeting

National Center for
Culturally Responsive
Educational Systems
Addressing Disproportionality:
From Planning to Action
Sacramento, CA
September 27-28, 2004
Who are We?
Principal Investigators
Alfredo J. Artiles, Arizona State University
Janette K. Klingner, University of Colorado at Boulder
Elizabeth B. Kozleski, University of Colorado at Denver
Cheryl A. Utley, Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
Bill Tate
Project Officer
Grace Zamora Durán, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S.
Department of Education
Project Staff
Project Coordinator
Shelley Zion, University of Colorado at Denver
Rhona Jackson, Project Administrator
Director, Networking and
Dissemination
Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins,
Professional Development
David P. Riley, Education Development Center, Inc.
Continuous Improvement Data
Analysts
David Gibson, VIMST
Michael Knapp, VIMST
Deidre Magee, Professional
Development
Carolyn Ottke-Moore, Research/Events
Jennifer Quinlan, Web Master
Support Staff
•Laura Barletta
•Ayanna Brown
•Sherise Kerford
Jenn Light, Instructional Technology
•Kristy Martinez
•Tamra Scheetz
•Kate Templeton
Heraldo Richards, Researcher
Wendy Wyman-Bliss, Evaluation
Who’s on Board?
•
Leonard Baca, Bueno Center
•
Phil Chinn, California State University, LA
•
Kayte Fearn, Council for Exceptional Children (retired)
•
Ronald Felton, Miami-Dade County Public Schools
•
Betty Green-Bryant, Council for Exceptional Children
•
Beth Harry, University of Miami
•
Asa Hilliard, Georgia State University
•
Stephanie Hirsh, National Staff Development Council
•
Dixie Jordan, Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights
•
Joy Markowitz, Project Forum, National Association of State Directors of Special
Education
•
Festus Obiakor, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
•
James Patton, College of William and Mary
•
Kristin Reedy, Northeast Regional Resource Center
•
Anthony Sims, Illinois State Board of Education
•
Brenda L. Townsend, University of South Florida
•
Stanley Trent, University of Virginia
•
Edward Lee Vargas, Hacienda La Puente Unified School District
•
Kenneth Wong, Vanderbilt University
What We Do
• We are searching for solutions to the widespread
underachievement and disproportionate placement in
special education experienced by culturally and
linguistically diverse students.
• Through four core teams, our work will focus on:
– Continuous improvement, increasing knowledge and
understanding through the evaluation of current practice,
change efforts, and their impact.
– Research and development, synthesizing and expanding
research-based practices in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy,
Literacy Instruction, Positive Behavior Supports, and Early
Intervention.
– Professional development, leveraging the continued
improvement of schools through collaboration with existing
technical assistance networks, local asset mapping, and
leadership academies.
– Networking and dissemination, engaging in a national
discourse across local, professional practice, and policy
communities on improving educational outcomes for
culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Purpose
Provide technical assistance and
professional development to
• Close the achievement gap between
students from culturally and linguistically
diverse backgrounds and their peers
• Reduce inappropriate referrals to special
education.
Critical Foci
Culturally responsive
practices
Early intervention
Literacy
Positive behavioral
supports
Outcomes
– Increase the use of prevention and early
intervention strategies
– Decrease inappropriate referrals to special
education
– Increase the number of schools using
effective literacy and behavioral
interventions for students who are
culturally and linguistically diverse.
Products
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Research syntheses
Policy briefs
Public service announcements
Research-based articles
On Points for Practitioners
Virtual Professional Development Modules
Activities and curricula for culturally responsive practice
Web-based Data Maps
Virtual State-wide “campuses”
Meta-tagged Library
General & Special Education
Audiences
–Students
- Researchers
–Families
- Teacher Educators
–Practitioners
- Policy Makers
–Administrators
Mission
Supporting state education agencies
and local school systems to assure a
quality, culturally responsive
education for all students.
Value Added
NCCRESt supports the implementation
of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act as it extends the goals of
the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
What is
Disproportionality?
“the extent to which membership in a
given group affects the probability of
being placed in a specific special
education disability category.” ( Oswald,
et. al. 1999.)
Does Disproportionality
Exist?
• Has been a concern for over three decades.
(Dunn, 1968; Johnson, 1969; Donovan & Cross, 2002)
• Black children are 2.88 times more likely to be
labeled MR and 1.92 times more likely to be
labeled ED than white children.
• In some states, Asian/Pacific Islanders are more
than twice as likely to be identified as SLD
• Native Americans are twice as likely to be
labeled ED or SLD.
• Although Latino students are often not overrepresented in state and national data it is likely
to change when their proportion of a district’s
diverse student body increases.
(Losen & Orfeild, 2002)
Why is Disproportionality
a Problem?
• Concern of finding bias or inappropriate
practice of the referral and placement process
• Disability label stigmatizes a student as inferior
• Results in lowered expectations
• Potentially separates the student from peers
• Leads to poor educational and life outcomes
• Students may be denied access to the general
education curriculum
• May receive services that do not meet their needs
• Students may be misunderstood or underserved
in General Education
What are Culturally Responsive
Educational Systems?
Culturally responsive educational systems are
grounded in the belief that students from
culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
excel in academic endeavors when
–their culture, language, heritage, and
experiences are valued and used to facilitate
learning and development; and
–they are provided access to high quality
teachers, programs, curricula, and
resources.
Culturally responsive educational
systems are concerned with instilling
ethics of care, respect, and
responsibility in the professionals
who serve culturally and
linguistically diverse students.
Culturally
responsive
educational
systems benefit all
students.
Assumptions About the Causes
of Disproportionate
Representation
What it is not:
Intrinsic or
family-based
deficits
Contributors
•Beliefs
•Practices
•Disablers
•Policies
Disproportionality is an
Education Issue
Special
Education
Intersections
Learning
Schooling
Culture
Disability
Socio-cultural Contexts
Regulation
Productivity
Socio-cultural Histories
Complexities of
Disproportionality
•Students
•Families & Communities
•Teachers
•Schools
•School Districts
•SEA & Fed Policies
•Social Forces