Middle Cities Education Association
Creating Opportunities for the Urban Learner

The Principals' Guild

PROMOTING SUCCESS AMONG URBAN LEARNERS

Fall Task Force Roundup
September 6, 1995

Follow-up Discussion Notes

The following is a compilation of the discussions regarding recommendations for promoting Urban Learner success which took place at the MCEA 1995 Fall Task Force Roundup. Belinda Williams, Director of the Urban Education Project, Research for Better Schools, Philadelphia, presented "A New Vision of the Urban Learner: From Theory to Practice."

The Urban Learner Framework (ULF) developed by the Urban Education Project staff incorporates the following four themes:

Theme 1 - Cultural Diversity and Learning

The ULF advocates the assumption that culture (a group's shared history, knowledge, beliefs, values, norms, traditions, language, symbols, rituals, and interaction patterns) mediates learning, providing a frame of reference from which the learner makes meaning of new knowledge. The ULF advocates creating a bridge between the cultural capital children bring to school and the knowledge they require to survive and thrive in school and beyond.

Theme 2 - Unrecognized Abilities and Underdeveloped Potential

The ULF suggests that intelligence is multifaceted, and that every individual can be characterized by a profile of multiple intelligences which can be modified by environmental influences. The ULF advocates pervasive, deliberate, and sustained efforts by schools to identify and ultimately to develop the potential abilities of every youngster.

Theme 3 - Enhancing Ability Development Through Motivation and Effort

The ULF advocates the position that intrinsic motivation increases when learners find their academic work personally relevant and their goal is deep understanding, rather than performing merely for grades or other external circumstances. The ULF suggests using errors as opportunities for students to explore and expand their thinking, stimulating effort by helping students connect academic work with interests that matter to them, and helping them see relationships between their effort and learning outcomes.

Theme 4 - Resilience

The ULF challenges the assumption that students in urban schools are at-risk of failure, a view that raises a litany of "risk factors" which target a growing number of children for compensatory education programs ("deficit model"). ULF prefers the viewpoint that each child has the capacity to become resilient in a caring and supportive environment. Therefore, it is viewed as more productive to focus on "resiliency factors" (such as caring and support, high expectations, and meaningful participation) which enable some urban children to thrive and have a sense of future, despite the adversities that may threaten them. The ULF advocates institutionalizing practices and conditions that increase the number of resilient children by helping them develop coping strategies and protective mechanisms.

Following the presentation, task force members, Superintendents and Principals met to discuss two questions:

1) Each and every function of a school system can directly affect learner success. How can YOUR ROLE and the responsibilities you have within your school district help to improve the success/achievement of the students you serve (urban learners)?

2) What can your TASK FORCE do to help Middle Cities and its member districts improve the success/achievement of the learners we serve?

This summary is intended to help MCEA task forces focus on how we can all work together for student success throughout the year.

Common Themes

Each discussion is summarized by individual task force, however, several common themes/recommendations emerged as follows:

1. Connect With the Community

• To learn the experiences students bring to school so instruction will be more relevant.
• To solicit resources, involvement and help from parents, business and industry community groups, community agencies and others for both in-school and out-of-school learning experiences ("strategic alliances").

2. Provide Time for Professional Development

• To know and understand the principles of the urban learner framework, learning theory, best practice, systemic change and applying best research.
• To dialog with colleagues and create a plan of action.
• To implement the plan (many out-of-classroom strategies will be needed).

3. Educate Policy Makers About Urban Learners and the Needs of Urban Districts
4. Ensure Success for All Learners

• Quit sorting and selecting. Instead, move from the "deficit" model to the "asset" model and have high expectations for all.

5. Focus on Integrated Instruction, Cultural Diversity and "Whole" Learning
6. Use Data to Make Informed Decisions

SUPERINTENDENTS

QUESTION #1

1. Take the message out to the broader community. (Key role for superintendents "Community of Learners".) Be more aggressive in our communities about what we are doing, what our goals are and insist that our communities take a role in the effort.
2. Superintendents must also learn about the urban learner so they can talk the talk and walk the walk.
3. Ensure that what we are saying is actually happening in practice.
4. Model the applications throughout the organization. (Understand that this framework applies to staff as well as students.)
5. Distribute materials from Research for Better Schools in our districts. (Use the "New Vision" video in our districts.)
6. Give message that these strategies are good for all students, not just minority students.
7. Structure professional development opportunities for staff to learn about cultural differences.
8. Increase accountability of staff for student learning. (Support teachers needs.)
9. Keep best research, as well as how we put into practice what we know, in front of staff members.
10. Reallocate time to work on these issues with staff.

QUESTION #2

1. Middle Cities must, as a whole, be aggressive with legislators to help them understand the special needs and interests of our districts. (What we need for the learners we serve.)
2. Help legislators understand the need for more time for professional development for teachers and administrators to explore the issues.
3. Put together what we know about education for urban learners and get the message out to the Chamber of Commerce, business, industry and legislators. (There are very few people who have the vision of every child being successful. We are still in the sorting and selecting mode.)
4. Let legislators and the State Board know what the accreditation piece is really doing in our districts. Need to provide input into the process of developing standards. (STAY THE COURSE. Accreditation should not be based on a single measure.)
5. Costs are higher in urban districts. (Need to keep the higher costs of special needs students continually in front of legislators.)
6. Keep message of long-term systematic change constantly in front of legislators. (Get away from the quick fix mentality.)
7. As Middle Cities districts we also need to continually present what we know and talk about how we are going to close the gap between what we know and what we do.

PRINCIPALS

QUESTION #1

1. Get to know our students and families better and on a personal level. (Follow a student for a day.)
2. Get out into the community. (Form partnership linkages with parents, businesses, and community agencies.)
3. Provide the environment for teachers to openly discuss issues.
4. Share vision with staff about the urban learner. (Hand out resources.)
5. Obtain more information - research and share information among ourselves.
6. Stress the importance of how we teach.
7. Identify and acknowledge positive aspects/attributes of individual students.
8. Look at administrative role in the eyes of the students and staff.
9. Ask key questions-reframe student existence and connect the classroom with their future.
10. Encourage staff to be visible, involved and genuine.
11. Parent Link. (Parent meetings, first high school then community centers. Take ideas to them, share, listen and answer questions. Meet their needs.)
12. Involve ourselves in service clubs, civic organizations, NAACP, Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis, etc.
13. Be less formal. (No agenda as we go out to meet parents and community.)
14. Go to student events. (Have high profile in the students' culture.)
15. Staff needs to appreciate the prior learning and knowledge of students (content, culture, environment).
16. Help teachers understand what the essential learnings and objectives are, and how to teach them.
17. Continually remind staff members not to forget the students in the instructional process. We teach students not just content. We need to focus on how we teach students.

ADULT EDUCATION

QUESTION #1

Define Adult Education:

• A volunteer program for unsuccessful students.
• Adult Education is an alternative program. (Educate the Russells and Russellettes.)
• Adult Education is relevant to job training, basic skills, GED, high school completion (when individual is ready).
• Adult education offers parenting and family education. Many adult education students are the parents of traditional K-12 students.

QUESTION #2

1. Work on strategies to promote success on the High School Proficiency Test.. (Adults will have major problems passing proficiency tests.)
2. Jobs Commission Model. (Work First at the expense of education is not an acceptable model.)
3. Legislative Impact - support the need for and continuation of adult programs within the K-12 system. Work on State Aid Act language.

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

QUESTION #1

1. Encourage teachers to look at student progress in different ways other than paper and pencil assessments.
2. Identify individual student learning styles. (Provide staff development to address instruction methods. Develop individual learning plans for students.)
3. Continue to disaggregate data; monitor student achievement gaps in terms of S.E.S., gender, ethnicity, student mobility, etc.
4. Use program evaluation results to determine decisions on program continuation or program changes.
5. Assessment must be on-going rather than "one-shot" assessments like MEAP and the High School Proficiency Test.
6. Conduct follow-up studies to determine success of students.

QUESTION #2

1. Some test items should reflect where students live (urban areas). Test items should reflect diversity of students. Get involved in test development. Insure quality development of state tests. Take an active role in test development.
2. Structure activities for legislators to educate them about the "urban learner" so they can begin to understand the implications of using MEAP in determining the success or lack of success (accreditation) of schools based on a single measure.
3. Educate government officials regarding proper use of test results.

BUSINESS

QUESTION #1

1. Make sure that the financial resources are available to provide programs.
2. Provide information on how funds are used to promote effective utilization.
3. Provide financial information throughout the year rather than at the end. (This will help districts assess how they are meeting objectives throughout the year.)
4. Provide information for better budget planning (to avoid unrealistic objectives and address future budget issues).
5. Redesign the budget process, (i.e. change the salary schedule rather than provide early retirement incentives).
6. Get district employees more involved in the budgeting process and decision making.
7. Maximize the use of facilities (community groups, extra curricular activities, programs, meetings, etc.).

QUESTION #2

1. The Task Force should work to ensure that Proposal A doesn't flop. Business managers must address tax base erosion and misconceptions about how the new funding system is working. (i.e., Compare the actual foundation increase to increases in FICA and retirement costs, inflation, size of budget, increasing costs for special needs programs, etc.)
2. Help promote strategic alliances as is done in the private sector.
3. Support dedication of an increased portion of the Income Tax to the School Aid Fund.


CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION

QUESTION #1

1. Concentrate on helping teachers change their view of the urban learner.
2. Career awareness - help all kids develop a career path/goals. Start earlier in helping students focus on a career goal, as early as elementary school. Give choices to start the process.
3. Help academic people recognize some of the academic and basic skills we identify and teach through vocational technical programs.
4. See employers as partners and resources not just for CTE, but all content areas. Keep some training on employers and parents regarding encouraging kids' strengths.
5. We can help students identify strengths which do not show up on the MEAP tests. We need to work with academic teachers to recognize and capitalize on those strengths. Need to integrate technical and academic curriculum through a team approach.
6. Work to help all teachers know more about the environments from which our students come. (Mandatory visits to the community)
7. Use resilience research.


EARLY CHILDHOOD

QUESTION #1

The Early Childhood philosophy is already very much "in tune" with the New Vision of the Urban Learner Framework in that our programs strive to :

1. Promote family/community involvement and recognizing the "strengths" of students (i.e. Head Start, Even Start, Early On Models)
2. Integrate curriculum delivery.
3. Empower parents to promote advocacy.
4. Focus on integrated instruction where cultural diversity is part of everyday activity.
5. Stress parent education/involvement. (Develop a parent education library. Work with staff on strategies to promote parent involvement.)
6. Encourage multi-age grouping and developmentally appropriate practices.

QUESTION #2

1. Recognize resources and research available within the state and coordinate efforts.
2. Recognize "resilience" at the preschool level and create a profile of a resilient learner. (Encourage the idea that you/we should never be satisfied and to continue developing our goals in this area.)
3. Capitalize on what we know about integrated curriculum and incorporating cultural diversity/awareness as a "way of life" in the classroom (not just holiday activities).
4. Identify/collect strategies for getting to know the child and his/her strengths.
5. Reinforce through staff development moving away from a deficit model toward the identification of strengths. Honor and celebrate multiple intelligences. Teach and promote authentic assessment.
6. Recognize that making mistakes is a big part of learning (highlight through professional development).
7. Employ "Early On" approach in networking with community to meet needs of students.
8. "Sense of Future" should start at the preschool level (real-life connections).
9. Study "real life" connections in the various communities. Create a video for in service purposes.
10. Show how school, family and community are interrelated through professional development.
11. Involve ourselves in making management decisions, creating visions and identifying ways to "help" the approach be implemented.


EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

QUESTION #1

1. Teachers and staff should visit homes of students to get to know them. Give students media projects (audio, video, photography) so they can share their culture and environment outside of school with educators.
2. Lessons need to be more relevant to students. More conversations with students to ascertain how and what they are thinking. (Make their research projects more relevant to their lives.)
3. In-service with teachers on how to use technology and integrate it into the curricula. (More students need hands on multimedia activities. We need to change the way we teach.)
4. As information specialists we can continue to provide literature and other resources/research that will address strategies for teachers. (Work with staff development units.)
5. Make producers of instructional materials more aware of our needs for resources that reflect and include all populations.
6. Reverse roles from time to time. (Allow students to teach the adult.)
7. Encourage more risk-taking (exploration) - create the environment to do so.
8. Use technology to enhance and support an integrated curricula. (Curricula has to be more relevant to students.)
9. Students often come to school with many technological skills, or prerequisite skills, which should be considered and addressed in the curriculum.

QUESTION #2

1. As a task force, we can lead the effort for proper budgeting for technology. The budgeting process needs to have the following components:

A. Hardware
B. Software
C. Facility planning
D. Staff training
E. Maintenance

2. Take the lead in Internet policy development and staff training.
3. Create an Educational Technology "home-page."
4. Send more staff to Middle Cities meetings to learn and share information.

INSTRUCTION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

QUESTION #1

1. Work to get everyone in the district focusing on how we deliver integrated instruction with students as "whole" learners as the focus.
2. Help change mind set (paradigm shift) by walking the talk and facilitating the discussion.
3. Review current curriculum adoption processes (i.e., program reviews, staff development models, fiscal practices, site support, etc.) to see how they need to be restructured to facilitate change.
4. Make literature and research available.
5. Look for ways to facilitate converting value to practice. (School to work transition.)
6. Find time to give staff opportunities for dialogue without using substitute teachers. Need to create attractive arenas for professional forums, dialogue outside of instructional time.
7. Use designated ½ days for staff to dialogue about specific issues.
8. Getting staff (in the buildings) to start discussions by talking about "child first." (Change focus to the customer rather than state mandates, management of time, site problems, etc.)
9. School systems may not have made a concerted effort to have a congruent effort. Stop and have discussions about everyone heading in the same direction.
10. Need to shift to "how kids learn" which affects the whole day, as opposed to segmented time slots for individual subjects.
11. Use something like "Concerns-based Adoption Model" to identify where staff are.
12. Motivate educators to become life long learners and life long learners of our client.
13. Keep raising related questions. (Allow and schedule recurring dialogues until new thinking is internalized.

QUESTION #2

1. Identify successful models for creating attractive arenas for professional dialogues on best practice.
2. Share across districts about successful strategies and initiatives which model this framework.
3. Identify other models; make an obligation to explore as a task force.
4. Need to identify and help design new professional development models.
5. Monitor our group to be sure we focus on the "promoting urban learner success" emphasis for year.
6. Meet with the Assessment and Evaluation Task Force.
7. Identify ways to modify instructional materials review process and curriculum development process to reflect best practice.
8. Identify and recommend strategies for helping staff begin the school year by identifying student strengths as opposed to teaching content only.
9. Research ideas for getting to the "big picture," but also provide practical strategies/products that help DO IT. -Do we need to revisit programs like TESA?
10. Look at data and processes currently available, collect information and relate it to staff development. (Bring in our own district data and use the data as we discuss.)
11. Maybe we need to learn to share our problems and errors as a way of moving forward. (Risk taking-share success and failures.)


LANGUAGE ARTS

QUESTION #1

1. Continue to study and offer staff innovative ways to express meaning other than written communication.
2. Explore the area of multiple intelligences - Finding how kids can express themselves; multi dimensional aspect of intelligence.
3. Move away from the deficit model for addressing student needs and learning toward the strengths of the students.
4. Link the Urban Learner Framework to school improvement plans.
5. Maintain the theme "all kids can learn" and hold high expectations for all. Provide equal opportunities for all.
6. Look into ways teachers can access learner experience information in order to develop learning activities that are relevant to that experience.
7. Value what kids know and make the transition.
8. Consider "School to Work" transition and move toward post-school opportunities.
9. Get to know the community and find out where students come from.
10. Relevant Learning - Students need to know how to set goals and what is expected of them when they set goals.
11. Identify projects/programs that enhance learning.

QUESTION #2

1. Innovative Projects:

A. Project 98
B. Dissemination of Project 98 materials
C. Readers and Leaders
D. Success For All
E. HOSTS
F. Writing Across the Curriculum

2. Future Meetings:

A. Cognition and Culture - How Kids Learn
B. TV as information delivery system
C. The "I" Search - Ken McCrorie
D. Roger Taylor's research
E. Writing Across the Curriculum

PERSONNEL/LABOR TASK FORCE

QUESTION #1

1. Identify the characteristics and establish the criteria for hiring staff with skills to ensure the success of the urban learner.
2. Establish a screening process which will identify the most prepared/able candidates (Use the Urban Learner Framework in the hiring process, i.e. in drafting criteria for potential candidates.)
3. Support the staff and provide incentives/resources to enhance the ability to address the needs of the urban students.
4. Direct efforts toward maintaining staff in the urban environment rather than lose them to the suburban districts.
5. Develop a mentoring program between staff and students to strengthen communications and thereby promote the ability to identify strengths of the urban learner.
6. Provide time to staff for planning for the success of the urban learner. (All aspects affecting their success.)
7. As part of the new teacher professional development, address the strengths and characteristics of the urban learner. (Incorporate into mentoring and training process.)
8. Monitor the progress of the programs established to educate the urban learners.

QUESTION #2

1. Share teacher specifications-the characteristics we are looking for (i.e. Grand Rapids teacher specifications) and open dialogue with universities to incorporate the teacher specifications.
2. Collaborative bargaining efforts to improve relations for the betterment of the student.
3. Identify existing contract terms which are in opposition to the successes of the urban learner.
4. Focus on legal issues from a personnel standpoint in a proactive fashion to shape future legislation affecting the success of the urban learner.
5. Use the success of the urban learner as a benchmark in making decisions and approaching tasks.


SCIENCE

QUESTION #1

1. Read literature. (Select/read ahead.)
2. Change process. (Study group to discuss how can we influence change in districts.)
3. Practitioners. (Try to use experts from the field in the classroom. Report back experiences.)
4. Connections with science standards. (MEGOSE)
5. Assessment Component. (Assess how we have done - Product, validate, describe. Keep log/journal to document process and experiences and share the information.)


SPECIAL EDUCATION

QUESTION #1

1. Focus on a strength model vs. deficit model.
2. "Systems Unification": Combining all resources available to help all children.
3. Address barriers to change: Reluctance of special education to move away from the deficit model; resistance of parents and advocates to giving up what gains have been made.
4. "Unified System" alone is not adequate to address all of the needs of the urban learner. Systemic change is also necessary in order to serve this population.
5. Focus must be placed on helping teachers help all children in their classrooms rather than on labeling and sorting based on disability category.

QUESTION #2

1. Support reauthorization of IDEA.
2. Advocate for change in rules and regulations to allow for greater flexibility in meeting needs of all students. This has implications for how we finance special education.
3. Focus on expansion of Unified System concept to address specific needs of the urban learner.
4. Identify the key concepts/behaviors that a successful unified system must have in order to meet the needs of kids with disabilities.