Shana Ritter THE EQUITY PROJECT at Indiana University February 16, 2010

1. Local Equity Action Development Assessing the Effectiveness of the  LEAD process in Addressing Disproportionality Shana Ritter THE EQUITY PROJECT at Indiana University February 16, 2010

2. LEAD

3. LEAD works to: align interventions with measurable outcomes for students integrate the use of ongoing assessment and data analysis reshape professional development develop cultural competence and culturally responsive practices

4. All Plans Must Be Local; Addressing Local Realities and Local Needs. In order to address the complexity of disproportionality issues in a way that is meaningful and appropriate to the culture of that district, plans must originate from within the district. While center staff provide guidance and technical assistance, decisions on plan design and implementation are made by the district LEAD team.

5. Planning and Evaluation Must Be Based Upon Local Data. Local data on equity provide a framework that can motivate and guide local remediation efforts. The success of any systems change efforts can be judged only by changes in those data.

6. LEAD Must Be a Collaborative Effort. LEAD needs to be a shared effort in all aspects; planning, implementation and assessment. General and Special education, Title, ELL, Literacy, Mentor Programs, and other initiatives and stakeholders should be represented.

7. Difficult Dialogues are a Crucial Part of The Process. Conversationsabout race, disproportionality, and equity are awkward and often difficult, but necessary. Part of the role of the team is to ensure that team meetings are a safe place for having honest and “courageous” conversations, where common understandings can be created.

8. Cultural Competence A developmental process. A set of congruent behaviors, attitudes and policies that come together in a system, agency or among professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. Having the capacity to function effectively in cultural contexts that differ from your own.

9. Diversity & Cultural Responsivity Valuing Diversity is a necessary step along the continuum of cultural competency and culturally responsive pedagogy, but it is not enough. Cultural Responsivity requires knowledge, skills and experience and the ability to transform these into practice which results in improved services and outcomes.

10. Ongoing Questions What do we know about disproportionality in our district? What actions can we take to have the greatest impact on disproportionality in our schools?

11. Ongoing Questions Who needs to be involved in planning and decisions, how do we include other voices? How will we know if our efforts are working? What impact will this have on other issues of equity?

12. The LEAD Process Form a preliminary planning team key leaders in the district general & special education building level & central office Ask: What are our greatest areas of concern with respect to equity in our district? What practices might contribute to disproportionality? Whose view is represented, whose is not?

13. Examine The Data Make the data accessible ; use tables and charts, stories and graphs… ASK: What do we know? What else do we need to know to understand and apply the data? Whose views are represented? How will we find out more? How do we share what we know?

14. Key Roles For Data Improving the quality of criteria used in problem solving and decision making Describing institutional processes, practices and progress in schools and districts Examining institutional belief systems, underlying assumptions, and behaviors Mobilizing the school or district community for action Monitoring implementation of reforms Accountability -Using Data to Closethe Achievement Gap

15. Developing Hypotheses • Have we considered a range of possible hypotheses? • Disproportionality is multiply determined • Is our process culturally responsive? • Are all possible hypotheses being considered?

16. Perspectives on Katrina: Washington Post/ABC News Poll, 9/13/05 % %

17. If our examination and understanding of the root causes of social inequality are too shallow, then our approach to corrective action will necessarily be superficial and ineffective. Christine Sleeter

18. What’s Your Hypothesis? • Poverty? • Deficits in classroom management? • Negative community influences? • Lack of cultural competence? • Negative peer culture? • Historical discrimination?

19. Identify the Action of Greatest Potential Impact ASK: What actions, programsor interventions do we believe would be the most promising in addressing the potential causes of disproportionality? Why? How do we know this? What have others done to address these issues? What impact do we expect this action to have, how will we measure it?

20. That’s all well and good, But does it work? • Quantitative ----district and state data on disproportionality • Qualitative ----- focus groups, individual interviews and observations

21. A Closer Look at One LEAD District Hoosier Hill’s Community Schools 14, 204 students 77% White 10% Black 8% Hispanic 2% Asian 4% Multiracial 35% Free, 9% Reduced Special Ed. 16%

22. Reforming the General Education Intervention Process Use a Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Process for GEI teams Provide CPS training with a culturally responsive lens Piloted in two elementary school Expanded to all elementary schools and adapted for intermediate and secondary

23. Administrative Action Building Intervention Team Emphasis on Common Assessment Data Clear Cut Expectations Emphasis is not “Road Block” to testing, but rather to get all students to be successful. • Set Clear Expectations for Staff on who should be referred. • Team make up should be diverse. • Designate resources to support interventions.

24. Hoosier Hill’s Unique Approach Recognizing the importance of deepening discussions on cultural competence the LEAD team collaborated across the district to begin Conversations with staff and community members. These were recorded onto CDs, edited and distributed to all staff.

25. Cultural Competence Teams To continue the conversations and begin applying a culturally responsive lens to practice Teams were formed at each school and received professional development in the area of culturally responsive practices.

26. Administrative Action Change in Practice K-5 Small Group Differentiated Instruction. Book Clubs with Flexible Grouping Literacy Centers Differentiated levels of rigor Successmaker: Individualized computer program Remediation Acceleration Data Analysis Meetings Grade level team/Administration Common Assessments • Essential to coordinate all schedules in building to consolidate and use resources efficiently and effectively: • Master • Gen Ed. Grade level • Special Ed. Pull out & Inclusion • ELL Pull out and Inclusion • Reduce Variability

27. DISTRICT LEAD TEAM Acts as a professional learning community using text based and data based discussions to keep the process moving forward

28. Case Study • 8 individual interviews, 3 focus groups • Approximately 25 individuals representing: • building level & central office administrators • general and special education teachers • school psychologists

29. GEI Teams are Now More Effective “We didn’t have trained GEI teams in any building. That wouldn’t have come about if we were not involved in LEAD. The effectiveness of our GEI teams has increased greatly.” -Special Ed. Coordinator “There has been much progress in the LEAD programs in terms of developing an efficient GEI process…The LEAD program has also encouraged much talk about cultural competence on the administrative levels.” -CPS Bloomberg Representative

30. Conversations on Race and Equity “I think LEAD gave us an acceptable way of talking about delicate issues. It is like within the GEI district team, we started to have conversations about inequities based on lack of cultural awareness and then you have the team themselves asking for trend. Because of that, that made these conversations a lot easier to handle.” -Human Resources Representative “I think that conversations do occur more often now (i.e. with LEAD) about race, about culture in general, and I think in our school about socioeconomic issues...” -Asst. Principal

31. Using Data to Decrease Disproportionality “Initially they came around to all of the buildings with the data to show the disproportionality because, of course, the response from teachers would be well this may be true but not in my school. The first thing we had to do was to get rid of that myth. I think the LEAD team was pivotal in helping that happen.” -Principal [In regard to LEAD disproportionality data] “So it just makes you wonder what is it, what can we do, what are we doing wrong, what are we doing right, how can we make this better.” -Director of Elem. Education

32. Addressing Disproportionality and Inequity “I think LEAD has asked the questions to get programs and opportunities going. So maybe just helped things begin to happen that were needing to begin to happen…It’s just that initiative was presented by LEAD and then from there we’ve taken it and grown.” -Principal “…they’ve brought the awareness that there actually is disproportionality, and helped us come up with a plan on how to address it… I think that if they hadn’t had an effect, we wouldn’t see change, and we’ve seen change. And any time you have change, I always think of that as growth.” - Asst. Special Ed. Coordinator

33. Challenges • Increase conversations on race at the building level • Increase the comfort level for having conversations on race • Need more awareness of culture • Time constraints • Change in administrative leadership

36. LESSONS FROM THE FIELD

37. Create a Culture of Inquiry • Relevant data • Probing questions • Examining beliefs about school culture and equity • Issues of access • Opportunities to learn • Expectations of students, staff and community

38. DATA Data is an integral part of the process when a school is willing to ask itself about the expectations it holds for children and about culture and power it begins to bring accountability for equity inside.

39. DIFFICULT DIALOGUES Conversing about issues of equity, especially race, is a developmental process; ample time to build trust is necessary.

40. Disproportionality Must Be Understood Contextually The disproportionality of students of color in educational programs cannot be fully comprehended as long as it is considered a singular event, somehow divorced from the broader context of American education and American society.

41. OWNERSHIP Ownership of the process grows through action: ongoing dialogue with colleagues, gaining a deeper understanding of the issues, design, implementation, and assessment.

42. SUSTAINABILITY Addressing issues of equity is more likely to be ongoing: • When it is viewed as an effort that benefits all children. • When incorporated into the district’s overall plans for school improvement and other initiatives. • When the community is involved.

43. LEADERSHIP It is by questioning assumptions that a leader is able to influence change. Leadership that is willing to examine their own beliefs, and empower those they work with to do the same, is essential to the process of creating equitable change.

44. The More You Give…. The more time and concentrated effort focused in a district the better the results.

45. Percent Change in AA Risk Ratio: 1998-2001 VS. 2003-2006

46. The Equity Project Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Indiana University Dr. Russ Skiba – Director Shana Ritter – Projects Coordinator rritter@indiana.edu 812 855 8563