Cultural Fit Within a School-wide System of PBIS: Universal and Secondary Examples

1. Cultural Fit Within a School-wide System of PBIS:Universal and Secondary Examples Jill Mathews-Johnson, Technical Assistance Coordinator Illinois PBIS Statewide Network

2. Tertiary Interventions/Tier 3: • Individual Students • Assessment-based • High Intensity • Tertiary Intervention/Tier 3: • Individual Students • Assessment-based • Intense, durable procedures • Secondary Interventions/Tier 2: • Some students (at-risk) • High efficiency • Rapid response • Small Group Interventions • Some Individualizing • Secondary Interventions/Tier 2: • Some students (at-risk) • High efficiency • Rapid response • Small Group Interventions • Some Individualizing • Universal Interventions: • All students • Preventive, proactive • Universal Intervention/Tier 1: • All settings, all students • Preventive, proactive Designing School-Wide Systems for Student SuccessA Response to Intervention Model Academic Systems Behavioral Systems 1-5% 1-5% 5-10% 5-10% 80-90% 80-90%

3. Schools as a Vessel • Culture is not inherited; rather we are socialized to behave according to traditions established over generations • The cultures of schools may or may not be in harmony with the culture each student brings to school • Schools greatly influence how young people see themselves and therefore need to understand and validate their backgrounds Source: Cartledge, 1996

4. Culture • Culture: An integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, communications, languages, practices, beliefs, values, customs, courtesies, rituals, manners of interacting and roles, relationships and expected behaviors of a racial, ethnic, religious or social group; and the ability to transmit the above to succeeding generations Source: National Center for Cultural Competence of Georgetown University, 2006

5. Currently there are 5.5 million English Language Learners (ELLs) in U.S. public schools who speak more than 400 different languages (Source: U.S. Department of Education, 2004) • The 2000 census estimated that 65% of school-age children are non-Hispanic White and that 35% are from other racial and ethnic backgrounds • It is estimated that by 2040, no ethnic or racial group will make up the majority of the national school-age population • Many students of diverse cultures come from families in poverty, 39% of children in the United States live at or near the poverty level ( Source: National Association of State Boards of Education, 2002)

6. A culturally competent school is generally defined as one that honors, respects, and values diversity in theory and in practice and where teaching and learning are made relevant and meaningful to students of various cultures Source: A More Perfect Union: Building an Education System that Embraces All Children, National Association of State Boards of Education , 2002

7. A school’s social system is a reflection of the larger society and is instrumental in transmitting cultural values • The classroom teacher is the most important component of that system as far as social development in youth Source: Schneider, B.H., 1993

8. How Teachers Can Help • Learn as much as possible about the cultural and linguistic background of students they teach • Pronounce students’ names correctly and learn key phrases in their native language • Allow students to share their thoughts, ideas and feelings through use of cooperative groups, role plays, dialogue journals and other forms of active and interactive learning • Enhance students’ self-image, motivation and cultural pride by using culturally-relevant materials and encouraging discussion and actions that honor their cultural and linguistic heritage Source: National Association of State Boards of Education, 2002

9. •Invite parents and families to actively participate in their child’s education • Facilitate home-school communication and collaboration • Beware that families from diverse linguistic or cultural backgrounds may not initiate requests for help or use in-school resources available to address mental health issues. Teachers are urged to provide orientations to inform parents and families about school resources • Seek help from school psychologists or other school mental health professional if students exhibit academic, behavioral and/or mental health problems Source: National Association of State Boards of Education, 2002

10. Teachers Cannot Do It AloneCultural Competence Within the PBIS System – Behavioral Side of the Triangle • School-wide PBIS • Use of reliable data to make decisions * Look at various forms of data * Focus on few key outcomes (Source: Lewis & Sugai, 1999; Sugai, Horner, Sprague & Walker, 2000) • Cool tools • Home/School connection • Positive reinforcement

11. To generalize skills, social skills need to be taught over a variety of settings, especially where a targeted behavior is exhibited (Source: Berler, Gross, & Drabman, 1982) • More than one trainer needed for behavior generalization to occur • The ability of a classroom teacher to function as a social skill trainers has been found to be a determining factor in behavior generalization (Source: Smith, Young, West, Morgan & Rhode, 1988) ∙ Peers particularly important in the training process and generally exercise considerable mutual influence (Source: Stokes & Baer, 1977; Stokes & Osnes, 1986, 1988; Cartledge, 1996)

12. Working on Social Skill Instruction with Culturally Diverse Youth • Literature-based instruction to facilitate social learning • Preventative management of behavior • Social skill and self-management instruction - Skill training - Cooperative learning procedures • Functional Behavior Assessment Source: Cartledge, 1996; Kerr & Nelson, 1998; Morgan & Jenson, 1988; Sugai & Lewis, 1996; Lewis & Garrison-Harrell, 1999.

13. What Schools Are Doing at the Universal Tier • Cool Tools with diversity issues imbedded throughout • Peer mediation to allow students from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to talk about potentially divisive issues • Student clubs that help large groups of students retain cultural identity (e.g., Muslim Student Society) • Openness to starting new clubs to reflect the interests of the student body • Parent liaisons who are paid to work with families who would not otherwise have a traditional involvement with the school • Mentor programs with gender/cultural sensitivity (Khan, C. & Reis, J., 2006; Rhodes, J. & Dubois, D., 2006; Cartledge, 1996) • Home visits by parent liaisons Source: NASP, March 2006

14. Telephone tree in multiple languages • Minority parent committee that organizes evenings for minority parents to come to school in smaller groups and learn about the college admissions process, SAT prep classes, scholarship and grant opportunities, and so forth • Letters sent home and phone contact with parents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to ensure a good turnout at parent meetings • Establishment of a Hispanic PTSA with business discussion and programs in Spanish • Initiation of a “challenge” program to invite promising students to enroll in honors and Advanced Placement classes. Source: NASP, March 2006

15. Parent involvement incentives (ie. passport) • Wiring of schools for computers and telephone hub sites to allow parents to communicate with schools via computer. Parents can use terminals at nearby schools or local town halls to communicate with the schools their children attend, which are often many miles away (www.ed.gov/pubs/FamInvolve/) • Cleveland Public Schools - teachers hold parent conferences off-campus in places that are closer to parents' and students' homes. The school also holds Block Parent Meetings for those families who cannot attend school events because they live on the outskirts of the community and lack transportation. Block meetings address parent concerns and offer an opportunity to share school-related information. These meetings take place every two or three months in a parent's home or a nearby library (www.ed.gov/pubs/FamInvolve/) • Schools are working with organizations like The Urban League to obtain books that are culturally relevant for libraries, classrooms and curriculum

16. South Delta School District, Rolling Fork, Mississippi - implemented weekly take-home folders that include a parent participation sheet, information on upcoming events, and recent curriculum activities and graded tests. Parents sign and return folders each week. Teachers and parents report that the folders provide important academic information for parents, teachers, and students, and help increase parent-school communication (www.ed.gov/pubs/FamInvolve/) • Parent training and support to parents to enhance their communication with their children about school, their supervision of their children, and their ability to communicate expectations to their children within the context of an effective parenting style (Marzano, 2003)

17. Family Literacy Workshop • Designed to teach literacy skills to targeted parents • 4 meeting dates per year (Predicting, Connecting, Imaging, and Summarizing) _______________________________ 5:30-6 Eat (free meal) 6-6:30 Parent instruction/kids play 6:30-7 Parents practice strategies with their child(ren) with support Made possible using Title I funds Mark Twain Elementary, Kankakee, IL

20. Data-based Decision Making at the Universal Tier • Using school-wide data - Discipline - Attendance - Special education/LRE - Parent Involvement - Academic - Areas of interest: mobility, cultural background, SES, etc.

21. Cooperative Learning • “The empirical literature documents evidence that cooperative activities contribute to positive peer interactions, acceptance of disabling and racial differences, and academic achievement. On the basis of research review, Goldstein observed that the beneficial effects of cooperative learning appear to be greater for minority than for majority students.” Source: Cartledge, 1996

22. Functional Behavior Assessment

23. Data-based Decision Making at the Secondary Tier • Using school-wide data - Discipline - Attendance - Special education/LRE - Parent Involvement - Academic - Areas of interest: mobility, cultural background, SES, etc. • Using school-wide data and national data to determine needs

24. • Only half of Black and Latino students graduate from high school in four years, compared to 82 percent of Whites • Blacks and Latinos are 21 and 18 percent of Illinois’ student population, but are 35 and 22 percent of the state’s dropouts • White students in Illinois are 64 percent more likely to finish high school than Black and Hispanic students Source: Illinois Report Card on Racial Equity, 2006

25. The On-Track Indicator as a Predictor of High School Graduation Elaine M. Allensworth Consortium on Chicago School Research John Q. Easton Consortium on Chicago School Research June 2005

27. Statistics ● Ninth grade attrition is far more pronounced in urban, high poverty schools. 40% of dropouts in low-income high schools left after ninth grade (EPE Research Center, 2006) ● More than one semester “F” in core subjects and fewer than five course credits by the end of freshman year are key indicators a student is not on track to graduate ● Low attendance the first 30 days of the ninth grade is a stronger indicator that a student will drop out than any other eighth grade predictor (Allensworth & Easton, 2005)

28. The on-track indicator is highly predictive of whether students will eventually graduate. Among students entering CPS high school in 1999, those who were on track by the end of their freshman year were three and one half times more likely to graduate in four years than off-track students Allensworth & Easton, 2005

31. What Works? • Establish a data and monitoring system that will both diagnose why students are struggling and be used to hold schools and districts accountable • Address the instructional needs of students who enter high school unprepared for rigorous, college-prep work • Personalize the learning environment to lower the sense of anonymity and address individual needs • Build capacity with faculty and administration to address diverse needs • Make connections to the community, employers, and institutes of higher education to better engage students and help them see the relevance of the coursework

32. What Works • Check and Connect – • Drop out prevention program for high school students with learning, emotional and behavioral issues • Partnership with parents, teachers, students and University of Minnesota, Institute of Community Integration • Program begins in ninth grade. Mentor is matched with student who monitors their attendance, behavior and academic performance and works with them throughout the year

33. Results of Check and Connect • Increases in credits earned • Increases in attendance • Increases in enrollment rates Sinclair, 2005

34. Students self-reports indicate that more transition support would ease their transition to high school • Perceived less support and monitoring from teachers and principals and generally liked school less than when they were in middle school • Perceived need for more organization Barber & Olson, 2004

35. Additional Factors • Improved communication between school, parents and students • Monitoring attendance • Progress monitoring in class • Better scheduling • Incentives to make up failures • Relationship building

36. Why Do Group Interventions Work for Some Culturally Diverse Students? • Troubled inner-city children and adolescents, whose relationships to adults are often impaired, learn to depend on their peer supports and communicate better within this context. They benefit from group work because they come from cultures where value of groups is above the individual Source: Canino, I.A., J. Spurlock, 2000

37. What Schools Are Doing at the Secondary Level Using Groups • TEAM (Modeled off of Mychal Wynn’s The Eagles Who Thought They Were Chickens; A Tale of Discovery, 2000) • Cuentro Therapy (Constantro, 1988)

38. T.E.A.M. Teaching Excellence Academics Motivation Tatum, Ian and Thomas, Orlando, Jefferson Middle School, Champaign, IL 2006

39. Program inception 2002-2003, school discipline data: 30 % African American Boys accounted for over 30 of the schools discipline referrals

40. Team Expectations • Maintain on-task behavior • Maintain acceptable academic performance minimum GPA 2.5 • Decrease discipline referrals by 50% • Be respectful of peers • Support other team member academically and socially Tatum, Ian and Thomas, Orlando, Jefferson Middle School, Champaign, IL 2006

41. Jefferson Middle SchoolTEAM Discipline Update2004-05 School Year TEAM GOAL? Cut D.R.’s in half from last year MAGIC NUMBER 241 2003-04/ 482/1620 (35% of total) 2004-05/254/1351 (19% of total)

42. Student of the Quarter…Mr. Tiger O’Neil*2nd Team member to make the Honor Roll (G.P.A./4.111)*Three discipline referrals all year*Highest G.P.A. for 3rd Quarter

43. November: Joe Cross Occupation: Academic Advisor at U of I Topic: Student Athletes/Alternative Plans Overview: Mr. Cross discussed his journey to the University of Illinois and his dream of being a professional basketball player. He explained the importance of having an alternative plan to the dream of playing in the N.B.A. He discussed his realization of the small percentage of college athletes that actually play professionally. He stressed the importance of obtaining a college education. Tatum, Ian and Thomas, Orlando, Jefferson Middle School, Champaign, IL 2006

46. Community Outings/Incentives • University of Illinois vs. Michigan football game • University of Illinois vs. Wisconsin basketball game • Bowling at GT’s Western Bowl • Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game • Thanksgiving Dinner • Christmas Celebration/Gathering • Parkland College tour/class observation

47. Tatum, Ian and Thomas, Orlando, Jefferson Middle School, Champaign, IL 2006

48. Tiger 7th Grade-Islands1st Quarter G.P.A./3.8572nd Quarter G.P.A./3.6673rd Quarter G.P.A./4.111

49. Jimmy 8th Grade-Orange1st Quarter G.P.A./3.3752nd Quarter G.P.A./3.3753rd Quarter G.P.A./2.875

50. TEAM: Shaping today’s youth… To become tomorrow’s leaders.