High Expectations and its Relationship to Family and Community: Focus on Literacy

1. High Expectations and its Relationship to Family and Community: Focus on Literacy Robert L. Green, Ph.D Sept. 29, 2013 3rd Annual Scholastic FACE Symposium Fort Lauderdale, FL

2. Major Constructs to be Covered • Environment & its Impact on Human Behavior • Expectations – How it Shapes Human Behavior • Literacy – Opens the Door to the World • Student Achievement – Our Goal

3. Environment & its Impact on Human Behavior • The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. Wes Moore, Random Housing Publishing Group, 2010 • The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration, Isabel Wilkerson, Random House Publishing, 2010 (Bill Russell) • Thomas & Alberta Green, R.L. Green • Albert Terhune, R.L. Green

4. What are Expectations? • Expectations: • A belief system by which we abide to elicit behaviors from those who we want to succeed, i.e., our students, our children, our grandchildren and other family members. • A belief system that becomes a philosophy of life; the way we live, the way we treat people and in any school setting the way we treat our students • Expectations: • Teacher Expectations – Rosenthal and Jacobson • School-wide Expectations: Beliefs that are held by the staff as a whole about the learning ability of the total student body • District-wide Expectations: Beliefs that are held about an entire school system, e.g., Benton Harbor, Michigan, vs. Okemos, Michigan

5. Literacy – Opens the Door to the World • Dr. Lois Bridges, author and editor, Make Every Student Count, cites the importance of early literacy • “Providing children strong literacy education in the early years leads to better outcomes later on,” such as: • K-5 experiences • Middle school experiences • High school experiences • College or university life experiences • But it must begin early in the home

6. 1950 Detroit, Michigan

7. Early Literacy and the Family The impact of the entire family can make a difference. Parents can and should encourage their sons and daughter to help each other. Even though my father only finished fourth grade and my mother the 9th, they knew importance of reading and access to books. They encouraged their children to help each other academically. • I am a living testament to the value of sibling support. I was the 7th on nine children. With the help of my brothers and my sisters, I was reading at the age of 4. • My sister Lethia gave me, at the age of ten, two books by Richard Wright – Black Boy and Native Son. That helped me understand the kind of world I would live in. • Families create and build beliefs about academic success and teachers reinforce that belief • Being able to read early opened the doors of life and enabled me to become a good student • 109 degrees from Thomas and Alberta Green - my eldest brother has eight girls: 4 Ph.Ds/4 M.Ds

8. A Community Reading Project • Worked with Martin Luther King, Jr., a scholar/activist in 1965-66 • Focused on reading for families primarily in southern parts of the United States, Alabama, Mississippi, and one northern urban community, Chicago, Illinois • King always emphasized that if one can learn to read the Bible, one can read other books and the newspaper. • This way, you can keep up with the politics of life and the nation by reading • RLG wrote a literacy proposal for SCLC at King’s request • It was funded for $700,000 to conduct a reading project in the Lawndale section of Chicago, IL in 1966 for adults and children • Project was funded and was received gladly by the community

10. Reading Initiative in Clark County, NV - Literacy Liftoff • This past summer in Clark County School District, Dr. Beverly Mathis conducted a project on early literacy with kids ranging from 3-5 years of age • The following children were involved: • Low-income families • Limited access to books • Parents who were motivated, but not highly educated • Project lasted 3 weeks and will continue throughout the school year • Focused on letter sounds, letter names, sight words, and story telling by teachers • Parents were encouraged to sit through this learning experience with the children – some parents had limited reading skills

11. Reading Initiative in Clark County • CCSD Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky is encouraging teachers and principals in the district to push 3rd graders to be reading at a 3rd grade level • On October 8, 2013 there will be a major PTA meeting at one of the challenged elementary schools in Clark County to address parent involvement and literacy achievement • RLG is involved in the planning of this meeting • Individuals district wide have been invited to participate

12. Family, Poverty, and the Real Barriers to Learning • Currently working in very low-income areas with the Clark County School District at the elementary school level • Children reflect many aspects of poverty in terms of dress, personal care, and often experience many tragedies that occur in urban communities (sleeping in class) • Poverty need not be a barrier to learning. There are children schools who despite poverty are doing well academically • My experience has taught me that the real barriers to learning are: • Indifference • Rejection • Poor instruction • Low expectations for student success • High expectations on the part of teachers and administrators and quality instruction can lead to positive student achievement

13. Expectations: The Parent Factor • Research indicates that parent involvement: • Affects Child’s school readiness and performance (McNeal, 1999) • Children reflect greater social and emotional development (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997) • Children with rich home literacy environments demonstrate higher levels of reading, knowledge, and skills at kindergarten entry (Nord, Lennon, Liu, & Chandler, 2000)

14. Expectations: The Parent Factor TIPS FOR PARENTS ON EARLY LITERACY • Reading to your child expands their interest in the world around them • Children who are read to frequently learn to read more quickly • Organize reading times for your child each day – early in the morning, after lunch, or at bedtime • Take your child to the library frequently and at an early age • Read to your child at an early age and at least once a day • Encourage your child to recite your words • Encourage older children to read to younger children • Encourage all family members to take turns reading to children • Read stories to children with personal excitement Parents Can Make a Difference

15. Student Achievement – Our Goal • National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) scores of Hispanic and African American males nation wide at the 4th and 8th grade levels indicate that they are low achievers when compared to other student groups • Students who perform poorly on the NAEP usually perform poorly in the classroom, which can lead to the following: • Failure to be promoted on a year-to-year basis • Becoming discouraged from their classroom and school experience • Becoming a potential drop-out • Dropping out of school

16. I’ve discussed three major factors that influence student achievement: • A positive environment • High expectations • Early literacy training • These characteristics facilitate positive student achievement at every level • Conversely, a challenging environment, low expectations, and limited literacy experiences often leads to low academic achievement

17. A very successful student of RLG who is involved in education - Bridgescape Program. One of the major focuses of this program is to strengthen literacy skills of unsuccessful students who dropped out of schools. Earvin Magic Johnson

18. Robert L. Green & Associates Providing Scholarship and Consulting Services to Improve K-12 Education http://robertlgreenassociates.com