A Look Inside The Book
INNOVATIVE VOICES in EDUCATION:
Engaging Diverse Communities
Executive Editor: Eileen Gale Kugler
Insights, resources and strategies from 17 ground-breaking educators and community leaders around the world who share passionate first-person accounts of how to engage students and families of diverse backgrounds
CONTENTS
Foreword -- Edwin C. Darden, Esq.
Preface – Eileen Gale Kugler
Building Respectful Schools
Chapter 1 - Closing The Culture Gap in Education
Cultural competency is not about political correctness, but about increasing dignity, respect, inclusion and other core preconditions for learning. It is critical to create an “organizational community” within the school with a unity of purpose derived from inclusive and culturally competent policies and procedures. The commentary includes several suggestions for spurring further conversation, reflection, and action.
– Howie Schaffer of Cook Ross Inc., a globally respected diversity consulting and training firm.
Chapter 2 - A Foot in Two Worlds: Immigrant Students in U.S. Schools
Many immigrant students spend their lives in one culture at school and a different culture at home. Two immigrant students, one from Nepal and one from Pakistan, provide valuable insights through the lens of their personal experiences as they balanced two highly contrasting worlds: the American high school experience verses the expectations of their own cultural backgrounds. The young women delve into their struggles as they attempted to build their own sense of identity in four years at a multicultural high school. The authors give their insights into the school environment and resources that facilitated their accomplishments
– Waliha Gani, James Madison University '13, Centennial Scholar; Shriya Adhikary, Wheeling Jesuit University ’13 - former co-executive editors of Annandale High School (VA) newspaper
Chapter 3 - Valuing the Individual by Breaking Through Assumptions
Each of us has an individual culture, a complex web of race, ethnicity, religion, home life and experiences. With our culture comes assumptions about others; and likewise, others see us through their own cultural prism. Educators cannot afford to limit the growth of students and families, as well as their own, by letting their assumptions go unexamined. They need to be aware of their personal culture, break through assumptions, and create environments that enhance learning across all cultures. – Eileen Gale Kugler, Embrace Diverse Schools, speaker and consultant on strengthening diverse schools, work places, and communities
Cultural competency is not about political correctness, but about increasing dignity, respect, inclusion and other core preconditions for learning. It is critical to create an “organizational community” within the school with a unity of purpose derived from inclusive and culturally competent policies and procedures. The commentary includes several suggestions for spurring further conversation, reflection, and action.
– Howie Schaffer of Cook Ross Inc., a globally respected diversity consulting and training firm.
Chapter 2 - A Foot in Two Worlds: Immigrant Students in U.S. Schools
Many immigrant students spend their lives in one culture at school and a different culture at home. Two immigrant students, one from Nepal and one from Pakistan, provide valuable insights through the lens of their personal experiences as they balanced two highly contrasting worlds: the American high school experience verses the expectations of their own cultural backgrounds. The young women delve into their struggles as they attempted to build their own sense of identity in four years at a multicultural high school. The authors give their insights into the school environment and resources that facilitated their accomplishments
– Waliha Gani, James Madison University '13, Centennial Scholar; Shriya Adhikary, Wheeling Jesuit University ’13 - former co-executive editors of Annandale High School (VA) newspaper
Chapter 3 - Valuing the Individual by Breaking Through Assumptions
Each of us has an individual culture, a complex web of race, ethnicity, religion, home life and experiences. With our culture comes assumptions about others; and likewise, others see us through their own cultural prism. Educators cannot afford to limit the growth of students and families, as well as their own, by letting their assumptions go unexamined. They need to be aware of their personal culture, break through assumptions, and create environments that enhance learning across all cultures. – Eileen Gale Kugler, Embrace Diverse Schools, speaker and consultant on strengthening diverse schools, work places, and communities
The Personal Power of a Teacher
Ch. 4 - Montana’s Indian Education for All: Preparing Teacher Candidates to Embrace Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
Montana’s Indian Education for All (IEFA) act is an unprecedented reform effort nearly 40 years in the making. The funded legislation requires the teaching of American Indian cultures and histories across the curriculum as part of a quality education. With the foundation of a better understanding of American Indian cultures, Montana educators create a caring, safe, inclusive learning environment respectful of diversity so all students can meet their academic and social potential. This unique state commitment can serve as a model for all educators dedicated to promoting social justice and educational equity. Insights from teacher candidates concerning the challenges and the successes of implementing IEFA are shared.
–Jioanna Carjuzaa, Associate Professor of Multicultural Education, Montana State University-Bozeman
Chapter 5 - The Importance of Student Stories
The story is an eye into the individuality of each student, and students revel in the opportunity to tell their stories. This second-grade teacher in a multicultural urban school describes how she uses stories to enable students to understand the way others see the world. She provides opportunities such as making dolls that represent students’ cultures, creating books about field trips, and fostering discussions of photos and drawings of their lives and what they have learned. These opportunities validate the importance of the child’s story and his or her place in the world.
– Karyn Keenan, teacher at Passages Charter School, Chicago
Chapter 6 - Serving Long-term English Learners by Empowering Students in Two Languages
Many students learning English fall short of fluency after five or six years in U.S. schools. The author highlights a middle-school program that builds English fluency for students at this critical educational passage by improving students’ skills in both English and their native Spanish. The students take an extra class that teaches them Spanish vocabulary and grammar and then ties it back to what they are learning in English. The personal connection between the teacher and her students builds the confidence of these students who have had far little prior school success.
– Graciela Rosas, teacher, Pacific Beach Middle School, San Diego Unified School District
Chapter 7 - Addressing Silences: Creating a Space for Classroom Conversations that Matter to Students
Critical issues such as gender identity, race, class, and power have a profound effect on the lives of students both in and out of the classroom and are constructed by language, images, and literature. And yet, these topics are often viewed as “not part of our curriculum” and so students are silenced. Teachers in a Brooklyn elementary school, instead, created space inside of the curriculum for those very issues to be analyzed, dissected, and discussed. Students developed the skills to go beyond stereotypes to construct their own messages about identity.
– Sara Kugler, teacher and literacy trainer in Brooklyn, New York, and Fairfax County, Virginia
Chapter 8 - A Calling to Teach: Helping Every Child Succeed
Many educators describe teaching as a “calling”. This bi-racial author describes her journey from business professional to the world of education, where she could change her focus to ensuring that every child had an opportunity to succeed. Entering as a Teach for America Corps member, she continued through challenging environments, earned graduate degrees in education, and eventually joined YES Prep Public Schools. At YES Prep, a charter school system that serves 4,200 students across eight schools in the Houston area, the author works with faculty to assure they are skilled and committed to the goal that every student can and will graduate and continue on to a four-year college.
– Ashley Harris, Senior Instructional Coach, YES Prep Public Schools, Houston
Montana’s Indian Education for All (IEFA) act is an unprecedented reform effort nearly 40 years in the making. The funded legislation requires the teaching of American Indian cultures and histories across the curriculum as part of a quality education. With the foundation of a better understanding of American Indian cultures, Montana educators create a caring, safe, inclusive learning environment respectful of diversity so all students can meet their academic and social potential. This unique state commitment can serve as a model for all educators dedicated to promoting social justice and educational equity. Insights from teacher candidates concerning the challenges and the successes of implementing IEFA are shared.
–Jioanna Carjuzaa, Associate Professor of Multicultural Education, Montana State University-Bozeman
Chapter 5 - The Importance of Student Stories
The story is an eye into the individuality of each student, and students revel in the opportunity to tell their stories. This second-grade teacher in a multicultural urban school describes how she uses stories to enable students to understand the way others see the world. She provides opportunities such as making dolls that represent students’ cultures, creating books about field trips, and fostering discussions of photos and drawings of their lives and what they have learned. These opportunities validate the importance of the child’s story and his or her place in the world.
– Karyn Keenan, teacher at Passages Charter School, Chicago
Chapter 6 - Serving Long-term English Learners by Empowering Students in Two Languages
Many students learning English fall short of fluency after five or six years in U.S. schools. The author highlights a middle-school program that builds English fluency for students at this critical educational passage by improving students’ skills in both English and their native Spanish. The students take an extra class that teaches them Spanish vocabulary and grammar and then ties it back to what they are learning in English. The personal connection between the teacher and her students builds the confidence of these students who have had far little prior school success.
– Graciela Rosas, teacher, Pacific Beach Middle School, San Diego Unified School District
Chapter 7 - Addressing Silences: Creating a Space for Classroom Conversations that Matter to Students
Critical issues such as gender identity, race, class, and power have a profound effect on the lives of students both in and out of the classroom and are constructed by language, images, and literature. And yet, these topics are often viewed as “not part of our curriculum” and so students are silenced. Teachers in a Brooklyn elementary school, instead, created space inside of the curriculum for those very issues to be analyzed, dissected, and discussed. Students developed the skills to go beyond stereotypes to construct their own messages about identity.
– Sara Kugler, teacher and literacy trainer in Brooklyn, New York, and Fairfax County, Virginia
Chapter 8 - A Calling to Teach: Helping Every Child Succeed
Many educators describe teaching as a “calling”. This bi-racial author describes her journey from business professional to the world of education, where she could change her focus to ensuring that every child had an opportunity to succeed. Entering as a Teach for America Corps member, she continued through challenging environments, earned graduate degrees in education, and eventually joined YES Prep Public Schools. At YES Prep, a charter school system that serves 4,200 students across eight schools in the Houston area, the author works with faculty to assure they are skilled and committed to the goal that every student can and will graduate and continue on to a four-year college.
– Ashley Harris, Senior Instructional Coach, YES Prep Public Schools, Houston
Courageous Leaders
Chapter 9 - Serving Marginalized Children: A New Principal Fights for Equity in the Trenches
A new elementary school principal discusses the joys, stresses, problems and solutions related to her journey in leading for equity at a majority middle-class school with an increasing minority population. She particularly focuses on her quest to practically apply the knowledge, skills and wisdom she garnered while serving as the director of a multi-district equity and integration collaborative.
– Stacie Stanley, Principal, Twin Cities; former Program Director and classroom teacher, East Metro Integration District, St. Paul
Chapter 10 - Forging Relationships with High School Students that Impact Learning and Achievement
Research shows that students who feel strongly connected to adults in school are more likely to be successful socially and academically. The positive impact on at-risk high school students is especially profound when students are given the opportunity to deeply connect with an adult who is committed to guiding them in a personal way. The principal of a diverse high school describes how she and her team successfully implemented programs that promote meaningful teacher-student relationships which, in turn, positively impact learning and achievement. The foundation of these programs is the belief that although the typical high school master schedule presents many constraints, schools can create opportunities for students and adults to make these important connections.
– Nardos King, Principal, Mount Vernon High School, Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia
Chapter 11 -The Equitable Leader: Changing Beliefs and Actions
In a collaborative change process, educational leaders need to create a safe environment where staff can examine their beliefs about students, their families and the community in order to openly examine their own teaching practices through an equity lens. At the same time, school leadership teams must collaboratively create targeted and supportive processes and procedures which examine data and root causes which lead to school-wide change.
– Roni Silverstein, elementary principal and former director of elementary leadership development, Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland
A new elementary school principal discusses the joys, stresses, problems and solutions related to her journey in leading for equity at a majority middle-class school with an increasing minority population. She particularly focuses on her quest to practically apply the knowledge, skills and wisdom she garnered while serving as the director of a multi-district equity and integration collaborative.
– Stacie Stanley, Principal, Twin Cities; former Program Director and classroom teacher, East Metro Integration District, St. Paul
Chapter 10 - Forging Relationships with High School Students that Impact Learning and Achievement
Research shows that students who feel strongly connected to adults in school are more likely to be successful socially and academically. The positive impact on at-risk high school students is especially profound when students are given the opportunity to deeply connect with an adult who is committed to guiding them in a personal way. The principal of a diverse high school describes how she and her team successfully implemented programs that promote meaningful teacher-student relationships which, in turn, positively impact learning and achievement. The foundation of these programs is the belief that although the typical high school master schedule presents many constraints, schools can create opportunities for students and adults to make these important connections.
– Nardos King, Principal, Mount Vernon High School, Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia
Chapter 11 -The Equitable Leader: Changing Beliefs and Actions
In a collaborative change process, educational leaders need to create a safe environment where staff can examine their beliefs about students, their families and the community in order to openly examine their own teaching practices through an equity lens. At the same time, school leadership teams must collaboratively create targeted and supportive processes and procedures which examine data and root causes which lead to school-wide change.
– Roni Silverstein, elementary principal and former director of elementary leadership development, Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland
Community: The Village it Takes
Chapter 12 - From Survivors to Leaders: Stages of Immigrant Parent Involvement in Schools
American schools include children of many families born outside the United States. These families experience different stages of involvement in schools. The “Four Stages of Immigrant Parent Involvement” model highlights the needs and experiences of our immigrant and refugee families. Understanding the four stages – Cultural Survivor, Cultural Learner, Cultural Connector, and Cultural Leader – will assist educators and community members in planning and designing effective and meaningful parent engagement activities, programs, and trainings that build leadership capacity for international parents. This model is based on years of observational studies and experiences working directly with thousands of immigrant families.
– Young-chan Han, Family Involvement Specialist, Maryland State Department of Education
Chapter 13 - Ready to Learn: The Benefits of a Neighborhood School Readiness Team
The impact of starting kindergarten “ready to learn” goes far beyond that first year of formal schooling, for both children and families. Multiple perspectives are considered regarding what “ready to learn” or school readiness means to parents, particularly for families who are unfamiliar with the American system of education. The authors highlight a successful collaboration among schools, families, preschool educators and the broader community to show the benefits it brings to both school and family.
– Andrea Sobel, Educational Consultant and Family Specialist with National Educational Consulting Services; Debra Fulcher, Educational Consultant, Fairfax County, Virginia; both are on staff at George Mason University
Chapter 14 - The Power of Family Aspirational Values on Student Academic Success
When recent immigrants are asked about their hopes and dreams for their children’s futures, they express profound and specific aspirational hopes for their children’s academic success and future education. Schools need language and cultural competency, flexibility and family centricity in empowering and incorporating family aspirational values toward academic and long-term educational success of their children. It is important to create a welcoming environment in which parents can find support from one another toward academic success of their families. The author highlights a Latino family, a community-based organization, the business council of a major corporation and a school district to illustrate meaningful efforts that engage parents.
– Jesse Bethke Gomez, President, CLUES (Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio), multicultural provider of behavioral health and human services in Minnesota
American schools include children of many families born outside the United States. These families experience different stages of involvement in schools. The “Four Stages of Immigrant Parent Involvement” model highlights the needs and experiences of our immigrant and refugee families. Understanding the four stages – Cultural Survivor, Cultural Learner, Cultural Connector, and Cultural Leader – will assist educators and community members in planning and designing effective and meaningful parent engagement activities, programs, and trainings that build leadership capacity for international parents. This model is based on years of observational studies and experiences working directly with thousands of immigrant families.
– Young-chan Han, Family Involvement Specialist, Maryland State Department of Education
Chapter 13 - Ready to Learn: The Benefits of a Neighborhood School Readiness Team
The impact of starting kindergarten “ready to learn” goes far beyond that first year of formal schooling, for both children and families. Multiple perspectives are considered regarding what “ready to learn” or school readiness means to parents, particularly for families who are unfamiliar with the American system of education. The authors highlight a successful collaboration among schools, families, preschool educators and the broader community to show the benefits it brings to both school and family.
– Andrea Sobel, Educational Consultant and Family Specialist with National Educational Consulting Services; Debra Fulcher, Educational Consultant, Fairfax County, Virginia; both are on staff at George Mason University
Chapter 14 - The Power of Family Aspirational Values on Student Academic Success
When recent immigrants are asked about their hopes and dreams for their children’s futures, they express profound and specific aspirational hopes for their children’s academic success and future education. Schools need language and cultural competency, flexibility and family centricity in empowering and incorporating family aspirational values toward academic and long-term educational success of their children. It is important to create a welcoming environment in which parents can find support from one another toward academic success of their families. The author highlights a Latino family, a community-based organization, the business council of a major corporation and a school district to illustrate meaningful efforts that engage parents.
– Jesse Bethke Gomez, President, CLUES (Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio), multicultural provider of behavioral health and human services in Minnesota
Global Perspectives
Chapter 15 - Healing a World of "Terror" by Valuing "Diversity": A New Curriculum to Encourage Deeper Understanding and Mutual Respect
Since 9/11, there has been widespread confusion about “the Other.” After working with schools in the UK and South Asia, the author argues that in a post 9/11 world, schools wishing to convey the values of good citizenship will have to introduce new and cutting-edge subjects which must encourage mutual respect and understanding. Through innovative and stimulating classroom activities and case studies implementing the learning resource, Valuing Diversity: Towards Mutual Respect and Understanding (distributed to more than 2000 schools in the UK and one in Pakistan), the author explores how cultural stereotypes can be broken down one by one by listening to each other, finding common ground and engaging in dialogue, thus fostering deeper understanding.
- Amineh Ahmed Hoti, co-founder and Director of The Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations at Cambridge University, and currently in her native Pakistan working to introduce quality higher education for women
Chapter 16 - The Passion of a Lifelong Australian Educator: Teaching Students First
Students do not come to schools as tabula rasas or dry sponges ready to be filled by ‘wise’ teachers who know what is best for them; instead, they come with a family background and history which filters and impacts all that they are going to experience when they enter the school gate. Reflecting on his broad range of teaching experiences, this educator argues that students arrive at school with considerable knowledge learned from their immediate and wider family circumstances, and which teachers need to factor into the programs they prepare for their classes. And parents DO care; they want the best for their children and it is incumbent upon schools and teachers to open up the channels of communication to effect the best possible educational outcomes.
– Jeff Scanlan, elementary and secondary school teacher in Queensland, Australia
Chapter 17 - Multicultural to Intercultural: Developing Interdependent Learners
Kids from every corner of the globe attend Canadian schools; simply acknowledging this multiculturalism isn't good enough anymore. This educator asserts the need to move beyond a reciprocal appreciation of our differences toward an intercultural perspective that maximizes the social, emotional and academic potential of every student. We do this by fostering and teaching intercultural competence... the ability to effectively communicate with and learn from people of other cultures. This author introduces the Hope Wheel; an action oriented learning tool designed to support the development of respect, understanding, relationships and responsibility as students become interdependent travellers on the journey toward socio-cultural and academic competence. To help prepare our children for the realities of their future, and to function more productively within the realities of the present, educators must embrace the diversity of our world and do everything they can to help kids connect with and learn from each other.
– Sean Grainger, teacher and administrator at Mattie McCullough Elementary School, Alberta, Canada
Since 9/11, there has been widespread confusion about “the Other.” After working with schools in the UK and South Asia, the author argues that in a post 9/11 world, schools wishing to convey the values of good citizenship will have to introduce new and cutting-edge subjects which must encourage mutual respect and understanding. Through innovative and stimulating classroom activities and case studies implementing the learning resource, Valuing Diversity: Towards Mutual Respect and Understanding (distributed to more than 2000 schools in the UK and one in Pakistan), the author explores how cultural stereotypes can be broken down one by one by listening to each other, finding common ground and engaging in dialogue, thus fostering deeper understanding.
- Amineh Ahmed Hoti, co-founder and Director of The Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations at Cambridge University, and currently in her native Pakistan working to introduce quality higher education for women
Chapter 16 - The Passion of a Lifelong Australian Educator: Teaching Students First
Students do not come to schools as tabula rasas or dry sponges ready to be filled by ‘wise’ teachers who know what is best for them; instead, they come with a family background and history which filters and impacts all that they are going to experience when they enter the school gate. Reflecting on his broad range of teaching experiences, this educator argues that students arrive at school with considerable knowledge learned from their immediate and wider family circumstances, and which teachers need to factor into the programs they prepare for their classes. And parents DO care; they want the best for their children and it is incumbent upon schools and teachers to open up the channels of communication to effect the best possible educational outcomes.
– Jeff Scanlan, elementary and secondary school teacher in Queensland, Australia
Chapter 17 - Multicultural to Intercultural: Developing Interdependent Learners
Kids from every corner of the globe attend Canadian schools; simply acknowledging this multiculturalism isn't good enough anymore. This educator asserts the need to move beyond a reciprocal appreciation of our differences toward an intercultural perspective that maximizes the social, emotional and academic potential of every student. We do this by fostering and teaching intercultural competence... the ability to effectively communicate with and learn from people of other cultures. This author introduces the Hope Wheel; an action oriented learning tool designed to support the development of respect, understanding, relationships and responsibility as students become interdependent travellers on the journey toward socio-cultural and academic competence. To help prepare our children for the realities of their future, and to function more productively within the realities of the present, educators must embrace the diversity of our world and do everything they can to help kids connect with and learn from each other.
– Sean Grainger, teacher and administrator at Mattie McCullough Elementary School, Alberta, Canada
