Building School-University Partnerships: A Conversation with South Texas School Leaders

Borderlands/MAK-16 Working Group at UTPA

Committee Presenters: Francisco Guajardo—Educational Leadership Zasha Romero—Health & Kinesiology Amy Weimer—Psychology Joy Esquierdo—Curriculum & Instruction Other Committee members: Van Reidhead - Salvador Ochoa - Hector Diaz Jose Ruiz-Escalante - Velma Menchaca - Jaime Curts Hosin Shirvani - Joe Garza - Marcelo Schmidt

Research Observations: 1. Health…on physical and mental well being 2. English Language Learners 3. Innovative solutions/thinking

“ Decreased Scholastic Achievement of Overweight Middle School Children Major study looked at normal weight (NW) compared to overweight (OW) students and found: 11% higher GPA’s for NW than OW 25% fewer absences for NW than OW 35% fewer tardies for NW than OW 21.8% OW boys repeated grade *16.3% OW girls repeated grade 33% OW boys expect to not finish college 35% OW girls expect to not finish college Shore, Stuart M., Sachs, Michael L., Lidicker, Jeffrey R., Brett, Stephanie N., Wright, Adam R. and Libonati, Joseph R. “Decreased Scholastic Achievement in Overweight Middle School Students.” Obesity. 16 (2008):

Percentage of Obesity by State

What can we do together? A toolkit idea Active Transportation Open Spaces, Parks and Recreation Quality Physical Activity In and Near Schools Quality Nutrition in Schools Food and Beverage Marketing Community Awareness

Exercise facilitates children’s executive functions. Level of physical activity positively relates to several cognitive skills among school-age children: Perceptual skills Intelligence Quotient Achievement Verbal tests Mathematic tests Developmental level/academic readiness Physical Activity and Cognition (Sibley, & Etnier, 2003; Tomporowski, Davis, Miller, & Naglieri, 2008)

Children who engaged in vigorous physical activity performed better in school than those that performed moderate or no physical activity. Aerobic fitness scores are positively related to achievement in standardized tests of mathematics and reading among school-age children. ( California Department of Education., 2001; C astelli, Hillman, Buck, & Erwin, 2007; Sallis et al.,1999) Physical Activity and Academic Performance

School Physical Activity and Academic Performance Physical activity has a positive influence on concentration, memory, and classroom behavior. Additional curricular emphasis on physical education may result in small but absolute gains in GPA and a relative increase in performance per unit of academic teaching time. (Hillman, Erickson, & Kramer, 2008; Trudeau, & Shephard, 2008 )

How can we address this issue together? Forge collaborative partnerships with practitioners, and public school & UTPA educators UTPA student internships to do community service in: Museums, art galleries, and community centers Hidalgo County Head Start program classrooms High School programs Counseling & Testing Center, UTPA College of Education

References California Department of Education. California physical fitness test: Report to the governor and legislature. Sacramento, California. Department of Education Standards and Assessment Division (2001). Castelli, D. M., Hillman, C. H., Buck, S. M. & Erwin, H. (2007). Physical fitness and academic achievement in 3rd & 5th Grade Students. Journal of Sport Exercise. Psychology, 29, 239–252. Hillman, C. H., Erickson, K. I.., & Kramer, A. F. (2008).Be smart, exercise your heart: exercise effects on brain and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9, Sallis, J. F. et al. (1999). Effects of health-related physical education on academic achievement: Project SPARK. Research Quaterly in Exercise & Sport, 70, 127– 138. Sibley, B. A. & Etnier, J. L. (2003).The relationship between physical activity and cognition in children: a meta-analysis. Pediatric Exercise Science, 15, 243–256. Trudeau, F., & Shephard, R. J. (2008). Physical education, school physical activity, school sports, and academic performance. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, Tomporowski, P. D., Davis, C. L., Miller, P. H., & Naglieri, J. A. (2008). Exercise and children’s intelligence, cognition, and academic achievement. Educational Psychology Review, 20,

17 National Data - Remedial v. Enrichment Models Long-Term Academic Achievement of ELLs Average Reading Performance – native English Speakers (Thomas & Collier, 2002) Average English Reading Performance – ELLs NCENCE Note: Program Implementation through 5 th Grade only Remedial Models Enrichment Models

18 Dual Language Research Thomas & Collier, 1997, 2002; Lindholm-Leary, 2001; L. Gómez, Freeman & Freeman, 2005; Gómez & Ruiz-Escalante, 2005; Gómez & Gómez, 1999; L. Gómez, 2000; R. Gómez, 2006 The number one predictor for long-term academic achievement in English is the extent and quality of L1 schooling (Thomas & Collier, 2002)

How can we narrow the achievement gap for ELLs? Forge collaborative partnerships between the public schools & UTPA Examples: PSJA, Hidalgo, Dallas ISD

Closing Reflections: 1. partnerships 2. building a vision together 3. the need for innovation

A question: What collaborative partnerships can we forge to make things better in the schools and at the university?