Graduate School of Education and Information Studies Excellence Through Equity: Creating Conditions for Great Teaching and Learning Pedro A. Noguera, Ph.D. Graduate School of Education and Information Studies UCLA

I. Making equity central Equity is: Giving students what they need to be successful Academic as well as social, material and emotional support Recognizing that they learn in different ways and at different paces Compensating for disadvantages Pervasive inequality makes pursuit of equity difficult Monitor outcomes – academic and developmental, and patterns - racial disparities and “positive deviance”

An Equity Lens Compels Us to Ask: How effectively are we serving our most vulnerable students? Foster care, homeless youth, recent immigrants, special needs, etc. How have we assigned teachers? Are all students being challenged, stimulated, supported and inspired to achieve their potential? Is demography driving outcomes?

Equity is not: Lowering standards or expectations Making excuses about low achievement due to poverty or race An issue that only schools serving poor or minority children should be concerned about Choosing which students to serve – disadvantaged or affluent

Pursuing excellence through equity requires a framework: Child Development – A holistic approach to education and differentiated support Neuroscience – Elasticity of brain makes it necessary to ensure that all students are stimulated and have access to challenging learning opportunities Commitment – All staff, administration, certificated and non-certificated – must be focused on how to fulfill the district’s mission – serving the needs of ALL students

Common Obstacles Politics – Prioritizing the interests of adults over those of students Traditions – Practices and procedures that maintain inequity - grading, schedules, punitive discipline practices Capacity – Many staff lack the skills to meet the needs of students or to further equity goals Beliefs – Race/class bias in the classroom and workplace, normalization of patterns, complacency, lack of internal accountability 3

Districts improve when schools focus on the five essential ingredients - A coherent instructional guidance system - Ongoing development of the professional capacity of staff - Strong parent-community-school ties - A student-centered learning climate/culture - Shared leadership to drive change

1. Coherent system to guide instruction Students are empowered as learners Class time is work time Performance is assessed, regular feedback provided Teachers plan together, set agreements on what students should learn and supports for students who don’t make adequate progress Site administrators are instructional leaders

Students in control of learning at Hollenbeck Middle School, LA

Focus on Engagement Behavioral Engagement Cognitive Engagement Preparation Persistence Instrumental Help-seeking Cognitive Engagement Deep Processing Meta-cognition Emotional Engagement Interest Value

Teachers focus on evidence of learning Expectations are clear and standards explicit Students are shown high-quality work Diagnostic tools are used to check for understanding – assessment for learning Students’ interests and culture are used to make lessons culturally relevant Students are expected to revise and resubmit work Feedback and questions from students are solicited

2. Building professional capacity District must ensure that the skills of the staff and resources available to schools support the needs of students

Brockton scholarship winners 2016

Key Elements of the Brockton Strategy Shared leadership – all staff support common goals Concerted effort to obtain buy-in around the strategy A coherent strategy focused on student needs Differentiated professional development Follow through, using data to monitor progress, evaluate impact, sticking with it

Key Questions in Brockton What are we teaching, how are we teaching it, what do we do if they don’t learn it, and how do we know the students are actually learning it? What do our students need to know and be able to do to be successful on the MCAS, in their classes, and in their lives beyond school? We are not likely to get any additional staffing or resources, so what resources do we have now that we can use more effectively? What can we control, and what can’t we control?

Turn Around at Brockton High “Brockton High School has every excuse for failure, serving a city plagued by crime, poverty, housing foreclosures, and homelessness… But Brockton High, by far the state’s largest public high school with 4,200 students, has found a success in recent years that has eluded many of the state’s urban schools: MCAS scores are soaring, earning the school state recognition as a symbol of urban hope.” James Vaznis, Boston Globe Oct 9, 2009.

Central Office Staff: Building Professional Capacity Instead of critiquing and scrutinizing staff, provide constructive feedback and support Use data to identify areas of weakness in district, implement interventions, monitor (measure) progress Provide differentiated professional development to teachers Content - subject matter coaches Pedagogy- Time to observe other teachers Positive relationships with students

3. Parent and community ties Schools make greater progress when they have strong partnerships with parents and receive from the community.

PS 28 obtains highest gains in literacy and math in Brooklyn -2012

Key Elements of PS 28 Strategy Instructional leadership Parental support Community partnerships Ongoing focus on building the capacity of teachers Individualized support for students

Creating Partnerships with Parents Recognition of shared interests Parents want the best for their children Schools want to see students succeed Need to clarify roles, rights and responsibilities in the partnership Social closure - Coleman’s research shows that students benefit most when parents and schools work together Reinforcing the importance of education

Develop systems to support youth resilience Build partnerships with CBOs, colleges, local business, churches, hospitals, etc. focused on health, education, well being, job training Take holistic approach to address social and emotional needs Provide mentoring and internships – social capital Engage non-certified staff in supporting youth

4. School culture Create a culture (shared values, practices and rituals) that meets the needs of students and supports their.

What do you know about your students. Beyond stereotypes What do you know about your students? Beyond stereotypes. Key questions: What are their lives like outside of school? How do they learn outside of school? What motivates and interests them? What challenges do they and their parents face? What are their unmet needs that may impact learning? .

Creating powerful school cultures Defined: Beliefs, attitudes, norms, expectations and assumptions that guide actions Ethos - the character, customs, habits that distinguish a school/community Sarason’s axiom: If you attempt to implement reforms but fail to change the culture of a school, nothing will change Highly successful schools engage all staff in creating a culture that reinforces core values and promotes student development

Signs of a healthy school culture: Staff takes responsibility for student achievement Does not blame students and parents for low performance See teaching and learning connected School has a coherent strategy for delivering instruction School is not racially stratified or segregated from within Staff is willing to collaborate and open to change Relations with parents are strong, genuine partnership Based on respect and empathy. Educational goals are reinforced at home School rules and procedures are aligned with educational goals Discipline is rooted in values, focus is on changing behavior

Normative patterns among students reinforce academic achievement Students think it’s cool to be smart Strong relationships between adults and students Deliberate strategies to counter stereotypes related to race, class, gender and academic achievement- “stereotype threats”addressed Disruption and defiance from students is rare Numerous adults with moral authority

Culver City High School

Agency vs. Grit Hard work, persistence Individual attribute Ignores contextual barriers Hard to measure except after outcomes are achieved Based on critical thinking Includes help seeking, social capital Can be individual or collective in form Recognizes barriers and strategizes to confront Measureable through observation of actions and attitudes

5. Shared leadership Leaders must generate a sense of urgency among all staff about addressing the needs of all students and improving outcomes

District Challenge: Balancing technical and adaptive work Technical work - A focus on managing the operations of the system, insuring that procedures are working and that employees are in compliance with policy. Adaptive work - A focus on the dynamic and complex nature of the work, its substance, meaning and purpose. Work guided by a long term vision, with medium and short term goals. An awareness that we are trying to achieve our goals in a constantly changing environment Ron Hiefitz - Leadership on the Line

Distinguishing between symptoms and causes It’s… NOT... uncovering the system causing the outcomes trying to develop a theoretical framework understanding users’ felt needs trying everyone’s favorite solutions identifying breakdowns in the system identifying people as good apples or bad apples Investigating the existing system starting with a blank slate NEED HELP: what do people mistake this part for?

Five Principles of Courageous Leadership Courage to act Getting to your core values Making organizational meaning – commitment to mission Assuring constancy of purpose – working toward common goals Building sustainable relationships

Need for a Paradigm Shift Old Paradigm Intelligence is innate Job of schools is to measure intelligence and sort accordingly Inequity in resource allocation: give the best resources to highest achievers Discipline used to weed out the “bad” kids New Paradigm Intelligence and ability are influenced by opportunity It is the job of school to cultivate talent and ability among students Resources allocated based on student need Discipline used to reinforce school values and norms

Focus on the Right Questions: How can we use education to reduce inequality and break the cycle of poverty? How do we prepare our students to be independent learners who are prepared for life? How will I make what I teach relevant and meaningful so that I can motivate my students?

Embrace a vision for pursuing excellence through equity Teaching and Learning Extended Learning Safety, mentors Community partners-Universities Family engagement Health and Nutrition

Excellence Through Equity Obtain ETE Book: for More Information: pnoguera@gseis.ucla.edu Pedronoguera.com Excellence Through Equity Obtain ETE Book: ASCD.com