Stop Making Excuses! Moving from Words to Action in Education Equity Dr. Markisha Smith, Director of EDI Oregon Department of Education TLA Summer Institute August 2, 2018

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Intention and Purpose of Today Find grounding in the case for Education Equity in Oregon. Establish a basis for being a Transformational Leader for Equity. Develop and/or expand knowledge of Discourse in Equity. Connect to a Collective Passion and Will for Education Equity.

Community Agreements for Today: “Community agreements serve as a consensus on what every person in this group needs from each other and commits to one another in order to feel SAFE, SUPPORTED, OPEN, PRODUCTIVE, and TRUSTING, so that the group may individually and collectively serve students and families well, do its best work, and achieve a common vision.” -- NEP, 2016 Agreements ≠ Rules or Norms Agreements are RELATIONAL and OPERATIONAL

Establishing Agreements Stay Engaged Remain morally, emotionally, intellectually, and socially involved in the dialogue. Take care of yourself so you can be as present as possible. Speak Your Truth Speak on your behalf, being careful not to take anyone to task. Hold yourself accountable in this context. Be open about your own thoughts and feelings. Pacific Education Group-Courageous Conversations—4 Agreements

Establishing Agreements Experience Discomfort Understand that, through dialogue, healing and change can begin. Talking with others presents a feeling of being uncomfortable. Roll with it. Expect and Accept Non-Closure Hang out in uncertainty in some contexts of the dialogue. Do not rush to quick solutions. Understanding requires ongoing dialogue, which may not end today. Pacific Education Group-Courageous Conversations—4 Agreements

What is Equity? Colorblindness? Equality? Access? Proportional Outcomes? Political Change? Social, Psychological, and Institutional Change? Markisha What is Equity? There are several views, all of which make defining and “doing” the work of equity no small task. It is messy and often uncomfortable but necessary given the inequitable outcomes and opportunities we continue to see for traditionally marginalized student groups. Here are some ideas to ponder as we think about how to define equity and how some definitions are more constraining and “faculty” than others. Colorblindness: we have transcended racism and adopted a new position that “we don’t see color” when engaging with someone who is physical different from us; this is troubling because ultimately we are saying we don’t’ see a fundamental way in which our country has identified people; Equality be definition means giving everyone the same and while appealing in practice we know this has not proven in practice-Brown V. Board Access-most everyone would agree that children deserve access to a good education. But, there is a range of the position this takes in practice from “everyone should be required to take college prep courses to schools must provide an innovative curriculum and social environments that enable all students to learn.” With elaboration and purposefulness, equity as access becomes too simplistic. Proportional Outcomes-If we just focus on outcomes, we may not be aware of the complexities of social and psychological factors that impact teaching and learning; we have to remember that equity is a process not an “end.” Political Change-some argue that schools participate in creating social and economic inequality or that our economic system requires low achievement, so there are enough workers to take low-paying jobs. Advocates of the political change view would claim that equity requires political action to reform systems. Social, psychological, and institutional change-peoples’ beliefs, prejudices, values, and biases must be deeply addressed in order to eliminate individual and institutional practices and policies that hinder students ability to learn. So, where does our current think at a State level stand?

Exploring Equity What does equity mean to you? Which stance most closely matches your own? Equity Stances Activity

ODE Equity Stance “Education equity is the equitable implementation of policy, practices, procedures, and legislation that translates into resource allocation, educational rigor, and opportunities for historically and currently marginalized youth, students, and families, including civil rights protected classes. This means the restructuring and dismantling of systems and institutions that create the dichotomy of beneficiaries and the oppressed/marginalized.”

Developing A Lens for Equity “Whenever I arrive on a real location, I have to move around and work out what the best angles are going to be. When I was moving around with the lens, I discovered things that the naked eye would not have.” --Filmmaker Pedro Almodovar Markisha Developing a Lens for Equity Everyone at some point in time has taken a picture---from a traditional camera, a “throw-away” camera, a Polaroid, a camera phone, etc. And we know how vitally important it is to have the right angle, the right lens, the right lighting, the right background if we want the best picture. But this often requires a critical eye that simply snapping a picture in the moment might not reflect.

An Equity Lens An Equity Lens The metaphor of a lens describes the possibility of seeing our contexts in new and revealing ways. Markisha How can we begin to see our current context in new and revealing ways while understanding the power of history and system of oppression? How then can use this new lens to change the systems that we have operated in for so long?

An Equity Lens An Equity Lens WHAT WE SEE WHAT WE BELIEVE WHAT WE DO Markisha

Why Equity? Why have a conversation about equity in Oregon?

Example of Why Equity

Academic Achievement (2016-2017) Level 3 or 4 Academic Outcomes Academic Achievement (2016-2017) Level 3 or 4 Student Group Grades 3-5- ELA Grades 3-5-Math Grades 6-8- Grades 6-8-Math Grade 11- Grade 11-Math Black/African-American 29.0 20.2 33.4 19.2 45.4 13.5 Hispanic/Latino 30.9 25.8 3.7 24.8 59.0 20.8 American Indian/Alaska Native 30.4 26.6 35.6 26.1 54.8 18.6 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 33.8 38.8 27.2 53.7 20.7 White 56.6 50.2 60.9 47.5 76.0 40.2 Asian 68.5 66.7 75.2 68.9 79.0 56.1 Students w/Disabilities 23.4 21.1 13.8 30.1 10.7 English Learners 21.8 19.8 17.8 11.2 14.3 9.2 Students Experiencing Poverty 37.5 31.6 42.3 28.4 60.6

Graduation Data

% of Students with One or More Discipline Incidents in 2016-2017 Race/Ethnicity % of Students with One or More Discipline Incidents in 2016-2017 Black/African American 9.9% Hispanic/Latino 5.9% American Indian/Alaska Native 8.7% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 6.7% White 4.8% Asian 1.4%

Becoming Intentional and Courageous “It takes courage to look in the mirror and see past your reflection to who you really are when you take off the mask, when you’re not performing the same old routines and social roles. It takes courage to ask how did I become so well-adjusted to injustice?” ---Cornell West Markisha

Transformational Equity Leaders Shift the Discourse dis·course (noun) ˈdisˌkôrs/ written or spoken communication or debate. synonyms: discussion, conversation, talk, dialogue, conference, debate, consultation (Google, 2017)

Transformational Equity Leaders Shift the Discourse Our beliefs influence our actions, which can either reproduce or transform results and outcomes. Changing the discourse has us think about: What are our fundamental beliefs? How do we define problems, successes, and failures? (National Equity Project, 2016)

Discourse One/I Language typically used to talk about, question, and plan the work of schools, change, or reform What shifts or changes are made when we engage in dialogue focused on these aspects? Can we name sustainable, long-term change here? Why or why not? (Eubanks, Parish, and Smith 1997)

Discourse Two/II Language that tends to be about uncomfortable, unequal, ineffective, prejudicial conditions in schools What shifts or changes are made when we engage in dialogue focused on these aspects? Can we name sustainable, long-term change here? Why or why not? (Eubanks, Parish, and Smith 1997)

Scenario #1: Rigorous and High Academic Expectations Trying it On! Scenario #1: Rigorous and High Academic Expectations You need to engage in a discussion about envisioning ALL students as highly successful—holding rigorous and high academic expectations and providing targeted support for every student to achieve. Typically, your colleagues have stated they do hold rigorous and high expectations but that a large number of students are unmotivated and unprepared to meet their expectations. What does Discourse I sound like here? How might you approach the scenario from a Discourse II perspective? (National Equity Project, 2016)

What are the Nondiscussables? Subjects that need to be discussed but are heavy with anxiety and fear. Often take place “outside” of formal meeting spaces. The “Elephant” in the room. Every school and district has them. What are the “nondiscussables” in our school district? How can discussing these issues (using Discourse 2) help move us forward?

Transformational Equity Leaders are Intentional and Courageous Consider these questions: What is my personal vision of equity? What do I stand for and why? What are we really challenged by in our particular community? What factors are at play in our patterns and results? Where are we reproducing the same results, and where are we already making in-roads to change? What do we need to learn more about to make significant change? Markisha

Session Debrief Connections to you and your work with staff? Key understandings? Take-aways? Need more of? What are you struggling with? What are you resistant to?

Thank You! Markisha Smith, Ed.D. markisha.smith@state.or.us 503-947-5669 http://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/equity/Pages/default.aspx