State Department of Education Higher Education Partners Districts Supporting Equity and Making High Needs Schools Competitive for Talent Meeting #3

Outcomes for the Day By the end of the meeting we will have: Identified what our equity challenges are Agreed to our definition of high needs districts/schools Reviewed pertinent research Identified actions to make our high needs schools competitive for talent Determined how we can influence key stakeholders to support our equity work

Our Norms for Working Together Put students first as we think about the work Be fully present (different with technology) Tell your truth Leave your title at the door and think enterprise-wide Help us to figure out how to solve -- and not just identify -- the problems that we face (addressing and influencing) Keep the conversation confidential Use the “Red Flag” rule if you need to Give yourself the freedom to relax and be a learner

Updates and News

What is Equity through an HC Lens? Our Perspective USHCA Definition Equity in HC means ensuring equally high outcomes for all students by ensuring highly effective teachers and leaders, especially in our high needs schools. In Real Terms Students & schools that are *underperforming* have an equal or greater proportion of teachers and leaders that are effective+ and beyond their first year So, what do we believe as an organization? What are our values? We are unapologetic that for us – as HC leaders – the goal is that effective teachers and leaders are matched with students and schools that need them the most. In real terms – they actually have a greater chance of having an effective or highly effective teacher than higher performing students. *We use underperforming to focus equity on student results. Underperforming may correlate with income, race, and other factors, but it is not synonymous.

What does equity for students mean to you? What is Equity? Your Perspectives Reflect with your teams. How might this reflect (or NOT) your districts beliefs and actions about equity when it comes to student learning? DISCUSSION What does equity for students mean to you? Image Source: Interaction Institute for Social Change | Artist: Angus Maguire

Setting the Stage for Equity What is our role? State Educator Preparation District

How would you influence others around the importance of this work? Your A-ha’s Large Group Discussion How would you influence others around the importance of this work?

Our Focus: HR’s Role in Equity Base Support to All Schools + Prioritize High Needs Schools GET THE BEST Consistently DEPLOY Deliberately RETAIN & DEVELOP Strategically DELIVER SERVICES Effectively All Schools Added “Edges” to High Needs Districts/Schools Making High Needs Districts/Schools Competitive for Talent + HR needs to be providing a high functioning based level of services to all schools. And this base level of service needs to consider important aspects for equity for kids. For example, HR needs to build a diverse pool of applicants for all schools. HR needs to be responsive to the needs of principals. AND they most focus their efforts on making high need schools competitive for talent. That is the value HR adds to equity for kids. Our belief is that by making these schools competitive for talent, students in these schools will have more effective teachers and leaders CONSISTENTLY and we will get more equitable outcomes for kids.

Equity: Student Achievement Over 30+ years achievement increased, but racial achievement gaps barely narrowed 238 232 238 208 206 So, why is equity important today? Unfortunately in this country there remains an extraordinary gap based predominantly on race. This is really about making sure that all kids have the opportunity to get to college and career. We are the system – that is our role. Ed Trust, 2018 https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/persistent-disparities-found-through-comprehensive-civil-rights-survey-underscore-need-continued-focus-equity-king-says https://education-first.com/new-study-race-explains-the-income-gap/ Coursework: Students of color, ELLs, and students with disabilities are less likely to have access to a full range of courses in math and science, including AP courses Discipline: In K-12, black students are 3.8 times as likely to be suspended as white students Funding: Nationally, we spend $1,000 less per student on districts serving the most students in poverty Life Outcomes: Black children whose parents were in the top 1% of earners grew up to have incomes 12.4% lower than white children from similar backgrounds National NAEP grade 4 reading scores, by race

School-Level Inequities Differences in Opportunities & Access Coursework: Students of color, ELLs, and students with disabilities are less likely to have access to a full range of courses in math and science, including AP courses Discipline: In K-12, black students are 3.8 times as likely to be suspended as white students Funding: Nationally, we spend $1,000 less per student on districts serving the most students in poverty Ed Trust, 2018 https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/persistent-disparities-found-through-comprehensive-civil-rights-survey-underscore-need-continued-focus-equity-king-says

Gaps in Equity Life Outcomes Life Outcomes: Students assigned to effective teachers in a single year were more likely to attend college, earn higher salaries, and less likely to have children as teenagers Upward Mobility: Chances at upward mobility vary widely across race – 11% for white children compared to 2.5% of black children

Multiple Lenses for Examining Equity Human Capital Funding Equity Academics & Curriculum Instructional Time Equity cuts across everything we do with schools and kids. It impacts our approach to Academics, family engagement, student services, instructional time, funding and last, but not least HUMAN CAPITAL. And that’s us. There are other groups out there focused on EQUITY. We are going to go deep over the next 3 days on the intersection between HR and equity work and your role as HR leaders to lead for equity for students. Family Engagement Student Services

Bottom Line: Research Summary More Work to Do to Ensure Equity in HC Low-income, minority, and lower-achieving students end up with the least effective teachers: Lower value added Less experience Higher teacher absenteeism Later hires Higher turnover rates Given that we know that teachers are the #1 school-based factor in student learning, and that our highest need students and schools don’t have the same access to those teachers… *Goldhaber, Theobald, & Lavery, 2015

Diversity as a Key HC Equity Strategy Diversity is Part of the How Equity in Human Capital Equity in Human Capital Diversity. We believe that building a more diverse workforce is an important part of achieving equity for kids. It is part of HOW we meet the needs of all kids. It is what you should be doing for all of your schools. 51% of public school students are students of color and 80% of our teachers are white. We have to do this work, and many of you have made great progress in this area over the last few years. We are not equating diversity and equity. We know this is important and you need to measure. You are not going to have an equity plan without taking about this. We are going to go deeper into making your highest need schools competitive for talent. Which includes this. Resources on HR in Ed. Ensuring a diverse teacher & leader workforce is a key component of your equity strategy

Building Common Language Taking a Closer Look at Equity Multiple ways to define equity – important to clarify language we use Framework that we used as a team to look at this work EQUITY

Our Definition of High Needs Districts/ Schools Schools Where STUDENTS are UNDERPERFORMING and may also include: School & Student Data Human Capital Data Free and reduced meal status Students of color English language learners Special education students Lower attendance rates Lower grad / college-ready rates Staff turnover and mobility Unfilled vacancies Absenteeism rates % 1st year teachers Principal experience Effectiveness ratings / VAM Substitute teacher fill rates

What are Our Equity Challenges Break up into teams with representation from each partner. Chart issues Think about what the data tells us. Are we disaggregating our data effectively Prioritize areas What actions can we take

Role in Equity Round Table Key Messages What is our role in making high needs districts/schools competitive for talent Data: What is identified HC data needed to understand the strengths and gaps of high needs schools Policies, Practices, & Services: What are the changes to policies, practices, and services to make high needs schools competitive for talent Engagement: How do we engage key stakeholders in efforts to make high needs schools competitive for talent

Making High Needs Schools More Attractive Types of Competitive Advantages Available Leadership – Strong leaders attract and retain talent. Strong leaders are also less likely to tolerate ineffective teaching. Working conditions – Positive working conditions increase the likelihood that teachers will be attracted to the school and stay. Conditions, such as, workload, school safety and quality of school leaders and colleagues are significant. Ability to have opportunities for upward mobility – High performing teachers want to have the opportunity for leadership. Compensation – Most teacher compensation systems do not take into account incentives for taking on additional and challenging work. Effective Human Capital Practices – Differentiated support to high needs schools and districts can be a major lever to making high needs schools attractive. Traditional placement processes that are based on seniority only acerbates the problem. Productivity of Peer Teachers – High performing teachers tend to move to schools where the average teacher is high performing. Poor performers tend to go to schools where teachers are lower performing. 

Make High Needs Districts/Schools Competitive for Talent – “Edges” Working Together Make High Needs Districts/Schools Competitive for Talent – “Edges” State Higher Education Districts Data Key Stakeholders

Next Steps and Agreements