Patricia A. Jani Kimberly INCLUDING OUR TEACHERS IN THE MCKINNEY-VENTO CONVERSATION

AGENDA Why should you include teachers? How do you include teachers? What’s on the horizon?

SURVEY I have presented/trained: Preservice teachers – college/university classes State/national teacher conferences (main audience is teachers; e.g., Title I, IRA, CEC, NEA) Teacher audiences for a local school district or school I have provided materials to others who provide such training My office sends information directly to teachers

THE BIG THREE Access Attendance Success

HE WHO IS TESTED GETS TAUGHT

GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE & RESULTS ACT GPRA GOALS Increase percentage of hcy included in state math and reading assessments Increase percentage of hcy included and meeting or exceeding proficiency levels

PERCENT PROFICIENT

TRUE/FALSE Effective teachers in the top 10 percentile can cover as much content in half a year as a teacher in the lowest 10 percentile. Class size reduction has a greater effect on student achievement than the quality of the teacher. Effective teachers working with homeless and highly mobile students focus strictly on academic needs.

“THE QUALITY OF AN EDUCATION SYSTEM CANNOT EXCEED THE QUALITY OF ITS TEACHERS” 2007 McKinsey Report

RANK ORDER: WHAT FACTOR HAD THE LARGEST EFFECT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT? Mixed Ability Grouping? Class Size? Prior Achievement? The Teacher? Study Highlight: Wright, S.P., Horn, S.P., & Sanders, W.L. (1997)

WHAT FACTOR HAD THE LARGEST EFFECT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT? Mixed Ability Grouping? 4 Class Size? 3 Prior Achievement? 2 The Teacher? 1 Study Highlight: Wright, S.P., Horn, S.P., & Sanders, W.L. (1997)

ONE-YEAR IMPACT OF EFFECTIVE VS. LESS EFFECTIVE TEACHERS Source: Stronge, Ward, & Grant, Journal of Teacher Education, upcoming

5 th Grade Reading: Predicted vs. Actual

TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS INDICES: READING

READING: ONE-YEAR IMPACT OF EFFECTIVE VS. INEFFECTIVE TEACHERS Note: Data presented in percentile scores

STUDENT OFF-TASK BEHAVIOR Less Effective Teacher (bottom quartile) EffectiveTeacher (top quartile) Study minutes 2 hours Study minutes 1 hour 1 1 Stronge, Ward, Tucker, & Hindman, Stronge, Ward, & Grant, in review

Two years of effective teachers could not remediate the achievement loss caused by one year with a poor teacher. Residual Effect Source: Mendro, Jordan, Gomez, Anderson, & Bembry (1998)

SEQUENCE OF EFFECTIVE TEACHERS Low High Percentile points Low High Source: Sanders & Rivers, 1996

Source: Leigh, A. (n.d.). Estimating teacher effectiveness from two-year changes in students’ test scores. Retrieved May 22, 2007, from

EFFECTIVE TEACHERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

WHAT EFFECTIVE TEACHERS DO MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Qualitative Research Field Study College of William & Mary, Williamsburg,VA Purpose: To examine the pedagogical practices of teachers who have instructed homeless students. To explore the needs and strategies that teachers can use to differentiate and accommodate their instruction to maximize achievement for these students. PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES OF TEACHERS OF HOMELESS STUDENTS

What are the pedagogical practices of teachers who have had students who are homeless? Specifically, once a teacher learns that s/he has a student who has been identified as a student who is currently homeless, what ways does s/he change their instructional process to meet the learning and emotional needs of the student? RESEARCH QUESTION

4 STEPS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS 1.“Heightening their awareness for the dynamics of the lives of children and families who are homeless” (Swick, 2000; Powers-Costello and Swick, 2011) 2.“Engaging in experiences that deepen their sensitivity to the contextual elements that are pervasive in being homeless” (Powers-Costello and Swick, 2008; Sleeter, 1993; Swick, 1996; Powers-Costellow and Swick, 2011) 3.“Developing an action plan that provides some cohesive direction to their work” (Powers-Costello and swick, 2011). 4.“Helping teachers become active in building relations with students, parents, colleagues, and community that promote school success” (Swick, 2000; Powers- Costello and Swick, 2011).

Findings Four categories/themes Choices made by the parent to be able to provide for their child(ren) or the lack of the choices that they have available Perceptions of the classroom teacher Relationship development between the teacher and the child and the teacher and the parent for positive learning experience Available/recommended supports within the school and classroom

Participants in Study #2 Three Elementary School Teachers 4 th grade reading teacher “Laura” 17 years teaching experience 5 th grade math teacher “Ann” 10 years teaching experience 3rd grade teacher (all subjects) “Vicky” 6 years teaching experience Suburban School District

Findings Challenges homeless students deal with daily Instruction of homeless students in the classroom Social supports available or recommended Strategies recommended by teachers

Findings Con’t Challenges Just something as simple as tasting foods… I talked about a mango last week and he was the only student in my class who hadn’t had a mango. So I brought mangoes in and let’s eat them, let’s talk about what they taste like. So just being mindful that if I am going to talk about an experience, I want you to be a part of it. - Vicky

Findings Con’t Instruction You’re going to get the most bang for your buck when you are sitting and working with a child on a specific skill one on one, or two on one, or three on one. Because is it specific to that child and that child knows that this is something that is still giving me trouble, they feel comfortable asking questions whereas in a large group, they may not. So a lot of my time is spent meeting with students, going over goals, going over data. - Ann

Findings Con’t Social Supports The emotional aspect of you know I don’t have what he has or you know, feeling ashamed of where they come from. If you’re not confident, then you can’t do anything well. Especially learn because you’re always thinking about… you know they may be hungry, they may be tired, they may be concerned about where they are going when they get home from school. They may be concerned about going home from school alone because mom is working to maintain the place that they are in. So I think that probably the emotional battles are probably the most difficult. - Vicky

Findings Con’t Strategies Boost them and find ways they can excel Boost them up as much as they can. Give them things to shine. Just the little things you would be surprised, just the little things that you do or say. Just the small things mean a lot. Don’t set them apart… See what you can do or say “How can I help you?” or “Do you want me to give you a few minutes during class time or the end of the day? You could have your time to do your homework. Do you want to come in and have lunch? That would be your own private time you can do work.” I do allow her to come into the class. They have a lunch bunch too and they come in and they work and the three of them, they’ll talk and play and stuff together away from everybody else.

Findings Con’t Strategies Make sure that supplies are on hand in the classroom. Adjust the project so that most of it can be completed at school and be willing to provide time for the child to work on it in the classroom. Utilize resources within the school that are available. Through open communication with the parent, encourage them to seek assistance from the school social worker.

Findings Con’t Strategies A scaffolding approach and allowing a student to “draw a concept out and explain it to a partner. Vocabulary building is absolutely key”. Vicki supports direct vocabulary as being one of the best instructional strategies in working with homeless students as well as having a lot of group work so that a student is more comfortable with participating.

Findings Con’t Strategies Provide students with choices so that they can do things they enjoy but can also take on a challenge. Keep the classroom library up-to-date with items that are on the student interest levels. Mix fiction and non-fiction and encourage them to chose topics they enjoy and feel comfortable talking about. Using lecture, auditory, kinesthetic, partner and group activities tap onto all of the learning styles in the classroom and then incorporate technology into the lesson.

These children have many needs beyond a typical student Teachers need to be aware of background circumstances and knowledge of the difficulties and choices the family is facing Need to be aware of their preconceived perceptions; Have an open mind Treat each situation individually CONCLUSIONS

Develop relationships, build trust, safety, and security within the classroom Additional supports are always needed CONCLUSIONS