National Center for Urban School Transformation Schools that Serve African American Children Well Joseph F. Johnson, Jr., Ph.D. Executive Director, National Center for Urban School Transformation Stanford Professional Development Institute June 25, 2007

National Center for Urban School Transformation Dedicated to identifying, studying, and promoting the best practices of America’s highest achieving urban schools in a manner that supports urban districts in transforming teaching and learning 3 rd Annual Symposium: May 7 th - 9 th, 2008 in San Diego

Credit Most of the slides in the first part of this presentation are taken from materials prepared by the Education Trust. They can be found at The second part of this presentation is based upon multiple studies of high-achieving urban schools and districts. It is organized around a framework created by Cummings, Johnson, and Johnson (1991).

Disturbing News: Urban schools serving low-income, Black and Latino communities tend to achieve poor academic results. Gaps persist at all grade levels, however, the latest results show improvement for elementary school students. In the U.S., Black and Latino 17-year olds achieve at approximately the same level as White 13-year olds.

NAEP Reading, 9 Year-Olds: Record Performance for All Groups

NAEP Math, 9 Year-Olds: Record Performance for All Groups

NAEP Reading, 13 Year-Olds

NAEP Math, 13 Year-Olds

NAEP Reading, 17 Year-Olds 21 29

NAEP Math, 17 Year-Olds 20 28

Black and Latino 17-Year-Olds Read at Same Levels As White 13-Year-Olds Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP 2004

Black and Latino 17-Year Olds Do Math at Same Levels As White 13-Year Olds Source: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP 2004

Promising News: There are hundreds of urban schools in which Black, Latino, and low-income students are achieving impressive academic results.

High Achievement for All Some schools demonstrate high achievement for all students. They evidence: High proficiency rates for all groups High graduation rates for all groups High rates of access to challenging programs for all groups Low rates of special education placement for all student groups Low rates of suspension/expulsion for all groups

Gideons Elementary School Atlanta, Georgia Enrollment: % African American 88% Low-Income 96% proficient in English/language arts 94% proficient in mathematics 48% EXCEED state standards in English Source: Georgia Department of Education,

Cecil H. Parker Elementary Mount Vernon, New York Enrollment: % African American 73% Low-Income 91% proficient in reading 96% proficient in mathematics Source:

Columbus Alternative High School Columbus, OH Enrollment: 611 Grades % African American 59% low-income 97% proficient in reading 95% proficient in mathematics 82% proficient in science Source:

Aldine, TX: Raising Achievement for All While Narrowing Gaps Source: Texas Education Agency-Academic Excellence Indicator System Report 1994 through 2001.

Aldine, TX: Raising Achievement for All While Narrowing Gaps Source: Texas Education Agency-Academic Excellence Indicator System Report 1994 through 2001.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC Closing Gaps, Grade 3 Math Source: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction,

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2003 Trial Urban District Reading Assessment. * There is a 19 point gap between Poor African American 4 th graders in the District of Columbia and Boston (roughly equivalent to 2 years’ worth of learning )

Bottom Line: There are schools and districts where Black students are more likely to learn academic standards!

National Center for Urban School Transformation Truth 1: It’s About Attitude

Leaders Believe In schools with better learning results for Black students, school leaders believe they can make a difference in the lives of all children. They envision a better future for students and they are clear about 1) how they need to change and 2) how the school needs to change in order to make the vision real.

Leaders Inspire Vision Leaders help people reconnect with their highest motivations for working with children of color. Leaders use the appeal of serving children well much more than fear of sanctions. They help stakeholders adopt a compelling vision of outstanding teaching and learning. Leaders do more than post a mission statement on a wall, they build a sense of mission in the lives of people who work in the school.

Leaders Are Goal-Driven In high-performing urban schools, leaders keep attention to key goals at the forefront of the daily life of their schools. Goals are not simply slogans; they are reasons for coming to work. Ambitious, multi-year goals are broken into small tasks that people perceive as actionable and attainable.

Leaders Challenge Disbelievers Leaders use local data and data from similar schools to dispel myths about the academic limitations of Black children. Leaders take on disbelievers in a respectful, but forceful way. They refuse to allow others to shape the school culture in a negative manner.

Leaders Inspire Caring Schools that achieve better learning results for children of color have climates that help students know they are valued, respected, and loved. Leaders inspire their colleagues to create a culture in which students and families are sincerely valued. Leaders model efforts to value and respect colleagues, students, and families.

Leaders Create Environments in Which Educators Feel Valued Leaders foster powerful collaborations that make individuals feel supported and valued. Leaders understand the power of mutual respect. They create cultures in which trust is commonplace and people know they belong. Leaders build in people a sense of efficacy: a feeling that together, they can accomplish anything!

National Center for Urban School Transformation Truth 2: It’s About Access

Successful Schools Teach Black Students More In high-achieving schools, challenging academic content has become standard in every classroom. All students receive access to rigorous academic coursework. Often this means some courses have been eliminated or re-written. Content has been upgraded and students are being challenged to learn new skills.

Leaders Inspire Pursuit of Goals In high-performing urban schools, leaders help students dream new futures. They help students know that educators care deeply about their personal success and well-being. They help students understand how decisions today impact goals tomorrow. Similarly, leaders help parents renew hope for their children’s future. They help parents understand the actions that must be taken to ensure children access to their goals.

Leaders Address Prerequisites Leaders in successful urban schools eliminate pseudo-prerequisites to challenging content and they ensure that the real prerequisites are taught.

Teachers Can’t Provide Access to Content They Don’t Know In schools with impressive results for Black students, administrators and teachers regularly engage in opportunities to deepen their knowledge of key academic content. Teachers acknowledge their need to learn and grow and they help construct opportunities to improve their mastery of content. Professional development is part of the culture of these schools. Professional development includes opportunities for learning, trying, receiving feedback, and trying again.

Depth is More Critical Than Breadth Teachers in high-achieving urban schools do not teach everything; however, they teach the most important things exceptionally well. Faculties in high-achieving schools use data to identify and prioritize the key standards that must be taught exceptionally well.

National Center for Urban School Transformation Truth 3: It’s About Assessment

If You Don’t Know It’s Been Learned, You Don’t Know It’s Been Taught In high-achieving urban schools, educators use frequent interim assessments to gauge student progress toward learning key content. Great teachers see assessments more as starting blocks than finish lines. They use results to improve instruction immediately.

Assessment is Not a Post-Mortem Event In successful schools, educators see assessment as a mirror that reflects the quality of their instructional efforts. Assessment information is mined for clues about how to improve student understanding of key learning objectives. Leaders display data that help educators understand how teaching can improve.

Professional Development is Directly Linked to Assessment Results In successful schools, assessment results help determine professional development needs. As professional development initiatives are implemented, assessment results are used to gauge the effectiveness of those efforts.

National Center for Urban School Transformation Truth 4: It’s About Adaptation

Students Learn When They Are Taught In Ways That Help Them Learn In high-achieving urban schools, educators are continuously learning how to adapt instruction in ways that help students learn well. Educators learn to instruct in ways that are responsive to the learning strengths, backgrounds, cultures, interests, and prior knowledge of students. Educators learn to instruct in ways that make learning exciting and fun.

Leaders Create Environments in Which Students Feel Valued Strong leaders create environments in which students know they are welcome, valued, and appreciated. Educators throughout the school help students know that their current and future success is the primary reason for the school. Educators help students believe in their potential to excel in more rigorous coursework and ultimately to excel in life. Small and large student successes are celebrated frequently and sincerely. Students from all backgrounds and ability levels are eager to participate and engage.

Great Schools Have Great Safety Nets Strong schools have systems for promptly identifying students who are having difficulty learning key content. As well, they have systems for responding effectively. Intervention programs are evaluated regularly to ensure they are meeting student needs.

Leaders Create Environments in Which Parents Feel Valued Leaders create schools where parents know they are more than welcome; they are valued as part of a team focused on helping their children succeed in life. Parents know they are valued whether they help at school or not. Parents know what their children are expected to learn and they know how to support their child’s learning. The school finds multiple ways to celebrate the contributions of parents and build their capacity to help their children learn.

National Center for Urban School Transformation Truth 5: It’s About Accountability

Leaders Monitor Progress In high-performing urban schools, leaders monitor both student performance and teacher instructional improvement regularly. Leaders spend significant time observing instruction. They know what progress is made and where attention is needed. Leaders analyze data in ways that allow them to assess the impact of programs, policies, and practices.

Leaders Make People Feel Like Heroes Leaders use data about progress toward goals to celebrate big and small accomplishments. They continuously remind people about the big picture: the ways in which their efforts will change lives. By acknowledging progress, they inspire commitment, which generates more progress, which leads to greater acknowledgement of effort, ad infinitum.