BEGINNING TO EXAMINE UNIVERSAL PRACTICE THROUGH A CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE LENS Linda Stead Kent Smith

Session Description  This session will identify key culturally responsive practice concepts that can be embedded within systems. This will include activities and tools for staff and teams to begin to examine systems and discipline practices from a culturally responsive lens.

Gloria Ladson-Billings (UW-Madison) coined the term “cultural relevancy” in It is a way of teaching that “empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using culture to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes.” Go beyond Relevant to Responsive Cultural Relevancy

 Teachers must create a bridge between the students’ home and school lives in order to successfully meet district and state curricular requirements.  "Our children are victims of identity theft. Someone has stolen their identity of excellence, intelligence, and achievement and made them believe they're supposed to be pimps, playas, thugs, and criminals. Identity determines activity. Education, therefore, is about identity restoration.” Chike Akua  “I don’t become what I think I can; I don’t become what you think I can; I become what I think you think I can.”  Dignity is a non-negotiable.

VABB  VALIDATE:  To make legitimate that which the institution and mainstream have made illegitimate  AFFIRM:  To make positive that which the institution and mainstream have made negative  BUILD:  Make connections between home culture and language with the school culture and language  BRIDGE:  Give opportunity for situational appropriateness (code switching) or utilize the appropriate culture or linguistic behaviors

“Students with disabilities are almost TWICE as likely to be suspended from school as nondisabled students, with the highest rates among black children with disabilities.” NYTimes, M. Rich Aug National Data 13% with disabilities are suspended from school versus 7% of students without disabilities 1 in 4 Black K-12 students are suspended from school at least once High suspension is correlated with: Low achievement Dropout Juvenile incarceration Students with greater than one suspension per year: 1 in 6 Black students 1 in 13 American Indian students 1 in 14 Latino students 1 in 20 White students Not correlated with the race of staff writing referrals. Dan Losen & Jonathan Gillespie Center for Civil Rights Remedies at UCLA – Presented by George Sugai (8/12) State by state data found at Dignity in Schools Campaign Fact Sheet:

Wisconsin Suspension Data (Retrieved from DPI website, 3/31/14)

2013 NAEP Data

As a result of these trends and data…  Federal guidelines issued January 9, 2014 from the US Dept. of Education and US Dept. of Justice recommending use of PBIS and Cultural and Racial Equity to:  alter school climate,  reduce use of exclusionary practices and  decrease discipline disproportionality  Federal Guidelines available at:

Unintentional Reinforcement of Trends  These outcomes continue because our systems are not designed to meet the needs of or examine outcomes for ALL groups of students.  Institutions and systems have not changed substantially in the last 100 years (think about Brown v. Board of Ed…)  These outcomes are reinforced by policy at every level; Federal, State, and Local.

We see the world not as it is, but as we are…

Norms/Values and their Effects  Ways to evaluate the effects of norms/values on your system:  Complete value assessments to identify cultural differences between staff and student culture  Disaggregate Discipline data  Disaggregate Suspension data  Disaggregate Academic data  Compute Risk Ratio:  If negative trends or mismatches with student culture are visible:  Problem solve at the SYSTEMS level (i.e. not one classroom/teacher at a time) What knowledge and skills do the staff need? How to deliver that (short term) How to support that (long term)  We must change the educational setting to reach all students, NOT simply expect the student to assimilate

Planning  Once data shows a pattern, teams need to consider:  Whether not bias exists in current policies  What knowledge and skills the staff need How to deliver that (short term) How to support that (long term) How to monitor the effects and impact  Where resources will come from  Align to School Improvement goals

Culturally Responsive Systems Acknowledgement/Environment School-wide Expectations Family Engagement

 Schools that engage families:  Honor family voice, values, histories, languages, cultures  Allow for and elicit feedback and input during decision making  Partner with families and the community to determine priorities  Allow families ownership (not just the PTO/PTA president)  Family engagement in schools leads to:  Increased academic performance of students and schools  Increased family empowerment  Increased collaboration (school/families and within schools)  Improved staff morale  Increased completion rates  Increased trust between families and school staff CRITICAL at higher tier supports  Increased volunteer pool within the school  Increased and diverse voices and perspectives

School-Wide Expectations  Link expectations and rules to community and family values  Teach to fluency within each setting in the school  Teach situational appropriateness  Brief Activity RespectfulResponsible Safe

Personal Matrix  Teach students to differentiate behavior expectations (code-switch)  Students define what expectations look like: At school At home In the community  For example: what does it look like to be Responsible when someone is bothering you? At school: Tell an adult At home: Walk away (telling an adult annoys your parents) In your neighborhood: Stand up for yourself

Acknowledgement/Environment  5:1 acknowledgement to correction rate  Community Building ( Increase belonging and build group identity)  Begin each class period with a celebration, affirmation, chant, or song (Harambee time – “come together”)  Your first comment to a child establishes behavioral momentum  Interspersed requests  Behavioral priming  Provide multiple paths to success/praise  Group contingencies, personal contingencies, etc.

Teaching and Using Acknowledgement Acknowledgement:  Is an important part of how behaviors are taught  Builds behavioral fluency faster  Helps cultural capital (code switching) when cultural differences exist  Develops positive connections between student and school

Positive Environment Review whose experience is on display year-round:  What reading material is available?  Who is shown in materials and around the classroom?  What music is used? Review range of instructional and work options:  How are students expected to complete work?  In a small group, individually, etc.  What type of instruction is provided?  Lecture, call and respond, movement based, etc.

LOCUST LANE ELEMENTARY PBIS Tier I

Eau Claire Area School District  Enrollment: 11, 125  Grade Levels: P K- 12  PK Sites (15), Elementary (13), Middle (3), High (2), Alt. Learning  Economically Disadvantaged: 43%  Ethnicity:  American Indian/Alaskan Native ~.6%  Black or African American ~ 2.4%  Hispanic/Latino ~ 4.2%  Multi-racial ~ 4.3%  Asian ~ 9.2%  White ~ 79%

Locust Lane: Our Population  Enrollment: 289 (12/15/ )  Grade Levels: Kindergarten – 5 th  Economically Disadvantaged: 64%  Ethnicity:  Hispanic/Latino ~ 1.7%  American Indian/Alaskan Native ~ 2%  Black or African American ~ 2.7%  Multi-racial ~ 5.8%  Asian ~ 23.5%  White ~ 64%

 Respectful  Honest  Responsible  Safe RHRS

Teaching Expectations  Kick Off  Staff ~ Student ~ Family  1 st 6 weeks  Morning Meetings  Boosters following breaks (winter and spring)  When our data shows a need  Golden Broom  Golden Spatula

Acknowledgments  PAW Stamp  Post Cards  All School Celebrations  Staff Celebrations

Our Learning  District Wide Professional Development  Courageous Conversations About Race by Glenn E. Singleton  Beyond Diversity  Culturally Responsive Instruction  Professional Learning Communities (PLC)  Classroom Instruction That Works by Dean, Hubbell, Pitler & Stone  PBIS Trainings  Locust Lane Professional Development  Teaching with Poverty in Mind by Eric Jensen  Engaging students with Poverty in Mind by Eric Jensen  Joel Raney, ECASD Culturally Relevant Coach

Changing Our Practices: Family Engagement  Communication Newsletter, , Facebook, personal phone call invites  Family Kick Off PBIS Station at our Welcome Back Event Interpreters  Family Nights Expectations Taught & Practiced Family Matrix Changed Menu  Hmong Culture Day Parents Co-facilitate

Changing Our Practices: School-wide Expectations  Linking Expectations/Rules to Community and Family Values  Morning Meetings  Cool Tool Practice Scenarios  ODR’s/Fix-it Plans  Code Switching

Changing Our Practices: Acknowledgments Environment  Acknowledgments  Added Post Cards  Community Building  Morning Meetings  Morning Announcements  Family Nights  Hmong Culture Day  Environment  Instruction Protocols Attention, Engagement, Response, Discussion  Materials  Collaboration

How do we know we’re on the right track?  2011 National Blue Ribbon Award from the United States Department of Education for academic achievement over a three year period  Locust Lane has been named a School of Recognition by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for the last four years  Locust Lane was recognized as a School of Distinction by the WI RtI Center and the WI PBIS Network through our work with creating a safe and positive learning environment for all students  Data  Reduction in the number of ODR’s  Reduction in Suspensions

Questions or Comments Jodi Hubbard  Kent Smith   Linda Stead 

RESOURCES

Federal Guidelines on School Discipline   

Types of Practice TraditionalResponsiveCulturally Responsive Teacher centered (eyes on me) One way High Affective Filter (nervous if you don’t do it) Student centered (teacher holds up fingers, students repeat) Two way interaction Lowered affective filter (compliance without fear) Call and Response Indigenous Ay’go, Ay’me Se Puede, Si Su Puede Rhythmic Peace-Quiet Holla-Back Are you ready?- Totally Lyrical I know I Can – Be What I Wanna Be

True Colors  Take a few minutes to complete the personal profile.  (Make sure you score the columns and not the rows)

Cultural Behaviors Spectrum Traditional school norms  Low movement  Turn-taking  Quiet & rule-driven Norms specific to under-served students  High movement  Overlap  Preference for variation/spontaneity

DATA

Across the Nation… (Dignity in Schools Campaign, retrieved January 2014)  Black Students 3.5x more likely to be expelled than white students  Latino/Latina students 2x more likely to be expelled than white students  American Indian students 1.5x more likely to be expelled than white students  LGBTQ students 1.4x more likely to be expelled than heterosexual identified youth  Students in foster care 3x more likely to be suspended or expelled than students living with parents or guardians  Youth who do not finish High School are 8x more likely to be incarcerated

An example of Risk Ratio Risk of Getting a Speeding Ticket

Risk Ratio Relative risk (RR) is the ratio of the probability of an event occurring (for example, developing a disease, being injured) in one group to the probability of the event occurring in a comparison groupprobability Purposes of webinar: 1.Schools understand what a Risk ratio is and why it’s important 2.How to calculate 3.Where to find resources 4.What to do next? --- Create a story of getting pulled over. Contrary to popular belief, drivers in red cars don’t get ticketed more often than their less-flashy comrades. Middle- aged males with a thing for foreign brands, on the other hand, had better watch out. Men who drive a Volkswagen GTI or Mercedes-Benz CLS-63 AMG are twice as likely to get a ticket than the average driver. If they’re in a Hummer (4.63 times higher), they might as well plan on it–drivers of the Hummer H2 face more than triple the chances of a citation. “It’s the combination of the male driver driving the big old Hummer and a mid-life kind of person feeling good,” says Bob U’Ren, senior vice president at Quality Planning, a San Francisco-based company that validates policyholder information for auto insurers. “That’s the magical combination that drives some of these things.”

Calculation  Automatic calculator available by going to:  Formula % of an enrolled subgroup with particular outcome __________________________________________ % of enrolled majority subgroup with same outcome (white)

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