Voices From The Field: Leadership, Equity and Social Justice 2015 Minnesota School Psychologists Association Mid-winter Conference

✤ Sally A. Baas, Ed.D. ✤ Donald Lee Stovall, Psy.D.

Goal Promote the role of the school psychologist to provide Leadership on Equity and Social Justice/Advocacy issues for the populations they serve with emphasis on the needs of under-represented populations.

Equity Equal opportunity with attention to equal outcomes for all students. With pressures on schools to meet performance standards, students with challenges (or those who are different from the “mainstream”) are often placed in educational paths that lower expectations. We can not accept the normalization of low expectations

Raising Expectations One method of supporting students and their caregivers is to transition from deficit based models to strengths- based models. Strength-based models recognize that the student has capabilities and that the family/caregivers have important perspectives to share.

Resiliency Strength comes early indigenous institutions, not through lectures but through experience: customs, habits and practice. The primary lesson learned is and was that knowledge and understanding comes from our relatives, the other “persons” or “beings” we have relationships with and depend upon in order to live. And it is through these relationships, physical and psychological, indeed spiritual, that human beings begin to understand who, why and even to some degree what we are. (p.33, Deloria and Wildcat, 2001).

Equity Literacy (Gorski, 2013) 1. The right to equitable educational opportunity. 2. Poverty and class are intersectional in nature. 3. Poor people are diverse. 4. What we believe, including our biases and prejudices, about people in poverty informs how we teach and relate to people in poverty 5.We cannot understand the relationship between poverty and education without understanding biases and inequities experienced by people in poverty. 6. Test scores are inadequate measures of equity. 7. Class disparities in education are the result of inequities nor the result of cultures. 8. Equitable educators adopt a resiliency rather than a deficit view of low income students and families. 9. Strategies for bolstering school engagement and learning must be based on evidence for what works 10).The inalienable right to equitable educational opportunity includes the right to high expectations, higher-order pedagogies and engaging curricula.

Factors More Likely to be Found With Students From Diverse Backgrounds Less Support at home Lower Literacy Skills Labeled in Ways that reinforce problem behavior (troublemaker) Behavior masks academic challenges (teams get caught up in the behavior Require direct instruction on ways to be resilient (raising expectations!!!)

Caregiving Roles/Expectations Differ Across Cultures Definitions of key concepts differ across cultures: Meaning of Illness Values and Attitudes Who is Decision-maker View of “professionals” and outsider help Coping Mechanisms Definitions of Acceptable Behaviors What is a family Style and preferred methods of communication

Culture Impacts: Parenting and child rearing Body Language Communication Perception of Time Help seeking behaviors Worldview

Benefits of a Diverse Setting Inclusion Interaction among diverse people to promote the educational growth of all Promotes mutual respect, understanding, and cross- cultural understanding Prepares students to live and work in a competitive global economy

Potentially Culturally Biased Assumptions Normal behavior is universal and expectations apply to all cultures in the same manner Independence is the goal, dependance is not Historical background is irrelevant to immediate issues (don’t dwell in the past).

Self-Appraisal Thinking of your school or setting (1) Is there a profile of students who are more likely to be referred based on race, behaviors, social class, neighborhood, culture or language? (2) Does your school or program have a plan in place to address needs? (3) What is the degree of connectedness to caregivers (all caregivers from different perspectives engaged, or some not engaged?)

Developing a system of support Review Academic Data Referral Rates Test Scores Attendance Patterns Discipline Referrals What groups make the most use of resources (staff time, administrator time, supervision and support needs time)? All Disaggregated by Race, SES, Gender and Teacher

Closely Monitor Discipline Disparities Which students are most frequently disciplined (race, age, gender, class) What is the level of academic profile of students who are disciplined? What strategies are in place to minimize discipline referrals (classroom and school-wide level) Are practices effective? Are pro-social behaviors taught, reinforced, honored?

Assess the Culture of the School Is the mission of the school expressed to everyone and understood by everyone (Honestly, when was the last time you read the school’s mission statement?) How are relationships between students and adults in school promoted and maintained? How are relationships between school staff and caregivers promoted and maintained?

Self-Appraisal What will it take for your school to connect with students and caregivers who come from diverse backgrounds or under-represented groups?

Promote Success Teach study skills Teach problem solving skills Teach note taking skills Provide examples of end products Link current activities to future skills

Supporting The Caregiver Offers Benefits Engagement/collaboration as a team member consistent with public law They become role models for change Enhances their sense of purpose and meaning Utilizes out of school resources to help the child

Leadership Model the Way Create a Shared Vision Challenge racism, injustice and bigotry Enable others to act by multiplying efforts Encourage the hearts of all on the journey to move equity forward

Leading From the Middle/Place