TABLE OF CONTENTS
UPDATE
NOTICE
SPOTLIGHT
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
RECOMMENDED READINGS
TOOLS YOU CAN USE
RESEARCH BASED PRODUCTS
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE UPDATE
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
FEATURED WEBSITE
DID YOU KNOW …
UPCOMING EVENTS
This eNEWS is sent formatted in HTML. If the graphics do not display properly, please go to: www.nccrest.org or www.urbanschools.org to view the eNEWS online. Back issues of the eNEWS are also available there.
There are many good conferences coming up the next couple of weeks. If you plan on attending TASH, NAME, and/or NSDC be sure to visit the NIUSI/NCCRESt staff. NIUSI/NCCRESt staff will be presenting at all three of these conferences.
This year’s conference, Leadership for Equity and Excellence: Transforming Education, is going to be a huge success. Complete with 5 pre conference institutes, 95 concurrent sessions, 4 exceptional keynotes, table exhibits, an awards ceremony, an art contest, and
entertainment!This conference will bring people together to discuss the need for all students to have access to high quality learning opportunities. The Forum will be attended by state departments and school districts nationwide, as well as, community leaders, professionals, and parents from across the country.
Pre conference institutes:
What does a culturally responsive, inclusive school system look like, and how can we get there? Tools and resources for assessing your system, and developing improvement plans.Alfredo Artiles and Suzanne ArnoldHow can school systems engage actively with families and communities to ensure that the schools meet the needs of communities, families, and students?
Beth Harry and Debra JenningsHow does the policy we develop create the context for deficit approaches to culturally, economically, and linguistically diverse students? How can we develop policies that build on the strengths of students, families, and communities?
Shelley Zion and Joseph JohnsonWhat are the features of leadership for systemic change? How do we develop systems of shared, collaborative leadership that build on the strengths of all stakeholders?
Elizabeth Kozleski and Lee VargasWhat do we need to do in order to ensure the highest quality learning experiences for all students? What is the role of early intervening services, response to intervention, literacy and ELL?
Janette Klingner and Julie Esparza BrownKeynotes:
Keynote speakers will be…Quality Public School: Education as a Civil Right
Robert P. MosesRespect, Justice, and Equality: Educational Themes
Sara Lawrence-LightfootThe Role of Leadership in Promoting Equity and Excellence in Education
Pedro NogueraTransforming Teaching to Benefit All Students: The Role of Caring and Critical Teachers
Sonia NietoConcurrent sessions:
We have accepted 95 concurrent sessions from all over the nation with topics ranging from…• School Improvement for ALL children
• Family and Community Partnerships
• Policy to Promote Equity and Eliminate Racism
• Leadership for Change
• Transforming Teaching and LearningRegistration is now open go to www.nccrest.org to register online.
GENEVA
GAY
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Dr.
Gay is highly respected for her research and teaching of curriculum
theory, African-American culture, and multicultural education.
In 1994, she received the Ann Baker Award, in honor of her
distinctive leadership, scholarship, and service to women. She
has published
a book entitled, At the Essence of Learning: Multicultural
Education (1994), and most recently presented a symposium with
colleagues
Dr. Ted Kaltsounis and Dr. Walter Parker called, "Multicultural
Education and Democratic Citizenship Education at the Crossroads," to
the National Council for the Social Studies. By David Smith
There are currently more than six billion people on the planet! This enormous number can be difficult to grasp, especially for a child. But what if we imagine the whole world as a village of just 100 people? In this village:
- 22 people speak a Chinese dialect
- 20 earn less than a dollar a day
- 32 are of Christian faith
- 17 cannot read or write
- 39 are under 19 years old
In a time when parents and educators are looking to help children gain a better understanding of the world's peoples and their ways of life, If the World Were a Village offers a unique and objective resource. By exploring the lives of the 100 villagers, children will discover that life in other nations is often very different from their own. The shrunk-down statistics -- some surprising, some shocking -- and David Smith's tips on building "world-mindedness" will encourage readers to embrace the bigger picture and help them to establish their own place in the global village.
Addressing Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Student Overrepresentation in Special Education: Guidelines for Parents
By Alfredo J. Artiles, Arizona State University
Beth Harry, University of MiamiIn this practitioner brief the authors discuss these two questions: Do bias or inappropriate practice play a role in the placement of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education? and Is the representation of low-income students in special education programs larger than their representation in the school population at your child’s school? They also go through the stages of the special education system and describe learning opportunities in general education, referral, assessment, and eligibility and placement in special education. Guidelines and questions about culturally responsive practices that parents can ask at each of the stages are also presented.
To download this Practitioner Brief go to www.nccrest.org, click on resources and publications, then Practitioner Briefs or follow this link.
ONPOINT
Understanding English Language Learners’ Needs and the Language Acquisition Process: Two Teacher Educators’ Perspectives
Alicja Rieger, Ph.D. Utica College, NY
Ewa McGrail, Ph.D. Georgia State University, GAThis OnPoint discusses the complexity of English language learners’ needs from the point of view of two native Polish-speaking teacher educators. Both teachers use their own experiences and knowledge as English Language Learners in methods courses they teach in teacher education programs in the United States. They discuss the importance of striking a balance between valuing language diversity and ensuring that each student has access to high quality academic instruction. This dilemma is complicated politically, socially, and academically within and outside of the classroom. Rieger and McGrail outline several strategies throughout this OnPoint to help teacher educators in teacher education programs and professional development to model for their students, pre- and in- service teachers, the language acquisition process and ESL pedagogy. Teachers need deep understanding of both to able to meet the needs of our increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse public schools.
To download this OnPoint go to www.urbanschools.org, click on publications, then OnPoints or follow this link.
The Educational Researcher, a journal published by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), recently released their August/September 2006 edition. Principal Investigators from the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems’ (NCCRESt) were quest editors for the themed issue on disproportionality. Alfredo Artiles, Janette Klingner, and William Tate edited the issue ‘Representation of Minority Students in Special Education: Complicating Traditional Explanations’. The editors’ introduction discusses the fact that the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education has been largely ignored. The articles in this themed issue represent efforts by NCCRESt to achieve three key goals; to affirm the significance of disproportionate representation, shape the creation of new discourses, and extend traditional discourses to address larger systemic issues. This special issue broadens the way that disproportionate placement of minority students in special education is theorized, presenting alternative visions of human development in which culture, ideology, history, and power play influential roles. It also stresses the need to understand professional practices as cultural work, in which assumptions about competence privilege certain groups. Hopefully this themed issue will inform future research and practice efforts that aim to enhance learning opportunities for historically marginalized students.
Alfredo J. Artiles, is a Professor of Special Education at Arizona State University. Janette K. Klingner is an Associate Professor of Special Education (specializing in bilingual special education) at the University of Colorado, Boulder. William F. Tate is the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
NCCRESt staff, in conjunction with NERRC, spent a week in Connecticut conducting a case study of two school districts that have been successful in reducing their disproportionality over the past three years. Results of this study should provide some promising practices that will assist other states and districts in their efforts to eliminate disproportionality.
West Virginia submitted a technical assistance application to begin work with NCCRESt as they work with districts they have identified as disproportionate. In October, those districts sent teams of people to a meeting hosted by the state department and facilitated by NCCRESt to begin working through the NCCRESt rubric as part of their continuous improvement planning.
NIUSI and NCCRESt hosted a training of trainers on Leadership and Systemic Change on October 24th- 26th in Denver, CO. 50 participants from around the nation attended, and were trained and certified as NIUSI/NCCRESt trainers.
"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things.”
-Jack Kerouac
STAND UP is a community-based response to America's education crisis.
They advocate for great high schools that educate all students well, and for America's future.
STAND UP is a national campaign to:
- Give parents the tools they need to get their kids the education they deserve.
- Mobilize all Americans to engage in the solution and demand policies that help all students succeed.
- Ensure students receive the support they need to graduate from high school ready for college, work, and citizenship.
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2ND ANNUAL NATIONAL FORUM: LEADERSHIP FOR EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE: TRANSFORMING EDUCATION
Brought to you by the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt)
Washington DC, February 7-9, 2007
http://www.nccrest.org/events/events/national_forum_2.html2006 TASH CONFERENCE
Baltimore, MD, November 8-11, 2006
http://www.tash.org/2006tash/index.htmNAME’S 16TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Phoenix, AZ, November 8-12, 2006
http://www.nameorg.orgNSDC’S 38TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Nashville, TN, December 2-6, 2006
http://www.nsdc.org/conference06/welcome/hostletter.cfmCADRE FOURTH NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
Washington DC, December 7-9, 2006
http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/6TH ANNUAL NATIN
Washington DC, January 29-30, 2007
http://www.nativefamilynetwork.comNATIONAL DIVERSITY CONFERENCE
Seattle, WA April 25-27, 2007
http://www.ediversitycenter.net/casde/index.phpCONFERENCE ON EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EDUCATION
The Richard Stockton College Pomona, New Jersey, April 28, 2007
http://talon.stockton.edu/eyos/page.cfm?siteID=84&pageID=1
