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From: niusi@cudenver.edu
Date: 06/24/03

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NCCREStNews, the electronic newsletter of the
National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems

Volume 1, Number 1 June 2003
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Welcome to the premier issue of NCCRESt News, the monthly electronic newsletter of the National Center for Culturally
Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt). NCCRESt News keeps you informed of the work of this project and other news and
information related to reducing the disproportionate representation of
culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education. Each
issue features resources, research, events, and examples of educational
practices that facilitate the learning and development of all children.

"Class, race, sexuality, gender--and all other categories by which we
categorize and dismiss each other--need to be excavated from the inside." --Dorothy Allison

IN THIS ISSUE:
==> Introducing NCCRESt: Mission, purpose, outcomes, goals, principal
investigators
==> Characteristics of Culturally Responsive Educational Systems: Valuing
the culture, language, heritage, and experiences of each child
==> Report on First Technical Assistance Meeting with the Northeast
States: TA plans developed in five states
==> Events: OSEP's Summer Institutes (July 17-18, July 21-22),
successfully reaching African American learners (July 28-29), IDEA Summit
(June 19-21)
==> Culturally Responsive Resource: The Knowledge Loom
==> NCCRESt Support Desk

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INTRODUCING NCCRESt

<Mission>
The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems
(NCCRESt) is a project of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of
Special Education Programs, with a mission to support state education
agencies and local school systems in their efforts to assure a quality,
culturally responsive education for all students. Established in Fall
2002, NCCRESt is the first-ever technical assistance center to focus on
the disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically
diverse students in special education.

<Purpose>
NCCRESt provides technical assistance and professional development to
close the achievement gap between students from culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds and their peers, and reduce
inappropriate referrals to special education. The five-year project
targets improvements in culturally responsive practices, early
intervention, literacy, and positive behavioral supports.

<Outcomes>
NCCRESt's work is designed to
* increase the use of prevention and early intervention strategies,
* decrease inappropriate referrals to special education, and
* increase the number of schools using effective literacy and behavioral
interventions for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse.

<Goals>
NCCRESt supports the implementation of the Individual with Disabilities
Education Act of 1997 as it extends the goals of the No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001.

To accomplish these goals, NCCRESt will:
* Develop accurate baselines and analyze the impact of change efforts on
placement and outcomes for students from culturally and linguistically
diverse backgrounds.
* Synthesize and expand research-based practices for culturally and
linguistically diverse students.
* Leverage the continued improvement of schools with large proportions of
culturally and linguistically diverse student populations through state
technical assistance plans, collaborative work with existing technical
assistance networks, asset mapping, continuous school improvement
processes, and regional, state, and local leadership academies.
* Engage a national discourse across local, professional practice, and
policy communities on improving educational outcomes for culturally and
linguistically diverse students.
* Develop products, including research syntheses, policy briefs, and
public communication activities that inform a variety of audiences about
effective and evidence-based teaching and school organizational practices
that support successful educational outcomes for students from culturally
and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

<Principal Investigators>
NCCRESt is led by four Co-Principal Investigators:

Elizabeth B. Kozleski, Project Director
University of Colorado
elizabeth.kozleski@cudenver.edu

Alfredo J. Artiles
Vanderbilt University
aj.artiles@vanderbilt.edu

Janette K. Klingner
University of Colorado
jkklinger@aol.com

Cheryl A. Utley
Juniper Gardens Children's Project, University of Kansas
cautley@ku.edu

Drs. Kozleski, Artiles, Klingner, and Utley outline the urgency of this
project in a letter published on the project's newly launched Web site: http://www.nccrest.org/note.html.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS

<Valuing the culture, language, heritage, and experiences of each child>

According to NCCRESt:

* Culturally responsive educational systems are grounded in the belief
that culturally and linguistically diverse students can excel in academic
endeavors if
        - their culture, language, heritage, and experiences are valued
and used to facilitate their learning and development; and
        - they are provided access to high quality teachers, programs,
curricula, and resources.

* Culturally responsive educational systems are concerned with instilling
ethics of care, respect, and responsibility in the professionals who serve
culturally and linguistically diverse students.

* Culturally responsive educational systems benefit all students.
 
Future issues of NCCRESt News will feature examples of culturally responsive educational practices.
These practices will be archived on our Web site: http://www.nccrest.org.
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REPORT ON FIRST TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE MEETING WITH THE NORTHEAST STATES

<TA plans developed in five states>

NCCRESt held its first Regional Technical Assistance Meeting on May 1-2,
2003, in Burlington, Massachusetts. State teams from Maine, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, including representatives
from the state department, school districts, parent centers, technical
assistance providers, the Equity Assistance Centers, and the Office of
Civil Rights, participated in the two-day event. Team members focused on
developing technical assistance plans to reduce disproportionality in
special education and close the achievement gap. Activities included
looking at data, mapping assets, identifying needs, developing action
plans, and planning evaluations.

The technical assistance plans that were developed will be used to guide
further discussion around the needs of the states in addressing issues of
disproportionality, and to assist NCCRESt in developing the tools and
services that will be most beneficial.

Examples of needs identified by the states:

* Awareness level training for all LEA's
* Help us get broad based "buy in" that this is an issue we need to get
resolved
* Help us to make systemic change
* Bring in the national agenda/perspective
* Assistance with planning the statewide event
* Develop tools for school district discussion
* Do a keynote address at the statewide meeting
* Review/provide feedback on state's plan
* Develop indicators of effective practice

NCCRESt will continue to hold its series of technical assistance meetings
over the next 12 months in each region of the country.
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EVENTS

<Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Educations'
Continuous Improvement and Focused Monitoring Summer Institutes>

"Progressing Together--Improving through Communities of Practice"
Baltimore, Maryland * July 17?18, 2003
Salt Lake City, Utah * July 21?22, 2003

These summer institutes will provide state and lead agency staff and other
stakeholders with information on four priority areas of the IDEA: for Part
C the priority areas of 1) identification (public awareness and child
find) and 2) Settings (including natural environments), and for Part
B/Section 619 the priority areas of 3) placement (LRE), and 4) exiting.
Research, promising practices, and improvement strategies that will assist
states and lead agencies to improve in those areas will be presented and
discussed in each priority area.

States are encouraged to bring teams made up of state education agency and
lead agency staff, steering committee members, state special education
advisory panels, interagency coordinating council members, and other
relevant stakeholders.

For more information or to register, please visit http://www.federalresourcecenter.org/frc/summer03/main.htm

<Pedagogies and Practices for Successfully Reaching African American
Students>
Los Angeles, CA * July 28-29, 2003

Teachers, administrators, professional developers, and support providers
who work with African American students are encouraged to attend this
conference sponsored by the California Alliance of African American
Educators and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Presenters will include:

* Dr. Jennifer Obidah, University of California at Los Angeles, and Dr.
Karen Manheim Teel, Holy Names College, who will focus on their research
around the social and cultural context of urban schooling, teachers as
critical pedagogists, and teacher preparation.

* Dr. Karlton Hester, University of California at Santa, who will focus on
music as an important medium for reaching children of African descent
across other academic areas.

* Jacques Bordeaux, California Science Center, who is currently developing
a national K-5 charter school model, will focus on the innovative use of
science, mathematics, and technology as the foundation for a rigorous,
multidisciplinary learning experience.

For more information or to register, please call 408-977-4188 or e-mail
countitalljoy@earthlink.net.

<NCCRESt presented
"Tackling the Issue of Disproportionality through Systems Analysis"
at the 2nd National Summit on the Shared Implementation of IDEA '97>
Arlington, VA * June 19 - 21, 2003

The 2nd national IDEA Summit brought together a full range of stakeholders
for a discussion about students with disabilities and ways in which they
can work together to develop a better understanding of the law and
evidence-based practices for implementing the law; strengthen
relationships and understand each others' needs and priorities; and
address key issues related to supporting achievement for students with
disabilities.

The summit featured a strand on disproportionality, which included a
presentation by NCCRESt. On Thursday, June 19, NCCRESt's Co-Principal
Investigator Elizabeth Kozleski and Project Coordinator Shelley Zion
presented "Tackling the Issue of Disproportionality through Systems
Analysis: Using State Level Data to Target Technical Assistance."

Other topical strands included linking school climate with improved
outcomes for students with disabilities, family/school partnerships and
relationships, students with disabilities in standards-based reform,
personnel, and emerging issues.

For more information about the summit, please visit the IDEA Practices'
Web site: http://www.ideapractices.org/summit/index.php.
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CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE RESOURCE

<The Knowledge Loom - http://knowledgeloom.org/crt/index.jsp>

Developed by the Educational Alliance at Brown University, this
award-winning Web site is a place for educators worldwide to:
* Review research that identifies best practices related to various themes
* View stories about the practices in real schools/districts
* Learn to replicate the success of these practices in your own
organization
* Add your own stories, knowledge, questions to the collections
* Participate in online events and discussions
* Discover supporting organizations and resources

Current featured topical areas include cultural relevance in teaching;
early literacy; middle school math; choice-based art education; school,
family, and community partnerships; and much more.
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NCCRESt SUPPORT DESK

If you have comments or questions about NCCRESt News, or have information you would like us to distribute to the list, please
email nccrest@cudenver.edu.
If you were sent NCCRESt News indirectly, you may subscribe to future issues free of charge by
following the directions at: http://www.nccrest.org/newsletter.asp.
Or, follow the directions below:
Create an email message to: majordomo@mail.edc.org
Leave the subject line blank
In the body of the message, type: subscribe nccrest
Send the message.

Archives of NCCRESt News are available at http://www.edc.org/hypermail/nccrest/

For more information about NCCRESt, please contact:

Shelley Zion, Project Coordinator
National Center for Culturally Responsive
Educational Systems (NCCRESt)
1380 Lawrence Street, Suite 625
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: 303-556-3990
Fax: 303-556-6141
Email: shelley.zion@cudenver.edu
Web: http://www.nccrest.org

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NCCRESt is a technical assistance center funded by
the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education.
Project Officer: Grace Zamora Duràn. Award No. H326E020003.
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