High Expectations and its Relationship to Family and

Community: Focus on Literacy

3rd Annual Scholastic FACE Symposium Fort Lauderdale, FL

Robert L. Green, Ph.DSept. 29, 2013

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Environment & its Impact on Human

Behavior

Expectations – How it Shapes Human

Behavior

Literacy – Opens the Door to the World

Student Achievement – Our Goal

Major Constructs to be Covered

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The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. Wes Moore, Random Housing Publishing Group, 2010

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of

America’s Great Migration, Isabel Wilkerson, Random House Publishing, 2010 (Bill Russell)

Thomas & Alberta Green, R.L. Green Albert Terhune, R.L. Green

Environment & its Impact on Human Behavior

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Expectations:◦ A belief system by which we abide to elicit behaviors from

those who we want to succeed, i.e., our students, our children, our grandchildren and other family members.

◦ A belief system that becomes a philosophy of life; the way we live, the way we treat people and in any school setting the way we treat our students

Expectations:◦ Teacher Expectations – Rosenthal and Jacobson◦ School-wide Expectations: Beliefs that are held by the staff as

a whole about the learning ability of the total student body◦ District-wide Expectations: Beliefs that are held about an

entire school system, e.g., Benton Harbor, Michigan, vs. Okemos, Michigan

What are Expectations?

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Dr. Lois Bridges, author and editor, Make Every Student Count, cites the importance of early literacy

“Providing children strong literacy education in the early years leads to better outcomes later on,” such as:◦ K-5 experiences◦ Middle school experiences◦ High school experiences◦ College or university life experiences

But it must begin early in the home

Literacy – Opens the Door to the World

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1950 Detroit, Michigan

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The impact of the entire family can make a difference. Parents can and should encourage their sons and daughter to help each other. Even though my father only finished fourth grade and my mother the 9th, they knew importance of reading and access to books. They encouraged their children to help each other academically. I am a living testament to the value of sibling support. I was the 7th

on nine children. With the help of my brothers and my sisters, I was reading at the age of 4.

My sister Lethia gave me, at the age of ten, two books by Richard Wright – Black Boy and Native Son. That helped me understand the kind of world I would live in.

Families create and build beliefs about academic success and teachers reinforce that belief

Being able to read early opened the doors of life and enabled me to become a good student

109 degrees from Thomas and Alberta Green - my eldest brother has eight girls: 4 Ph.Ds/4 M.Ds

Early Literacy and the Family

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Worked with Martin Luther King, Jr., a scholar/activist in 1965-66 Focused on reading for families primarily in southern parts of the

United States, Alabama, Mississippi, and one northern urban community, Chicago, Illinois

King always emphasized that if one can learn to read the Bible, one can read other books and the newspaper.

This way, you can keep up with the politics of life and the nation by reading

RLG wrote a literacy proposal for SCLC at King’s request It was funded for $700,000 to conduct a reading project in the

Lawndale section of Chicago, IL in 1966 for adults and children Project was funded and was received gladly by the community

A Community Reading Project

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This past summer in Clark County School District, Dr. Beverly Mathis conducted a project on early literacy with kids ranging from 3-5 years of age

The following children were involved:◦ Low-income families◦ Limited access to books◦ Parents who were motivated, but not highly educated

Project lasted 3 weeks and will continue throughout the school year

Focused on letter sounds, letter names, sight words, and story telling by teachers

Parents were encouraged to sit through this learning experience with the children – some parents had limited reading skills

Reading Initiative in Clark County, NV - Literacy Liftoff

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CCSD Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky is encouraging teachers and principals in the district to push 3rd graders to be reading at a 3rd grade level

On October 8, 2013 there will be a major PTA meeting at one of the challenged elementary schools in Clark County to address parent involvement and literacy achievement

RLG is involved in the planning of this meeting Individuals district wide have been invited to

participate

Reading Initiative in Clark County

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Currently working in very low-income areas with the Clark County School District at the elementary school level

Children reflect many aspects of poverty in terms of dress, personal care, and often experience many tragedies that occur in urban communities (sleeping in class)

Poverty need not be a barrier to learning. There are children schools who despite poverty are doing well academically

My experience has taught me that the real barriers to learning are:◦ Indifference◦ Rejection◦ Poor instruction◦ Low expectations for student success

High expectations on the part of teachers and administrators and quality instruction can lead to positive student achievement

Family, Poverty, and the Real Barriers to Learning

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Expectations: The Parent Factor

Research indicates that parent involvement:◦ Affects Child’s school readiness and performance

(McNeal, 1999)◦ Children reflect greater social and emotional

development (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997)◦ Children with rich home literacy environments

demonstrate higher levels of reading, knowledge, and skills at kindergarten entry (Nord, Lennon, Liu, & Chandler, 2000)

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Expectations: The Parent Factor Read to your child at an early

age and at least once a day Encourage your child to

recite your words Encourage older children to

read to younger children Encourage all family

members to take turns reading to children

Read stories to children with personal excitement

Reading to your child expands their interest in the world around them

Children who are read to frequently learn to read more quickly

Organize reading times for your child each day – early in the morning, after lunch, or at bedtime

Take your child to the library frequently and at an early ageParents Can Make a

Difference

TIPS FOR PARENTS ON EARLY LITERACY

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Student Achievement – Our Goal National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP)

scores of Hispanic and African American males nation wide at the 4th and 8th grade levels indicate that they are low achievers when compared to other student groups

Students who perform poorly on the NAEP usually perform poorly in the classroom, which can lead to the following:◦ Failure to be promoted on a year-to-year basis◦ Becoming discouraged from their classroom and school

experience◦ Becoming a potential drop-out◦ Dropping out of school

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I’ve discussed three major factors that influence student achievement: ◦ A positive environment◦ High expectations◦ Early literacy training

These characteristics facilitate positive student achievement at every level

Conversely, a challenging environment, low expectations, and limited literacy experiences often leads to low academic achievement

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A very successful student of RLG who is involved in education - Bridgescape Program. One of the major focuses of this program is to strengthen literacy skills of unsuccessful students who dropped out of

schools.Earvin Magic Johnson

Robert L. Green & Associates Providing Scholarship and Consulting Services to Improve K-12 Education

http://robertlgreenassociates.com/

New Book Content

Dr. Green and two of his associates co-authored a chapter in A Call for Change, a 2012 anthology published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Read more about A Call for Change here.

Forthcoming Books

At the Crossroads of Fear and Freedom From revelations about the Civil Rights movement to current insights about education reform, Dr. Green’s autobiography is a compelling story about the fight for justice – past and present. Read more about Crossroads here.

Expect the Most – Provide the Best Dr. Green and three associates have produced a book that explores how high expectations, innovation and digital technology can reduce achievement gaps. Scholastic Inc. will publish this book in 2014.

Robert L. Green & AssociatesProviding Scholarship and Consulting Services to Improve K-12 Education

http://robertlgreenassociates.com