National Institute for Urban School Improvement Educational Disparity in the US; How Corporate America can Respond The 2006 Summit on Leading Diversity

National Institute for Urban School Improvement

Educational Disparity in the US; How Corporate America can Respond

The 2006 Summit on Leading Diversity

April, 2006

The National Institute for Urban School Improvement (NIUSI) connects powerful networks of urban local education agencies and schools that embrace and implement data-based, continuous improvement

cycles to achieve Education for All.

Purpose

NIUSI Goals

1. Increase knowledge and understanding of inclusive practices

2. Synthesize and expand research-based practices 3. Leverage existing networks4. Engage national discourse to improve

educational outcomes for ALL urban students.

Education for ALL

The role of the corporate world in inclusive school reform…..

• Creating connections between business and schools • Understanding the role of the business community in

ensuring equity and diversity• Developing pathways for mentoring and developing

diverse potential employees

“A successful company cannot exist in a failed society.”

Miguel Martí, Vice-President for Communication at Nueva Group

… inclusive ways of knowing and living offer us the only true way to emancipate ourselves from the divisions that limit our minds and imaginations. bell hooks

Of Every 100 White Kindergartners

88 Graduate from High School

59 Complete at Least Some College

26 Obtain at Least a Bachelor’s Degree

(24 Year Olds)

Source: US Bureau of Census, Current Population Reports, Educational Attainment in the United States; March 1998 (p 20-513) Detailed Tables No. 2

Of Every 100 African American Kindergartners




(24 Year Olds)


Of Every 100 Latino Kindergartners




(24 Year Olds)


Of Every 100 Native American Kindergartners


7 Obtain at least a Bachelor’s Degree

(24 Year Olds)

Of Every 100 Students in Special Education


7 Obtain at least a Bachelor’s Degree

(24 Year Olds)

“Kids coming into an institution from different backgrounds bring a different perspective—it’s like bringing fresh eyes to an old problem.”

—Ray Haynes, Ph.D.,Northrup Grumman Corp.

Why is this the case?

Equity

Access

Participation

As a nation, we are committed to ensuring that all children can learn and achieve to the best of their ability.

Why Does Culture Matter?

Personal

• Individuals value cultural diversity as well as cultural similarities, holding respect for the unique characteristics of each individual, and acknowledging the similarities we all share as well.

• Individuals believe in the relevance of learning about and valuing customs, traditions and beliefs he or she is unfamiliar with, in order to understand and appreciate cultural diversity better.

• Individuals see themselves as agents of change, assuming the role and responsibility of providing students with empowering instruction, being committed with the political nature of their work.

• Individuals are aware of the influence cultural knowledge that children bring to school has in their way of thinking, behaving, being and learning.

• Individuals are interested in knowing about the lives of their students, getting to know more about student’s experiences outside school.

Practice

• Values individual’s cultural and linguistic knowledge and skills, using them as resources for moving ahead, instead of focusing on differences or deficiencies

• Holds high professional and personal expectations for others• Treats others as competent, assuming their success.• Encourages others to develop a broader and critical consciousness about

social inequalities and the status quo. • Facilitates going beyond the constrained ways of knowing, and a single

version of truth. • Builds bridges between everyday experiences and new ideas• Encourages individuals to apply cultural knowledge in their work• Supports professional learning so that it becomes a contextualized and

meaningful experience. • Leads in multidimensional ways that surface beliefs, feelings and factual

information in teaching practices.

Organizational

• Provide organization members with opportunities to consume and create new knowledge, by embracing a “culture of inquiry”.

• Promote a collaborative environment, by providing time for teams to share read and think together about what they are doing and how it improves cultural practice

• Encourage and organize the use of staff resources to gather and develop knowledge about culturally responsive practices, inside and outside the organization.

• Make effective use of everyone’s time, responsibilities and materials to provide learning opportunities about culturally responsive practices in daily work.

• Embrace organizational values, beliefs and norms that support culturally responsive professional communities.

• Adopt leadership styles that allow collaborative work at the different administrative levels.

Every sphere of human endeavor in education, culture, science, government, business and economics will either guarantee and foster human rights or come to a dead end. John Dewey

Barriers

Systems of Privilege and Power» Race/Ethnicity» Social Class» Gender» Ability» Religion

Awareness

• Do people know who you are?

• What you do?

• What jobs/opportunities exist?

• What skills/education is needed?

Mentoring

WHAT IS IT? Mentoring--from the Greek word meaning enduring--is

defined as a sustained relationship between a youth and an adult. Through continued involvement, the adult offers support, guidance, and assistance.

• Educational or academic mentoring helps mentored youth improve their overall academic achievement.

• Career mentoring helps mentored youth develop the necessary skills to enter or continue on a career path.

Effects of the Career Beginnings program on college attendance:

Cave and Quint (1990) found participants in various mentoring programs had higher levels of college enrollment and higher educational aspirations than nonparticipants receiving comparable amounts of education and job-related services.

Internships

• Locally, specific to corporation

• Nationally, specific to field

• Adopt-a-School Programs

• Inspire, mobilize, and reward those on the front lines (from parents to educators) to remake their local schools

At the School/District Level

A Different Kind of Venture Capital

At best, our education system does not encourage risk-taking; at worst, it penalizes it. If change is going to occur at the school level, we need to help educators buck the system. Business should fund experimentation that holds out the promise of directly improving student performance and producing measurable results. It should help spread the word about what works so that the best ideas can be replicated.

With corporate America demanding top talent, institutions must hike enrollment of diverse students

Corporate programs should prime the pipeline for

diverse students in higher education.

Shifting Demographics

In 2003• 60 percent of the student population at U.S. elementary and

high schools was Caucasian, down from 79 percent in 1970. • The African- American population increased from 14 percent

in 1970 to 16 percent, • the percentage of Latinos tripled from 6 percent to 18 percent

and • the number of Asian Americans rose from 1 percent to 4

percent.

October 2003 Current Population Survey

University

Institutions are working on ways to boost enrollment of diverse students because corporate America is demanding it. Businesses recognize that an inclusive workforce can better serve and understand an increasingly diverse customer base. And as the demographics in the United States continue to shift, corporations need women and employees of color, whom they often recruit from colleges and universities.

University

Admission is merely the first step

Financial constraints often keep students from diverse backgrounds out of the college classroom and corporate leadership positions

Lack of diversity in curricula limits engagement

I need to see myself in your organization---

• PR

• Advertising

• Success Stories

• People like me, visible at all levels of the company

Organizing for Partnerships-

• Colleges and Universities

• Community Agencies

• Advocacy Groups

• Professional Organizations

• Technical Assistance Centers

Develop Leadership in-house

What opportunities exist for current employees to

• Continue their education• Develop leadership skills• Learn about new career opportunities• Be mentored

Creating a Groundswell for Change

As employers of millions of people, business is uniquely capable of mobilizing parents as a considerable force for change.

• Show parents that you value their involvement in children's education by giving them leave time to attend parent-teacher conferences.

• Teach them how to become "school-smart" citizens. • Encourage and reward them for taking active roles in

their community's schools.

No one should make the claim of being educated until he or she has learned to live in harmony with people who are different—A. H. Wilson

It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences ... Audre Lorde

www.urbanschools.orgwww.nccrest.org

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http://www.urbanschools.org/

http://www.nccrest.org/

Documents

National Institute for Urban School Improvement Educational Disparity in the US; How Corporate America can Respond The 2006 Summit on Leading Diversity