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Equity and Cultural Relevance in Schools

Closing the College-Going Gap: Creating Opportunities for All

– Dr. Tyrone C. Howard, Professor and Associate Dean, UCLA

 

It’s a question that many school districts continue to discuss: How do we create equitable schools that provide all students an opportunity to reach their full potential socially, emotionally, and academically?

One goal for many if not most schools is to develop students who have college-going potential upon graduation from high school. More pointedly, schools across the nation need to identify a plan to create more thoughtful, compassionate, and collaborative efforts to provide better access and equity for postsecondary options for all students. This is particularly true for students of color and those from low-income communities who remain largely underrepresented on many college campuses across the nation. Often referred to as the “higher education demographic imperative”—which contends that there is a need to address the chronic underrepresentation of various segments in college—all K-12 schools can play a role in helping to close the college-going gap.

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Academic Excellence Isn’t Enough to Achieve Equity

-Dr. Bill Daggett, Founder, International Center for Leadership in Education

 

In his new Rigor & Relevance series post, ICLE founder Bill Daggett shares what he’s learned about the challenges of achieving equity for all kids, not only from his role as a former teacher and state education administrator but also as a father of five.

Preparing today’s students means shifting from our current fixation on the test—one that measures basic academics—and instead focusing on what kids need to be successful beyond school, and then building our curriculum through that lens. The critical ingredient is relevance. Equity can’t be achieved only through academic excellence—it also requires relevant academic success.

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With so many stories in the news every day, it’s easy to miss developments that are relevant to you and your district, school, or classroom. We’ve gathered a variety of highlights in education news so you can stay up to date on issues that matter to you.

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Why Students Who Have the Least Deserve More

– John “Jack” Lynch, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, HMH

Dr. Tyrone C. Howard, one of the nation’s leading experts on educational equity, reports that 10 out of 30 (roughly one-third) students in any given classroom in one of our nation’s top 100 districts live in poverty; three out of 30 (or roughly one-tenth) live in extreme poverty. In that same class, one student is experiencing homelessness, and seven students will have suffered trauma and abuse at some point in their lives.

All children deserve safety, access to quality healthcare and healthy food, and emotional support and love; these basic needs must be met for productive learning. When they are neglected, students will often disengage, miss school, or alternatively, become defiant and disruptive. Many educators, even the most dedicated and talented, often don’t have the resources, tools, or time to make sure struggling students get access to the right academic intervention programs, let alone to ensure that these critical needs, traditionally nurtured outside of the classroom, are also being met.

As a nation, we are not doing enough to give all children what they need to thrive. Historically, we have focused on trying to “level the playing field” by examining resource allocation across schools, aiming to guarantee that all students have a chance to attend schools that offer high-quality, rigorous instruction and top resources. But the notion that this approach will solve all the complex challenges facing our young people, that it will truly lead to an equitable education system, is narrow and shortsighted.

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