Infusing culturally relevant curriculum in urban public schools

The widening racial achievement gaps and dismal academic performance within America’s public schools require serious revitalization and analysis. The definitive disparities and constant academic struggles demonstrated by minority students in urban environments must be addressed immediately. The dropout rates continue to increase as more students predominately male are being labeled or stigmatized as high need or at risk while classified as academically or behaviorally special education. How long will this blatant misrepresentation and severe under serving of minority students be tolerated? Are students of color receiving equivalent focus and concentration? Does the public school sector have enough culturally relevant and effective curricular programs, materials, and personnel? Are leaders within urban at-risk schools performing up to par or are they simply receiving inflated financial compensation for inadequate performance? Whatever the answer, serious modifications and adjustments must emerge for minority students to receive comparable and justifiable academic support, facilitation, and stimulation allotted to their non-minority in various suburban schools throughout America.


Is the curriculum within public schools conducive to the learning experiences, abilities and ethnicity of students of color? How much effort is made by instructors to infuse relevant past and present persons, inventions, and civilizations that fully represent their heritage? Students learn, retain, and perform at increased levels when exposed to relevant and significant subject matter. Are instructors investigating, researching, and analyzing multitudes of culturally relevant materials and incorporating it in their lesson plans for the benefit of the school’s demographics? The repetitive yearly exposure to themes and individuals such as: slavery, Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks must be altered. Do not misconstrue this as being disrespectful or unappreciative. Topics and individuals such as these are definitely relevant; however, they are not a full representation of minority contributions to America. The necessity for more of a vast curricular representation conducive to the ethnicity and culture of students is imperative and must become integrated into the pedagogical repertoire of public school instructors. Students become more intrigued when the instruction gives an extended overview of minority leaders, academic discoveries, and medical influences that have helped transcend America. The academic and intellectual contributions combined with the literary and theatrical influences, coupled by mathematical and scientific ingenuity must become tools to illuminate minority students in urban schools. The attentiveness and concentration on athleticism and entertainment continue to misguide minority children into a one-dimensional mindset where academics and knowledge have been set aside for short sightedness, self-indulgence, and materialism. The month of February must become a daily, weekly, and monthly theme within high poverty schools. Students of color have demonstrated the ability to perform equally or comparable whenever their cultural and ancestral contributions and lineage are a part of the subject matter. Concrete methodologies and ideologies such as these will ensure positive and definitive academic progress and performance for students of color. How prepared and trained are instructors and administrators before being introduced to low socioeconomic at-risk schools? Leaders are responsible for initiating social, cultural, and academically relevant techniques and curriculum that benefits students of color. Attention must be placed on motivating and praising students while introducing them to positive role models, accomplishments, and time periods where individuals like them were prosperous and relevant, thus empowering them while building self-esteem. School cultures, which promote character development, self-resiliency, and independence, help students in at-risk environments in coping with poverty, inadequate family structures, and academic or behavioral struggles. Developing positive self-esteem and resiliency provides a sense of purpose, which establishes goals and aspirations deemed motivational and long lasting.


Public schools must address the realignment of academic curriculum, student character development, and the diminutive presence of minority male instructors if their goals are truly to improve high poverty urban environments. The violence and dysfunction within the surrounding communities of urban schools continue to plague behavior and achievement while escalating the dropout rate. Public schools nationwide must address the critical issues and concerns surrounding the racial injustices associated with achievement and performance. More accountability and responsibility must be placed on leaders and their strategies and techniques in relations to overcrowding, teacher turnover, academic disproportion, and achievement. Halt the ongoing and continuous hoodwinking of at-risk schools within communities rejoicing over the minimal academic gains while racial achievement gaps continue to widen. The obviously increasing percentage points between minority students in comparison to non-minority students remain ridiculously unjust. The continuing discrimination in connection to urban school quality and performance cannot persist to be misconstrued as irrelevant. The nation’s school leaders must be held accountable for providing high quality instructors, culturally relevant curriculum, proper training and developed, thus ensuring that minority students of color in urban schools are not being setup for failure.

Dr. DaJuane Anderson Scholar/Founder/CEO of Anderson Academy of Mathematics and Science, a middle/ high school opening in the fall of 2010. drdajuane@andersonacademyms.com

“Resurrecting the accountability of leaders in urban at risk schools”

The leadership roles within today’s public schools are as important as anytime in the history of America’s storied and well-documented existence. A variety of public school concerns nationwide center on frequent topics of discussion, making the importance of strong leadership crucial due to debilitating academic performance, widening racial achievement gaps, along with increasing teacher turnover and dropout rates. School leaders must possess diverse strategies and techniques in their repertoire that is both supported and valued by constituents. Low socioeconomic at-risk schools in America relish leaders with the ability to establish and maintain school-wide standards beneficial to the social, academic, and behavioral aspects of such environments. The accountability and responsibility for escalating teacher turnover, academic achievement, and the establishment of prosperous school cultures within high poverty schools must reside in the hands of school leaders. Thriving and positive school cultures with intense learning atmospheres require strong leaders who motivate, empower, and evaluate their constituents.


The challenges of school leadership in today’s high poverty at-risk schools are so vast that one person cannot meet them all. An effective leader is someone with the expertise to gain the support and by in of their staff through proper modeling and communication while providing constructive feedback on strengths and weaknesses when necessary. Insufficient training and development, inadequate support, and mentorship directly affect constant teacher turnover and attrition, which lead to frustration, underachievement, and burnout. Complications such as these fall into the hands of leaders and administrators who must be qualified and experienced to deal effectively with the continuous challenges presented within low socioeconomic schools.


Effective leaders must appropriately evaluate their staffs while truthfully and impartially self-reflecting. The evaluation aspect of leadership is critical in high poverty environments where numerous inexperienced instructors possess very little knowledge about the demographics, learning, and behavioral abilities of their students. Maintaining an academically challenged environment with a positive school culture is dependent on leaders who can provide constructive feedback, which coincides with training, development, and mentorship. Criteria such as these are imperative for instructors in at-risk schools whose goals must center on increased schoolwide performance.


Leaders must be held accountable for preventing an overabundance of teacher turnover. The hiring and retention of qualified instructors who are skilled, trained, and motivated help decrease teacher turnover. Well-trained and qualified instructors create positive educational environments, which encourage teamwork and camaraderie consequently improving student achievement and decreasing behavioral issues, especially in urban schools. Urban schools prosper from the implementation of proactive leadership whose sole purpose revolves around eliminating the preconceived notions usually associated with low socioeconomic environments such as: disgruntled parents, deficient student focus and concentration, dismal racial achievement and disparity, and yearly teacher turnover and attrition.


Inadequate parental involvement and support remains an issue directly correlated to the deficiencies relative to academic performance in high poverty urban schools. Effective leaders must integrate creative techniques centered on holding parents accountable for their child’s academic and behavioral performance, especially when the environment may not appear to be conducive to the goals of the child and school itself. Leaders in and out of the classroom must develop and implement complimentary strategies and techniques, which positively affect instruction, student performance, and parental reinforcement. Instructors must be included in this equation by viewing themselves as leaders while making student achievement and parental support necessary. Leadership resurgence, teacher accountability, and parental involvement will positively affect the improvement of racial achievement gaps and disproportionate performance. Strong leaders must begin to eliminate socioeconomic status from the equation when viewing parental expectation and involvement as critical components to supporting a child’s education. Effective school leaders are essential to the overall resuscitation and transgression of low socioeconomic inner city communities and schools, consequently leaving America’s public school sector with a plethora of issues to contemplate. How significant are the widening racial achievement gaps in America’s public schools? Are school districts excessively celebrating the minimal increases displayed by minorities in America’s public schools? How much prominence and liability is placed on school leaders in substandard urban public schools. How much accountability is placed on parents and guardians concerning the insufficient and lagging academic performance displayed by students in urban public schools? Lastly, once considered a Civil Right, is the education offered in Americas’ urban public schools “free and appropriate”? Take a moment to ponder and conceptualize. Interesting!!!!


Dr. DaJuane Anderson Scholar/Founder/CEO of Anderson Academy of Mathematics and Science, a middle/ high school opening in the fall of 2009. dajuane@nova.edu

The inconspicuous responsiveness of educational alternatives, options, and reform for students of color and the catastrophic affects

America’s public school’s meager performance throughout all its major cities have undeniably begun to migrate into the suburbs causing both government panic and embarrassment, consequently affecting the once stoic stance of academic superiority across the globe. The dropout rate in America’s largest cities however, remains astonishing, to say the least. The Cities in Crisis report (2008) states:

Our analysis finds that graduating from high school in the America’s largest cities amounts, essentially, to a coin toss. Only about one-half (52 percent) of students in the principal school systems of the 50 largest cities complete high school with a diploma. That rate is well below the national graduation rate of 70 percent, and even falls short of the average for urban districts across the country (60 percent). Only six of these 50 principal districts reach or exceed the national average. In the most extreme cases (Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, and Indianapolis), fewer than 35 percent of students graduate with a diploma.

Further analysis demonstrates that the extremely low graduation rates for these large school systems contribute disproportionately to the nation’s graduation crisis. The principal school districts of America’s 50 largest cities collectively educate 1.7 million public high school students – one out of every eight in the country. However, these 50 education agencies account for nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of the 1.2 million students nationwide who fail to graduate with a diploma each year.

The poor school culture which haunts inner city schools continue to reflect babysitting services made up of inexperienced instructors, outdated and excessively compensated administrators, along with unchallenged and unenthusiastic students, all who are looking for a way out. Poverty stricken neighborhoods with an over abundance of students deemed both academically and economically at-risk, continue to be bombarded with novice, unprepared, and discouraged instructors waiting on an opportunity for a more generous, less stressful suburban school atmosphere where their talents or lack thereof are camouflaged and passed on as effective instruction. Blanchett, Mumford, Beachum (2005) state:

Many urban school districts are a microcosm of this economic, political, and social phenomenon. In such places, there is an even greater need for positive change due to the fact that in central cities and metropolitan areas, students are confronted with numerous issues placing them in greater peril.

Parents, community leaders, politicians, and educators must come to a consensus that the disparity, lack of performance, and insignificant progress has gone on long enough. There is an essential and apparent need for minority parents to seek out alternative options for their children. The accountability must ultimately fall into our hands and communities must emphasize the development of diverse, innovative, yet effective educational settings for students of color. Public schools serve their purpose and are beneficial to several students in America however, inner city students, mostly black, are clearly being cast aside and set up for failure. A vast number of students are suffering in schools that are being perpetuated as the only option or best case scenario for children in minority communities. The momentous overcrowding and discombobulated school cultures within America’s inner city/urban public schools has created difficult learning atmospheres, especially for those with varied learning styles and in dire need of individualized instruction and remediation. What about students with both learning and behavioral difficulties who are written off as special education cases and incapable of learning? What about those students coming from less than stellar living conditions, struggling single parent households, or generations of families totally oblivious to what is necessary to ensuring an appropriate education.

The smaller classroom settings and lower student to teacher ratios associated with private, charter, and home schools must become more of an option for parents whose children are being morally, socially, and academically misrepresented in inner city public schools throughout America. Parents must begin to research and explore complementary options for their children. Knowledgeable individuals from various professions such as educators, politicians, and business leaders must hold themselves accountable for educating those within communities who are not well-versed or educated on the statistics associated with schools who differentiate themselves from atypical public school settings. Minority children have performed comparable or equal to white students in various academic subjects when given exposure to smaller classroom settings and positive school cultures. Alternative options such as private/independent, faith based, and charter schools throughout America allow minority students the opportunity to experience academically challenging curriculum and more effective instruction. Gordon (2006) wrote,

Fifty years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision declaring school segregation unconstitutional, most black children attend public schools where minorities represent the majority of the student body. Students attending schools in predominantly white neighborhoods are less likely to experience teachers of poor quality than are students attending schools in predominantly black communities. By almost all the common indicators of academic achievement and school quality, students who identify themselves as black suffer in comparison with students who identify themselves as white. (p. 26)

The travesties surrounding the state education continue to shape negatively our countries future, especially in urban public schools. The work ethic and determination necessary for educational reform lies in the very hands of those who are suffering the most. The ability to recognize the predicament while simultaneously working toward rectifying the crisis is essential.

W. E. B. DuBois (1949/1970) provides a pristine analysis on this very subject:

Of all the civil rights for which the world has struggled and fought for 5000 years, the right to learn is undoubtedly the most fundamental. . . . The freedom to learn . . . has been bought by bitter sacrifice. And whatever we may think of the curtailment of other civil rights, we should fight to the last ditch to keep open the right to learn, the right to have examined in our schools not only what we believe, but what we do not believe; not only what our leaders say, but what the leaders of other groups and nations, and the leaders of other centuries have said. We must insist upon this to give our children the fairness of a start which will equip them with such an array of facts and such an attitude toward truth that they can have a real chance to judge what the world is and what its greater minds have thought it might be.

(pp. 230–231)

Blanchett, Wanda J., Mumford, Vincent and Beachum Floyd. (2005). Urban School Failure and Disproportionality in a Post-Brown Era: Benign Neglect of the Constitutional Rights of Students of Color Remedial and Special Education, 26: 70 - 81.

Christopher B. Swanson, “Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High School Graduation” (Bethesda, Md.: Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, April 2008),

DuBois, WEB. (1970). The freedom to learn. In Foner, PS (Ed.), W. E. B. DuBois speaks. (p. 228-231). New York: Pathfinder. (Original work published 1949).

Dr. DaJuane Anderson Scholar/Founder/CEO of Anderson Academy of Mathematics and Science, a middle/ high school opening in the fall of 2009. drdajuane@andersonacademyms.com

Teacher turnover continues to "Rear Its Ugly Head" throughout the Nation's Schools

The effect of teacher turnover and attrition continue to create overwhelming obstacles, which are negatively affecting America’s schools. The inability to retain quality instructors is deteriorating the morale and commitment within the nation’s schools thus weakening the overall teaching profession. The negative roles that teacher turnover and attrition play in low-socioeconomic schools continue to increase yearly. The despondent learning atmosphere and academic disparity within many urban schools along with the widening racial achievement gap and escalating dropout rate can be attributed to the teacher turnover crisis. The negative repercussions associated with teacher turnover have significantly affected black and Hispanic students. The increase of teachers leaving high poverty schools with escalating minority enrollments while seeking out less stressful, newly built suburban schools is a rising trend, thus taking a toll on academic performance, school behavior, and culture. Studies confirm that teacher turnover is becoming an issue in suburban school districts as well.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, at the end of the 2003–04 school year, 17% of the elementary and secondary teacher workforce (or 621,000 teachers) left the public and private schools where they had been teaching (see tables 31-1 and 31-2). Almost half of this teacher turnover was due to transfers: 8% of the teacher workforce (or 289,000 teachers) transferred to a different school. In public schools, the turnover rate for high-poverty schools was greater than for low-poverty schools at the end of 2003–04 (21 vs. 14%t) (see table 31-3). Schools were considered high poverty if 75% or more of their students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and low poverty if less than 15% of their students were eligible.2 Much of the difference between the two turnover rates is due to the higher transfer rate among teachers in high- versus low-poverty schools (11 vs. 6%).

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2008/section4/indicator31.asp

The challenges of teacher turnover and its correlation to the improvements associated with the legislative mandates of the “No Child Left Behind Act” continue to influence the educational system in various areas. The inadequate academic performance of many high poverty schools is linked to the inability to retain teachers effectively. The problems associated with both teacher turnover and attrition continue to be well documented yearly however, numerous individuals including parents, politicians, and business leaders are not fully aware of the negative connotation associated with the terms and their debilitating effect on the school system’s performance. To understand fully the ramification behind these issues parents, politicians, and business leaders alike must have a full understanding of the multi-dimensional effect teacher attrition and turnover has on students, instructors, and the school system as a whole. Billions of dollars are squandered yearly on the teacher turnover crisis and as a result, devastating financial constraints are placed on school districts throughout the nation.

A report by the Alliance for Excellence Education (2005), states "conservative national estimate of the cost of replacing public school teachers who have dropped out of the profession is $2.2 billion a year. If the cost of replacing public school teachers who transfer schools is added, the total reaches $4.9 billion every year. For individual states, cost estimates range from $8.5 million in North Dakota to a whopping half a billion dollars for a large state like Texas."

http://www.all4ed.org/files/archive/publications/TeacherAttrition.pdf

The term “teacher turnover” can be described as teachers who leave a particular school in order to pursue another teaching position in another school within his or her district or geographic region, by either choice or circumstance, thus approved by leadership. Whereas “attrition” refers to teachers who leave the educational system altogether, usually due to (a) dissatisfaction within an organization, school, or district (b) personal reasons or (c) the desire to pursue a different profession entirely. Both these circumstances and issues are having dramatic effect on school discipline, parental input and support, at the same time affecting the feasibility for schools and districts to train properly and support teachers due to this constant influx.

High poverty urban schools suffer from the effects of repetitive teacher turnover. The morale, performance, and outlook for urban schools remain negative therefore, affecting the ability to attract highly qualified instructors who are well trained and committed to fulfilling the curricular needs of his or her students. The most successful schools have committed, well trained, and qualified instructors with the pedagogy necessary for a well-disciplined yet structured atmosphere. Qualities such as these are very important for teachers who are committed to making a difference within the urban school system. The negative implications linked to teacher turnover make cohesion nearly impossible thus negatively effecting school culture. Urban school districts must place priority in stimulating the learning atmosphere, especially in schools where classroom instruction and management is inadequate. The retention of highly skilled and motivated instructors with proper training can successfully implement an innovative and challenging instructional approach, which builds self-esteem, while increasing academic performance. The recruitment of instructors who are committed and prepared for the long haul, while having the students’ academic, social, and cultural interest at heart is essential. An overabundance of novice instructors with very little understanding of the communities they serve receive minimal or obsolete training and rapidly encounter poor working conditions, stress, and eventually burnout.

According to a study by Dave Nagel from T.H.E. Journal (2007), "Low-performing schools rarely close the student achievement gap because they never close the teaching quality gap--they are constantly rebuilding their staff. An inordinate amount of their capital--both human and financial--is consumed by the constant process of hiring and replacing beginning teachers who leave before they have mastered the ability to create a successful learning culture for their students."

http://www.thejournal.com/articles/20900

Decreasing teacher turnover must become a prerequisite for addressing the ongoing travesties associated with academic disproportion and performance in America’s schools. High volumes of teacher turnover continue to deplete organizational camaraderie and the interpersonal relationships required for establishing and maintaining a prosperous school culture. Solution based initiatives and strategies centered on limiting teacher turnover must move to the forefront. The implementation of strong leaders, meaningful mentorship programs, along with the recruitment and retention of quality instructors can substantially improve the teacher turnover and attrition crisis. Continuous and evolving research methods centered on improving teacher turnover along with the development of innovative, high-level, and disciplined instruction can only benefit our school system’s culture, performance, and learning atmosphere. We are living in a time in which society recognizes the need to improve the quality of education. Reducing teacher turnover can dramatically improve academic achievement and disparity while lowering the dropout rate. Clearly, public opinion on the teacher turnover issue remains divided. Very few individuals if any are bringing this issue to the forefront. For those who consider education a major foundation for future prosperity and opportunity, the inevitability of addressing the teacher turnover crisis is imperative.




Dr. DaJuane Anderson Scholar/Founder/CEO of Anderson Academy of Mathematics and Science, a middle/ high school opening in the fall of 2009. drdajuane@andersonacademyms.com

Diversity within the independent/private school sector, myth or reality?

The academic superiority and performance associated with private/independent schools continue to be well documented. The graduation rate of such schools and percentage of students going to colleges and universities is astonishing when compared to that of America’s public school system. Many of these institutions were created upwards to a hundred years ago. Various private/independent schools have produced accomplished students who have contributed in a multitude of professions and continue to do so. The origins of such institutions preceded segregation and were established for white students only. The ever-escalating tuition, along with the minuscule minority enrollments has created a national resurgence for private/independent schools in the areas of diversity and multiculturalism. The partialities associated with enrollment, coupled by the absence of color in association with proven academic performances create a peculiar dilemma to say the least. The less than staggering statistical increase of minorities, especially black students, upholds the preconceived notion or perception of bias, discrimination, or favoritism that has existed for centuries. Are minority students and parents being enlightened on the exceptionalities of the private/independent educational system’s advantages? Do minority parents have an understanding of the educational benefits? If not, are they thoroughly researching and exploring independent/private schools as an option?

The private/ independent school concepts and their versatile educational variations dwarf those of many public schools’ in the area of academic production. Curricular options, smaller classroom settings, hiring procedures, along with the college preparatory and accelerated concept of the learning atmosphere allow private/independent institutions to remain progressive and innovative from various pedagogical standpoints. Consequently, the huge financial commitment, academic screening and scrutiny of applicants, accompanied by the predetermined notion that private/independent schools are not designed for minority students remain as well documented negatives. The sentiments or opinions associated with the term “elitist” or “affluent” create perceptions or misconceptions therefore, preventing minorities from pursuing these educational opportunities. Escalating financial commitments and the educational sacrifices associated with private/independent schools in comparison to public schools may also be viewed as deterrents as well. Lastly, the long-term affect, consequence, or preference one way or another can be astonishing to a particular child, family, or community as a whole.

The obviously blatant absence of minority representation throughout various private/independent schools in America continue to perpetuate both stereotypical and racial connotations that have built an educational, philosophical, and ideological wedge among public and private schools, nationalities, demographics, and economic classes. These disturbing, yet undisputable concerns have various gifted and talented students of color missing seemingly inconceivable yet attainable opportunities. Parents, educators, administrators, and politicians must become more influential in altering the negative perceptions and viewpoints undoubtedly effecting the choices of students of color. More emphasis must be placed on increasing and expanding educational options and variations for at-risk students, especially throughout America’s minority communities. Public schools are necessary and beneficial in numerous ways however, students of color can and have benefited from the academic, cultural, and social innovativeness of private/independent schools nationwide. These institutions must become more accessible and accommodating with their enrollment capabilities and scholarship opportunities therefore, attracting talented and gifted students who are usually lost due to the public school’s overcrowding, attrition, and turnover. Knowledgeable, experienced, and educated individuals in various professions must be mindful of the travesties in numerous high poverty at-risk communities. Educating parents on the options and variations surrounding the academic, intellectual, social, and cultural capabilities of private/independent schools is imperative.

The minute enrollment increase in America’s private/independent sector remains well below 10% for minority students in general and even less for black students. The lack of recruitment and scholarship opportunities for minority students should begin to resonant throughout urban communities, as a result sending a distinct message. Increasing the need and responsibility for educational accountability, resurgence, and transformation could not be more obvious. The academic disproportion, behavioral concerns, and social woes call for an enlightening transformation, thus making minority children’s education the focal point. The restoration of ethics, morals, and cultural responsibility relative to educational and academic prosperity within minority communities must be given precedence.

The ability to recognize the necessity for change and the incorporation of educational diversity and optional methodology within minority communities require appropriate research, development, and implementation. The decrease in student to teacher ratios, varying curricular options, along with the recruitment of highly skilled and talented instructors and administrators must become priority. Lastly, diversity must not become a calculated or inconspicuous method for alienating minority students from private/independent schools or any other advantageous educational option. The statistical data associated with minority student success, has been well documented and proven comparable if not equal to non-minority students when given the opportunity to be exposed to innovative, challenging, and progressive methods of education throughout history.

Dr. DaJuane Anderson Scholar/Founder/CEO of Anderson Academy of Mathematics and Science, a middle/ high school opening in the fall of 2009.drdajuane@andersonacademyms.com