OSSINING UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT

 

Superintendent's Advisory Council on the Achievement Gap

 

Final Report
and
Recommendations

 

June 2002

Presented to
Dr. Robert J. Roelle
Superintendent of Schools
and
The Board of Education

 

 

To the Reader

In authoring this report, the Superintendent's Advisory Council on the Achievement Gap found that choosing specific terms to use to describe each racial/ethnic group is a complex process. Each reader likely holds his or her own opinion regarding which terminology would be "correct." The Council spent a considerable amount of time discussing how best to refer to each racial/ethnic group within the text of the report. After reviewing readings on this topic*, it was agreed that we would look to use whichever terms are presently used for official reporting purposes. Unfortunately, amongst the documents generated by the New York State Education Department, there is not consistency from one report to another. The same is true of Federal reports. Given that there is a general lack of agreement on a particular set of terms, the Council has authored this report utilizing these four terms: Asian, Black, Latino, White. This choice is in no way meant to exclude any racial/ethnic group. The goal of the Council is to use these terms broadly and to be inclusive of all individuals.

* Note: An excellent discussion of this topic appears on pages 15-17 of Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum's book, Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

Table of Contents

  1. Advisory Council Membership
  2. Introduction
  3. Background
  4. Process
  5. Commendations
  6. Areas of Concern
  7. Broad Recommendations
  8. Sample Action Plans
  9. Resources
  10. Special Thanks

Advisory Council Membership

Ms. Shauna Alami-Williams, Parent
Ms. Joanne M. Beirne, Teacher
Ms. Ferzeen Bhana, Teacher
Ms. Susan Carey, Teacher
Ms. Regina M. Cellio, Principal
Ms. Kary Cyprian, Parent, NAACP Representative
Mr. Will Dixon, Assistant Principal
Mr. Felix J. Flores, Assistant Principal
Dr. Paul Fried, Principal
Dr. Phyllis Glassman, Deputy Superintendent, Ex-Officio Member
Ms. Chris Heath, Board of Education Trustee, Ex-Officio Member
Ms. Brenda B. Hunter, Teacher, Advisory Council Co-Chair
Mr. Robin Kuhl, Parent
Ms. Krista K. Lewis, Assistant to the Superintendent, Advisory Council Co-Chair
Ms. Glenda Lopez, Parent
Ms. Gwen Lymon, Social Worker
Ms. Sonia MacDonald, Parent
Mr. Martin McDonald, Parent
Mr. Rafael Mora, Social Worker
Mr. Peter Piacquadio, Teacher
Mr. Angelo Piccirillo, Teacher
Ms. Ola Rafeh, Parent
Ms. Lorraine M. Richardson, Teacher
Dr. Robert J. Roelle, Superintendent of Schools, Ex-Officio Member
Ms. Christine Rosas, Teacher
Ms. Audrey Sims, Teacher
Ms. Zoila Tazi, Social Worker
Mr. Javier Vidal, Parent
Ms. Ana Vidal-Montes, Teacher
Ms. Mary Ellen Voorhees, Guidance Counselor
Ms. Miki Weiss, President of Board of Education, Ex-Officio Member

 

Introduction

The Ossining Union Free School District recognizes that the diversity of our students is one of our greatest strengths, but this diversity also poses great challenges to us. The purpose of this report, created by the Superintendent's Advisory Council on the Achievement Gap, is to provide the Superintendent, Board of Education, and members of the Ossining School District Community with information and recommendations to eradicate the achievement gap.

Presently, the District's enrollment of over 4,000 students may be described by the following demographics:

 

Racial /Ethnic Distribution 1991 2001
Asian/Native American 2.2% 5.2%
Black 24.2% 19.7%
Latino 14.6% 29.3%
White 59.0% 45.8%

The District is in the ninety-fifth percentile in the State of New York for the heterogeneity of its students. As demonstrated by the above statistics, there has been a significant change in the percentages of students in each racial/ethnic group in the past ten years. In 1991, white students comprised more than half of the student body. In the year 2000, for the first time in the history of the District, white students comprised less than half of the student body. It is also important to note that Latino students are the fastest growing ethnic group in the District, with approximately 34% of the newly enrolled students during the past two years identifying themselves as Latino at the time of registration. During the past two years, the percentage of Asian students has remained stable, while the percentage of Black students has been declining.

The District serves many students who are learning English as their second language. The current English Language Learners come from more than thirty foreign countries, speaking more than seventeen languages. There are more than 400 English Language Learners in the District, and they make up approximately ten percent of the total student enrollment.

There is great diversity in the socioeconomic status of the families of the Ossining School District as well. Approximately one third of the students in the District are eligible for the free or reduced lunch program.

As demonstrated through the implementation of the District's Long Range Plan, there is a strong commitment to provide outstanding educational opportunities to all students in the Ossining School District. The following excerpt from the philosophy statement of the Long Range Plan eloquently sums up the commonly held beliefs of the Ossining School District:

 

The Ossining School District believes that every student has an intrinsic right to an appropriate education and that it is the responsibility of the schools to assure that this right is protected. Each student attending the schools brings unique strengths and needs; it is the responsibility of the professional educators to identify the strengths and needs of each student and to provide an educational environment that enhances the opportunities for each student to reach his/her highest level of learning. The Board of Education is committed to educational equity for each student in the Ossining multiracial, multiethnic, and multicultural school community.

In addition, the District's Mission Statement speaks to the ideal of providing an excellent and equitable education for each student. The Mission of the Ossining Union Free School District is:

The Ossining School District has already identified and implemented many sound practices that are effective in increasing student achievement, however, the efforts to eradicate the achievement gap must be expanded upon and increased on an ongoing basis. The Superintendent's Advisory Council on the Achievement Gap is hopeful that our report and the recommendations will be of assistance in this endeavor.

Background

The "Achievement Gap" is a characteristic of our current education system nationwide. It refers to the fact that, generally speaking, schools are more successful in delivering education to Asian and White students than to Latino and Black students. Standardized test scores are often used to point out the existence of this educational disparity: Asian and White students routinely perform better than Latino and Black students on standardized tests. Student test scores, however, are only one symptom of a whole complex of issues loosely referred to as the "Achievement Gap."

According to a report of The Center on Education Policy entitled, It Takes More Than Testing -- Closing the Achievement Gap, although every racial/ethnic subgroup has made significant gains in achievement during the past three decades, Black students still lag behind their Asian and White peers. The report also cites studies which make clear that there are many factors that contribute to the achievement gap:

 

"Many studies have made clear that innate ability and genetic factors are not the reason for the achievement gap ... The gap is not primarily a consequence of test bias . . . racial/ethnic differences in family income and parent education can explain some, but not all, of the achievement gap ..."

The report finds that "a complex combination of school, community and home factors appear to underlie or contribute to the gap". (Center on Education Policy)

The achievement gap in Ossining is exemplified in numerous ways, some of which are as follows:

Although student achievement data demonstrates that there has been progress made in narrowing the achievement gap in Ossining during the past three years, the gap does persist.

Process

In February 2001, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Robert Roelle, invited several teachers, administrators, and community members to become a part of a group called "The Superintendent's Advisory Council on the Achievement Gap". The Council was formed with the purpose of studying the achievement gap and providing recommendations to be considered by the Superintendent and the Board of Education as the District continues to work toward eradicating the achievement gap and providing excellent educational programs for all students. At the outset of the Council's work together, it was noted that there are many strategies commonly referenced as positive techniques for effecting change that will close the achievement gap. Council members quickly learned that although these methods are indeed valid, many of them have been employed in the Ossining School District for many years, and yet the gap in achievement remains. The question for the members of the Council then became: "What is it that can be done, that is not presently being done, in the Ossining School District that will have a positive impact on eradicating the achievement gap?"

The Council began its work by identifying the following goals:

 

The Council participated in these activities to meet the goals:

 

Commendations

The following strategies are commonly referenced as techniques to use when seeking to close the achievement gap. The Ossining School District has already implemented these strategies:

 

  1. Development/Implementation of "Best Practices"

     

    • Challenging curriculum

      The district offers enrichment programs as early as kindergarten. Acceleration in mathematics, honors programs, and Advanced Placement courses are also available. Of special note is the high school science research course that has helped students to produce award-winning and nationally recognized science research projects.

       

    • Reduced Class Size

      The District maintains favorable class sizes at all levels. The Board of Education has been supportive of plans to continue to reduce class size toward a goal of eighteen or fewer students per class in the elementary grades. Research shows a definite link between small class size and improved academic achievement, especially among minority students.

       

    • Early Childhood Education

      Numerous studies have found evidence of a gap in achievement between Caucasian/Asian students and Latino/Black students as early as entry to school. The need for early intervention has been recognized in the Ossining School District. Pre-Kindergarten education is provided for approximately 200 Ossining children each year. In the present kindergarten class 52% percent of the students were participants in the Ossining Pre-Kindergarten program. In the spring of 2000, following the presentation of the findings of the Full-Day Kindergarten Task Force, the recommendation to the Ossining Board of Education by Dr. Robert Roelle to implement Full-Day Kindergarten for all students was approved.

       

    • Increased time on task

      Since 1991, the Board of Education has identified improvement in Reading/English Language Arts as the number one priority in the Ossining School District. Annually, the Board has included this goal in the District's officially adopted goals that guide the direction of the work that is done in each school throughout the year. An outcome of the goal has been the restructuring of the instructional time at the Elementary schools to provide uninterrupted blocks of ninety minutes for Language Arts instruction for all students.

      At the secondary level, active experimentation with various forms of "block scheduling" is leading to new and innovative ways to structure learning. For example, next year at A.M.D. Middle School increased time will be provided for English Language Arts and Social Studies instruction. As a result of recommendations of a recent audit of the Mathematics Program, all schools are now engaged in seeking ways to provide increased time on task in the area of mathematics.

       

    • Extended time for extra help

      While the belief in the Ossining School District is that "all students can learn", it is also recognized that some students can benefit from extra instruction. For that reason, the Ossining School District has created a variety of programs to give students additional instructional time to acquire necessary skills.

      At the elementary level, students attend the Summer English Language Arts Academy and after school English Language Arts Academies at Claremont and Brookside Schools. The after school Budding Scientist Program at Claremont provides reading instruction using scientific literature and experiments. Additional instruction for ESL students is provided before or after school, or on Saturdays, at Park School, Claremont School, Anne M. Dorner Middle School, and Ossining High School. Extra instruction in mathematics is provided before school at Brookside School. After school enrichment clubs exist at AMD Middle School.

      Homework help is provided before and after school at Claremont School and AMD Middle School. It is also provided after school and on Saturdays at the Ossining Public Library.

      It should be noted that the District identified a need to provide increased after-school options for students in the intermediate grades. In order to meet this need, the District applied for, and received a 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant. This grant provides resources for the HEROES Program at Claremont School which offers recreation, cultural arts and academic programs emphasizing multicultural themes.

      An S.A.T. preparation course is offered at Ossining High School during the school year.

      The District offers more than a dozen different summer school opportunities. These opportunities exist at all grade levels. Of special note is the high school's Advanced Placement Academy designed specifically to increase participation of students who may not normally enroll in Advanced Placement classes.

      Other programs designed to provide supports to minority students that are presently offered are: Great Potential Program, Prep for Prep Program, Project Uplift, and STEP.

       

  2. Promotion of Family Literacy

     

    • Pre-K Literacy Programs

      A wide variety of programs for parents of Pre-Kindergarten students exist. The teachers of the Pre-Kindergarten classes work together with the Social Worker and Principal to create meaningful parent involvement activities. An annual "pajama party" literacy night is one such program. In addition to programs during the school day and in the evenings for all parents, a program for fathers entitled, "Man-to-Man," has been implemented. It has been quite successful.

       

    • Kindergarten and First Grade Literacy Programs

      The Park Early Childhood Center offers parent workshops, an annual Literacy Night, and activities through the individual classrooms. All of these are designed to promote awareness of the importance of literacy and to help parents develop their skills in relation to teaching their children in appropriate ways outside school.

       

    • Proyecto ALCANCE

      Proyecto ALCANCE, the organization of Latino parents within the District offers many workshops in Spanish to help parents meet the needs of their children. These programs are planned by the organization's Central committee which consists of parents and school staff members.

       

    • PTA sponsored speakers

      The Joint Elementary PTA often provides speakers at their monthly meetings. Several of these speakers have addressed topics related to literacy. These learning opportunities are open to the entire community.

       

  3. Encouragement of Parent and Community Support for Learning

     

    • Support for ESL Students and their families

      The District has demonstrated a commitment to strengthening the ESL Program in the District through increased staffing and administrative support. The ESL Department and bilingual staff members have been actively involved in program improvement and are seeking ways to meet the specific needs of the English Language Learners in the District.

       

    • Parent involvement initiatives

      The District has a supportive PTA organization, an extremely successful Latino parent group (Proyecto ALCANCE), and a newly formed African-American parent group (African-American Parent Catalyst Group). Many schools have planned and implemented parent/guardian workshops which have become a part of the annual calendar of events. Such workshops address the need to educate parents about the assessments mandated by the New York State Testing Program as well as a wide range of topics related to school, parenting and child development.

      Schools host opportunities for parent-teacher communication including parent-teacher conferences and parent-team conferences. During the past several years, there has been an increased availability of Spanish/English translation for such conferences.

      Several of the schools host informal "coffee and conversation" opportunities for parents to meet with the Principal.

       

  4. Focus on Staffing and Staff Training that addresses Diversity

     

    • Provide qualified teachers

      The Ossining school District has recognized the importance of having teachers who hold high expectations for all students and who have knowledge of the most effective strategies and methodologies for teaching. The District has also made an effort to hire a diverse and well-qualified staff, and has demonstrated relative success in this area in comparison to other Westchester County School Districts. It should be noted that the process used to hire professional staff is rigorous, and involves teachers in the decision-making process. Prospective teachers must present successful demonstration lessons and almost all participate in three or more interviews. Initial interviews take place at the building level. The final interview takes place with the Superintendent of Schools and the Deputy Superintendent. All staff hired by the District possesses appropriate certification.

       

    • Provide ongoing staff development

      The Ossining School District supports a variety of staff development initiatives designed to ensure that staff members continue to hone their skills and remain aware of innovations in their respective areas of expertise. The District provides Superintendent's Conference Days, Teacher Institute Days, extended days for staff development, and other staff development time for all teachers. In a typical month, most teachers participate in at least one, and usually two or more staff development activities such as workshops and study groups. Teachers often participate in learning experiences led by consultants or their colleagues. Best practices are discussed, experiences shared, and new techniques learned.

      Teachers who are new to the District are provided with scheduled mentoring by exemplary teachers. Ongoing workshops and classroom observations by these teacher trainers are scheduled for all new teachers. In addition, new teachers receive support through frequent meetings within their buildings.

      In addition to these opportunities, the District collaborates with the Ossining Teacher's Center and other area Teacher's Centers to provide a host of after school and weekend course offerings. Teachers are also encouraged to attend BOCES workshops and professional organization training that is appropriate to their staff development needs. During the past two years, there has been a marked increase in the amount of participation in staff development about achievement gap issues.

Areas of Concern

The areas of concern identified below are those areas which came up the most frequently in the Council's conversations with students and community members. Several of the areas were also pointed out in interviews and answers to questions posed by the Council.

 

Broad Recommendations

The Superintendent's Advisory Council on the Achievement Gap would like the District to realize policies which focus the attention of the schools, the Board of Education, and the Community on the broad recommendations below. The proposed recommendations, when taken all together, imply that collective actions are required to remedy the Achievement Gap. As a "learning community," students, teachers, administrators and parents all have a part to play. Thus, we are making recommendations to help students do better, to help teachers do better, to help administrators do better, and to help parents do better.

 

  1. Continue to Develop and Implement "Best Practices"

     

    • Continue to reduce class size (1.1)

       

    • Address the need to ensure that all curriculum and materials represent our multicultural diversity and richness (1.2)

       

    • Explore development of an "out of the box" classroom experience program for the at-risk learner where enrichment and experiential learning become the basis and foundation of their education (1.3)

       

  2. Promote Family Literacy

     

    • Develop a "pre-pre-school" experience for children aged 0-3 years (2.1)

       

    • Continue to create learning opportunities for parents to develop their skills (2.2)

       

  3. Strengthen Parent and Community Support for Learning

     

    • Create community liaison position (3.1)

       

    • Develop opportunities for parent-to-parent outreach (3.2)

       

    • Understand that we must tailor our outreach to a diverse community, and expect each school to develop, implement, and review an outreach plan geared primarily for students in need of additional academic support or considered to be at risk of not meeting State Standards (3.3)

       

    • Continue to provide parent training workshops (3.4)

       

    • Continue to provide and expand multilingual communication by formalizing districtwide processes for translation and ensuring adequate resources are available for translation in annual budgets (3.5)

       

    • Establish brochures regarding what students should know at each grade level, written in simple, parent-friendly terms. (3.6)

       

    • Improve parent information relative to programs (i.e. music, enrichment, honors and accelerated courses, AP courses, high school requirements, etc.) (3.7)

       

  4. Focus on Staffing and Staff Training to Address Diversity

     

    • Continue to hire staff committed to serving diverse students with emphasis on achieving a well-qualified, balanced staff reflective of our diverse student body (4.1)

       

    • Provide consistent training to raise the cultural, racial, religious, sexual and socio-economic sensitivity of staff to each other and to children (4.2)

       

    • Hold high expectations for all staff members' interactions with children and each other (4.3)

       

    • Prepare teachers to effectively serve students who have different learning readiness, personal interests, culturally shaped ways of speaking and various experiences in the world (4.4)

       

  5. Enhance School Climate

     

    • Review and rewrite District and individual school mission statements to revitalize them and to ensure that they demonstrate the value the District places on cultural diversity (5.1)

       

    • Create ethnically sensitive environments which celebrate cultural diversity in each school building (5.2)

       

    • Increase awareness among parents of issues related to cultural diversity (5.3)

       

    • Develop and implement ways to combat negative peer pressure and to increase student support of each other (5.4)

       

The Ossining Union Free School District's Policy Book already includes policies that touch on many of the topics addressed by the Recommendations. Some of these topics are noted below and related policy numbers appear in parentheses. If new policies are ultimately derived from these suggestions, it is the hope of the Council that they become "living" policies that are discussed by the school community and used to maintain our commitment to achievement and success for all students (Policy 5020).

 

Sample Aciton Plans

On the tables that follow are sample action plans created by the Council in regard to how each goal might be addressed. Although the sample action plans do not include specific timelines and persons responsible, these are key elements for implementation, and, therefore, the Council suggests that they should be established by the Superintendent and Board of Education as appropriate.

 

Recommendations: Goal 1: Continue to Develop and Implement "Best Practices"
Focus on development and implementation of best practices which are known to have an effect on improving student achievement for struggling students and for all students with a focus on changing programs to provide a rich, engaging, strong learning experience for each and every student.
What How Who Time Line Responsibility
Recommendations Ideas to Consider Target Population Dates Who Does It
1.1) Continue to reduce class size Classes of 18 or fewer students are optimal for all students Grades Pre-K thru 12    
1.2) Address the need to ensure that all curriculum and materials represent our multicultural diversity and richness Development of multi-ethnic educational curricula which incorporate the history, culture and contributions of majority and minority groups including African-Americans, European-Americans, Latinos, and others will benefit all students Grades Pre-K thru 12    
1.3) Explore development of an "out of the box" classroom experience program for the at-risk learner where enrichment and experiential learning become the basis and foundation of their education Consider thematic learning approaches (ex: Integrated Thematic Learning -- ITI), Schoolwide Enrichment (Renzulli), and other such approaches provide equitable access to enrichment Grades Pre-K thru 8    
Service learning and internship programs to allow students to experience real-world applications of their academic knowledge and create an awareness of the relevancy of attaining a high school diploma Grades 9-12    

 

Recommendations: Goal 2: Promote Family Literacy
Family literacy is of utmost importance in tackling the achievement gap. Many of our children live in poverty and sometimes do not have the enrichment and foundation that enhances learning. Children ages 0-3 need those early childhood experiences that prepare them for academic success upon entering Kindergarten. In addition, many of our parents are illiterate as well. Some reports estimate that in Westchester County twenty percent of adults are not literate. Parents who are not literate are greatly affected in their ability to be involved in their child's education. We recognize a need for a family literacy program that addresses not only the school age population, but the needs of children ages 0-3 and adults as well.
What How Who Time Line Responsibility
Recommendations Ideas to Consider Target Population Dates Who Does It
2.1) Develop a "pre-pre-school" experience for children aged 0-3 years Hire an individual to oversee 0-3 programs to ensure that programs will be coordinated and high quality will be established and maintained

Create partnerships with the local government, local hospitals, and community groups to develop outreach programs for all new births and new parents

Provide a gift packet to the parent upon the birth of a child who will be residing in Ossining. The packet might include but would not be limited to: an invitation to attend a series of parent/child activities, a video tape introducing the Ossining School District; a literacy packet including a children's book, parenting pamphlets, etc.

Ossining residents before they enter the schools    
2.2) Continue create learning opportunities for parents to develop their skills Continue to offer workshops pertaining to parenting, computers/technology, immigration, planning for college, career preparation, etc.

Continue to offer GED and ESL programs and adult education opportunities. In addition, seek ways to link parents with vocational programs

Involve parents in planning in order to ensure that 1) opportunities are relevant to their needs and 2) there will be significant support of the various initiatives, resulting in significant attendance

Parents    

 

Recommendations: Goal 3: Strengthen Parent and Community Support for Learning
We recognize the need to coordinate outreach efforts to our parents, community groups, and religious organizations. Partnership between numerous adults in a child's life can be effective in promoting high academic achievement. We propose that the District work toward increasing communication with parents and community groups, look for ways to "personalize" invitations to parent meetings, workshops, conferences, etc., to improve the "comfort"level" of working in partnership with the school and formally identify ways to better coordinate community outreach efforts. Additionally, we propose that the district continue to develop opportunities for parent training in regard to parenting and in regard to assisting their child with academic matters.
What How Who Time Line Responsibility
Recommendations Ideas to Consider Target Population Dates Who Does It
3.1) Create community liaison position Community liaison would be responsible for tasks such as:

 

  • Coordinating outreach districtwide

     

  • Working with family literacy program director and staff

     

  • Bringing additional services into partnership with schools

     

  • Promoting community development
Students

Ossining community

Parents

Schools

   
3.2) Develop opportunities for parent-to-parent outreach Providing a personalized welcome from a district parent is a way to impart information about the schools and the community to parents new to our schools Parents new to district    
3.3) Understand that we must tailor our outreach to a diverse community, and expect each school to develop, implement, and review an outreach plan geared primarily for students in need of additional academic support or considered to be at risk of not meeting State Standards Such plan might include goals related to:

 

  • Partnering with parents

     

  • Phone contact

     

  • Translation services

     

  • Sources of transportation for parents

     

  • Decrease caseloads of counselors at the secondary level in order to allow each counselor adequate time to make all students and families aware of the full range of programming options for each student
Parents of students needing additional support    
3.4) Continue to provide parent training workshops Involve parents in planning in order to ensure that 1) opportunities are relevant to their needs and 2) there will be significant support of the various initiatives, resulting in significant attendance All parents    
3.5) Continue to provide and expand multilingual communication by formalizing districtwide processes for translation and ensuring adequate resources are available for translation in annual budgets Establishment of centralized translation services for written material would provide consistent access to written translation, and relieve professional staff who are presently called upon to provide translation in addition to their full time jobs

Hire additional bilingual staff to provide translation in buildings (both written and oral). The additional staff should include both professional staff and support staff, as it is recognized that the changing demographics of the District indicate that the ability to communicate in Spanish is vital to daily operation of schools and effective in implementation of programs

Parents whose dominant language is not English    
3.6) Establish brochures regarding what students should know at each grade level, written in simple, parent-friendly terms Distribution of brochure to all arents at the beginning of each school year would be a helpful tool in assisting parents to identify questions that might be asked when ommunicating with the school. These brochures should be available in Spanish and English All parents    
3.7) Improve parent information relative to programs (i.e., music programs, enrichment programs, honors and accelerated courses, AP courses, high school requirements, etc.) Increase strategies to communicate through various means, such as:

 

  • announcements at community meetings

     

  • special mailings

     

  • additional phone calls

     

  • student awareness meetings

     

  • bilingual (Spanish/English) materials
All parents with special emphasis on Black and Latino parents    

 

Recommendations: Goal 4: Focus on Staffing and Staff Training to Address Diversity
In 1994, the Board of Education adopted a policy on District employment practices which states that the Board believes it is important to provide positive adult role models for children representing all racial and ethnic groups. The policy also states that the Board has established a goal of progressing toward a staff reflective of the racial/ethnic distribution of the school district and community. The Council believes strongly that this policy has provided an excellent beginning in addressing staffing to address diversity. The recommendations that follow reflect the specific needs of the District caused by shifts in the demographics of the population we serve.
What How Who Time Line Responsibility
Recommendations Ideas to Consider Target Population Dates Who Does It
4.1) Continue to hire staff committed to serving diverse students with emphasis on achieving a well-qualified, balanced staff reflective of our diverse student body Build upon the current selection process to continue to ensure successful candidates are committed to serving diverse students. Additional, qualified Latino professional staff members are needed to create a staff reflective of our diverse student body

Bilingual clerical and support staff at each school are important in ensuring that adequate translation is available to meet the needs of the many Spanish speaking families we serve

Greater and consistent use of the Gallop System (The Interviewing Process) for hiring new teachers, administrators and staff will assist in locating teachers who are a "match" for Ossining

New personnel    
4.2) Provide consistent training to raise the cultural, racial, religious, sexual, and socio-economic sensitivity of all staff, to each other and to children. A year long "theme" related to diversity issues and/or multicultural education using our Superintendent's conference days would assist with consistency amongst buildings

Provide workshops and other learning opportunities to assist teachers in learning new techniques to differentiate instruction and to enable teachers to understand students' culturally based and individual learning styles and behaviors

All staff    
4.3) Hold high expectations all staff members' interactions with children and each other Train staff in monitoring and assessing staff interaction with children and each other and in recognizing indicators of culturally-responsive learning environments

Develop methods to assess implementation of strategies to address diverse learners (i.e., peer coaching, critical friends, action research, etc.)

All staff    
4.4) Prepare teachers to effectively serve students who have different learning readiness, personal interests, culturally shaped ways of speaking and various experiences in the world Collaborate with universities to study different learning styles, that may be culturally based, with the purpose of developing effective teaching strategies

Encourage teachers to participate in action research projects which will allow them to develop effective teaching techniques within the context of their own classrooms and then share their findings with other teachers

     

 

Recommendations: Goal 5: Enhance School Climate
Numerous studies have identified a connection between provision of caring and intellectually challenging school environments and strong student achievement. In the case of schools that serve diverse populations, providing a caring environment means that schools must ensure that the prevailing condition or mood manifested in a school respects this diversity. It is recognized that the educational culture and beliefs inherent in the school environment influence the psychological, cognitive, and social behavior of the school population. These recommendations are designed to assist the district in ensuring continued growth in providing positive school climates for all of our students.
What How Who Time Line Responsibility
Recommendations Ideas to Consider Target Population Dates Who Does It
5.1) Review and rewrite District and individual school mission statements to revitalize them and to ensure that they demonstrate the value the District places on cultural diversity Each school might revisit, discuss, and rewrite its mission statement making needed adjustments

Place emphasis on District and school mission statements as "living" documents by reviewing regularly, publicizing widely, and displaying prominentlyin dominant languages of students and their families

Ensure that each school's mission statement will stress a commitment to equal educational outcomes for all students

All staff    
5.2) Create ethnically sensitive environments which celebrate cultural diversity in each school building Display various forms of artwork from different cultures that actively demonstrates the school's and district's commitment to cultural diversity

Ensure that classrooms reflect the ethnic heritages and backgrounds of all of the children in the school population

Each school building    
5.3) Increase awareness among parents of issues related to cultural diversity Schools could host "family retreats" in order to promote cultural understanding. These retreats would include activities to encourage sharing, socializing, and enjoying the art and music of the many cultures represented in Ossining All families    
Provide opportunities for parent leaders to learn about cultural awareness Parent leaders of PTA, Proyecto ALCANCE, African-American Parent Catalyst Group, etc.    
Print the school calendar highlighting the contributions of the various ethnic groups within the school population All families    
5.4) Develop and implement ways to combat negative peer pressure and to increase student support of each other Design appropriate academic mentoring programs for High school students, middle school students, and younger students. Such programs might include college students or other students working with younger students All students    
Programs that allow students of the same race to come together to talk about social issues, home and school difficulties, language barriers, feelings of isolation, test anxiety, encounters with racism, etc., can help students to build a network of peer support. Research suggests that these types of programs help students combat negative peer pressure successfully. Generally, the Council opposes the use of academic time for these purposes. However, the Council supports voluntary access to newcomer groups, peer resource centers, and facilitated peer groups Black and Latino high school students    

Resources

Books

Assessment Laboratory Network Project of the Regional Educational Laboratories; Making Assessment Work for Everyone: How To Build on Student Strengths.WestEd, 2000.

Banks, James A. An Introduction to Multicultural Education. Massachusetts: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1994.

Delpit, L. Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York: New Press, 1995.

Howard, G. We Can't Teach What We Don't Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools. New York: Teachers College Press, 1999.

Kozol, Jonathan. Ordinary Resurrections. New York: Crown Publishers, 2000.

Jencks, C. and M. Phillips. The Black-White Test Score Gap. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 1998.

LaBrec Wyman, Sarah. How To Respond to Your Culturally Diverse Student Population. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1993.

Ladson-Billings, Gloria. The Dreamkeepers. California: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 1994.

McDonald, Janet. Project Girl. California: University of California Press, 2000.

Nieto, Sonia. The Light in Their Eyes. New York: Teachers College Press, 1999.

Reyes, Pedro, Jay. D. Scribner, and Alicia Paredes Scribner. Lessons from High-Performing Hispanic Schools: Creating Learning Communities. New York: Teachers College Press, 1999.

Tatum, Beverly Daniel. "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" New York: Basic Books, 1997.

Stigler, J. and James Hiebert. The Teaching Gap: Great Ideas from the World's Teachers for Improving Education in the Classroom. New York: Simon & Schuster Trade Books, 1999.

Williams, Belinda. Closing The Achievement Gap: A vision for changing beliefs and practices. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1996.

Articles

Barbour, Ann C. "Home Literacy Bags Promote Family Involvement." Childhood Education. Winter 1998-99

Begley, Sharon. "The Stereotype Trap." Newsweek. 6 November 2000.

Cavanna, Anthony P. Closing the Achievement Gap: A recipe for new teacher success." Impact on Instructional Improvement (ASCD). Vol. 3, No. 1. Winter 2001.

Cunningham, Elizabeth. "Middle School Teacher Quits: Other educators say he made remarks they consider racist." The Journal News. 4 April 2002

Comer, James P. "Schools That Develop Children." The American Prospect. Vol. 12, Issue 7. 23 April 2001.

Cotton, Kathleen. "Fostering Intercultural Harmony in Schools." School Improvement Research Series. Topical Synthesis No. 7. 2001.

Coulter, Pat. "The Comer School Development Program." Education Consumer Guide. No. 6, OERI, U. S. Department of Education. September 1993.

Feld, Jayne J. "Unique School Preps Urban Fourth-Graders." The Journal News. 27 January 2002.

Froomkin, Dan. "Working Students Often Pay Price: Fatigue, Grades." The Orange County Register. 19 November 1990.

Gay, Geneva. "Coming of Age Ethnically: Teaching Young Adolescents of Color." Theory Into Practice 33, No. 3 (1994).

Gregory, Sophfronia Scott. "The Hidden Hurdle." Time. 16 March 1992.

Harris, Meryl. "Demographic details new in report cards: Test scores broken down further to rate how students fare." The Journal News. 1 April 2002.

Haycock, K. "Closing The Achievement Gap." Educational Leadership. Vol. 58, No. 6. March 2001

Haycock, K. and Luis Duany. "Developing the Potential of Latino Students." Principal. January 1991.

Henderson, Bill. "Home Reading: The Key to Proficiency." Principal. September 2000.

Holloway, Lynette. "A Challenge to Bilingual Programs in Teaching English." The New York Times. 4 October 2000.

Jackson, Jacquelyne Faye. "What Are the Real Risk Factors for African American Children?" Phi Delta Kappan. December 1999..

Jencks, Christopher and Meredith Phillips. "America's Next Achievement Test: Closing the Black-White Test Score Gap." The American Prospect. Vol. 9, Issue 40. Sept. 1-Oct. 1, 1998.

Johnston, Robert C. "In Texas District, Test Scores for Minority Students Have Soared." Education Week XIX, No. 30 (2000).

Johnston, Robert C. and Debra Viadero. "Lifting Minority Achievement: Complex Answers." Education Week XIX, No. 30 (2000).

Johnston, Robert C. and Debra Viadero. "Unmet Promise: Raising Minority Achievement." Education Week XIX, No. 27 (2000).

Leverett, Larry. "Connecting the Disconnected." The School Administrator -- Web Edition. September 1999.

McIntosh, Peggy. "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack." Peace and Freedom. (1989). July/August 1989.

Maran, Meredity. "Damage Control." Teacher Magazine. August/September 2001.

Miller, Linda. "Call My Grandson Beautiful." The New York Times. 6 January 2002.

Morse, Jodie. "Learning While Black." Time. 27 May 2002.

Nistter, Robert J. and Angela Maiers. "Stopping the Silence: Hearing parents' voices in an urban first-grade family literacy program." The Reading Teacher. Vol. 53, No. 8. May 2000.

Richardson, Joan. "Data Provides Answers For Student Learning." Results - National Staff Development Council. October 1999.

Riley, Richard W. "Partnership for Family Involvement." Teaching K-8. March 1994.

Schemo, Diana Jean. "School Defies Odds and Offers a Lesson." New York Times. December 2001.

Siegel, Jessica. "The Community Scholar." Havard Magazine. January-February 2002.

Singham, Mano. "The Canary in the Mine: The Achievement Gap Between Black and White Students." Phi Delta Kappan. September 1998.

Steele, Claude and Joshua Aronson. "Stereotype Threat and the Intellectual Test Performance of African-Americans." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 69, No. 5 (1995).

Steele, Claude. "Thin Ice: On Being African American in College." unpublished draft, November 1998.

Steinberg, Laurence. "Ethnicity and Adolescent Achievement." American Educator (1996).

Tatum, Beverly D. "Examining Racial and Cultural Thinking." Educational Leadership. May 2000.

Viadero, Debra. "Lags in Minority Achievement Defy Traditional Explanations." Education Week XIX, No. 28 (2000).

Viadero, Debra; "Minority Gaps Smaller in Some Pentagon Schools." Education Week XIX, No. 29 (2000).

Villegas, A. M. "Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for the 1990's and Beyond." Trends and Issues Papers, No. 6. Washington, D.C.: Eric Clearinghouse on Teacher Education. 1991.

Wilson, David McKay. "Reading Gains in Mt. Vernon." The Journal News. May 2001.

Wilson, David McKay, Jayne Feld and Dwight R. Worley. "Scores Diverge by Race, Income: State's top educator challenges officials to close results' gap." The Journal News. 28 March 2002.

Zernike, Kate. "Racial Gap in Schools Splits a Town Proud of Diversity." The New York Times. 4 August 2000.

Reports

Coalition for Black Student Achievement and Palm Beach County Schools. "Achievement Matters For All: Joint Action Plan to Improve Student Achievement." January, 1999.

Coggins, Patrick. "Research Supporting the Teaching of African-American History." September, 1999.

Grantham, Gloria, and David P. Tulen. "Nyack School district Diversity Assessment Report." 5 October 1999

Jerald, Craig D. "Dispelling the Myth Revisited: Preliminary Findings from a Nationwide Analysis of "High-Flying" Schools." The Education Trust; 2001.

Nassau County Council of School Superintendents. "Report of the School Equity an Achievement Committee." May 2001.

National Black Caucus of State Legislators. "Closing the Achievement Gap: Improving Educational Outcomes for African-American Children." November 2001.

National Coalition of Advocates for Students. "A Gathering Storm: How Palm Beach County Schools Fail Minority Children." May 1998.

New York State Council of School Superintendents. "Action Research Project to Reduce the Achievement Gap." Spring 2001.

Nyack Branch of the NAACP and Nyack PIE. "A Review of Nyack District Data on Minority Achievement." 1999.

New York State Education Department. "The New York State School District Report Card for the Ossining Union Free School District." February 2001 and February 2002.

Office of State Assessment, New York State Education Department. "New York State Sensitivity Review Guidelines." 1999.

Ossining Union Free School District. "An Analysis of the Demographics of the Employees of the Ossining School District." Winter 2002.

Ossining Union Free School District. "Charting the Course for Children: Raising Expectations for Student Achievement and Setting Forth a Direction for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Instructional Leadership- A Long Range Plan." October 1996.

Ossining Union Free School District. "Alternate to Suspension Program: A Report to the Superintendent and Board of Education." December 5, 2001.

Ossining Union Free School district. Professional Development Plan." June 2000.

School District of Palm Beach County. "Multicultural Studies Curriculum Integration Project: School Board Presentation." February 1998.

Southeastern Equity Center. "The Faces of Discrimination in Public School."

U. S. Census Bureau. "Profiles of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 census of population and housing-New York." May 2001.

Online Resources

Commission on Racial/Ethnic Diversity at Pennsylvania State University http://www.psu.edu

Education Trust Online http://www.edtrust.org

Public Education Network http://www.publiceducation.org

New York State Education Dept. http://www.nysed.gov

North Carolina Public Schools http://www.ncpublicschools.org

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) http://www.nwrel.org

 

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Special Thanks

 

Ms. Kathy Beirne

Ms. Betty Calabrese

Dr. Patrick Coggins

Dr. Hernan Holguin

Ms. Pamela Kuhens

Ms. Carol Ann Lee

Ms. Shelia Evans-Tranumn

The Westchester Education Coalition

Public Agenda