Summary: Culturally Responsive Leadership In Public Schools

An achievement gap between White students and students of color has been documented consistently at all education levels. Racial inequality in education is a serious problem in the United States. The Educational Longitudinal Study carried out in 2002 examined the relationship between race and composite reading and math scores among Black and White students. A total of 8,315 tenth grade students were included in this analysis. The results showed a difference in test scores between Black and White students with Whites scoring higher than Blacks (Rowely & Wright, 2011).The findings from this study suggest that discrimination based on race as well as family factors outside the school setting contribute to this difference

Multicultural education is the key to incorporating ethnic and racial identities in the classroom. I believe implementing a culturally responsive curriculum would work best for the students. I would like to be a future educator who acknowledges and welcome my students’ diversity in the classroom. It is important to bring cultural awareness to the classroom and school environment. I want my students to know that I respect, acknowledge and care about their differences. I would model this behavior because I want the students to do the same for each other. The steps I would take incorporate a positive, trusting and healthy learning environment are:

Schools systematically subjugate minority and black students when a school’s enrollment contains a huge racial majority. If students have no exposure to persons of different ethnicities, cultures, races, and religions, then these students will experience culture shock when they confront “other” people. Even in our class, we talk about black and minority students as another group, one that differs from “us.” We think about the inequalities in school systems as problems we need to fix, not as problems that have influenced our thinking and affect us as prospective teachers. For example, a white graduate student with

Culturally Responsive Teaching is an emerging field that focuses on student cultural backgrounds and experiences in the development of pedagogy. According to Kea (2013) cultural difference is the single largest difference in U.S. schools and also the most neglected. The goal of Culturally Responsive Teaching is to provide an equal opportunity for all students to learn in school, regardless of their gender, social class, ethnic, racial or cultural characteristics (Banks 2005). Ladson-Billings (1994) suggest that the historic failings of educators in educating non-white students is that educators attempt to insert culture into education rather than insert education into the culture. In other words, educators are not providing an equal multi-culturally relevant education by bringing tokens of culture such as food, national flags, or maps from around the world into the classroom alone. Although these actions promote a sense of multiculturalism, an education that is relative to a diversity of cultures is not necessarily being provided. Culturally Responsive Teaching attempts to bring the various experiences of the student’s cultural home life into the classroom. Schmidt (2005) identifies seven characteristics that must be incorporated into curriculum in order to provide culturally responsive instruction. These characteristics are high expectations,

Upon hearing the word culturally responsive classroom one envisions a class where the teacher “emphasizes a comfortable and academically enriching environment for students for all ethnicities, races, beliefs, and creeds.” (Lynch, Matthew 2011) Yet in reality most classrooms and schools are not culturally responsive in my area. Most schools are doing the best they can to differentiate instruction as well as make modifications and/or accommodations. However, as the number of diverse students rises, it our responsibility to educate ourselves on being culturally responsive.

Teaching in racially diverse classrooms often leaves educators feeling uncertain about how to proceed and how to respond to historically marginalized students. There is pressure to acknowledge and accept students of color with different perspectives, to diversify the syllabi, be more aware of classroom dynamics, and pay attention to how students of color experience the learning process.

Funding allocation for additional training of educators as well as educators developmental programs would need to be created. Funding for curricula related expenses such as culturally relevant literature, events, speakers, and programs needed to facilitate learning. Learning in a real life setting such as the inclusion of community leaders, parents and institutions to give positive examples of diversity in action. In Lopez' (1995) study examined the relationship between the types of student learning, teaching skills and how knowledge affects the student performance. The teacher's race, gender and classroom size were examined to determine if student or teacher diversity or capacity affected the student performance for kindergarten through sixth grade. The results that were significant in regard to race and learning styles were that African American and Hispanic teachers were able to amplify student performance in the classrooms where the teacher’s race was the same as the students. This result indicates that young African American students have a positive school experience when they have teachers with whom they can identify with.

In the United States, there is a long history of unequal treatment among ethnic minority groups, particularly for African Americans. Unfortunately, this injustice also appears in education. Sociologists have affirmed the importance of education in shaping the economic and social prospects of individuals. As all communities in the United States have been diversified, it becomes crucial to recognize and properly deal with diversity within the classroom. All students should be guaranteed to have equal opportunities for quality education at school. However, racism is still prevalent in many schools today (Beswick, 4, 1990, Pennino, 2007). Racism now has different forms, like the individual instructions student can get from their teachers, and the acceptance of students among their classmates. These can have negative and lasting effects on students even when they leave school. Students must not experience any type of stereotyping, ethnic prejudice or racial violence in schools. Asante (2003) said: "Racism in education can not be overcome by the expression of goodwill, it must be constantly confronted in all conscious ways" (p.223).

My ethnic, racial, and cultural identity as an African American is the primary anchor and explanation for what I emphasize in analyzing current educational realities and future possibilities for marginalized students of color. All students should have the opportunity to live, dream, and achieve all they can in life. For educators, whose backgrounds and experiences are different from students, it is critical to acknowledge sensitivity. I know from personal and professional experiences the transformative benefits of culturally responsive teaching and the devastating effects of continuous failure due to educational irrelevance and ineffectiveness. My advocacy for cultural diversity to improve the achievement of ethnically diverse students is

I would like to request approval to take an elective from another department during the Summer 2017 term. I do plan to take to take PAD 5035, Performance Management, but would also like approval to take one of the following courses below:

To promote a working level of cultural competence in the school, we would need to address the fact that minorities aren’t always granted the opportunity to receive high standards of education. Providing quality education should be universal, but that’s not always the case. Minorities are categorized by their socioeconomic status in relation to misconceived ideas about race. Being culturally competent is importance because it allows leaders

The purpose of my research is to examine school leader’s perceptions towards cultural responsiveness and how culturally responsive practices can reduce disparities in school discipline? I became interested in my topic for a number of reasons. I’ve included some literature review that explains why my topic is important to society. Following that text, I will elaborate on why I am fervent about my topic from an individual perspective.

You create your thoughts, your thoughts create your intentions, and your intentions create your reality. ~Wayne Dyer

In the United States, there is a long history of unequal treatment among ethnic minority groups, particularly for African Americans. Unfortunately, this injustice also appears in education. Sociologists have affirmed the importance of education in shaping the economic and social prospects of individuals. As all communities in the United States have been diversified, it becomes crucial to recognize and properly deal with diversity within the classroom. All studnets should be guaranteed to have equal opportunities for quality education at school. However, racism is still prevalent in many schools today (Beswick, 4, 1990, Pennino, 2007). Racism now has different forms, like the individual instructions student can get from their teachers, and the acceptance of students among their classmates. These can have negative and lasting effects on students even when they leave school. Students must not experience any type of stereotyping, ethnic prejudice or racial violence in schools. Asante (2003) said: "Racism in education can not be overcome by the expression of goodwill, it must be constantly confronted in all conscious ways" (p.223).

were to see the insight of different types of parent involvement and how parents, students