The history of, problems with, and potential solutions for African-American

Issues in Education

History• 1954: Brown vs Board of Education- no separate but equal, but no path forward

• 1955: Tuscaloosa opens two new high schools- one black one white

• 1964: Civil Rights Act- Federal money tied to integration, so use of zoning to keep segregation in place

• 1965: Elementary and Secondary Education Act- Substantially increases Federal funds in education

• 1967: Three Judge panel orders Alabama desegregation “Under the evidence in this case, there is no question that the state of Alabama has an official policy favoring racial segregation in public education.”

• 1970s and 1980s: Broadly speaking, schools in south most integrated of anywhere in US

• 1991: Board of Education of Oklahoma City VS. Dowell “From the very first, federal supervision of local school systems was intended as a temporary measure to remedy past discrimination.”

• 1993: Mercedes-Benz Plant “Publicly, the city’s movers and shakers said the lack of neighborhood schools made the district unattractive and that schools languished in disrepair because the district had to await court approval for every little decision. Behind closed doors, they argued that if they did not create some schools where white students made up the majority—or near it—they’d lose the white parents still remaining.”

• 1998: School board convinces federal judge to lift Tuscaloosa Justice Department oversight

• August 2000: Central dismantled and two additional schools created

• 2004 and 2012: Alabama legislature fails to remove segregation from state constitution “Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race”

• 2007: Redistricting

• 2013: Private school tuition tax credits

Saving Central

Milwaukee, WI

Chicago, IL

Minneapolis, MN

What are the issues? What can we do?

What should we know?Can we make a difference?

Methods

• Local educator interviews• Hamilton Principal• Lincoln principal• Lincoln teacher

• Journal articles• Background reading

Interview questions

1) Do you think African American students at Lincoln/Hamilton have unique challenges in gaining their education? If so, what are they as you see it?

2) Do you see an achievement gap unique to African American students?3) Do you think any issues are related to poverty or do you think there are

other factors at work?4) What do you as an educator try to do about this?5) How do you measure success?6) How do you personally feel about these issues? What motivates you?7) Is there anything else you think I should know?

Hamilton School

• First, Is there a problem? What are the issues?

• But before that, RELATIONSHIPS!• Relationships are the very first thing, and most important. This means children,

but also parents. Without relationship, there isn’t much else that can be done.• What are some causes of barriers to building relationships with parents of African

American students?• Previous bad school experience of their own• Other?

Ok, Now the Issues

• Hamilton• Gap running with poverty• Social/behavior issues seem more severe• Very high number of boundary exemption requests

Ok, now the issues

• Lincoln• First, we as white people can’t understand what it’s like to walk down the street and be

accused of something, just because of the color of our skin. Discuss• need to improve understanding cultural differences

• Ebd diagnoses elevated for black males• Cultural issues vs behavior issues• Social mores are different• Lincoln’s gap models the state gap• The issue is a gap! To get through it we have to understand the culture

What does research tell us?

• Deficit thinking and academic expectations (Henfield & Washington, 2012) – A preoccupation with differences, and these differences as impediments to learning.• White privilege can be manifest in teachers’ attribution of white

students’ racial insensitivity to their homes, absolving the school’s complicity (Henfield & Washington, 2012).• “Most white Americans believe discrimination is on the decline, that

racism is no longer a significant factor in the lives of people of color, that they are personally free of bias” (Henfield & Washington, 2012)• Inherent bias in standardized tests (Weddington, 2010)

What does research tell us?

• “White teachers perceived African American students’ movement styles and cultural expression to be higher in aggression and Black male students to be lower in academic achievement, with a need for more special education than other students.” (Weddington, 2010). Low teacher expectations yield low student outcomes.

• “Children from ethnic minorities and low-income communities are expected to change the behaviors they learn at home in an effort to be accepted in the school setting. Some children are more successful than others.” (Weddington, 2010)

• Achievement gaps result from a combo of economics, family constellation, impoverished neighborhoods, effects of slavery, racism, segregation, discrimination (Weddington, 2010).

• “Teachers must know that African American culture was founded, shaped, and promulgated during the American enslavement of the African.” (Davis, 2008)

• So, we begin to understand the issues.

What can we do?

Objective: Brainstorm solutions for Racial issues in education affecting African-Americans

Discuss possible solutions with your peers while following the cards’ directions As best as you can.

After the discussion, we will go around and guess our card, sharing our impressions of how we were treated.

IAT: things to Remember

• Work as quickly and accurately as possible

• Raise your hand when finished

• You are all good people.

What can we do? What should we know?

Hamilton

• No judgment• Parent education, via community groups• Gundersen, parenting place, Franciscan sisters

• Year round schedule• Pbis! What is pbis?• 2 teachers per grade• Look for what motivates each family – relationships!

Hamilton cont’d

• every parent should be able to walk in the door and say • “my child is loved and cared for, and I am respected.”• If you make a parent feel welcome, you can be partners.• Parents love their children, and generally want them to succeed.

Lincoln• CRC training• Staff culture of inclusion• African American liaison• Solid classroom practice – understand cultural differences• The cultural differences are ok with the kids – lunchroom. They need

to be ok with us too.• Here comes the big question….

•Why do we care about disaggregating? •Why are we sorting by race?•Why does it matter?

Classroom teacher perspective• Achievement gap yes; cause other than poverty??• Special ed, especially ebd, over diagnosed.• White teachers don’t understand black culture.• Black culture is loud!

• Test bias – tip example• Racism today – change on the counter• Black parents not at school conferences – school may not have been

a good experience for them

Classroom teacher perspective• Relationships first! Hi flyers may be able to do it alone. Other kids can’t• Best written lesson plan doesn’t matter if you don’t have relationship• Nobody singled out (race, other issues), every child’s voice and perspectives

matter• Pbis as an equalizer. Every kid wants to do well!• Use opportunities like detention• Talk about race – be informed on current events• Know their music

• Show up at community events and let them see you (pow wow, hmong ny)

Classroom teacher perspective

•Anything you don’t live, you can’t understand unless you work hard.

discuss

What does research tell us?• Seek professional development opportunities (Henfield & Washington, 2012)• What would you want to see for professional development?• They identify white privilege, racism, low expectations of African American

students, deficit thinking, cultural competence, and classroom cohesion (Henfield & Washington, 2012).• It goes beyond the children – parents must feel comfortable and accepted in

schools (Hefling & Holland, 2014).• View Black students in terms of the strengths they bring to the classroom

environment (Henfield & Washington, 2012).

What does research tell us?• Infuse African American culture and history into the curriculum. Connect

learning to life experiences. Create community in the classroom. Don’t shy away from discussions of race (Weddington, 2010).• Use standard American English in the classroom; incorporate students’ home

language without reprimand or correction (Weddington, 2010). Discuss!• Parents will participate when made to feel wanted and welcome – sense a

theme? (Weddington, 2010)• Caring teachers and a culturally relevant curriculum (Weddington, 2010).

CAN we make a difference?

Weddington cites examples

HamiltonYes we can make a difference!

Measure of success?

• 4 years with some new ideas.• From uneasiness and 20ish boundary exemption requests per year, to

turning people away!• From people ignoring each other to people in community around the

school• Would you send your kids there? • The difference is visible in the hallways, and all over.• Look a the numbers

data

Is it working? Are they building relationships at Hamilton?

Sources• Segregation Now. Propublica. http://www.propublica.org/article/segregation-now-full-text

• The Racial Dot Map. Cooper Center. http://demographics.coopercenter.org/DotMap/index.html

• Minneapolis tackles high rate of African-American student suspensions. Minnesota Public Radio. http://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/04/11/education/minneapolis-school-suspensions

• US teachers nowhere diverse as their students. Minnesota Public Radio. http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/05/04/us-teachers-nowhere-as-diverse-as-their-students

• Half of black males, 40 percent of white males arrested by age 23. Crime and Delinquency. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-01/uosc-sho010314.php

• National high school graduation rates at historic high, but disparities still exist. Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/high-school-graduation-rates-at-historic-high/2014/04/28/84eb0122-cee0-11e3-937f-d3026234b51c_story.html

• Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. New York: Little, Brown and Co.

• Banaji, M. R., & Greenwald, A. G. (2013). Blindspot: Hidden biases of good people. New York: Delacorte Press.