A Culturally Proficient Response to the Common Core


Book Description

Lead a Common Core implementation that closes achievement gaps! Will your Common Core implementation promote equity, access, and inclusion? This illuminating book shows how central Common Core tenets—rigor, meaningful curricula and assessment, and higher order thinking—can become educational realities for every child in your school or district. Written by a team of respected authors known for guiding schools and districts towards cultural proficiency, this resource enables readers to Understand how underlying beliefs related to historically-underserved students may create roadblocks to effective instruction Create a school culture where diversity is valued, including developing relevant professional learning Compile and analyze meaningful data that enables faculty to better reach students from all backgrounds Advance the goal of college and career-readiness for all learners With a compelling call to action and practical strategies, this timely book points the way to a Common Core implementation that benefits every student. "The authors have ensured that the use of cultural proficiency by educators provides the Common Core State Standards with the ′step towards the place where equity and access are realized for all learners.′ Equity and access, two of the pillars of equity in education, are essential if meeting individual student needs are truly to occur." —Dr. Kenneth R. Magdaleno, Associate Professor Kremen School of Education, Fresno State, CA "This resource gives not only theory and rationale for this important change in thinking, but also the guided steps to collaborate and reflect as part of the change process." —Dr. Carol Van Vooren, Assistant Professor California State University, San Marcos




Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain


Book Description

A bold, brain-based teaching approach to culturally responsive instruction To close the achievement gap, diverse classrooms need a proven framework for optimizing student engagement. Culturally responsive instruction has shown promise, but many teachers have struggled with its implementation—until now. In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction. The book includes: Information on how one’s culture programs the brain to process data and affects learning relationships Ten “key moves” to build students’ learner operating systems and prepare them to become independent learners Prompts for action and valuable self-reflection




Cultural Proficiency


Book Description

Our students’ futures depend upon it: If we’re to guarantee equitable access and improved academic outcomes for our historically underserved students, then we must first confront the deeply rooted biases and practices that for far too long have limited them. That’s where Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders has already benefited tens of thousands of schools leaders--and the students, teachers, and communities they serve. Cultural Proficiency helps us all establish a mindset and worldview for effectively describing and responding to inequities. Its inside-outside approach to leadership is grounded in the assumption that honest introspection is a requirement to leading equity-driven change. And now, with updated content, new case studies, expanded vignettes, new activities and study guides, and an updated matrix, this fourth edition is more urgently needed than ever. What leaders love most is the way Cultural Proficiency lays the groundwork for powerful organizational growth with resources to: Engage colleagues in collaborative dialogue about creating powerful teaching and learning environments Recognize and respond to both individual and group differences to break down barriers Use the Cultural Proficiency Continuum to assess the limitations of school practices and identify opportunities to shift the culture Take this first step on the Cultural Proficiency journey and soon enough you, too, can create equitable educational opportunities and more inclusive environments in which differences are embraced. “This book is a riveting and unparalleled resource for all educational merchants of hope. . . . The insights, learning strategies, and professional development structures in this edition illuminate a path for all leaders to successfully commit to the journey of being equity champions!” --Dr. Erick E. Witherspoon, National Director of Equity Professional Development Services Generation Ready “There is no greater honor than to have one’s professional work become the inspiration for a new way of thinking, and transformative literature and action that change the world for schools and the children and youth they serve. I am grateful that the ideas have been so skillfully brought to scale by these authors.” --Dr. Terry L. Cross, MSW, Founder and Senior Advisor National Indian Child Welfare Association




Leading Change Through the Lens of Cultural Proficiency


Book Description

The pathway to uncovering and dismantling inequities Educational leaders who work in the district, site, or classroom level know that opportunity gaps have long been a focus of education policy in the United States. Leadership can be a critical lever for advancing policies that oppose racism and confront systemic inequities. In meeting this challenge, educators have found that acknowledging beliefs and behaviors is critical. Still, deficit-based thinking, especially due to privilege, remains a barrier to equity. Among the most damaging blind spots is the continuation of practices that are grounded in the values of entitled groups. Leading Change Through the Lens of Cultural Proficiency tells the story of a school community in the midwest United States that contended with its approach to teaching and valuing students of diverse backgrounds. Featuring the research-based Cultural Proficiency Framework and Tools, the book provides a clear road map to advancing equity across schools and districts. Designed to support leaders and school communities in developing policies and practices that respond to the needs of all students, this book Guides school leaders in a journey of learning the theory and strategies that improved student achievement and improved the working conditions in this district Features a real-life case study of a school community using the Tools of Cultural Proficiency and the Framework Provides vignettes and data, based on work conducted across an actual school district, that resulted in improvements in school climate, achievement, mindset, and equitable educational practices Includes powerful reflection, dialogic, and action activities for use in a variety of community learning modalities Is grounded in assets-based assumptions with respect to students, families, and the school community With a focus on engagement, leadership, implementation frameworks, and collaborative learning, the authors demonstrate how to uncover and remedy inequities. Designed for education leaders at all levels of the education system, this is the ideal foundational text for implementing Cultural Proficiency in your setting as you open doors for all students to thrive.




Cultural Proficiency


Book Description

This powerful third edition offers fresh approaches that enable school leaders to engage in effective interactions with students, educators, and the communities they serve.




Culturally Proficient Inclusive Schools


Book Description

As schools become more diverse with students of differing abilities and needs, this self-reflective and action-oriented guide helps create and support more inclusive schools and classrooms that intentionally educate all students.




The Cultural Proficiency Manifesto


Book Description

This book is a guide for educators who have the desire to interrupt the cycle of hostility directed toward historically marginalized groups and create a more equatable educational environment.




Equity Partnerships


Book Description

How often do you hear, "The only parents who showed were the parents who didn’t need to be here." But how often do you consider time of day, lack of child care, cost of dinner, transportation, language of the presentation, even relevance of the topic—all real-world barriers for families of our historically underserved students. Here at last is a resource that will open up access and reveal all-new ways to forge more culturally inclusive partnerships with families and communities . . . partnerships that extend well beyond parent-teacher conferences, PTA meetings, and the occasional bake sale. The two big services Equity Partnerships provides? Using the Tools of Cultural Proficiency, you’ll Discover new concepts and strategies to engage families and communities—and reduce, if not eliminate, barriers--through four essential principles: communication, connection, collaboration, and community Engage in frequent opportunities to reflect on your own assumptions and values, then collaborate with colleagues to co-create systemic practices and policies for devising, implementing, and assessing family and community engagement actions in your schools and districts We know inherently that family and community engagement is critical to the success of our students. Let Equity Partnerships be your go-to tool for breaking down the walls that for too long have limited all of us. "Raising the next generation is a shared responsibility and privilege. These authors have been first responders for decades by promoting Cultural Proficiency as a means to ensure equity and access for all. In Equity Partnerships, they identify the powerful and critical link of family, school, and community engagement to strengthen families, build community support, and increase student success." --TRUDY ARRIAGA, Associate Dean for Equity and Outreach, California Lutheran University, and Coauthor of Opening Doors




Culturally Proficient Coaching


Book Description

Why a new edition of Culturally Proficient Coaching? Why now, especially? Because several polarizing years later, there’s even greater urgency for us all to critically examine our attitudes, beliefs, and practices when working with students who look or sound "different." No matter how broadly you define coach, no matter which coaching model you follow, this is the resource to help you get started. With the first edition, the authors’ big goal was to shift our thinking in service of standards-based teaching and leading, and equitable interactions that support all students achieving at highest levels. Now, with this second edition, the authors add a third goal: to encourage a more holistic mindset and expanded contextual uses. New features include: Enhanced research on the effectiveness of coaching in educational settings New data on response to implicit bias and microaggressions--subtle and unintentional, yet destructive, forms of discrimination that continue to marginalize Refinement and updating of the Tools of Cultural Proficiency, which enable you to provide equitable life-affirming experiences to all cultural groups Expanded models of Culturally Proficient Coaching Conversations A special section on crafting Breakthrough Questions to shift entrenched mindsets and barriers to Cultural Proficiency By design, Culturally Proficient Coaching is an intentional, inside-out approach that mediates a person’s thinking toward values, beliefs, and behaviors that enable effective cross-cultural interactions and equitable learning environments. Here’s your opportunity to serve as that expert and trusted mediator, boosting educators′ cultural confidence and consciousness, while honing their coaching skills. "We owe it to ourselves and to our children to productively embrace and engage diversity, with all of its tensions, for the sustainability of humanity. These authors have given us the invitation, the road map, and the call to action. the embarkment is up to each one of us." --Carolyn M. McKanders, Director Emeritus Center for Adaptive Schools and Thinking Collaborative




Culturally Proficient Leadership


Book Description

Becoming a culturally proficient leader requires the kind of courage, clarity, and insight that can only come from looking inward first. It’s a personal learning journey of will and skill, and if you’re up to the challenge, one that will change how you see your school, your students, and yourself as you build your own cultural competence. Consider this second edition of Culturally Proficient Leadershipyour personal road map for navigating that journey. Each chapter of Culturally Proficient Leadership invites you to put your experiences up front and challenges you to reframe your story based on multiple viewpoints—now, notably, with the addition of new coauthors Delores Lindsey and Eloise Kemp Terrell, who have their own remarkable stories and insight to share. Overall, all four authors will help you answer the critical question “Is what we say what we do?” utilizing the tools of Cultural Proficiency to engage in Reflections and Cultural Interviews to explore what you learn about those who are culturally different from you develop a Cultural Autobiography to provide a picture of the cultural memberships that have influenced who you are as a person use the Cultural Proficiency Continuum to examine your progress as a leader in serving your students and communities prepare an intentional Leadership Plan that summarizes your journey from Cultural Precompetence to Cultural Proficiency The central “inside-out” premise of Cultural Proficiency is that engaging in deep introspection around one’s personal beliefs, values, and behaviors in response to human differences is the first step toward systemic educational reform. We invite you to embark on this journey of self-awareness, of moral courage, and of the life-affirming power of human diversity. “I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together—unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and may not come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction: toward a better future for our children and our grandchildren.” —Barack Obama, Los Angeles Times, 2008