# data[].attributes.body
For all ages, this is a general first step for teachers to take when creating a culturally responsive classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Inclusion, Diversity, Culture, Equity....tell me, what do you think when you hear these words and how do you define these concepts? Depending on your background, these words may take on various meanings. When you discuss these topics do you feel happiness, fear, joy, or confusion? Perhaps you think here we go again or haven't we gotten past this by now? When I hear these words, I think, what are we doing to make these words become more than just words on paper?

Last fall, I participated in a webinar with the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) on equity. It was three part series about how to ensure that we are providing our students with positive experiences that will lend to ensuring that all students are included and respected. Part One of the series challenged us to examine our own biases. This seemed like an easy task, but we were then told to share stereotypes we had heard (not our beliefs, but what society has said) about black boys and white girls. I began to see stereotypes pop up on my computer screen such as, BLACK BOY: SUPER PREDATOR and WHITE GIRL: DUMB BLONDE, along with many others. As I read these words, tears began to stream down my face because I am raising a black boy who is not a criminal and many others in my classroom who deserve to be more than just our stereotypes, and I teach white girls who are not dumb, but who are bright and deserve to be given a fair chance without our unintentional biases that we may bring into our schools. As I went through this three part series, I wished all educators could take part in this important training. Yet, I had to acknowledge that I bring my experiences in the classroom with me. I celebrate everyone, and I am a huge advocate for equity; however, this webinar forced me to reach back into my own experiences of growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood and being told go back on YOUR side of the street, of my adolescent years of moving to the inner city and being afraid of people who looked like me, or of my time in the military living in Kentucky and being told we don't serve your kind here.

That is what I am comprised of - all of those experiences are a part of my makeup. Many of us have preconceived notions about people who do not look like us and even those who do. Jesse Jackson was quoted as saying, "There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps... then turn around and see somebody white and feel relieved" (Fenig, 2014). Like me, educators bring many different life experiences into their classrooms all over this country, but we have to be willing to have uncomfortable dialogue to move forward - together.

So how do we do this? How do we ensure that we leave our biases at the door, create a climate of inclusion, and celebrate ALL of our students' diversity while ensuring that we provide them with an equitable education?

1. Acknowledge our own biases:

Daniele Massey, Jemelleh Coes, and Monica Washington of NNSTOY state that we have to acknowledge that we all have biases, both intentional and unintentional; however, by acknowledging those biases, by replacing our stereotypes, individuating, and creating more opportunities for positive contact with others, we can overcome those biases and shift the atmosphere (NNSTOY, 2016).

2. Create an environment where intolerance is not tolerated:

As a school leader, you have to set the tone and the atmosphere. A leader should be a thermostat and not a thermometer. When issues arise, it should be used as a teachable moment. For example, the day after the election, many students were displaying behavior that was not tolerant to those who had different views than they did. There were even students spewing stereotypes about others based on the way they looked. Although I was discouraged with the situation, I consulted with my instructional leader, and the next day, had the students stand around in a circle and discuss the ways that we are more alike than different. We committed to learning more about each other, and even completed various projects that exposed us to the backgrounds of others. We embraced Martin Luther King, Jr.'s words, " The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and therefore brothers " (Dr. Martin Luther King, Strength to Love). We learned that it did not matter what we looked like because we all were valued.

3. Create multiple opportunities for interaction:

As I have travelled into various schools across multiple states, nothing bothers me more than to walk into a classroom or a lunchroom and see students segregating themselves, sitting only with those who look like them. In society, we have a tendency to gravitate towards the familiar; however, school leaders must seek to create an environment where heterogeneous interactions are a part of the norm. A way for this to happen is to structure curriculum in such a way that it exposes our students to a variety of cultures, encourages back and forth dialogue with people who may not share their views, and forces them to take multiple perspectives into consideration. Leaders and educators should also be intentional about creating interactions through heterogeneous grouping and seating, and planning lessons where students can see themselves and others who do not look like them reflected in their learning.

4. Lead by example:

A leader must lead by example by modeling the behavior that he or she would like to see displayed in his or her school. I recently visited The Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, and one of the promising practices that the founder, Ron Clark along with the co-founder Kim Bearden, have their staff do each summer is to learn the names of every child along with every person (even pets) living in the child's home. The teachers have to take a test prior to the beginning of the school year with 100% accuracy. Simply knowing our students can create an environment where they know they are valued. I would also strongly encourage educators to visit the homes of students they teach. Learning where our students come from is another powerful tool in creating a culture where students are valued. School leaders should also create opportunities for their staff to have positive interactions with each other so that students can see the adults in the building respecting and valuing the unique differences that they have.

Inclusion, diversity, culture, and equity - can be so much more than words on paper - if we want them to be, they can become our reality, our normal, and our ingrained values. Moving our culture from an idea to a reality is not something that will happen overnight. School leaders must be committed to wanting to truly bring about systemic change within our schools. Undertaking this work will be uncomfortable. It can expose some of the ugliest parts of ourselves that we would rather not deal with, but the only way to move from the abstract idea of diversity to a concrete reality is to face our biases head on and acknowledge them, to confront and address intolerance, to seek positive interactions with people who do not look like us, and finally, to not just talk about the way we want our culture to be, but be the way we want our culture to be and display those values for others to see.

References

Fenig, E. (2014). Why both Mark Cuban and Jesse Jackson are frightened by blacks wearing hoodies. Retrieved from <http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/05/why_both_mark_cuban_and_jesse_jackson_are_frightened_by_blacks_wearing_hoodies_.html>

NNSTOY. (2016). Inward and Onward: Examining Personal Bias. Retrieved from <http://www.nnstoy.org/webinars/inward-and-onward-1-examining-our-personal-bias/>

The King Center. Strength to love. Retrieved from <www.thekingcenter.org>
Kelisa Wing is an 8th grade Language Arts Teacher and AVID site team member for Faith Middle School in Fort Benning, Georgia. She is a 2016 ASCD Emerging Leader, the 2017 Department of Defense Education Activity State Teacher of the Year, and a Flocabulary Master Certified Educator. She is also the Continuous School Improvement Chair for her school. She is an Army veteran, a proud graduate of the University of Maryland University College, and the University of Phoenix where she earned her Educational Specialist degree. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering in the community and spending time with her family. *All thoughts are her own. You can follow her on twitter @kelisa_l2teach.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Diversity: From Abstract Idea to Concrete Reality - ASCD Inservice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Inclusion, Diversity, Culture, Equity....tell me, what do you think when you hear these words and how do you define these concepts? Depending on your background, these words may take on various meanings. When you discuss these topics do you feel happiness, fear, joy, or confusion?

# data[].attributes.headline
Involving Parents of Color, Low SES, or English Language Learners

# data[].attributes.subject
Involving Parents of Color, Low SES, or English Language Learners

# data[].attributes.body
For all ages, tips on how to help parents to be part of their children's education. I felt this was especially important since many studies show that when parents are involved the students excel.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Presented by Dr. Gail Thompson - Transcription Below
Introduction
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Illuminate Whiteboard Series. I'm Dr. Gail Thompson, Professional Development and Equity Expert at Illuminate Education. I'm also an author and researcher. Today, I want to talk about parent engagement because educators know that parent involvement is important and it's correlated to many other outcomes such as higher grades, higher test scores, better school attendance, and higher graduation rates. However, many school leaders and teachers find that in some schools, participation rates are lower among some of the parents of historically underserved students, and I'm talking about African-American, Latino, English language learners, and low-income students.

Increase Parent Involvement
So here are some simple strategies to increase parent involvement. First of all, it's important to make sure that the school climate is welcoming and here's a questionnaire/checklist that you can use as a guide to determine if that school climate is welcoming. First of all, do all students, regardless of race, gender, and socioeconomic status, receive equal educational opportunities? Do all school leaders, teachers, and staff treat all parents and guardians respectfully? Do district and school level decision-making processes involve the parents and students who have historically been underserved? So make sure that school climate is welcoming.

Watch Out for Barriers
Second, it's important to identify mindsets, unconscious biases, stereotypes, and fears that will impede your work with parents or guardians because that's one of the biggest complaints that I hear from African-American in particular parents and guardians. It's how they are treated at schools and how their children are treated as a result of negative mindsets of school leaders and educators.

Don't Wait Until It's Too Late
Also, it's important not to wait until the situation has gotten of control before contacting the parent or guardian. Start early in the year and send the parents and guardians positive information about their children, so if the time comes when there is a problem, they've already gotten to know you and you've already made an effort to reach out to them about their child before the situation gets out of control. It's important to present the parent or guardian with a balanced picture, try not to be defensive, do not talk down the parents or guardians, and then put yourself in that parent or guardian's shoes. If your child were in a predicament of that parent's child, how would you want to be treated?

Workshops May Be A Good Idea
Then make sure that parent and guardian workshops are offered on a regular basis at your school and in your district because these workshops can help parents learn strategies that they can use to help their students academically. Also, make sure that these workshops provide parents and guardians with resources and information that can help them prepare their children for college, information that can enable them to work together with educators and school leaders. And then also, these workshops are a subtle way of many parents and guardians know that they are truly welcome at the school site. And then these workshops are another opportunity to let the parents know that you do care about underrepresented students and their parents and guardians.

In Conclusion
So let me conclude by reminding you that all individuals, including underrepresented students and their parents or guardians, want and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. The simple strategies that I've shared with you can help you improve your relations with both of these groups. However, whenever you are in doubt about how to treat an African-American, Latino, English language learner, a low-income or Latino parent or guardian or student, remember to result to the golden rule and that is treat that individual in the same way in which you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes. Have a wonderful day, hope to see you again soon.

White Board Image -

Audio Only -

*****

Illuminate Education is a provider of educational technology and services offering innovative data, assessment and student information solutions. Serving K-12 schools, our cloud-based software and services currently assist more than 1,600 school districts in promoting student achievement and success.

Ready to discover your one-stop shop for your district's educational needs? Let's talk.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Effective Ways to Engage Underserved Students - Illuminate Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Presented by Dr. Gail Thompson - Transcription Below Introduction Hello everyone. Welcome to the Illuminate Whiteboard Series. I'm Dr. Gail Thompson, Professional Development and Equity Expert at Illuminate Education. I'm also an author and researcher. Today, I want to talk about parent engagement because educators know that parent involvement is important and it's correlated to...

# data[].attributes.body
For all ages, this video explains a variety of strategies for working with students from lower income families. Highlights the needs of lower income students and how to meet those needs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Strategies for teaching low-income students

# data[].attributes.body
For all ages, I chose this because it emphasizes bilingualism rather than replacing their original language with English, teaching English across the curriculum instead of just in ELA class, and focusing on positives and little successes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Over 10 percent of students in the United States-more than 4.8 million kids-are English language learners (ELLs), and the number is on the rise. Though these students do not learn differently than their native-English-speaking peers, they do have particular educational needs.

To learn about these needs-and best practices for addressing them-I interviewed a range of educators and observers, including Larry Ferlazzo, an educator and author of The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide; longtime teachers of English as a second language (ESL) Emily Francis and Tan Huynh; and the journalist Helen Thorpe, who spent a year observing a teacher who works with ELLs.

The group emphasized that the strategies listed here, which include both big-picture mindsets and nitty-gritty teaching tactics, can be incorporated into all classrooms, benefiting both native English speakers and ELLs.

1. Cultivate Relationships and Be Culturally Responsive

No surprise here. A successful classroom, our educators agreed, is one in which students feel known, appreciated, and comfortable taking emotional and intellectual risks. That requires intentional planning and consistent messaging by the teacher.

Emily Francis, an ESL teacher in Concord, North Carolina, makes clear that she wants her students to "embrace their culture and their language as a foundation of who they are" and to consider their acquisition of a new culture and language "not as subtractive, but as additive." To help support students who may never have attended school before or may be coping with migration-based trauma, Francis emphasizes that little things make a big difference. "The first thing that I need to think about is, how is my student feeling in my classroom?" she says. "Are they sitting next to a buddy they can ask a question in their home language? Do they feel comfortable tapping me on the shoulder if they have to go to the bathroom?"

But creating a supportive environment is also about cultivating an appreciation of diversity-it's critical that both the curriculum and the classroom environment honor and reflect the lives of the students. For instance, Francis makes certain that her classroom library is reflective of her students' diverse backgrounds and identities.

ESL teacher Katie Toppel, who teaches near Portland, Oregon, champions the value of home visits to get to know students' families and takes care to incorporate the particulars of students' lives, such as pets' names and favorite sports, into lessons. Students are most engaged when they feel a personal connection to a lesson or unit, a connection that's created in part by a teacher's investment in culturally competent relationships.

2. Teach Language Skills Across the Curriculum

English language learners should not be learning the fundamentals of English in isolation; they should be applying their developing language skills to rich academic content in all subjects.

"It is key that in mainstream classrooms, teachers understand their role as language teachers," says Valentina Gonzalez, a district leader in Katy, Texas, suggesting that all teachers should be aware of the specialized idiom they work within. "If we teach math, then we teach the language of mathematics. If we teach science, then we teach the language of science." Math teachers, in other words, should take the time to teach the unfamiliar vocabulary of mathematics- add, subtract, calculator, solve -concurrently with the teaching of math skills.

3. Emphasize Productive Language

The educators I interviewed agreed that productive language skills-hard-to-master dimensions of language fluency like speaking and writing-should be front and center from day one, even if students feel hesitant about them.

Beginning ELLs often develop receptive language skills like listening and reading first. Educators who are unaware of the typical path to fluency may believe that students who can follow verbal or written directions will be able to produce oral or written language, but that's usually not the case.

To support reluctant speakers, Tan Huynh, an educator who blogs at Empowering ELLs, suggests using sentence frames. "For example, when a science teacher wants ELLs to produce a hypothesis, they might offer the sentence, 'If _____ was added, then _____ because _____.' This sentence frame provides clues that empower ELLs to sound and think like scientists," Huynh says.

Andrea Honigsfeld, a professor of education at Molloy College in Rockville, New York, suggests that all lessons touch on every letter of the acronym SWIRL, which stands for Speak, Write, Interact, Read, Listen. The approach intentionally privileges productive language skills "from the beginning," she says.

4. Speak Slowly-and Increase Your Wait Time

Easier said than done. Still, many of the teachers I spoke to said this simple change is vital. You can record yourself speaking in class to measure your cadence, and adjust.

"Adding in an extra three to five seconds after we pose a question offers all students time to think," explains Gonzalez. "However, for English learners, it also gives time to translate, process their thinking, translate back into English, and develop the courage to answer. If we call on students too quickly, many of our students will stop thinking about the answers-or trying to answer at all."

That means undoing some of our own habits, according to Larry Ferlazzo, a high school ESL teacher in Sacramento, California. "Researchers have found that typically most teachers give one to two seconds between asking a question and expecting a student response," he says. "The same researchers have shown that if you wait three to five seconds, the quality of responses is astronomically greater."

5. Differentiate-and Use Multiple Modalities

All kids learn better when they engage with material in multiple ways: Lessons that involve writing, speaking, drawing, and listening, for example, give students four opportunities to deepen their understanding of the work. For ELLs, those additional engagements also provide a little breathing room so they can work through the language barrier.

Helen Thorpe, a journalist who spent a year observing Eddie Williams's classroom in Denver in order to write a book about immigrants called The Newcomers, marveled at Williams's method of differentiation. "Eddie would enunciate very clearly in English multiple times, he would write it on the board, and he would go to the projector to give a visual. And, finally, he'd be asking the kids to verbalize aspects of the lesson themselves," she says, tracing Williams's efforts to move his students from receptive to productive language fluency.

Toppel uses a strategy called QSSSA to scaffold classroom discussions with ELLs. The letters stand for Question (the teacher poses a question, then gives ample think time); Signal (a designated motion like a thumbs-up, a finger on the nose-something that lets students indicate that they're ready to answer); Stem (the teacher provides a sentence starter for the question-for example, for "What is your favorite place to read a book?" the stem might be, "My favorite place to read a book is _____"); Share; and Assess.

6. Incorporate Students' Native Languages-and Don't Be Afraid of Technology

Bilingualism is the goal, of course, not replacement.

Ferlazzo uses a strategy called "preview, view, review," which leverages a student's native language skills as a foundation for learning the new language. He introduces a topic and encourages students to preview it in materials in their home language (often using multilingual videos and other online resources); he then teaches the topic in English, and then has students review the information in their home language.

Ferlazzo also encourages teachers to embrace technologies that students find helpful, like Google Translate. He stresses that the app can be a useful way for students to translate words quickly-but warns that it can quickly "become a dependency" if it's used as more than a handy dictionary.

Thorpe agrees that Translate can take pressure off teachers, who sometimes find that they "just stand at the front of the room and say things over and over. And if the kids didn't know what those words are, they're out of luck." Translation technology means you can say it once (or twice) and let the students use the technology to translate key words and phrases.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
6 Essential Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We interviewed educators with decades of experience in teaching ELLs and tapped a network of experts and observers to find the strategies that work.

# data[].attributes.body
For all ages, this website truly embodies multicultural education in that all of the strategies listed not only benefit students who are learning English, but will also benefit all students and will help to create a loving learning environment for students from all walks of life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Listen to this post as a podcast:
A note on terminology: The acronym ESL is used less often now in schools than it used to be, because we recognize that many students who are learning English already speak several other languages, so English would not be a "second" language. I use it several times in the post because schools sometimes refer to the teachers as ESL teachers, and the term is still widely used as a search term for this topic. My intent in using the acronym is to make this post easier to find online.

You have a new student, and he speaks no English. His family has just moved to your town from Japan, and though he receives English as a Second Language (ESL) support, he will also be sitting in your room every day to give him more exposure to his new language. How can you be a good teacher to someone who barely understands you?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, an average of 9 percent of students in U.S. public schools are English Language Learners (ELLs); that number is closer to 14 percent in cities. Although many of these students start off in high-intensity, whole-day English programs, most are integrated into mainstream classrooms within a year, well before their English language skills would be considered proficient.

How prepared are you to teach these students? If you're like most classroom teachers, you have little to no training in the most effective methods for working with English language learners (Walker, Shafer, & Iiams, 2004). So that means we have a problem here: Lots of ELL kids in regular classrooms, and no teacher training to ensure the success of that placement.

Below, three ESL teachers tell us what they know about the things regular classroom teachers can do to improve instruction for ELL students. These 12 strategies are simple, they are not very time consuming, and best of all, they will help everyone in your class learn better:

1. Make it Visual

"Avoid giving instructions in the air," says Melissa Eddington, an Ohio-based ESL teacher. "ELL kids have a harder time processing spoken language." So instructions - even basic directions for classroom procedures - should be written on the board whenever possible. Challenging concepts should be diagrammed or supported with pictures. And modeling the steps of a process or showing students what a finished product should look like can go a long way toward helping students understand. "Sometimes showing our students what to do is all they need in order to do it," Eddington says. Not only will this kind of nonlinguistic representation improve comprehension for ELL students, it will help all of your students grasp concepts better.

2. Build in more group work.

"Kids aren't just empty glasses that we pour stuff into and then at the end of the day they dump it back onto a test," says Kim, an ESL teacher who was the subject of my very first podcast interview. "If you really want the kids to learn, they've got to be engaged." That means less teacher-led, whole-class instruction, and more small groups, where students can practice language with their peers in a more personal, lower-risk setting. And if ELL students attend your class with a resource teacher, make use of that person: In most cases the resource teacher doesn't have to work exclusively with the ESL students; they can work with smaller groups that happen to contain these students, helping to improve the teacher-student ratio and give kids more time to practice.

3. Communicate with the ESL teacher.

Mary Yurkosky, a former ESL teacher in Massachusetts, credits much of her students' success to the strong relationship she had with the regular classroom teachers. "The classroom teachers were always talking to me about what they were doing in their classes," she says. "They made it so easy for me to support them: If a teacher was going to be doing a unit on plants, I could make sure we used some of that same vocabulary in the ESL class."

Ideally, this could be systematized, where ESL teachers could regularly get copies of lesson plans or collaborate with regular classroom teachers to build solid back-and-forth support, but "it doesn't have to be that much work," Yurkosky insists. "Just talk to each other. Talk about what's going on in your classrooms, invite each other to special presentations, share what your students are learning, and the words will naturally find their way into the ESL class."

4. Honor the "silent period."

Many new language learners go through a silent period, during which they will speak very little, if at all. "Don't force them to talk if they don't want to," says Eddington, "A lot of students who come from cultures outside of America want to be perfect when they speak, so they will not share until they feel they are at a point where they're perfect." Just knowing that this is a normal stage in second language acquisition should help relieve any pressure you feel to move them toward talking too quickly.

5. Allow some scaffolding with the native language.

Although it has been a hotly debated topic in the language-learning community, allowing students some use of their first language (L1) in second-language (L2) classrooms is gaining acceptance. When a student is still very new to a language, it's okay to pair him with other students who speak his native language. "Some students are afraid to open their mouths at all for fear of sounding stupid or just not knowing the words to use," Yurkosky says. "Letting them explain things or ask questions in their first language gets them to relax and feel like a part of the class."

And this doesn't only apply to spoken language. If you give students a written assignment, but the ELL student doesn't yet have the proficiency to handle writing his response in English, "Don't make them just sit there and do nothing," Eddington says. "Allow them to write in their first language if they're able. This allows them to still participate in journal writing or a math extended response, even if you can't read what they write." There has even been some evidence that allowing second-language learners to pre-write and brainstorm in L1 results in higher-quality writing in L2 in later stages of the writing process (Yigzaw, 2012).

6. Look out for culturally unique vocabulary.

"For most of these kids, their background knowledge is lacking, especially with things that are unique to American or westernized culture," says Eddington. It's important to directly teach certain vocabulary words: "Show them videos of what it looks like to toss pizza dough, show pictures of a juke box or a clothing rack - things that are not common in their own language."

One way to differentiate for ELL students is to consider the whole list of terms you're going to teach for a unit, and if you think an ELL student may be overwhelmed by such a long list, omit those that are not essential to understanding the larger topic at hand.

7. Use sentence frames to give students practice with academic language.

All students, not just English language learners, need practice with academic conversations. Sentence frames - partially completed sentences like "I disagree with what _________ said because..." - show students how to structure language in a formal way. Keep these posted in a highly visible spot in your classroom and require students to refer to them during discussions and while they write.

For this kind of language to really sink in, though, Kim says it has to become a regular part of class. "They won't do it if it's not the norm in the class, because they'll be embarrassed to use it among their peers," she says. "But if they can put it off on the teacher and say, Oh, well, you know, Miss Kim makes me talk like this, then they don't look as hoity-toity as they would otherwise."

8. Pre-teach whenever possible.

If you're going to be reading a certain article next week, give ESL students a copy of it now. If you plan to show a YouTube video tomorrow, send a link to your ESL students today. Any chance you can give these students to preview material will increase the odds that they'll understand it on the day you present it to everyone else. "That kind of thing is wonderful," Yurkosky says. "The kids feel so empowered if they've had a chance to look at the material ahead of time."

9. Learn about the cultural background of your students...

Our second-language populations grow more diverse every year. Taking the time to learn the basics of where a child comes from - exactly, not 'somewhere in the Middle East/South America/Asia/Africa' - tells the student that you respect her enough to bother. Kim remembers one time when she had to set the record straight about the diverse South American population at her school: "I was listening to the teachers talking about the 'Mexican' kids in our building," she says, "and I was like, 'We don't have any Mexicans.'" Not taking the time to at least correctly identify a child's country of origin, much like not bothering to pronounce their name correctly, is a kind of microaggression, a small, subtle insult that communicates hostility toward people of color. Make a commitment to be someone who bothers to get it right.

Once you have the country straight, take things up a notch by learning about students' religious and cultural practices. If he is a practicing Muslim, he should be told if one of the pizzas you ordered for the class party has sausage on it. If she comes from a culture where eye contact with adults is viewed as disrespectful, you'll know not to force her to look you in the eye when she's talking.

10. ...but don't make a child speak for his entire culture.

In her podcast interview, Kim shared a story about watching a teacher ask a new Iraqi student how he felt about the war in his country, right in the middle of class. "That's not cultural inclusiveness," she explains. "I've seen teachers do this and then pat themselves on the back. The students' English is limited so they can't express themselves very well, and they don't want to 'represent'; they just want to be there." If you anticipate a theme coming up in your class that's going to be relevant to one of your students, have a conversation with them in advance, or check with your ESL teacher to see if they think it's appropriate for in-class discussion.

11. Show them how to take themselves less seriously...

By modeling the risk-taking that's required to learn a new language, you help students develop the courage to take their own risks, and to have a sense of humor about it. "I tried to say the word 'paint' ( pinta) in Portuguese and instead I said the word for 'penis' ( pinto). They all roared with laughter while I stood there with a What?? look on my face," Yurkosky says. "When they explained what I'd said, I laughed so hard! I told them that laughing was fine because sometimes mistakes are really funny, but ridicule is never okay."

12. ...but always take them seriously.

One of Kim's pet peeves about how teachers interact with English language learners is the way they often see students' efforts as 'cute,' missing the whole point of what the student is trying to say. "A student will be desperate to communicate, and the teacher will get distracted by the delivery and miss the message," she says. "That's painful for me to watch." It bothers her when teachers mistake a lack of language for a lack of intelligence or maturity. When a child can't express themselves as well as they would in their native language, it's far too easy to assume the concepts just aren't in their heads.

"It breaks my heart when I hear teachers say (ELL kids) don't know anything," says Eddington. "These are brilliant kids and they know a lot. They just can't tell us in English yet." Make a conscious effort to see past the accent and the mispronunciations and treat every interaction - every student - with the respect they deserve.

"They're doing twice the job of everybody else in the class," Kim adds, "even though the result looks like half as much." ♦

Further Reading

The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide is one of the highest-rated books on teaching English-language learners available. In addition to offering an overview of the research on second-language learners and best practices in teaching ESL, it also includes a whole section on teaching ESL in the content areas and another specifically geared toward teaching ELL students in mainstream classrooms.
References:
Walker, A., Shafer, J., & Iiams, M. (2004). "Not in my classroom": Teacher attitudes towards English language learners in the mainstream classroom. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 2(1), 130-160.

Yigzaw, A. (2012). Impact of L1 use in L2 English writing classes. Ethiopian Journal of Education and Sciences, 8(1), 11-27.

If you thought this was helpful, stick around.
Join my mailing list and never miss another post. You'll get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration - in quick, bite-sized packages - all geared toward making your teaching more effective and joyful. To thank you, I'll send you a free copy of my new e-booklet, 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half. I look forward to getting to know you better!

Click here to get a PDF of this article.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
12 Ways to Support English Learners in the Mainstream Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Advice from three ESL teachers on the things regular classroom teachers can do to help English language learners thrive in mainstream classrooms.

# data[].attributes.body
For third grade on. At first I didn't realize that African American boys should be approached differently than the girls. This really opened my eyes to creating learning opportunities in different modalities so that these students can succeed.

# data[].attributes.body
For all ages. I love how this article explains first that not every African American is the same, while these strategies can be used in general it is very important to build relationships.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sharif El-Mekki is the principal of Mastery Charter School-Shoemaker Campus, a neighborhood public charter school in Philadelphia, and he is a principal fellow with the U.S. Department of Education. Full profile →

Most of my educational experiences as a child were in an all-Black spaces and all of my experiences as an educator have been in schools that serve Black communities. And, although I can't say I am an expert on everything about educating Black children (despite people's misconceptions, we are not a monolithic people), there are some experiences that I have had that speak to what Black students need from the educators who profess to serve them.

It goes without saying that the educational experience should support the development of literacy, numeracy, communication, problem-solving and personal development skills. Students also need to be equipped with the "non-academic" skills necessary to navigate the real world. To do that, our children and communities need a certain type of educator.

They need educators who are deeply reflective, express empathy, are critically conscious and can guide them in problem-solving.

These nine suggestions aren't just from my experiences, but also from the countless hours of communication with Black families about the aspirations they have for their children and communities. These suggestions are not just for school-based educators. Anyone who touches the education of Black children, either directly or indirectly, should be immersed in efforts towards equity.

1. The Right Mindset: If you don't believe Black children can learn at the same rate as any other child, then you don't belong in front of them. Honestly, you don't belong in a classroom full of White children either, because you'll covertly (and even overtly) reinforce white supremacist philosophy. The right mindset would be one of growth and engages ongoing professional development. Research shows that Black children are particularly impacted by their teachers' opinion about them. That can be both powerful and dangerous.

2. Supporting Students in Developing a Positive Racial Identity: Students are bombarded with messages that they are worthless, achieve less, and that only the exceptional Black person can perform at the highest levels. Unfortunately, because of this constant attack on the Black psyche, some students have internalized this. Educators have a crucial role in perpetuating this negative self-image, or being there to ameliorate it. Ensuring that materials share the contributions of Black people on society, both historically and present-day can go a long way. Also, it is crucial that our Black youth see and participate in educators celebrating students' efforts and achievements beyond athletics and entertainment.

3. High Expectations, High Support, Much Love: Too often there is a lack of balance. Some will enact authoritarian demeanor and rules, in the essence of stripping students of their dignity in the name of instilling order. Others tolerate chaos and excuses in the name of love. The answer is in the middle. It isn't about no excuses or "make all the excuses in the world" schools. It is about helping students develop self-control and self-discipline necessary to be productive leaders in their communities. Hilary Beard describes parenting of Black children as being in quadrants. She describes the style that Black boys respond to the best as "strict authoritarian." That means holding high expectations and lots of love.

4. Establishing Windows and Mirrors: Too often, White children's positive sense of self is reinforced through media, and in life. White students see an overwhelming number of people in power and, consciously or unconsciously, begin to assume that it is their rightful place in life. Black children see this, too. Often, even when a student has a Black teacher, other positions of power may be overwhelmingly White, so students see that. Helping all students see themselves as contributors to society and leaders is vital.

5. Serving Holistically: Often, when people describe a holistic education, they're lamenting the loss of the arts in our schools-it is that plus much more. Our educational strategies should include the arts, health, career-technical education, computer science, etc. It should be grounded in college- and career-readiness and support students with pursuing robust post-secondary options. A holistic education without students learning about character education and social justice is a limited education and doesn't truly prepare students for their work outside of school.

6. Learner of Culture: Educators should be curious, respectful and knowledgeable about Black history and culture while maintaining a high sense of humility and curiosity. Even if you have taught Black children for decades, don't assume you know the struggles of Black folks better than they do. Too many educators have this outlook.

7. Skilled in Channeling Anger: Students should be angry. Often, it is impossible to truly teach Black students and help them to see the world as it is and the promise of what society can be at the optimal levels without them becoming angry. I am not speaking of the self-destructive anger, I am speaking about the anger that spurs action towards positive outcomes. Malcolm X said, when people get angry they take action. And, as James Baldwin said, "To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time."

8. Communal Outlook: Black culture often demands a marriage with individuality and community. Too often, American society and educators celebrate individualistic goals and place individual accomplishments above community achievements. This is a mistake and leads to disharmony and frustration. There should be a balance and community-based goals should be an integral part of any educational system.

9. Sense of Purpose: Educators who are working for the liberation of students of color will need to have and maintain a strong sense of purpose. The why and the how they approach the work is crucial-without it being grounded as incubators of dismantling white supremacy in its many forms, it may miss the mark. Conscious and committed educators view our schools as environments that can foster a commitment to our communities. Educators must also do the work and professional development that hones their skills as liberators, not overseers of the existing system. Without a strong sense of purpose, an educator can easily become a perpetrator of the very injustices they initially sought to dismantle.

An original version of this post appeared on Philly's 7th Ward.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
9 Things Every Educator Should Know When Teaching Black Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sharif El-Mekki is the principal of Mastery Charter School-Shoemaker Campus, a neighborhood public charter school in Philadelphia, and he is a principal fellow with the U.S. Department of Education. Full profile → Most of my educational experiences as a child were in an all-Black spaces and all of my experiences as an educator have been in schools that serve Black communities.

# data[].attributes.body
For all ages. This paper outlines some basic strategies that will be helpful in making Hispanic students feel more welcomed into the classroom as well as providing opportunities for them to feel successful and meet high expectations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Effective instructional practices are crucial to addressing the educational crisis facing many Hispanic students in the United States. The number of Hispanic students attending public schools has increased dramatically in recent decades, yet Hispanic students as a group have the lowest levels of education and the highest dropout rate of any student group.

# data[].attributes.body
This video explains the general culture of Latino and Hispanic people, I feel that this is important especially for me since I have Latino students and it is vital that I have an understanding of their culture and learning modalities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Latino Learning Modules: Latino Culture and Cultural Values

# data[].attributes.body
Focuses on early childhood but can be used for any age. This article thoroughly explains the reasons for the achievement gap, gives some insight into culture, and some strategies for improvement in the classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Understanding the role of culture in development is important. My first jobs exposed me to people who saw the world differently than I. The more I learned about why they held their beliefs, the more I understood. Today, I ask my [teacher education] students to think about their own cultures and life experiences as the first step in understanding and relating to the children and families they will encounter in the field.
-Barbara T. Bowman

My mother, who had less than two years of formal education, once asked me what I do for a living. I told her I try to incorporate a rich diversity of experiences for kids into educational settings. She said, "Why that's just common sense! They pay you for that?" Common sense, and still it's an uncommon practice among many.
-James P. Comer

We must acknowledge the broader diversity in and of the African American experience and celebrate that all Black children are born geniuses. Black students continue to pursue educational excellence despite the many unnecessary obstacles they face due to constructions and perceptions of race, class, gender, and sexual orientations in America.
-David J. Johns

Early childhood education is an increasingly important aspect of American life, predicting not only later school outcomes but also career and work options, economic stability, health, and social opportunities(Sanders-Phillips et al. 2009). School performance constrains the future opportunities of many African Americans. When matched for social class, the gap in educational achievement between African Americans and other groups is substantial. African American children, on average, score lower on tests and are given lower grades than Asian, White, and Latino students. In adolescence, many of them fail courses and drop out of school. Others progress through school but do not excel; they are less often enrolled in honors courses in high school or accepted into competitive four-year colleges (Stanford CEPA, n.d.; Valant & Newark 2017).

The achievement gap is a problem not only for African American students and their families and communities; it affects the well-being of the entire country. Researchers have found that "the persistence of the educational achievement gap imposes on the United States the economic equivalent of a permanent national recession" (McKinsey & Company 2009, 6).

Past and present economic and social conditions are at the root of the achievement gap. Societal efforts to overcome the ill effects of prejudice and discrimination for African Americans have not been effective enough; there continue to be inequities in almost every aspect of life, including education (Matthew, Rodrigue, & Reeves 2016; W.K. Kellogg Foundation 2014). At the same time, scientific and technological changes have raised the educational requirements for successful and fulfilling careers, placing an even greater burden on underserved communities and schools. And because social science research has focused primarily on group deficits rather than factors that have stymied progress, it has provided few clues as to how to construct support systems, even where there is a genuine wish to do so.

Only by understanding these factors can teachers develop and implement the strategies needed to move from school failure to school success, increasing opportunities for life success for many more students. Although this article focuses on African American learners, children from other communities of color are often victims of racism and poverty too. Each group has its own unique history with and strategies for coping with oppression, yet they share many of the same challenges and defenses. By understanding the differences and the similarities among groups, teachers can learn the strengths of children and families when designing programs to address their educational and developmental needs.

Societal efforts to overcome the ill effects of prejudice and discrimination for African Americans have not been effective enough.

This article outlines some of the factors that contribute to the achievement gap between African Americans and White Americans and ends with recommendations for educators, administrators, and policy makers to help equalize educational opportunities.

Development and learning

Like all children, African American children are born with the ability to learn, but require experiences to bring their potential to fruition. Capabilities develop through interactions with people and things that shape the brain circuitry controlling children's physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development. Some aspects of development-like learning language, being sociable, using symbols, and making categories-are propelled by inborn drives to learn. Most children master these tasks at about the same ages and in similar ways.

Other learning is culture specific, such as learning a particular language, creating unique ways to categorize the environment, and interpreting the meanings of events. For example, the vast majority of young children learn language (an inborn drive), but whether they learn Black English or Standard English depends on their experiences in their language communities. So, a child's language acquisition reflects individual and human biological potential, but also it reflects the linguistic characteristics of a particular cultural community.

Children's experiences in the social world of family and community play a critical role in what and how well children learn in school. The importance of warm interpersonal relationships cannot be overstated. Adults are needed to provide consistent physical care, social guidance, intellectual stimulation, and emotional support. Children attach to meaningful caregivers and depend on them for physical and emotional security. They identify with, imitate, and begin to internalize their caregivers' attitudes, values, ways of expressing themselves, and approaches to solving problems; this sets the stage for social, emotional, physical, and cognitive characteristics that in turn affect everything from moral and ethical behavior to manipulative skills and executive functioning.

Children who begin life in safe relationships that are continuously responsive to their evolving needs are most likely to reach out, explore, and learn. This is particularly important for children who live in challenging environments. Further, the most successful learners are born into families that have access to a baseline of resources, including physical security, health care, adequate nutrition, attentive caregiving, and opportunities to learn.

Most African American children have positive adult relationships and achieve their basic developmental potential. That is, at the appropriate ages, they master the complexities of language, process sensory information, manage their bodies, and even use symbols (such as a wooden block to represent a piece of toast). However, some do not have a learning environment that includes opportunities to develop school-related language, knowledge, and skills (such as literacy in Standard English, mathematics, or science). Others, given continued racial exclusion, do not think the work of education will pay off for them. And some are growing up in circumstances that are too stressful for healthy development. These students do not get the extra doses of emotional stability and guidance needed to face the adversity they are exposed to, including adapting to the demands of school.

Racism and poverty

The interface between racism/classism and attendant economic and social disadvantages is the key to understanding the underachievement of African American children. African Americans have been exposed to generations of legal and illegal measures to deny them basic rights. From slavery to Jim Crow and to today's housing, health care, and voting inequities, the African American community has endured unrelenting racism that begins at an early age (Gilliam 2014; Gershenson & Dee 2017). To believe that these insults have not left a cultural residue-for Whites as well as for African Americans-is to deny what we know about power relationships.

As parents adapt to different challenges, they develop different child-rearing strategies, many of which are misunderstood.

The burden of poverty

Without question, poverty places a burden on families, and a large number of African Americans live at an economic level that stresses families physically and mentally, with hunger, mental and physical illness, and despair being frequent corollaries (Matthew, Rodrigue, & Reeves 2016). Poverty among African Americans exceeds that of any other group (USDA 2017). While poverty has declined for White, Hispanic, and Asian families in recent years, it has not for African Americans. In 2015, some 38 percent of Black children lived below the poverty line-a percentage four times greater than that of White or Asian children (Alter 2017). Families struggling to make ends meet are more likely to be stressed and to have less time for their children than those from more economically advantaged groups. In addition, children from poor and also less-poor African American families tend to reside in segregated, underserved neighborhoods, thus concentrating and reinforcing poverty's effects (W.K. Kellogg Foundation 2014). As a consequence, generations of families and communities have been unable to provide the basic material resources their children require or protect children from the social and emotional stress of racism, poverty, and under-resourced environments. (See " Living with Toxic Stress.") Poverty drains the social and emotional energy of families, making it difficult for adults to respond with constructive guidance to typical childhood behavior, such as aggressiveness or impulsivity. Some families and communities have adapted to the harsh realities they face with aggression. And some children have learned to deal with problems by fighting rather than negotiating or working things out-behavior considered unacceptable in school, especially when teachers and administrators do not understand the roots of the behavior and do not help the children learn new behaviors in a warm, caring, culturally competent way.

Living with Toxic Stress

Exposure to extremes of violence and neglect, inconsistent and unreliable care, and unloving adults can be so stressful for children that their developmental potential is compromised or distorted. The results of such exposure can range from stunted emotional and intellectual development to death. The longer children live in a toxic environment, the more difficult and expensive it is to help them return to more typical developmental and learning trajectories (Shonkoff et al. 2012).

Too many African American children live in toxic environments. Given this, it is a testament to African American families that despite the challenges they face, so many find the resources to help their children avoid the more serious developmental and learning problems. However, early recognition of and support for children being affected by a toxic environment is essential if children are to avoid the pitfalls of failed development and a compromised future; exposure to severe neglect and abuse is increasingly difficult to treat. Timely family counseling and treatment, supportive alternative caregivers (often a grandparent or sitter), understanding teachers, supportive friends and neighbors, and/or therapeutic intervention can play a role in reducing stress and stabilizing children's development.

The role of culture and tradition

Culture is what groups create over time to adapt to their environment; it determines to a large extent how adults interact with children. Throughout the world, as parents adapt to different environmental challenges, they develop different child-rearing strategies, many of which are misunderstood by those unfamiliar with a community's history. For instance, as a result of transatlantic enslavement, Black people mixed the remnants of their home languages with English to create a dialect, or patois, to communicate with one another (since they did not share a common language). The remnants continue today as Black English. The public impression, however, which has been used to justify abuse and injustice, is that this adaptive language, this dialect, is "bad" or broken English. Among those with limited knowledge of Black culture and linguistics, Black English is mistakenly assumed to be a product of ignorance rather than a creative form of verbal communication as complex as Standard English (Labov 1972).

Other behaviors that were fashioned to help African Americans cope with the dangers of slavery continue today because life is still perceived as dangerous. For instance, African American children are often criticized for passivity, limited oral responsiveness, and disengagement (Labov 1972). Yet many Black parents teach this behavior as the best way for children to be safe in a hostile world. Rather than embracing new experiences outside the safety of family, children are encouraged to attenuate their responsiveness with others to avoid trouble (Labov 1972; Calarco 2014). Even though these strategies tend not to be advantageous in the school environment, they have lingered because they keep children emotionally safe in the segregated society in which most of them live.

The systemic challenges of poverty and racism continue today for African American parents and children (W.K. Kellogg Foundation 2014), and families respond in different ways (Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, & Klebanov 1994). Some experience self-doubt and powerlessness, others deny their culture and language to avoid rejection, and still others respond with rage or detachment. While many of these responses may seem nonfunctional, they are designed to protect children from the prejudice and discrimination encountered by most African Americans with appalling frequency.

Unaware of the culturally adaptive reasons for behavior, many people-even many African Americans-are unaware of the strengths that have enabled African American communities to survive and thrive despite deep hardships. Teachers who understand the history of slavery, the restrictions of segregation, and the continued injustices encountered by African Americans can better understand African American children's behavior. In the past, tight-knit family networks and communities of teachers and leaders were better able to support children and buffer the negative messages children received from the larger society. Today, the lack of knowledge about and appreciation for Black culture creates social distance between African Americans and White Americans and is a deterrent to change. The African American culture transmitted from generation to generation needs to be understood as rich and noteworthy, and needs to be used as the entry to new skills and knowledge. By recognizing the meaning and value of children's home knowledge, teachers can use home culture as a foundation from which to extend children's thinking rather than considering it an impediment.

While culture carries with it the past, it also constantly adapts to new conditions, new challenges. As people adapt, they integrate the old with the new, often using the old to help transition to the new. The traditional African American interest in music has led to innovations, such as jazz and rap, and to newer music forms; the traditional physicality in the African American community has led to high performance in athletics; the interest in language is reflected in the contributions Black people have made to the imaginative use of words (slang, for example). Many of the rules and concepts of school overlap with much of what children already know-but often children need teachers and school system leaders to help them see the overlap. For example, many Black children have strong interests in and knowledge about sports and entertainment. They need supportive teachers to help them see how academics are related to these interests and will enhance what they already know. The capabilities developed in homes and communities can be used as springboards for learning in school if teachers recognize children's strengths (Adair 2015). Building on strengths, achievement can soar.

Today, the lack of knowledge about and appreciation for Black culture creates social distance between African Americans and White Americans and is a deterrent to change.

Exposure to poverty and prejudice are not uniform across the African American population; not all African Americans are poor or failing in school. Yet disproportionately their achievement and life circumstances are constrained by race and class. Almost every aspect of life at every income level is affected-housing, employment, health care, education, and social acceptance-all of which have long- and short-term implications for school achievement (Pager & Shepherd 2008; Reardon 2015). The systemic challenges of the Black experience continue today for parents and children (W.K. Kellogg Foundation 2014). Poverty and racism, past and present, compromise the ability of many poor and minority families-especially African American families-to provide the secure base young children need (Grusky, Varner, & Mattingly 2015). The ultimate solution to the education gap is the elimination of race and class prejudice and oppression. In the meantime, creating an ultra-supportive environment appears to be the best-perhaps the only-chance for children from challenging backgrounds to be successful in school and in life (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2016). This means providing supports for families and education for children, and promoting understanding among teachers and administrators.

The challenges of school

If most African American families typically provide the experiences necessary for healthy growth and development, why do so many African American children have trouble learning in school? One reason is the differing expectations for children between home and school. The skills and knowledge children gain at home and in their communities often do not match schools' demands. Home cultures do not prevent African American children from learning in school, but some home practices are not similar to or synchronous with school culture.

Returning to language, children who learn Black English at home, as opposed to learning Standard English, have a steeper learning curve for school reading and writing (because Standard English is very similar to academic English). For Black children, particularly those from low-income families in highly segregated communities, there is more likely to be a poor fit between their language experiences and what schools require. This misalignment becomes a barrier to school learning unless it is addressed early.

Like other children, African American children-even those from low-income families-have information about their immediate environment and learn through their experiences. However, they may not have the same knowledge base as children from other communities, particularly children from more economically advantaged ones. They may not have the academic and social knowledge that teachers expect. They know the names of things, ideas, people, and places that are meaningful to them, but they may not know letter names or how to hold a book or what a farm is or how to count to 20. Because of this, they are often viewed as developmentally delayed or having limited potential to learn. Thus, even though they have achieved developmental milestones, they may begin to fail in school.

African American children who go to school without a sound foundation of school-type information are at a profound disadvantage, making the achievement gap inevitable at school entry-but not insurmountable. For example, children from lower income families hear fewer words and have smaller vocabularies, on average, than children from more financially advantaged families (Hart & Risley 1995). This disadvantages African American children, since a larger proportion of them are poorer than White children. While a smaller vocabulary may not be a linguistic problem (the children have a language, just not Standard English), it does mean a child is likely to have trouble with listening comprehension in the early grades, especially when teachers read aloud complex texts that use Standard and academic English vocabulary. What starts out as simply a disparity in vocabulary escalates over the elementary grades to difficulty with reading comprehension, on which all later learning depends. Struggling with reading may also become a social challenge, leading to misbehavior and a lack of motivation to try (often fueled by embarrassment at being behind one's peers). Therefore, it is essential to address the vocabulary difference before it morphs into school failure.

Another problem for many African American children is the lack of continuity between the preschool years and the primary grades (Takanishi 2016). Research and school experience have shown the importance of long-term consistency in expectations, high-quality instruction, and social supports if children from low-income homes are to master the challenges of school. In the first several years of their lives, many African American children remain at home or are in child care arrangements in which school prerequisites (e.g., formal literacy and numeracy experiences) and social and emotional support (e.g., responsive teachers) are not a part of daily life.

For children who do not learn Standard English at home and are enduring the stresses of growing up in isolated and/or under-resourced communities, even attending preschool may not be enough. Children may require additional social and academic supports the first four or five years in school if they are to reach their potential. They need meaningful relationships with teachers who believe they can learn, whom they want to please. They need carefully structured curricula that build across grade levels so that children have the prior knowledge necessary to succeed. They also need teachers who coach them in how to get their needs met in school, how to ask for help, and how to accept it. And finally, they need teachers and administrators who communicate well with their families and can help the families be supportive of their children's academic learning.

Training for educators

Essential to narrowing the achievement gap is the education of early childhood educators. Teachers and administrators need preservice preparation and ongoing professional development that enable them to understand that most African American children are not underdeveloped or developmentally delayed. When teachers use effective engagement methods, African American children can achieve the same academic and social development in school as other children. Preparatory institutions and professional development programs must prepare educators to understand the manner in which child development and academic learning are inextricably linked and how they can facilitate learning for children from different backgrounds.

Children with special needs

Certainly some children have developmental issues that may require different teaching strategies because of biological differences (such as having Down syndrome) or because of life experiences (such as living with toxic stress) or both. They need teachers with special skills to recognize and meet their needs. Other children-the vast majority-are typically developing and need a genuine opportunity to learn the foundational skills and knowledge expected by schools. During the preschool years, children need to be assessed for biological and social difficulties, with interventions provided as needed. However, all children-whether they have special needs or not-need to be fully engaged so they become enthusiastic learners of their schools' curricula.

Cultural differences

Teachers also need a better understanding of cultural differences and similarities. Too often, teachers and administrators view the different expressions of development in African Americans as evidence of intentionally bad and distasteful behavior and/or low academic potential. When African American children demonstrate adaptive behaviors (such as passivity or aggression) that have been successful in the past, teachers and administrators usually spend little time trying to understand the etiology of these behaviors or the systems that cause them. They simply label the children "special needs" or delinquent and exclude them from grade-level curricula.

When teachers-often through little fault of their own-do not understand the reasons for children's behavior, they are likely to lower their expectations for children of color. The children internalize their teachers' evaluations of their potential, thus lowering their own (and often their parents') expectations for achievement. Underfunded schools that provide little support or professional guidance for inexperienced teachers and administrators compound the problem.

The capabilities developed in homes and communities can be used as springboards for learning in school if teachers recognize children's strengths.

In the past, informal networks of families and neighbors provided the supports many African American children and families needed. Today, because of increased pressures in homes and neighborhoods, formal organizations (social, educational, political, economic, philanthropic, and community) often must step in. To be more effective, these organizations must rethink how they deliver their services. Depersonalized, rule-governed relationships must give way to intentional connections and meaningful collaboration. The most effective way to bring about and sustain such relationships is through local action in which Black families are meaningfully engaged. Schools in particular play an important role in defusing racism, educating staff, providing social networks (activities), and welcoming parents. If the achievement gap is to be closed, schools need to continue their commitment to children from before birth into young adulthood, with regular updates to meet changing social needs.

Reflections and recommendations

Acting on research and intervention findings, some of which are presented here, will require embracing new understanding and accepting the discomfort of change. Established economic, political, social, and even structural interests are involved in the status quo. Long-term change will only happen when these systems reflect a culturally appropriate, asset-based understanding of the children and families they serve. It will require educators, administrators, and policy makers who

Know that today education is needed for the US economy and the future of American democracy

Understand the economic, political, and social contexts of families and recognize the complex interactions between all of these and children's learning in school

Appreciate that education begins before birth and that preschool education is as essential as K-12 for all children at risk for school failure

Understand that a good education is far more than good test scores (although those are important); physical and mental health, the arts and music, citizenship responsibilities, and empathic relationships are equally important and should be planned for and supported in school

See the importance of facilitating engagement and learning for children from non-White backgrounds; of integrating a positive racial identity with development; and of understanding teaching and learning as intellectually stimulating and culturally affirming experiences

Plan for the prevention of difficult behavior and the promotion of responsible and effective family support to reduce costly generation-to-generation transmission of unrewarding behavior

Work to foster authentic, reciprocal partnerships between families, children, teachers, and schools, in which the achievement of all students is encouraged and supported at home and at school

Select curricula and use teaching practices that are developmentally and culturally appropriate and thus are based on children's needs (rather than one size fits all)

Ensure that all children are given opportunities to develop an identity of excellence and scholarship that counters negative stereotypes

Recognize cultural differences and set high academic expectations for all children

We believe that a program carried out by people and organizations with a deep understanding of the complexities and the collaborations needed to support child development, who recognize the importance of education-both what is taught and how it is taught-and who focus resources to support family functioning will help close the achievement gap, benefiting our children, families, economy, and democracy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Addressing the African American Achievement Gap: Three Leading Educators Issue a Call to Action

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Understanding the role of culture in development is important. My first jobs exposed me to people who saw the world differently than I. The more I learned about why they held their beliefs, the more I understood.