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Creating a Diversity Portrait

Georgeen A. Carthan

American College of Education

ED 5123 Diverse Learners

Dr. Tara Wells

September 04, 2022

Creating a Diversity Portrait

Many educators and reformers have focused on school accountability in recent years. Since the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, there has been much debate about monitoring school progress and measuring students' and teachers' performance. Students’ promotion is based on standardized tests, and educators and administrators are held accountable. School's climate and culture have a direct effect on student success. Because of this, the school culture needs to reflect, acknowledge, and celebrate diversity. In addition to so many other initiatives on their ever-tightening schedule, educators can find it challenging to take these feel-good ideas and turn them into reality. Before teachers can educate their students, they must clearly understand their school and district's diversity and academic gaps. Educators cannot create lessons that reach all students without understanding the diversity and gaps among students in the school district. The teachers are responsible for recognizing and structuring their assignments to consider the students' differences. As a result, students become more aware of themselves and others. As Lynch (2016) discusses, more importantly, it fosters an appreciation of a diverse student population by bringing different cultural heritages within a single school's culture. Diversity is undoubtedly in the best interest of students and teachers. Fair and equal treatment of students depends on recognizing and acknowledging differences.

At the start of my teaching career, I always embraced the term "in loco parentis’. The Latin phrase translates as "in absences of the parent." A parent's primary job is to protect their children and ensure their needs are met. As educators, we must transfer this into our classroom as we attempt to create a safe environment for our students. However, we must challenge ourselves to understand why some of our students are not succeeding and what resources are needed so every child can succeed in the classroom.

Data Collection

In the table below, I will identify the achievement gap between the African American students at Brunson Elementary and the State of Illinois. My chart will reflect data from the 2018-2019 school year due to the following reason: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Us Department of Education allowed all states, including Illinois schools, to waive all federally required assessments, summative designations, and many reporting requirements for the 2019-20 Illinois Report Card (Colello,2021).

Table 1

School:	Brunson Elementary School
Student Group:	African American students in grades 3rd through 8th
Percent of Total Student Population:	89.6%
	School Average	State Average
State Test Performance: Reading	5.9%	17.4%
State Test Performance: Mathematics	3.2%	11.9%
State Test Performance: Science	12.6%	24.3%
Attendance Rate: Chronic Absenteeism	24.5%	27.4%
Dropout Rate:	N/A	N/A

Graph 1

There is an achievement gap between the African American students at Brunson and African Americans attending schools in Illinois. Based on the 2018 Illinois report card data for Milton Brunson Elementary, only 5.9% of the students were proficient in ELA, 3.2 % in Mathematics, and 12.6% in science. In comparison, the state data reflects that 17.4% of African American students were proficient in ELA, 11.9% in mathematics, and 24.3% in science (ISBE,2021). The state data for students of the same ethnicity nearly doubled and tripled the scores of Brunson’s students. Out of the 479 students at Brunson, 429 of them are black. Only 13% have IEPs, and the students have over a 92% attendance rate. The teachers are certified, the classrooms are of average size, and the classwork is tiered. The state curriculum is aligned with common core standards for each school, but the students at Brunson are below the state norm in every subject area. How is this possible? As educators, we must ask ourselves, what factors are causing our students to fail compared to their peers? In Module 3, I will provide in-depth data on the school’s socioeconomic status and how it relates to the achievement gaps among African American Students in Illinois. Chicago is divided into 77 different neighborhoods. Brunson is located in one of the poorest areas in Chicago. Socioeconomics at Brunson Elementary School is being addressed to show the disparities of limited resources within a community. Providing this information to the teachers will give them a better understanding of their students and what needs to be implemented to help our students be equipped to receive an adequate education.

Historical Perspective

The great counterbalance to life is education: Education is the winning lottery ticket. It opens the door to jobs, resources, and skills that enable one to survive and thrive. The importance of quality education in alleviating poverty is globally recognized. Educating people, families, and entire communities can help many problems that keep them vulnerable to poverty. But where do we start?

Inequality in education is a crucial factor influenced by family income. According to measures of school readiness, low-income children often start school behind their more affluent peers. Children's educational attainment is affected by poverty incidence, depth, duration, timing, community characteristics, and social networks. Students living in deep poverty are too often subsumed under the broad definition of poverty, which masks their unique hardships in this challenging environment. We must make the invisible visible to overcome profound disadvantages, which is the first step toward educational equity.

Poverty at an early age affects children's ability to learn. A recent study of the neurological effects of deep poverty on young children's development found that "Poverty causes structural differences in several parts of the brain associated with school readiness skills, with the largest impact observed among children from the poorest households. Maturational lags could explain as much as 20% of the gap in test scores in the frontal and temporal lobes” (Cookson, 2020). Children living in deep poverty at an early age were at risk of premature and low-birthweight babies, poor nutrition, lack of food, and exposure to toxins, such as lead paint. They were also at risk of learning disabilities as children. Due to their lack of education, many parents cannot advocate for their children if they feel they have learning difficulties. Are these low scores due to students having a disability that has not been identified? There are many variables we must look at as teachers. The teachers’ workload is heavy, and many are overwhelmed. Many teachers are aware of the struggling students, but due to the lack of resources and many tasks placed upon them are unable or unwilling to collect the data to get the student any extra support.

When first driving to my job at the age of 22, many years ago. I thought I knew poverty. I now understand there is a vast difference between lack and poverty. Poverty in a community can make some of the basic things in life seem impossible. I remember a student asking me what it was like to go downtown in Chicago. For a moment, I stood in silence; my 22-year-old mind back in 1993 could not comprehend that type of question. Downtown was a 15-minute bus ride from the school. Reflecting, I understand most of my students didn’t leave the area unless we planned a field trip. Chicago was once rated one of the worst school districts in the country, and over the years, I've seen many resources brought into our school to improve schools. However, more resources are needed. The low scores at Brunson are primarily attributed to poverty.

Students in Chicago must attend their neighborhood school. Unless the parents have the child tested for one of our magnet schools, there are no other options. In addition, the test is given in December, the coldest month of the year, and parents must pick up and drop the student off at the testing site once the student has completed testing. Students must exit the testing center upon completion. Parents are unable to wait in the building due to Covid restrictions. Since many of my parents don’t have cars to stay in until their child completes the test, these students cannot test and may miss out on the opportunity to be accepted at a higher achieving school.

Educators must, however, continue to champion for our students’ success. As a teacher, I cannot eradicate poverty in my community. I can, however, continue to expose my student to guest speakers, cultural events, and outings that can make them rich in diversity.

Conclusion

The No Child Left Behind Act seemed to be a beacon of hope for our children and boosted enormous success for everyone. Despite this, the school report card indicates that many of our students are being left behind. Regardless of a student's socioeconomic status, they should not suffer academically. The United States is a wealthy nation with a wealth of resources. During times of crisis, Congress has bailed out large corporations with billions of dollars. We must do better as a nation in ensuring that more resources are devoted to schools in high-poverty areas.

According to Feldman (2014), In high-poverty schools, students are also less likely to graduate high school on time or advance to the next grade level. High poverty schools failed to advance students three times more than low poverty schools, which is 1%. As a result of these attendance and retention challenges, students may drop out of school or fail to graduate from high school. Let’s make our children a priority and pour into their future. Our nation is too great of a country to have an achievement gap due to socioeconomics.

References

Colello, I. (2021, June 23). US Education Department waives NYSED accountability, and report card requirements. NEWS10 ABC. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://www.news10.com/classroom-progress-report/us-education-department-waives-nysed-accountability-report-card-requirements/

Cookson, P. (2020, October 6). A world of hardship: Deep poverty and the struggle for educational equity. Learning Policy Institute. Retrieved September 3, 2022, from https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/covid-deep-poverty-struggle-education-equity

Feldman, S. (2014, August 8). Closing the achievement gap. American Federation of Teachers. Retrieved September 4, 2022, from https://www.aft.org/periodical/american-educator/fall-2001/closing-achievement-gap

Illinois State Board of Education. (2021). Find your school. Illinois Report Card. Retrieved September 4, 2022, from https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/

Lynch, M. (2017, April 16). 4 reasons why classrooms need diversity education. The Edvocate. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://www.theedadvocate.org/4-reasons-classrooms-need-diversity-education/

BRUNSON ACADEMIC DATA GRADES 3RD-8TH VS STATE OF ILLINOIS DATA FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS

SCHOOL

ELA MATH SCIENCE ABSENTEEISM 5.9 3.2 12.6 24.5 STATE

ELA MATH SCIENCE ABSENTEEISM 17.399999999999999 11.9 24.3 27.4