DISPROPORTIONALITY SOLUTIONS SUMMIT:
TURNING IT AROUND!
Shana Ritter
The Equity Project
CEEP at I.U.
A principle that guides policy and practice
holding high expectations and providing
appropriate resources so that all students can
achieve at a rigorous standard.
A developmental process.
A set of congruent behaviors, attitudes and
policies that come together in a system,
agency or among professionals to work
effectively in cross-cultural situations.
Having the capacity to function effectively in
cultural contexts that differ from your own.
Cultural responsivity facilitates the
achievement of all students through
effective teaching and learning practices
grounded in an awareness of cultural
context and the strengths that students
bring to school.
Cultural responsivity permeates
every aspect of education:
curriculum and instruction
 assessment
data based decision making
communication
family and community
engagement
policy decisions
Becoming culturally responsive is a
developmental process which includes
engaging in conversations about race
and equity, reflecting on one’s own
culture and beliefs, and gaining
awareness of other cultures.
Cultural Competence
Continuum
Destructiveness
Pre-Competence
Incapacity
Competence
Proficiency
Valuing Diversity is a necessary step along the
continuum of cultural competency and
culturally responsive pedagogy, but it is not
enough.
Cultural Responsivity requires knowledge,
skills and experience and the ability to
transform these into practice which results in
improved services and outcomes.
1. An understanding of your cultural
identity.
◦ What do you value?
◦ What is your style of communication?
◦ What are your strengths and challenges around
teaching and learning?
◦ What are your expectations?
2. An understanding of your student’s cultural
identity.
◦ What do they value?
◦ What is their style of communication?
◦ What are their strengths and challenges around
teaching and learning?
◦ What are their expectations?
Nationality
Class
Religion
Race
Gender
Age
Education
Ethnicity
Ability
Family
Geography
Profession
Sexual Orientation
3. Understanding what happens when different
cultures intersect.
How do you capitalize on cultural capitol?
How do you bridge differences?
How do you create access to
opportunities?
Disproportionality
Disproportionality
Disproportionality
Disproportionality
in
in
in
in
Achievement
Discipline
High School Graduation
Special Education
National NAEP Percent Scoring
Basic or Above: 2003
Percent Basic and Above Grade 4
Reading
80
80
Percent Basic and Above Grade 8
Mathematics
78
79
74
69
70
70
60
60
47
50
54
46
50
42
40
39
40
40
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
0
Black
Asian
Latino
Native Am
White
Black
Asian
Hispanic
Native Am
White
National Graduation Rates by Race in 2002
90%
79%
80%
76%
69%
70%
60%
57%
55%
Percentage
53%
Native American
Asian
Hispanic
African-American
White
Total
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1
Race
Manhattan Institute for Policy
Research, 2002
National School Discipline: 2002-2003
2.84
3.00
2.47
Relative Risk Ratio (Compared to White Students)
2.50
2.00
1.50
Out-of-School Suspension
1.23
1.50
1.00
Expulsion
Equity Line
0.50
0.00
Black
Hispanic
Note: Derived from U.S.
Department of Education, 2004
In addition to the problems the students experience in
their personal lives away from school, the schools create a
whole new set of problems for children they deem different. As
schools become more wedded to psychological models,
students are recruited into new categories of pathology.
Students who do not conform to particular behavioral
expectations may be labeled "disabled" in some way, that is,
suffering from attention deficit disorder, emotional disability,
or cognitive disabilities. Students do in fact confront real
mental and emotional problems, but we need to consider the
way students' racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and
socioeconomic characteristics are deployed to make their
assignments to these disability categories more likely.
Gloria Ladson Billings
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Mild Mental Disability
3.29 x more
Emotional Disturbance
2.38 x more
Moderate MD
1.91 x more
Communication Disorder
35% less
Learning Disabled
6% less
Regular Class Placement
35% less
Separate Class Placement. 2.84 x more
◦ African American students with a disability are 35%
less likely than their peers to be served in a general
education setting
◦ African American students with a disability are 2.84
times more likely than their peers to served in a
separate class placement

Poverty not a consistent predictor of
placement
◦
◦
◦

Overall, MoMD and ED: Not significant
CD and LD: More disproportionality as poverty
decreased
MiMD: Positive and significant
Race is a significant predictor of special
education placement regardless of
(independent of) poverty level
◦
Poverty magnifies the gap created by race
Skiba, R. J., Poloni-Staudinger. L., Simmons, A. B., Feggins, L. R., & Chung, C. G.
(2005). Unproven links: Can poverty explain ethnic disproportionality in special
education? Journal of Special Education, 39, 130-144.
People
Practices
Policies
Facilitates and supports the achievement of all
students through cultural competency at three
levels:
The Institutional
The Personal
The Instructional
(a)
(b)
In developing a school's
strategic and continuous
school improvement and
achievement plan under
IC 20-10.2-3, the school's
committee shall consider
methods to improve the
cultural competency of the
school's teachers,
administrators, staff, parents,
and students.
The committee shall:
(1) identify the racial,
ethnic, language-minority,
cultural, exceptional learning,
and socioeconomic groups
that are included in the
school's student population;
(2) incorporate
culturally appropriate
strategies for increasing
educational opportunities
and educational
performance for each
group in the school's plan;
and
(3) recommend areas in
which additional
professional development
is necessary to increase
cultural competency in the
school's educational
environment.
“I thought it was wrong to see color. Like the tshirts- “Love sees no color”. As I’ve come to
understand you’re missing a big part of a person
if you refuse to see it” – elementary school
teacher
“When a teacher doesn’t see color do they also
ignore discriminatory institutional practices such
as disproportionality in suspension, graduation,
achievement etc…..?”

Engage in reflective practice

Explore personal and family histories

Acknowledge membership in different groups

Learn about the history and experiences of
diverse groups

Visit students’ families and communities

Visit or read about successful teachers in
diverse settings

Participate in reforming the institution
“When instruction is stripped of children’s
cultural legacies then they are forced to
believe that the world and all the good things
in it were created by others. This leaves
students further alienated from the school
and its instructional goals, and more likely to
view themselves as inadequate.”



Acknowledge students’ differences as well as their
commonalities
Validate students’ cultural identity in classroom
practices and instructional materials
Educate students about the diversity of the world
around them


Promote equity and mutual respect
Assess students’ ability and achievement
validly

Encourage students to think critically

Challenge students to strive for excellence
“Multicultural education needs to be
accompanied by a deep commitment to social
justice and equal access to resources…, in
short it needs to be about much more than
ethnic tidbits and cultural sensitivity.”
“It is easier to adopt a multicultural reader
than to assure all children learn to read, to
have a concert of ethnic music than to give all
children instruments.”
Who’s taking calculus?
Which classes meet in the basement?
Who’s teaching the children?
How much are children worth?




Have we considered a range of possible
hypotheses?
Have we dug into the data?
Is our process culturally responsive?
Who is not at the table?
%
%
"Adolescents play pranks. I
don’t think it was a threat
against anybody.”
--Roy Breithaupt, Superintendent, Jena
Public Schools, 2006
“[The noose] meant the
KKK, it meant 'We're going
to kill you, we're gonna'
hang you 'til you die.'”
--Caseplia Bailey, Parent of
one of Jena 6 students
If our examination and understanding
of the root causes of social inequality
are too shallow, then our approach to
corrective action will necessarily be
superficial and ineffective .
- Christine Sleeter
R.D. Laing stated crazy is believing that
you can continue to repeat the same
actions and arrive at different results.



Relevant data
Probing questions
Examining beliefs about school culture and
equity
◦ Issues of access
◦ Opportunities to learn
◦ Expectations of students, staff and community
LOCALEQUITYACTION DEVELOPMENT
PROJECTS
ONGOING QUESTIONS
 What do weknow about disproportionality in our district?
 What changesin school-basedprocesses will have the greatest impact on disproportionality in our
schools?
 How do we involve othersin the processof creating ownership for and bringing about change?
 How will weknowif our efforts are working?
 What impact will this have on other issuesof equity?
PROCESSSTEPS
Form a
Planning Team
Form a
preliminary
planning team
Review existing
data
Name the issue
Expand th
e
planning team to
include other
key district
stakeholders
Gather and
analyzenew
information
Identify the Action
of Greatest
PotentialImpact
Develop
a Plan
Designa LEADpilot
Hold focus groupsto
examine the issue
and possible actions
Examine anddiscuss
input from th
e focus
groups
Gather research and
information on best
practicesand models
Engage in honest
conversations
about expectations
for ALL students
and staff
Implement, Assess,
Adapt
Expand th
e team to include
representatives
from all sites to
assuretwo-way communication
Provide pro
fessional
development
, time,
and other supports
Provide pro
fessionaldevelopment as
needed or
f bestpractice
Developan Action
Plan for
Implementation
Clarify links andcommunicate with
other district initiatives and
ELL,
Title, SchoolImprovement etc.
Pilot in afew places
Use data consistently
Gather feedback
Deepen conversations
aboutequity
and culturally responsive dagogy
pe
Adapt th
e pilot
Include pa
rents and community
Plan for expanded
implementation
Ongoing asses
smentscontinueto
informimplementation
In order to address the complexity of disproportionality
issues in a way that is meaningful and appropriate to the
culture of that district, plans must originate from within
the district.
While center staff provide guidance and technical
assistance, decisions on plan design and implementation
are made by the district LEAD team.
Local data on equity provide a framework that
can motivate and guide local remediation
efforts.
The success of any systems change efforts can
be judged only by changes in those data.
Conversations about race, disproportionality,
and equity are awkward and often difficult, but
necessary.
Part of the role of the team is to ensure that
team meetings are a safe place for having
honest and “courageous” conversations, where
common understandings can be created.
Overall
MiMH
ED
LD
Reg. Class
Resource
Sep. Class
Statewide
Non-LEAD
-.03%
-6.7%
+2.0%
+12.4%
+7.4%
+19.2%
+16.5%
+0.3%
-2.2%
-2.4%
+17.9%
+3.1%
+21.3%
+29.9%
Most Active
LEAD
Districts
-19.3%
-18.9%
-4.2%
+3.9%
+5.1%
+35.4%
-1.9%
Data is an integral part of the process when a
school is willing to ask itself about the
expectations it holds for children and about
culture and power it begins to bring
accountability for equity inside.
Conversing about issues of equity, especially
race, is a developmental process; ample time
to build trust is necessary.
It is by questioning assumptions that a leader
is able to influence change. Leadership that is
willing to examine their own beliefs, and
empower those they work with to do the
same, is essential to the process of creating
equitable change.
Ownership of the process grows through
action: ongoing dialogue with colleagues,
gaining a deeper understanding of the issues,
design, implementation, and assessment.



Addressing issues of equity is more likely to
be ongoing:
When it is viewed as an effort that benefits all
children.
When incorporated into the district’s overall
plans for school improvement and other
initiatives.
When the community is involved.
The disproportionality of students of color in
educational programs cannot be fully
comprehended as long as it is considered a singular
event, somehow divorced from the broader context
of American education and American society.
Three key facets of cultural responsivity:
Know your own cultural identity.
Gain an awareness of the cultural identity
of your students and their families.
Form an understanding of what happens
when different cultures intersect, and
capitalize on the energy of what can
happen.
“The world changes according to the way people
see it, and if you can alter, even by a millimeter,
the way people look at reality, then you can
change the world.”
James Baldwin
Shana Ritter
rritter@indiana.edu
812 855 8563