Appleton’s (ongoing)
Journey Toward
Cultural Competency
Appleton Area School District
Appleton, WI
Presenters:
Nick Ivory – African American Cultural Support Liaison
Ben Vogel – Co-chair of Achievement, Community,
Equity Committee (ACE)
Demographics

Appleton Population: Approximately 75,000

District Size/Number of Schools: 38 schools at 27 school
sites

Enrollment: 16,212 students

Race/Ethnicity counts: 73% white, 11% Asian, 8%
Hispanic, 6% African American, 2% Native American

Free/reduced lunch: 40%
Ongoing Journey Toward
Culturally Responsive Practices

Minority Achievement Task Force - 2004

Achievement, Community, Equity (ACE) Committee 2012

District Continuous School Improvement Process (CSIP)
Support Team – 2014-15
Focus Areas…

Fostering Multiple Partnerships:
Business/Community/Parent/Professional Partnerships
(examples include FVTC, African Heritage Inc., Great Lakes
Equity Center)

Redefining our work…and how we work together:
•
Academic, Behavior and Culture/Equity Committees
working together in unison

Providing Meaningful/Regular Community/School Events to
highlight partnerships and student excellence across our
District

Creating a District-wide culture of care and trust
•
How do we meet each student’s unique needs?
•
How do form trusting relationships with our parents?
•
How do we show our commitment to equity and cultural
responsiveness on a daily basis?
Fostering
Relationships/Partnerships

Partnerships have been used to create important relationships with others
who are committed to increasing cultural competency in our Appleton Area
School District staff members. Some examples include:

Fox Valley Technical College – Cultural Support Specialists (Hmong,
African American, Hispanic and Native American (Goodwill)

African Heritage Inc. – Worked to put on the first annual African
American Emerging Student Leader Institute this past year. Over 200
students from across the area took part.

Great Lakes Equity Center – Partnership for the past three years in which
GLEC has provided resources, training and personnel to assist AASD in
our Equity Plan and ongoing equity work.

Wisconsin RtI Center/PBIS Network – Culturally Responsive Classroom
Practices Training – Two teams of eight took part in this training during
the 2014-15 school year.
Redefining our Work… and
How We Work Together

Our District Continuous School Improvement Process (CSIP)
Support Team has been recently created to maximize the
strength of our key teams that support District academics,
behavior and culture/equity.

PBIS, RtI and ACE had been working in a vacuum and in many
ways duplicating work.

Bringing together key members from each group has allowed
all AASD staff members to better understand how these areas
are interrelated.

School teams feel supported by the District CSIP Support Team
but also feel empowered to take ownership over how they will
implement culturally competencies into their building and
school-based CSIP plan.
Overall CSIP Support Structure
Providing Meaningful/Regular
Community/School Events/Opportunities
to educate and highlight student
excellence across our District

Our ACE Committee takes the lead in working with our schools and
our partners in determining how we can best support all of our
students from a culturally responsive lens.
•
ACE Committee meets regularly and is made up of community
members, teachers, staff members, administrators and
students.
•
Ongoing Professional Development Opportunities
•
African American Emerging Leaders Institute
•
Ron Dunlap Student Success Awards Program
•
Students serving on diverse student panels to educate staff
members on what they need to be successful learners
•
Town Hall Meetings
•
Community Plunges
BLACK EXPERIENCES IN THE FOX CITIES
Sponsored by:
Appleton Area
School District
City of Appleton
African Heritage,
Inc.
Channel 5
History Museum
at the Castle
Conversations with Black
Families and AASD Officials
Do you want to be part of a group of African American families and AASD staff
working together for the success of our Black Children?
Do you want to discuss with community members and AASD staff about your child’s
experiences in school?
Do you want to meet with many African American families and discuss your
children’s success within the AASD Schools?
Is this SOUL FOOD town hall meeting for you? Yes! We Need You!

May 21st 5:00 p.m.

Wilson Middle School

225 N Badger Avenue Appleton
Table Time
1.
Please tell us if you have any children/grandchildren in the
AASD. If so, what grades are they in and what schools do they
attend?
2.
What are some of the successes that your children have
achieved while attending school in the Appleton Area School
District?
3.
What are some of the challenges that your children have faced
while attending school in the Appleton Area School District?
4.
We appreciate and want to hear your thoughts on how we can
continue to improve. What suggestions do you have for us as
we continue our work to support all of our young people in the
Appleton Area School District?
Ron Dunlap
Student Success Award
Congratulations! (Student name) has been awarded the Ronald Dunlap Student Success Award. This is a recognition
program sponsored by the Appleton Area School District’s Achievement, Community and Equity (ACE) committee to
identify and reward student success in the areas of academics, resilience, leadership, character and work ethic.
Student name has been identified by her school as a person who has shown great success in at least one of the outlined
areas of academics, resilience, leadership, character and work ethic. Each school in the Appleton Area School District
has the opportunity to recognize up to three students for this award.
In addition to this letter, students will receive a signed certificate of recognition and a pin to signify their accomplishment.
We congratulate Student name on the success she has shown. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank you
for supporting Student name’s continued efforts in school.
To celebrate your child’s success, we invite you to attend our Celebrating Student Success Community Gathering on
Monday, March 9, 2015 which will take place prior to our School Board meeting. The program will begin promptly at
5:30 p.m. in Einstein Middle School’s auditorium. Einstein Middle School is located at 324 E. Florida Avenue.
We are honored to have Ronald C. Dunlap as our guest speaker. In addition, a panel of high school students will share
their insights and discuss what they have done to find success in school and beyond. Refreshments will be served
following the award ceremony. We are looking forward to a great night…and we promise we will be done by 7:00 p.m. A
group picture will be taken at the event and a copy of the picture will be given to each family. We hope that you and your
child are able to join us!
It Gets Better… Events
• LA Gay Men’s Choir
• Professional Development
Opportunities for Staff
•
“Bullied”
Jamie Nabozny
Creating a District-wide
Culture of Care and Trust

Building trust – How do we do that?
•
Professional Development for staff
•
Working with our parents and students
•
Providing positive venues to communicate and collaborate
•
Becoming part of the community
•
Creating a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment
•
Having a system in place to answer questions/concerns
when they arise
Culturally Responsive Practices for AASD Staff

Diversity Circles: Courageous Conversations

Promoting Excellence for All - Promoting Excellence for All:
Superintendent’s Task Force on Wisconsin’s Achievement Gap

CRP Resources

Validate, Affirm, Build, and Bridge: How to use CRP in your
school

Journeys, Privilege Exercise

Utilizing Native American Culture to Develop Strategies to
Address the Achievement Gap

Latino Culture – Immigrants are Makers, Not Takers

African American Culture – Building Stronger Student/Staff
Relationships

Hmong Culture
Next Steps
Non-negotiables for each level of organization
•
PLC’s
•
Building CSIP Teams
•
District CSIP Support Team
Determine baseline data for each of three areas
(Academic, Behavioral, Cultural Competencies)
Formulate clear goals for each of three areas and a process to
track progress and report back to Board and community
Questions to Guide Our
Ongoing Work

How do we meet each student’s unique needs?

How do we form trusting relationships with our parents?

How do we show our commitment to equity and cultural
responsiveness on a daily basis?