Recruiting, Preparing, Retaining and Supporting
Culturally Competent Educators
Jean Haar, Candace Raskin, Timothy Berry—Minnesota State University, Mankato
Disrupting the Racially Predictable
Achievement Gap in US Schools: Recruiting,
Preparing, Retaining and Supporting
Culturally Competent Educators
Outcomes:
✤
Understand the current racial disparity
in academic performance between
white students and students of color.
✤
Learn how the College of Education at
Minnesota State University, Mankato is
working to intentionally shift their
approach to recruit, prepare, and retain
teachers and leaders who are culturally
competent.
✤
Review the program components and
research on the impact of the Institute
for Courageous Principal Leadership at
Minnesota State University, Mankato in
the development racial equity leaders.
Data Depicted Story of Racial Disparity in
Performance
•
White children have outperformed African American
and Hispanic children consistently since 1975.
•
National Trend
MN
Trend
•
This reflects a 36-year trend - making the data
predictable as well as consistent.
•
To be specific, NAEP data reports no significant
change in the width of the gap in achievement levels
between students of color and White students.
•
2014 data reveals a pattern for predictable racial
disparity that mirrors our national pattern.
In the last five years, in both math and reading, the data
reveals a steady and unchanged racial discrepancy
between the achievement levels of White and Black
students, where White students show results that are
approximately 30 percent higher than Black students.
*National data comes from National Assessment of Educational Progress (2013)
*Minnesota data from Minnesota Department of Education (2014)
Actions
Recruit, Retain, Prep and Support
Teacher Prep
Recruit
•
•
Leadership Prep
College Prep
Teachers of Tomorrow
(ToT)
Admissions policies
•
•
Faculty
Curriculum
•
Recruitment position
and work
Personalized advising
•
Faculty engaged in racial
conscientiousness
•
Review Professional
Education process
Monitor policies,
procedures
Retain
•
•
Department goals
University priority pilot for
ToT
•
•
Prep
•
Culturally responsive
instruction and educators
Focus on ALL students
understanding racial
identity and how it
translates to teaching
• Minneapolis/MSU
• Transforming culture
Transformational Principal • Intercultural
Academy
Competency and
• St. Paul Principal
Development Advisory
Leadership Development
Board
• Interactive theatre of
Isms
• Cultural competency
sessions
Scholarships
Licensure exam
prep/edTPA support
• Institute for Courageous
Principal Leadership
• Racial Equity conference
•
Support
•
•
• Reorganization of
support services
• Support for
faculty/program
initiatives
The power of language lies in how
words are defined!
What is your identity?
✤
Culture?
✤
Ethnicity?
✤
Race?
Culture
✤
Culture - as a macro level concept, is the way that
people agree to live and behave within a given society.
This includes the accepted and valued beliefs,
traditions, policies, practices, behaviors, and rules of
that society. These acceptances are based on
contexts such as religion, geography, language, and
natural resources.
Ethnicity
✤
Ethnicity – An intersection of ancestry, color, culture, and
nationality. This is usually reflected by such factors as
religious practices, food choices, language/dialect, and
music expressions.
Race
✤
Race - It is important to define
race as a social construct that
means skin color. In some
cases, groups are identified by
ethnicity (i.e. Asian American).
There is no scientific evidence
or support for placing human
beings into different racial
categories.
Diversity
✤
Diversity – recognizing the
ways in which all individual
persons can have
characteristics that are unique
and distinguishable even within
same cultural, ethnic, and racial
groups. This is consistent with
the concept of intersectionality
found in Critical Race Theory
(CRT).
Privilege
✤
Privilege - An invisible package
of assets and advantages which
can be counted on but remain
oblivious to groups who have
such advantages. Examples
include dominant cultural
groups such as heterosexual
males, Whites, able bodied, etc.
Example: In the United
States, people can hav
e
the ability to see racism
as something which put
s people of color at a
disadvantage, but not t
o see one of its corollar
y
aspects, White privileg
e.
Keys To Cultural
Competency
✤
Macro and micro level intersection
✤
Understand dominant culture
impact on marginalized groups
✤
Raise consciousness in order to
reduce disparity
✤
The power of language lies in how
words are defined
Example: Race
consciousness and
racial equity practice is
necessary for one to be
culturally responsive.
The Institute for Courageous Principal Leadership at Minnesota State
Mankato is making a difference toward changing the predictable
achievement trajectory for children of color.
✤
The Center for Engaged Leadership provides comprehensive
programming for Minnesota K-12 principals now “in the field”.
Faculty members presently work with over 180 principals from 16
urban, suburban and rural districts in our Institute for Engaged
Principal Leadership.
Principal Institute’s Mission
Every participating leader ensures, access, fairness,
equity and opportunity—every child, every day.
Principal Institute Vision
In an era of unprecedented educational
challenge and need, further prepare principals to
lead with fearlessness, skill, self knowledge and
racial competence so that under their leadership,
EVERY child fully achieves.
Knowing Self
Knowing my
purpose – my
“Why” – my
beliefs
Knowing
research proven
best practices
Strategically
implementing
best practices
with fidelity
The data shows
increased student
achievement
Now I’m gaining
confidence in my
leadership
I’m resilient in my
leadership
Resulting in high
student
achievement for
all
Which allows me
to lead
courageously
Racial Equity
Confidence  Courage Results
High Student Success for All
Evidence of Impact
Institute for Courageous Principal Leadership - Research Study
A Systemic Model for Interrupting Racism in Minnesota Schools:
Dedicated to Race Equity, Consciousness, Engagement and Collaboration
to Mobilize Action
Leading Courageously for Racial
nd
Equity 2 Annual Conference
With a commitment to preparing
leaders who disrupt the
predictable achievement trajectory
for children of color in Minnesota
schools, the Department of
Educational Leadership held its
second annual conference:
“Leading Courageously for Racial
Equity.” Panels, presentations and
performances helped stimulate
honest discussions on a topic
many others avoid.
Next Steps
✤
Support ongoing actions from Intercultural Competency and
Development Advisory Board
✤
Reinforce culturally response teaching, research, advising,
and service
✤
Monitor and adjust procedures and policies
✤
Promote and support culturally responsive professional
development
✤
Align college level work with university strategic direction
and performance measures
Questions and Conversation
Presenter Info
Dr. Jean Haar, Dean College of Education
Jean.haar@mnsu.edu
Dr. Candace Raskin, Professor/Chair, Dept. of
Educational Leadership candace.raskin@mnsu.edu
Dr. Timothy Berry, Assistant Professor, Dept. of
Educational Leadership timothy.berry@mnsu.edu