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Hispanic…His – Panic…A Nation’s Panic? September 16, 2008

Posted by ijduran in : Uncategorized , add a comment

I was in D.C. last week where I had the privilege of attending the “Summit on Education Reform and Hispanic Education Attainment.”  The purpose of the summit was to increase awareness and share information focusing on the “promising” practices being implemented nationwide and the positive outcomes they are producing for Hispanic students.  The speakers represented a wide-cross section of key stakeholders from across the nation.   Speakers were as broad as the secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings to the superintendent  of schools from Hidaligo Independent School District in Texas.  From policy creator to practitioner the speakers provided illuminating information I believe we can learn from here in APS.

So why is the discussion so important to the White House and our nation?  It is simply a matter of numbers, both from a census standpoint and definitely from an economic standpoint. In 2005-2006 there were 50 million students in our schools.  10 million of them were Hispanic.  In 2023, Hispanics will become the majority minority.  Maybe they will stop being referred to as the minority by then!  However, by 2050, if trends continue, the Hispanic population will reach 39% and they will be the largest low income and limited English proficient group in the U.S.  Now, that is a reason to panic and to wonder if we are doing everything we can today to stop that future trend.

A major focus of discussion in the morning was centered on dropout rates.  One of the goals of the White House is to determine a consistent formula for all states to measure their dropout numbers as each state has a different way of reporting this information.  The rates can vary depending on how a state puts the data together.  When cohort groups are followed, the dropout rate is higher when compared to looking at calculations.  When looking at cohort data the rate for Hispanic dropouts is as high as 40% in comparison to other calculations which had it as low as 22%.  40% is much more accurate.

If dropout rates continue to be this high the impact on the U.S. economy is dire.  However, Charles Hiteshew, from America’s Promise Alliance put out some data that I believe is a critical reason to stop this trend.  Take a look at this information:

If those are not reasons to examine our practices I am not sure what it will take to make us ensure we are doing everything possible to make a difference for all of our students who are not making it through our institutions of learning.

What stood out for me in this summit were the number of successful programs that are making a difference for Hispanic students and families.  Families and parental education were key aspects of every successful program.  In fact, Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, said it was the “bedrock” of NCLB.  The most inspiring speaker of the day goes to Eduardo Cancino, Superintendent of Hidalgo Independent Schools in Texas.  I will post his power point once it is on the web as I believe we can learn a lot from what his high schools are doing in the area of STEM Education.  I will close this blog by highlighting some key points made my Eduardo and what his district is doing to stop the Panic and to make a difference for Hispanic students:

Other inspiring programs that can be found via the web include:

               

 

Technology Training at the School Level September 9, 2008

Posted by ijduran in : Vision, Leadership, Integration, Interactive White Boards, Training , add a comment

I recently came across a great site from Mesquite, Texas.  There is a dynamic video that states the expectations that students have for their own learning.  I will add the link at the end of this blog.  What really stood out for me was the training requirements they have for their beginning teachers.  As part of their educator certification process beginner teachers must have a certain level of proficiency with technology.  Mesquite has a very elaborate training plan for their teachers that focuses on five areas:

I won’t go through each one and rather encourage you to visit their site to see what you learn.  I do see this as a powerful learning model as I have always believed that if expect students to be global communicators, then their teachers need to be using email and blogs to communicate across the world.  Having a common expectation for all learners could be extremely valuable.I also have seen some of our schools create some wonderful learning opportunities for their teachers so I want to highlight some of the efforts I have noticed in our schools:

So a few examples of some great ways to build capacity with our teachers.  All of the sites have some common themes:

Visit Mequite site and I would love to hear what your school is doing or anything you notice and learn from Mesquite.Mesquite Web Site