Administrators and Special School Personnel

Introduction

Growing diversity in the United States has the public school system striving to set goals and practices to effectively deliver a multicultural program that shows the commitment of each school personnel to reflect the cultural diversity of its student body. When establishing these goals and standards, it is important to remember that a successful multicultural education program takes more than just dedication from classroom teachers. In fact, a responsive multicultural education program requires participation and dedication from a diverse group including administrators, general and special educators, media specialists, counselors, and specialists. Manning and Baruth (2009) point out that the best measure of a school’s commitment to cultural diversity is the actual cultural, ethnic, sexual orientation, gender, and racial composition of the administration, faculty, and staff.

The purpose of this paper is to share the results of an informal survey of the diversity composition and representation of the personnel in the school where I teach. I will illustrate how the personnel reflect the diversity composition of the student population, and how this balance assists the school culture and climate, as well as positively contributes to student achievement and school and student growth. Finally, I will show how these findings contribute to my understanding of the content of the literature surrounding the importance of collaborative, total-school effort and the roles the administrators, teachers, and school personnel each play in providing a culturally responsible learning atmosphere within the entire school community. Schools’ organizational cultures, which include the shared assumptions, rituals, values, climate, and...

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...ides every student with a positive school climate; furthermore influencing greater opportunity for achievement among all learners.

Works Cited

Corbett, J. (2003). An intercultural approach to English language teaching. Buffalo, NY: Multilingual Matters.

Leistyna, P. (2001). Extending the possibilities of multicultural professional development in public schools. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 16(4), 282-304.

Manning, L. & Baruth. L. (2009). Multicultural education of children and adolescents (5th Ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Powers, J. M. (2009). Charter schools: From reform imagery to reform reality. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

Stearns, E., Banerjee, N., Mickelson, R., & Moller, S. (2014). Collective pedagogical teacher culture, teacher-student ethno-racial mismatch, and teacher job satisfaction. Social Science Research, 45, 56-72.