The Importance Of ALL Student Achievement

It is the responsibility of educators to positively impact ALL student achievement. The vital nature of that role is amplified for those groups of students -special needs, racial/ethnic minorities, poor/disadvantaged students- whose rate of success is behind their majority peers equating to an ever-present achievement gap. Reducing and/or eliminating this disparity requires appropriate assessment tools, evidence-based instructional practices, and on-going embedded professional development, organized around facilitating a culturally responsive climate of excellence. Using reading comprehension as a background, this three-tiered approach will yield a plan for enhancing ALL student achievement.

Culturally responsive education is best described

It is characterized by the ability to “to enlarge students’ vision and experience by drawing upon the resources of scholarship, thus overcoming the limitation of direct experience and the narrow confines of local environment” (Ornstein, Pajak, & Ornsteing,2015, p.10). With an increasingly diverse student body it is incumbent for schools to increase staff cultural competency and practice. Per Howard (2007), successful implementation consists of, “(1) building trust, (2) engaging personal culture, (2) confronting issues of social dominance and social justice, (4) transforming instructional practices, and (5) engaging the entire community” (pg. 1). From this viewpoint, Teachers must critically review and assess current as well as previously designed lessons to ensure applicability and efficacy. Loudon County Schools provides a descriptive rubric, requiring, “curriculum [that] honors each student’s culture and life experience…instructional strategies [that] meet the diverse learning needs of students”, [expressly communicated] respect for student intelligence, as well as holding all learners to consistently high expectations. (Howard, 2010, p.5) Having reviewed current and existing lessons, noting deficiencies, a Language Arts teacher may purposely include “samples and examples from a wide variety of ethnic authors” spanning a multitude of relevant literary genres (Gay, 2010, p.69). This more inclusive literature can

Teachers are “cultural organizers, cultural mediators, and orchestrators of social contexts for learning” (Gay, 2010, p.83). Embracing and mastering the skills needed to execute these roles with fidelity is a long-term process. Implementation of Professional Learning Communities(PLC) is an effective way to encouragement professional development that is lasting and meaningful. Glatthorn, Boschee, Whitehead, & Boshee, (2015) describe it as a community-based learning model. This model offers a “framework that includes service learning, experiential learning, school to work, youth apprenticeship, lifelong learning, and other types of learning experiences that are beneficial to the local community” (p.210). Moreover, within schools they serve as a positive transformative tool powering high quality practices. (Glatthorn et al, 2016, p. 210) Increasing the ability of teachers to deliver outstanding practices fosters a school climate with the capacity to close the achievement gap for ALL