Month: March 2010

An Equity Lens for ESEA Reauthorization

An Equity Lens for ESEA Reauthorization

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Recently, bi-partisan leadership in the U.S. Congress invited suggestions for the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  In our comments, West Wind urged Congress to pay explicit attention to equity not only as an over-arching goal of reauthorization, but as a frame for reviewing each and every provision.

Our experiences over the past twenty years suggest that without such explicit attention, we simply will not achieve equitable results.  For decades we have worked on standards, assessments, and data systems and we have been tracking inequities.  But our responses have been limited at best.

For example, in response to demonstrated “gaps” in reading achievement by race, we focused explicit attention on reading while we systematically avoided addressing underlying issues of race.  And, even in the cases where the rising tide of improved student achievement did lift all boats state- or region-wide, it did not decrease racial disparities.

We believe must study and disrupt the underlying causes of the patterns of disparities we are tracking. By examining ESEA through the lens of equity, we might just come up with strategies to finally achieve our vision of equitable outcomes.

Transforming Teaching and Leading: A Vision for a High Quality Educator Development System

Transforming Teaching and Leading: A Vision for a High Quality Educator Development System

Reading Time: < 1 minute

[box class=”grey_box”]By Deanna Hill, Judy Jeffrey, Peter McWalters, Kathleen Paliokas, Alice Seagren, and Circe Stumbo. This white paper outlines the agenda of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to identify critical design elements of a high quality educator development system and to provide states with a tool to identify work to be done in each element. It articulates a vision for teaching and leading as part of a broader vision for transforming the public education system toward excellence and equity.[/box]


Library image (cc) Allegra

Race Neutrality in the Obama Era

Race Neutrality in the Obama Era

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A recent story in the L.A. Times titled “Despite pressure from black activists, black support for Obama’s race-neutral stance is high” suggests that “average black folks” buy into Obama’s stance/strategy that a rising tide will lift African American boats.  Without taking issue with Washington on whether the black folks he interviewed in Charlotte, NC are “average,” I find  it hard to believe that whether black folks buy into a revised version of trickle-down economics is really the issue.  We have long been told (and politicians like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have proven) that a black politician with an overtly black agenda is not acceptable to white America.  Thus, we understand that a race-conscious stance/strategy would be political suicide for Obama.  That said, I do not believe Obama’s stance is entirely race-neutral.  Rather, Obama is focusing on issues that are critical to eliminating racial disparities–issues like universal health care and quality education.  Further, he is doing so with the express intent to benefit all. Perhaps if we recognized that eliminating racial disparities is in the best interest of all of our citizens–and in the best interest of our democracy–our first African American president could be more explicit.  Until then, we may have to settle for a black president who has to couch his strategies in terms of interests the white power structure believes are theirs alone.  And, in doing so, we might actually see some change we can all believe in.

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