January 21, 2015

Volume 1, Issue 1

Seminole County

Public Schools

Building a Foundation

of Culturally Relevant Educators

CYCLE 1-CREATING A GROWTH MINDSET

The purpose of this news letter is to recap the modules we have discussed throughout the semes-

ter. We started this year with having conversation around what is our “WHY” and what it

means to be an equitable educator. The work that we want to accomplish with this project is to

affirm the many wonderful instructional practices that are already in place in our district and to

have conversation around the unintentional things we may overlook. First and foremost, I en-

courage you to start every day with your “WHY”. Those who start with their “WHY” in mind are

the most productive and truly understand their purpose. Why are you in Education? Why do

you do what you do? Our Modules have given you the opportunity to reflect on relational capac-

ity, what it LOOKS like, SOUNDS like and most importantly FEELS like to be in a culturally

relevant classroom, and building relationships with families and communities. We must always

strive for high expectations for ALL students. The Pygmalion effect– the more you communicate

to your students you care ,the more successful they will be. The academic achievement gap is not

a learning gap; it is the lack of opportunities to engage our learners in relevant instruction.

CYCLE 2-USING CULTURE TO DRIVE INSTRUCTION

This semester we will focus on understanding culture to drive our instruction. How do we take

students from various experiences and backgrounds and bring them to a common place of

success? How do we have intentional dialogue with colleagues, families and students that will

bring growth for all involved? If we expect academic success from our students we must give

them the tools to do so. Teaching students about language registers and the understanding that

language is power. What language registers are used in an academic or formal setting? “The

teaching of reading and composition to foreign students does differ from the teaching of reading

and composition to American students, and cultural differences in the nature of rhetoric supply

the key to the difference in teaching approach.” (Kaplan 1984) Knowing Cultural Discourse

patterns can help educators scaffold the American paragraph to your students of various cultural

backgrounds.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Pre-Work Video Links ............ 2

Resources ................................ 3

District Initiatives ................... 4

Pictures of CRT at work .......... 5

Project Mission ....................... 6

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST

Feedback from CRT Modules

Blog & Articles on CRT

“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela

Module #1 –Equity vs Equality

http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley

Module #2– Expectations & Perceptions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K96c-TGnSf4

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y64q7S8laxg

Module #3– Building Relationships

http://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion?language=en

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f8liieRepk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjwjZe8u0-E

Module #4- Reflecting on Culturally Relevant Classrooms and School Wide

Culture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uOncGZWxDc&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAgR_57QIyY

Module #5-Building Relationships with Families and Communities

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bndCdOeMO3Y

PRE-WORK VIDEO LINKS FROM CYCLE 1 FEEDBACK FROM CYCLE 1

“I put more effort into making sure

that I'm addressing the needs of all

of my students and paying more

attention to their backgrounds. Not

just their cultural background, but

also their home life as well. “ -AES

“I have used some of the activities

from the meetings in my classroom.

Even though I am already teaching a

dual language program in Spanish, I

feel that other cultures have been

more exposed within class because

of the activities. “-FCE

“It is good to know that students

have different backgrounds and

cultures that may change their per-

spectives. Teachers need to be

aware of these differences as they

teach in a school where children

have experiences which are limited

or very different than the teacher.

Engaging students, providing back-

ground knowledge or making curricu-

lum relevant is critical to student

success. “-Milwee MS

“It reinforced the importance of our

culturally relevant actions that we try

to do on a daily basis.” –HES

2

ARTICLES TO READ AT YOUR LEISURE

Where do Biases Start? A Challenge to Educators

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/10/15/08prier.h34.html?cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS3

Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Seven Classroom Tips

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/fair-isnt-equal-richard-curwin

Reframing: Seeing Students in a New Way

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/reframing-seeing-new-way-richard-curwin

The Pygmalion Effect: Communicating High Expectations

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pygmalion-effect-communicating-higher-expectations-ben-solomon

Building Relationships with Students

http://www.nea.org/tools/29469.htm

Help-Seekers and Silent Strugglers: Student Problem Solving

http://www.aft.org/ae/winter2014-2015/calarco

TITLE 1 BOOK

RECOMMENDATIONS

On Jan. 24th Millennium Middle School will be hosting parent work-

shops to empower families to be more involved in their children’s educa-

tion. Please post these flyers on your social media and school websites.

3

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR DISTRICT

INTIATIVES

Florida State Standards:

• Florida State Standards website:

http://www.flstandards.org/

Partnership for 21st Century Skills:

• Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Website: http://www.p21.org

• Framework for 21st Century

Learning Definitions Document:

http://p21.org/documents/

P21_Framework_Definitions.pdf

• P21 Common Core Toolkit:

http://p21.org/storage/documents/

P21CommonCoreToolkit.pdf

AVID College Readiness System:

AVID Center Website:

http://avid.org/

FLORIDA STATE STANDARDS

No longer is mastery of academic subjects alone sufficient. To succeed in school work and

life in the 21st century also requires that students master a set of skills, such as critical

thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation.

To help educators integrate these skills into the teaching of core academic subjects, P21

developed a comprehensive vision for learning known as the Framework for 21st Century

Learning. As P21 states, “This Framework describes the skills, knowledge and expertise

students must master to succeed in work and life; it is a blend of content knowledge, spe-

cific skills, expertise and literacies.”

The Florida State Standards enumerate the development of core academic subject

knowledge among all students, while the P21 Framework focuses on the skills that stu-

dents will need to understand and apply that knowledge in real-world settings. 12 of our

schools have 21st Century Skills.

Our goal is to ensure Florida’s students graduate high school ready for success in college, career and life. In order to prepare our students for success and make them competitive in the global workplace, we must provide them with a set of clear, consistent and strong academic standards.

The Florida Standards will equip our stu-

dents with the knowledge and skills they

need to be ready for careers and college-

level coursework. Having the best and

highest academic standards for our stu-

dents today will prepare them for the jobs

of tomorrow

AVID ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

21ST CENTURY SKILLS

Idyllwilde, Midway, and Wicklow Elementary have begun implementation in 4th and 5th

grades. AVID Elementary is neither a pull-out or add-on program. It is a methodology

that promotes best practices for teaching to develop consistency in thinking and embrac-

es the delivery of information by both students and teachers. The framework of this meth-

odology is based on implementation of the WICOR strategies to engage ALL learners in

daily instruction. WICOR is an acronym for Writing to learn, Inquiry, Collaboration,

Organization, and Reading to learn. AVID Elementary is a foundational component of

the AVID College Readiness System that supports AVID Center’s mission to close the

achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global

society.

These are three of the initiatives that SCPS has used to “teach down the gap” and help

students acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be productive citizens in our great

country and in the global economy. 4

Teaching Down the Gap–

How do our district initiatives

align with our CRT project?

“Defining teaching using a narrow set of instructional strategies, manage-ment strategies, or assessment strategies doesn't do justice to the complexity of the teaching-learning process.” Marzano 9/2009

PICTURES OF FAMILY WORKSHOPS & CRT

MODULES AT OUR TITLE 1 SCHOOLS

5

FCE teachers are working collaboratively to

brainstorm possible solutions for family in-

volvement roadblocks

In December, GLMS parents attended the Family

Engagement workshop on Love & Support. Parents

were given their students data and ideas for talking

to their students about school.

Casselberry Elementary and Millennium Middle Schools’ educators worked collaboratively at each of their sites compiling a list

of what you SEE, HEAR, & FEEL in a culturally relevant classroom.

SEMINOLE COUNTY

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

MISSION

The mission of the Seminole

County Public Schools is to ensure

that all Early Childhood Program

and PreK-Grade 12 students ac-

quire the knowledge, skills, and

attitudes to be productive citizens

in our great country and in the

global economy.

CULTURAL RELEVANCE PROJECT MISSION

The mission of this project is to create cultural awareness and support culturally responsive

instruction and pedagogical practices. We seek to build capacity for exemplary teaching that

supports closing the opportunity gap and giving voice to ALL students while having them work

to their highest potential.

To:

PLEASE

PLACE

STAMP

HERE Seminole County

Public Schools

400 E. Lake Mary Boulevard

Sanford, Fl 32773

Phone: 407.320.0520

Cell: 407.256.6085

Fax: 407.320.0296

E-mail: liza_ferreira@scps.k12.fl.us

Liza Ferreira

Cultural Relevance

Specialist

AVID Elementary Liaison

YOUR LOGO HERE