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: [email protected]
Liza Ferreira
Cultural Relevance
Specialist
AVID Elementary Liaison
YOUR LOGO HERE