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Commentary: Academic rigor versus cultural relevance is a false choice

Original EdSource article found here.

COMMENTARY | Black Student Success
By Chris Carr
Executive Director, Aspire Los Angeles

February 14, 2024

In the current era of education culture wars — banning books, monitoring curriculum, adjusting school policies — supporting students in a culturally sensitive, relationship-focused way is sometimes presented as being in conflict with maintaining academic rigor.

But balancing these approaches is more important than ever as our schools continue to rebound from pandemic-related learning loss coupled with the ongoing social-emotional needs of students. We should not have to prioritize one approach over the other: academic rigor, or supporting students’ social-emotional needs through culturally relevant teaching and experiences. Individually, each approach falls short in providing all students with the support they require for a successful future. By reframing them as mutually reinforcing rather than mutually exclusive, we have the potential to significantly transform education for every child.

Culturally relevant teaching is the conduit to academic success, and rigorous instruction is effective when grounded in culturally relevant teaching. To support our students, we must equip them with the tools for empowerment while also working to create inclusive educational environments that foster support.

In practice, this means everything from ensuring our teachers and staff reflect the demographic makeup of our students, to examining the resources and professional development we bring into our schools to make sure all our students’ needs are met. It means having data-driven conversations, grounded in equity, about how we are serving our most marginalized students.

As a school leader at Aspire Public Schools in Los Angeles, we knew some of our most vulnerable students were those who were chronically absent. Diving into the data, we discovered that many of our students missed school around three-day weekends and holidays. As a part of the implementation of our positive behavioral and intervention support (PBIS) framework, we focused on timing school celebrations and family engagement activities before and after three-day weekends and holidays so that students wouldn’t want to miss out on the fun.  Additionally, teachers reach out to families of absent students to provide a more personal touch and communicate the positive impact their child has in their classroom community when they are at school. The early results of implementing this PBIS approach are showing promise in reducing absenteeism, with a year-over-year decrease in chronic absenteeism rates across our 11 Los Angeles schools.

A data-driven approach grounded in equity can also help serve special education students. For example, at one of our schools, students in special education demonstrated notable progress in math, surpassing the growth rates in math seen among their peers in general education, both in LAUSD and statewide. The schools took a different approach to intervention than they had in the past. Previously, students with individual education plans (IEPs), which are required for all students in special education, were not included in math interventions — an additional 20-minute small-group math instruction during the school day. Last year, students with IEPs participated in these math interventions along with general education students. This additional intervention, combined with regular “teach back” sessions during which teachers practice delivering content to their peers, gathering feedback and strengthening their practice, yielded positive results among our special education learners.

Developing partnerships to incorporate Afrocentric and LGBTQ+ curriculum and resources can also make an impact. This has included everything from the establishment of several Black student union chapters to a Black families advisory council, where families meet quarterly to discuss Black educational content and curricula. I can say firsthand that we’re seeing these partnerships show promising results: Participants in Black student union programs experienced an average reduction of eight days in absenteeism compared to the previous year. Plans are also underway to pilot an LGBTQ+ course that aligns with state A-G standards (courses required for admission in California public universities). Lastly, dedicating resources to cultivate a pipeline of Black educators is critical to establishing a more diverse teaching staff.

To deliver on the promise of excellent education for every child, it is time to chart a path that is both rigorous and culturally relevant. This is how we deliver on the promise of an education model that serves all students.

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Chris Carr is the executive director for the Los Angeles region of Aspire Public Schools, a nonprofit charter management organization.

The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.

Opinion: The Best Way to Honor Latino Culture is by Honoring Latino Family Values

L.A. school leader reflects on the values he grew up with and how he lives them with his students every day — not just during Hispanic Heritage Month

Original article here.

By  | Sr. Director of Culturally Responsive Leadership Development

October 3, 2022

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month and the signs and advertisements celebrating the culture are abundant. I feel, as I often do this time of year, mixed emotions. As a Mexican-American educator, I understand the good intentions behind the signs; celebrating diversity and honoring different cultures should be applauded.

But if we really want to celebrate the culture and give Latino students a true sense of belonging in their schools, we should do far more than have a program, assembly or fancy celebration to honor our students’ heritage. Instead, we should look at the foundational role that families play within Latino culture and embrace and honor those values. Values of belonging, collaboration and hard work.

Growing up in Los Angeles, I was often surrounded by my large extended family. Both my parents are from Jalisco, Mexico: my mother is one of 11 siblings and my father is one of six. Many of my aunts, uncles and cousins also moved to Los Angeles. My Dad instilled in me the importance of courage, and the value of hard work as the expression of one’s integrity and honor.

But despite these important family values, as a first-generation student, I lacked the resources or institutional knowledge to easily navigate the U.S. education system — it took me seven years just to complete college. Now that our nieces and nephews are getting ready to go to college, we make sure they have the tools to navigate the complex higher education system. This is part of our family culture: a shared responsibility to pass along what you learn, paving the way for the next generation. Our family also instilled a sense of belonging and security that gave us the courage to take risks — after all, there’s no bigger risk than immigrating to a foreign land.

Imagine if school communities embodied Latino family norms; where responsibility is shared, accountability is collective and a sense of belonging lives. Can you imagine what that might look like? We strive to do this every day at our school. Like many Latino families, we emphasize working in groups and collaborative efforts over a focus on the individual.

“We see you and got you.” Those words hold power. It’s about knowing that your community, your group, has your back. Family has your back. This is something we discuss at our schools because it resonates deeply with our students: to be seen, to know you are unconditionally supported. At Aspire Public Schools’ Los Angeles-area schools, where the majority of our students identify as Latino, we embrace this idea, to make our students feel safe and supported unconditionally, in everything we do.

For example, at Aspire Ollin University Prep where I worked for 12 years, we created an advisory group program at our secondary school. Freshmen are placed into micro-communities of about 30 students with one teacher who stays with the group all four years. Weekly community circles and guided conversations about issues that affect our scholars’ lives help them feel seen and supported. Like a large, extended family, these groups benefit from collaborative learning, shared responsibility and an environment built on trust and belonging.

Programs like this allow us to create a familial identity at Aspire. We focus on students’ social-emotional learning, equity work and culturally relevant pedagogy that helps students feel supported. But most importantly, we leverage each other’s humanity. We support each other in providing a learning space for students and staff. A place where students learn from teachers and each other. A place where teachers learn from their students and their colleagues.  Just like we learn from family.

When you think about how family roots children, gives them a sense of confidence and purpose and offers space to be who they really are — how could you not want to embed those values in a school? We want these ideals to resonate deeply with our students. When a community of trust and belonging exists, students have the freedom to take risks and follow their intellectual curiosity. Instilling a school culture with family-inspired values brings out the genius in our students and gives them the space to enjoy their education and discover their own passions. This is how we honor Latino culture — every day.

Joel Ramirez is the son of immigrant parents from Jalisco, Mexico, and has been an educator for more than 15 years as a teacher, school administrator. He’s now Aspire Public School’s senior director of culturally responsive leadership development in Los Angeles.

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