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EdSource | 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.

How our schools can address California’s youth mental health crisis — now

Original EdSource article found here. 

COMMENTARY
By CORA PALMA, Aspire Public Schools, Director of Mental Health Services

APRIL 13, 2023

Those of us who work in schools don’t need statistics to tell us that our children are in crisis; the research corroborates our lived experience. Since 2017, rates of anxiety and depression among California’s children have shot up by 70% and one-third of California adolescents experienced serious psychological distress between 2019 and 2021, including a 20% increase in adolescent suicides. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted all communities, but it exacerbated the trauma that already existed in communities of color and under-resourced communities.

To his credit, Gov. Gavin Newsom has responded to this crisis by launching the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, a $4.4 billion investment in the systems that support behavioral health for California’s children. Our state also increased its investment in the Community Schools Partnership Program, a school improvement strategy focused on partnering with the community to serve the “whole child.” I applaud both of these efforts to create better behavioral health systems for the future, but they fail to meet the immediate crisis-level needs of students today.

If the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative includes resources to build the capacity of schools — where children spend the majority of their waking hours — our schools have yet to see them, and there are several barriers to obtaining support through the Community Schools Partnership Program. The application process can take up to two years, and eligibility depends on the percentage of the school population that is eligible for free and reduced lunch, are English language learners, or are in foster care. Furthermore, many schools lack the capacity to write and submit the application because of the very reason they need this program — school resources are spread too thin as they deal with unprecedented levels of student crises.

We must address the problems we see today with immediate resources to support the mental health needs of our students, alongside longer-term investments in future systems.

With these additional resources, schools can increase their capacity to support all students’ mental wellness and focus on preventive strategies, in addition to crisis intervention. Schools can prevent an escalation of mental health challenges by meeting the most basic needs of children, including the need for belonging, connectedness, and by developing healthy coping skills that lead to better overall health. These supports create a school culture where students develop prosocial skills, make meaningful connections with trusted adults and learn to care for their own well-being. They also make schools safer.

School programming should include an evidence-based social-emotional learning curriculum, like RULER, a systemic approach developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, which has been implemented at several Aspire schools and others across California. Parent engagement with the school can also make a meaningful difference in students’ well-being and overall school success. Regular parent workshops on topics such as bullying awareness, suicide prevention and fostering resilience can build parents’ and guardians’ capacity to support their child’s mental wellness.

Given the heavy load that educators are carrying, we also must provide more robust training for those who are in classrooms every day. We must support teachers in interpreting behaviors that may be an indicator of a mental health need by understanding risk factors using a trauma-informed lens. Educators should know how to help prevent crises, how to respond when a crisis happens, how to manage the challenging behaviors that may result from students’ experience with trauma, and know when to seek additional help.

We know these interventions are effective, and with the ongoing shortage of mental health counselors, they can be implemented with non-clinical staff. But most public schools — especially those that serve students from under-resourced communities — need additional staff and training to implement them well.

Going Deeper

A petition by Aspire Public Schools for more mental health resources in schools can be found here.

That’s why we’re calling on policymakers to identify immediate and dedicated resources for schools to support students’ mental health, and why we’re supporting AB 1479. Sponsored by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, this bill would establish a program and funding for schools to develop additional Tier 1 student supports — evidence-based programs that support all students in developing the knowledge, skills and behaviors that lead to positive mental health outcomes. We are eager to work with any lawmaker who is committed to the long-term well-being of our children while appreciating the magnitude and urgency of this problem today.

When schools have the resources to address students’ mental health needs, students will learn more, be more connected to their school community, and feel safer and more supported. Schools shouldn’t be forced to choose between their students’ well-being and safety, and the resources needed for learning. Our children are in crisis and cannot wait.

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Cora Palma, Ph.D., is the director of mental health services at Aspire Public Schools, a network of public charter schools. 

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.

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Rebuilding community: Simpler than it sounds, harder than it looks

Aspire CHA assistant principal and students
Students and teachers in class at Aspire Capitol Heights Academy in Sacramento, California. CREDIT: FILMTWIST CREATIVE AGENCY; PHOTO COURTESY ASPIRE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Original  EdSource article found here. 

By Tony Solina, Area Superintendant, Central Valley Region

Headshot of Anthony SolinaIn March 2020, as schools closed their doors, we were forced to adapt to the sudden shift to our daily routines and learn other strategies to make distance learning work. Now, three months back into in-person learning, we see daily examples of a new learning curve: not being able to wait to use the restroom, forgetting to raise your hand before speaking and struggling to take turns on the playground.

These things remind me just how long we were away.

While these examples may seem small, it was clear to me that they are markers of a larger challenge. After 18 months away, the fabric of our community had begun to fray. We’d forgotten what it looked like to learn together and eroded part of the foundation of trust and care on which we built our students’ education. Especially after the devastating emotional and mental toll of the pandemic, it is almost unthinkable to imagine asking students to learn to read, play an instrument or solve algebra equations without first rebuilding a nurturing and safe environment.

As superintendent of Aspire Public Schools’ Central Valley region, this was both overwhelming and energizing. I knew it would help us to focus on what really matters in our schools and that it would require immediate attention to rebuild the community that is so central to what our staff, scholars and families love about our schools.

Creating this culture is simpler than we often make it out to be. We believe learning doesn’t occur until all students feel included, loved and safe. That means we make community building and the social-emotional care of our students a priority. We treat social-emotional learning with the same focus and attention as math and history, leveraging a dedicated curriculum that we apply inside classrooms and in conversations among staff and with families. And we encourage our teachers to take time — real time, during the school day — to get to know students and listen intently to their needs and challenges. When you make it clear that relationships, belonging and wellness matter, then you build a culture that centers on community. School is not merely in the physical buildings where we learn, but it’s also in the relationships we build among adults and scholars.

And yet, simple as it may be, it takes a lot of work and investment from every person who interacts with our students to make it a reality. We have created structures across our school, within classrooms, and in partnership with parents that reinforce this value.

Our advisory classes focus on social-emotional wellness and social justice, giving students a dedicated space to honor their identities and create community. Morning-meeting circles establish a warm environment to start the day. We carve out dedicated time for teachers to collaborate, building bonds and lines of communication to more holistically support students. And we engage students and families in their learning, leaving our doors open for parents to observe classes and instituting innovative engagement models. Our student-led conferences and Saturday Schools provide students with an active role in communicating their progress and give parents a window into their students’ day-to-day learning. While these practices predate the pandemic, they have emerged post-pandemic as more essential than ever.

All of these strategies require both the simple commitment to making our community a priority and the dedicated time and effort of every team member. And I’m beginning to see the impact of our hard work. Our community is slowly stitching itself back together, in many ways stronger than it was before.

Do we have it all figured out? Of course not. But the rhythm of our days is becoming more consistent and the feelings of our community — joy, stability, belonging — are filling our hallways and classrooms again.

As schools across our country have fought our way through another confusing fall, I encourage my fellow school leaders to take a good look at the health of your school community. We are all being pulled in many directions, from urgent concerns about Covid-19 — contact tracing, independent study, staffing shortages — to the daunting challenges of learning loss. But underneath all that is the foundation we build for learning and the community we create for our students, teachers, and families.

Pay close attention to that community, make it a priority and invest in it appropriately, and I truly believe that is how we will get back on course to provide the learning and opportunities that every student deserves.

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Stockton native Anthony Solina is a lifelong educator and the current Central Valley superintendent for Aspire Public Schools,
a charter management organization with 36 schools in the Central Valley, Bay Area and Los Angeles.
The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
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