Student Achievement Begins with Me

by Holly Spence Sasso, Managing Editor

Student Achievement Begins with Me Related Resources The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Minority Student Achievement Network The Tripod Project Home Page ‘Trusting’ School Community Linked to Student Gains. To access this article, users must register with the Education Week Web site and then log into the site. Ann Arbor Public Schools Professional Development You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view articles in PDF. Download a free copy of Acrobat Reader.

Teachers in the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) are learning to talk more openly about the impact of race on student achievement. With the help of the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN), a national coalition of 15 multiracial, relatively affluent suburban school districts across the United States, Ann Arbor school administrators, teachers, and other school staff are looking at professional development goals through a new lens. The new lens facilitates the process of relationship building between and among professional adults and, most importantly, between teachers and students, especially students of color.

Minority Student Achievement Network

The MSAN's mission is to discover, develop, and implement the means to ensure high academic achievement for students, specifically African American and Latino students. The MSAN and AAPS have undertaken an action research project, the Tripod Project, to spend the 2002-2004 school years exploring how teacher-student classroom relationships impact student learning. The Tripod Project is based on the belief that student achievement is impacted by three teacher variables: knowledge of subject, use of appropriate teaching practices, and ability to develop positive teacher-student relationships. Research and data collected in the three areas show that of the three, student-teacher relationships have the most impact on the achievement of minority students. Thus, an emphasis on this area is being undertaken by the Tripod Project and AAPS.

Teachers working in the AAPS who elect to participate in the Tripod Project are exploring the development of relationships through five tasks:

• Building trust and interest
• Developing a balance of autonomy and control
• Helping students to commit to ambitious goals
• Supporting students’ industriousness
• Helping students to consolidate their learning

Tapping into Teachers’ Intuitive Knowledge

"Teachers know intuitively that teaching is a relationship-focused profession," said Karen Schulte, facilitator of professional growth and development for the AAPS. "We are making an effort to honor that intuition by starting with relationship building between and among the 'grown-ups.' What we know is good for kids is also good for adults." The theme of this professional development effort in AAPS—focusing on the critical role of the classroom teacher in closing the minority achievement gap—is "Student Achievement Begins with Me."

AAPS is implementing achievement summits to learn more about specific strategies and interventions to improve the achievement of students targeted for not meeting identified school improvement goals. "It’s important that white people move past their fear of offending and being corrected to a place where they can understand the points of view expressed by people of color," said Glenn Shingleton, president and founder of Pacific Educational Group, an organization that strives to advise school districts on ways to meet the needs of underserved populations of students. "People of color need to recognize that their experiences are unique and to have patience and compassion as we try to translate them to a white audience. Absent such a conversation, we form inaccurate views about what others are thinking or experiencing." Shingleton spoke to AAPS staff during a special professional summit session in January.

Administrative Leadership Is Critical

According to nine AAPS administrators, who came together to discuss developing relationships among teachers in their schools, the most important thing that can be done is to create an atmosphere of trust. "When you create trust and open up the dialogue about race with straightforward conversations, which moves many people out of their comfort zones, you find that new conversations happen and new perceptions become the means for change," Ruth Williams of Lawton Elementary School said. "Administrators have the responsibility to make opportunities for these conversations to happen. Once they begin, it's hard to stop them. You start the conversation in a group setting and teachers continue them in the classroom and beyond the school walls."

"In AAPS it's okay to single out race. We are not color blind. Seeing the differences in color and the culture behind the student is a good thing. We get to this place with straightforward conversations," said Shelly Bruder, principal of Bach Elementary. "Teachers are moving into self-reflection about their teaching. Teachers aren't so defensive about their kids who aren't doing so great. They know that those students are the ones to whom they need to reach out. The conversations and trust building allow us to look not only at strengths but also weaknesses."

Linda Warrington, principal at Logan Elementary said, "Once the conversations begin, the change is profound. One of our teachers came to the simple yet profound conclusion that 'it's within all of us to build better relationships with our colleagues and with our minority students.' That statement hit at the right time and caused everyone to say, 'Okay, what are we going to do about it?' The conversations are more caring. This is really about relationships with parents—and each other—and keeping students motivated when they face failure. It's very reality-based."

Administrators agreed that teachers are already hard on themselves when it comes to student achievement, and their biggest challenge is to earn trust by not wasting teachers' time, sorting and selecting professional development efforts that make the biggest difference, and not overexposing areas of weakness. "Teachers trust us when we learn to listen and not judge and allow for feelings and emotions during the change process," said Pat Rose, Slauson Middle School. "Teachers need time to talk, time to practice, and time to relate new efforts to previous experiences. Change can be scary and involves a lot of time for reflection. It's important to validate for staff that change is hard and it's okay to rant and rave now and then.

Positive Changes Taking Place for Teachers

Teachers participating in the Tripod Project agree that it has legitimized the importance of discussing race and the diversity of learning styles that students bring to their classrooms. "This project affirms that the conversation can happen and it allows us to see through ALL eyes. The Tripod Project has created an opportunity for genuine inquiry into what we are doing for our students in terms of relationships. Sometimes you think you're making the effort to create effective relationships, but unless you honor the importance of relationships and let students know that you do, efforts can be less effective," said Elaine Bennett, Northside Elementary School. "The Tripod Project has affirmed what I already believed. It opened up conversations that bring my beliefs into a community setting. Tripod embodies the best of learning. It's not a fad; it's a lifelong learning process."

The Tripod Project and Minority Student Achievement Network align naturally with special education personnel goals, according to Pat Marrow, Teacher Consultant, Roberto Clemente High School. "Establishing trust is at the heart of our efforts to teach students in special education or students at risk for failure," Marrow said. "Many of my students resist opening up about their lack of success. The Tripod Project helps us examine the efforts we make as teachers to establish enough trust for conversations that might lead to greater student success. The project has personally inspired me to evaluate areas where I might strengthen skills in reading instruction, and I'm now applying for a reading grant."

The District's School Improvement Team awarded three student achievement incentive grants designed as "seed money" for innovative approaches for improving achievement of traditionally underachieving student populations. Additional professional development opportunities supporting "Student Achievement Begins with Me" include:

• Differentiating Instruction for Students with Special Learning Needs: A Framework for Action
• Classroom Applications of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences
• Cooperative Learning Structures for the Classroom
• Learning Style and Academic Performance
• Achievement of African American Students Book Club
• Breaking the Silence: Ushering in Courageous Conversations about the Impact of Race on Student Achievement
• Culturally Relevant Teaching

For more information, contact: Karen Schulte, facilitator of professional growth and development, Ann Arbor Public Schools, (734) 994-6591.

For information about MSAN, contact: Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Ave., Evanston, IL 60204, infor@msanetwork.org, www.msanetwork.org

For more information about the Tripod Project, contact: Ronald F. Ferguson, Ph.D., Wiener Center for Social Policy Research, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, Ronald_Ferguson@harvard.edu, www.tripodproject.org.