Getting There: Improving Attendance in the Buffalo Public Schools

High rates of absenteeism in the Buffalo Public Schools (“BPS”) are strongly linked to low academic performance and graduation rates. Several difficult issues contribute to the low attendance in Buffalo, including poverty, segregation, mental and physical health challenges, access to transportation, and problems with school climate and student engagement. Many effective programs to improve attendance are already in place, but more work needs to be done. Recent data provides some insights into the attendance situation in BPS. For example, recent BPS data shows a direct correlation between high school students’ attendance rates and their success on Regents exams. In spring 2014, there was a difference of 35% between the passage rates of students with satisfactory attendance and those with severe absenteeism

Bullies in the Block Area: The Early Childhood Origins of Mean Behavior

Bullying can pose a serious threat to children's immediate and long-term health and well-being, and can have profound impacts on all children involved in bullying behaviors, whether as the one bullying others, the one being bullied, or the one witnessing bullying. At least some of the roots of bullying behaviors, and conversely the roots of positive pro-social skills, can likely be found in adverse and positive experiences during early childhood, yet the research literature on these connections is limited. The early childhood field lacks a coherent, theoretical model that identifies the factors contributing to "mean" or aggressive behavior in young children, and establishes the developmental link between this early behavior and later bullying behavior. This white paper summarizes the literature on seven key hypotheses about the roots of bullying behavior in early childhood experiences

Preservice Teacher Reflections About Short-Term Summer Study Abroad Experiences in Italy

This chapter studies 21 preservice teachers\u27 blog reflections about working in an Italian classroom and living with a host family during a four-week study abroad program in Northern Italy. During the program, preservice teachers were required to blog about their experiences living and studying abroad using personal blog sites. To encourage more candid reflection about the program, the blog posts could be related to any aspect of the program preservice teachers chose to reflect on. After setting the context of the study through description of the study abroad program and its requirements, the authors present qualitative findings regarding preservice teachers\u27 (a) thoughts related to their observations of Italian classrooms, (b) thoughts related to becoming an Italian language learner, and (c) lessons learned from the study abroad experience. Findings discuss preservice teachers\u27 reflections on making sense of educational and cultural differences, experiences as Italian language learners, and opportunities for professional and personal growth

PARENT ENGAGEMENT PEDAGOGY AND PRACTICE IN NEW PRESERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN ONTARIO

Parent engagement that focuses on building relationships and increasing social capital has a positive impact on student outcomes. However, one of the greatest challenges new teachers face is working with parents in support of children’s learning. The need to better prepare teachers points to an enhanced curriculum of parent engagement during preservice teacher education. Ontario faculties of education were surveyed regarding planned implementation of new accreditation guidelines for parent engagement. Document reviews of existing and modified teacher education programs were conducted. Participants reported parent engagement pedagogy in modified programs had somewhat increased and believed teacher candidates would be ‘somewhat’ to ‘quite a bit’ better prepared to engage parents. Document reviews found limited practical opportunities, integration, and consistency in exposure to parent engagement pedagogy. Implications for faculties of education include facilitating preservice teacher candidates’ capacity for relationship building, increasing social capital through greater home-school-community partnerships, and greater practical opportunities. Ontario faculties of education should continue to grow the strength of preservice teacher education programs with evidence-based research on effective parent engagement pedagogy and practice that challenges traditional perspectives, and that better aligns teacher competencies and expectations in fulfillment of parent engagement related policy

It’s Not Brain Science… Or Is It? How Early Second Language Learning Can Impact Future Achievement

Capstone paper from 2015 spring MPA program. Instructed by Allen Zagoren.We live in a global economy, yet U.S. citizens lag far behind in the knowledge of other countries’ languages, cultures, customs, geographies and peoples. Equipping the next generation with foreign language skills as well as knowledge of other cultures and customs will not only provide increased career opportunities for individuals but also aid in the future success of the U.S. economy. The U.S. educational system does not stress the learning of language beyond English: K-12 curriculum is rigidly mandated, budgets are tight, class time and teacher training is limited, and language programs are often among the first to be cut during budget crises. There is a time period when a child’s brain is developing and most receptive to learning, and that is early childhood. If the seed were planted in a child before he/she enters kindergarten to learn the basics of a foreign language and culture, perhaps that knowledge could be nourished throughout the rest of their lives, preparing those children to embrace cultural differences, live and compete more successfully in an evolving and diverse world, and be better equipped for later education. Besides examining the current state of foreign language education in the U.S. and how learning occurs, the benefits of foreign language learning in relation to business and human relations are examined in this paper. Multiple solutions to solving the foreign language deficit are mentioned including a proposal for an early-learning language program

Being Black Is Not a Risk Factor: A Strengths-Based Look at the State of the Black Child

Including nine essays from experts and five "points of proof" organization case studies, this publication challenges the prevailing discourse about black children and intends to facilitate a conversation around strengths, assets, and resilience. It addresses the needs of policymakers, advocates, principals, teachers, parents, and others

Increasing Family Engagement with Seesaw

This school improvement plan was developed to increase family engagement using technology within an elementary classroom in a public school district. Research has shown that family engagement can positively impact student achievement. Within a school, it is important that responsibility is shared between parents and teachers and a trusting relationship is developed in order to support student growth and achievement. Existing research on family engagement and the use of technology contributed to the improvement plan. The main components of this improvement plan include creating the communication tool, Seesaw with families, and involving families in their student’s daily school learning activities at school and at home

Raising Teachers’ Cultural Knowledge of Middle Eastern Students in The Classroom

A large number of researchers have investigated the impact culturally aware and conscious teachers have in creating a better learning environment for students, especially those who are from different academic and ethnic backgrounds. However, limited studies have been conducted to inspect how teachers’ attitudes toward the cultural background of their students from the Middle East, and how they perceive and interact with them. Using qualitative research methods this study will examine elementary teachers’ conceptions and attitudes toward their Middle-Eastern students. In comparison to other immigrant groups, Middle Eastern students, the focus of this study, face additional challenges as a result of cultural, racial and religious misunderstanding (Fuller, 1991; Mahrous & Ahmed, 2010 Jackson, 1995). Findings from the study will help create a professional development unit and identify specific resources to raise elementary school teachers\u27 awareness of Middle-Eastern culture

Why Parents Choose Dual Language Immersion Programs

School choice details a range of programs which offer families alternatives that are available to educate their children. Language immersion is a school choice option that is available for parents seeking to provide their children an innovative environment conducive for learning. This modality of learning uses dual languages to immerse students completely within the subject being taught. This qualitative design study sought to investigate why parents choose to send their child to a dual language immersion school. This study examined parent motivations and decision-making processes for choosing dual language immersion programs. This study also investigated parents’ own school experiences and how parents perceive their role and responsibilities in their children’s educational development. This study included 19 parents of students attending CAF Elementary School, a Title I K-5 Spanish dual language immersion program located in the 10th largest school district in North Carolina’s south central piedmont region. Findings from this study revealed parents choose dual language immersion programs because they want their children to have an advantage academically, socially, and culturally. They believe it will lend to success with postsecondary academic and occupational opportunities. This study added to the existing body of language immersion research by illustrating participant’s views, expectations, and beliefs about the Spanish immersion program

Examining the Culturally Responsive Practices of Elementary Educators

This dissertation was designed to study teacher perceptions about working with students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Twelve elementary schools were studied. Teachers completed the Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Self-Efficacy (CRCMSE) Scale. Data collected during this dissertation will be of use to school and district leaders as they plan professional opportunities for elementary teachers. The purpose of this dissertation was to determine if an association exists between teacher ratings on the CRCMSE Scale and the years of experience of the teacher. A focus group discussion of 15 teachers was utilized to answer the following questions: How prepared do you feel to teach students from diverse cultural backgrounds? What experience, if any, was the most meaningful to prepare you to teach students from diverse cultural backgrounds? What experiences have made you culturally responsive? What professional development, if any, has been most helpful to you when working with culturally diverse students? These research questions were examined: Do teachers feel prepared to teach students from culturally diverse backgrounds? What professional development opportunities prepare school staff to work with students with cultural differences? Is there an association between the experience level of the teacher and the level of culturally responsive teaching practices? The CRCMSE data indicated a mean score of 81.55. This score indicated teachers feel confident in their abilities to work with students from culturally diverse backgrounds. The results of this study did not determine an association between teacher scores on the CRCMSE rating scale and years of teaching experience