2004-2005 GOALS, ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

> 2004-05 Goals
> 2004-05 Activities
> Penn Graduate School of Education Research Project

GOALS

The focus of the Consortium for 2004-05 was on developing a common and shared framework for understanding the complex social, organization and instructional dimensions of the achievement gaps. The DVMSAC Superintendent’s Steering Committee agreed on the following areas of focus for the initial first year for the Consortium for the 2004-05 school year:

• Examining and changing school district policies and practices that reinforce the gaps e.g. ability grouping, tracking, exploring phenomena of over-representation of students of color in special education, and under-representation of students of color in honors, advanced placement, enrichment classes

• Facilitating engagement and dialog among teachers, staff, students, parents

• Managing student information: data analysis and decision-making

• Support for action research and evaluating program/curricular interventions

• Networking/ partnership development/ sharing information and resources

• To these ends we developed multiple opportunities for district teams to come together to learn about and share promising practices.

2004-05 ACTIVITIES (Back to top)

CLOSING THE GAPS LUNCH SEMINAR SERIES

District teams attended professional learning sessions at the University of Pennsylvania to help them gain essential understandings necessary to assist them in developing their own district’s action plans for closing the gaps.

“Engaging Student Voices in Closing the Gap”
Carolyn Ash- Minority Student Achievement Network and Pacific Educational Group
September 2004

“Closing the Achievement Gap: The Agenda Reframed”
Dr. Belinda Williams, Cognative Psychologist and National Consultant
September and October 2004

“District Strategies for Closing the Achievement Gaps”
Dr. Sheryl Denbo, Executive Director, Mid Atlantic Equity Center, Chevy Chase, MD
January and February 2005

“Playing With Anger: Challenges and Successes in Working with Adolescent African-American Boys"
Dr. Howard Stevenson- Penn Graduate School of Education
April 2005

SUPERINTENDENT STEERING COMMITTEE MEETINGS: DISTRICT SHARING OF STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES

District superintendents and their representative met monthly to affirm direction and strategy for the work of the collective body of Consortium districts. Time was further designated at these meetings for dialog around promising practices and collective and district-specific organizational successes and challenges. Individual districts shared their history, community context, and organizational, curricular and support strategies for enhancing the achievement of their underachieving students.

DATA DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING WORKSHOP SERIES:
"Data Analysis for Continuous School and District Improvement"
with Dr. Victoria Bernhardt, California State University-Chico
November 2004 and March 2005

District teams met for a three day learning experience that focused on development of districts’ capacities to effectively use and manage student outcome, demographic, perceptual and school process data.

DVMSAC Fall 2004 Institute
“Examining District Policies and Practices That Support Improved Minority Student Achievement”
November and December 2004

The focus of this two-day institute was on in-depth investigation of school district policies and practices that support improved achievement for students of color. District teams of ten participated in the Institute and were primarily represented by district and school administrators.

Keynote:

“A Vision and a Strategy for Reducing Racial Disparities in Student Achievement”
Dr. Pedro Noguera
Professor, Steinhardt School of Education
Executive Director, Metro Center for Urban Education, New York University

DVMSAC Summer 2005 Institute
“Planning for the Possible: From Awareness and Advocacy to Action”
June 2005

The focus of the two-day institute was on the development of instructional, curricular and organizational strategies for enhancing student achievement and closing the gaps. District teams of 15 participated in the Summer Institute and included classroom teachers, district and school administrators, parent leaders, and board/community representatives.

Keynotes:

“Lessons Learned in Closing the Gap”
Dr. Rossi Ray-Taylor,
Executive Director, Minority Student Achievement Network,
Evanston, IL

“You Don’t Know Me Until You Know Me”
Dr. Michael Fowlin
Clinical Psychologist- Poet- Actor
Morristown, NJ

PENN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION RESEARCH PROJECT (Back to top)

Under the direction of Dr. Rebecca Maynard, University Trustee Professor of Education and Social Policy, doctoral candidates Irma Perez Johnson and Michelle Milstein developed and delivered a Formative Evaluation/Operational Assessment of Cheltenham School District’s 3rd/4th Grade Math Detracking Efforts. The study will serve as a potential framework for future evaluation studies of Consortium districts’ program intervention efforts in increasing student achievement.