Appleton’s (ongoing) Journey

Toward Cultural CompetencyAppleton Area School District

Appleton, WI

Presenters:

Nick Ivory – African American Cultural Support Liaison

Ben Vogel – Co-chair of Achievement, Community, Equity Committee (ACE)

Demographics

Appleton Population: Approximately 75,000

District Size/Number of Schools: 38 schools at 27 school sites

Enrollment: 16,212 students

Race/Ethnicity counts: 73% white, 11% Asian, 8% Hispanic, 6% African American, 2% Native American

Free/reduced lunch: 40%

Ongoing Journey Toward Culturally Responsive Practices

Minority Achievement Task Force - 2004

Achievement, Community, Equity (ACE) Committee - 2012

District Continuous School Improvement Process (CSIP) Support Team – 2014-15

Focus Areas… Fostering Multiple Partnerships:

Business/Community/Parent/Professional Partnerships (examples include FVTC, African Heritage Inc., Great Lakes Equity Center)

Redefining our work…and how we work together:

• Academic, Behavior and Culture/Equity Committees working together in unison

Providing Meaningful/Regular Community/School Events to highlight partnerships and student excellence across our District

Creating a District-wide culture of care and trust

• How do we meet each student’s unique needs?

• How do form trusting relationships with our parents?

• How do we show our commitment to equity and cultural responsiveness on a daily basis?

Fostering Relationships/Partnerships

Partnerships have been used to create important relationships with others who are committed to increasing cultural competency in our Appleton Area School District staff members. Some examples include:

Fox Valley Technical College – Cultural Support Specialists (Hmong, African American, Hispanic and Native American (Goodwill)

African Heritage Inc. – Worked to put on the first annual African American Emerging Student Leader Institute this past year. Over 200 students from across the area took part.

Great Lakes Equity Center – Partnership for the past three years in which GLEC has provided resources, training and personnel to assist AASD in our Equity Plan and ongoing equity work.

Wisconsin RtI Center/PBIS Network – Culturally Responsive Classroom Practices Training – Two teams of eight took part in this training during the 2014-15 school year.

Redefining our Work… and How We Work Together

Our District Continuous School Improvement Process (CSIP) Support Team has been recently created to maximize the strength of our key teams that support District academics, behavior and culture/equity.

PBIS, RtI and ACE had been working in a vacuum and in many ways duplicating work.

Bringing together key members from each group has allowed all AASD staff members to better understand how these areas are interrelated.

School teams feel supported by the District CSIP Support Team but also feel empowered to take ownership over how they will implement culturally competencies into their building and school-based CSIP plan.

Overall CSIP Support Structure

Our ACE Committee takes the lead in working with our schools and our partners in determining how we can best support all of our students from a culturally responsive lens. • ACE Committee meets regularly and is made up of

community members, teachers, staff members, administrators and students.

• Ongoing Professional Development Opportunities• African American Emerging Leaders Institute • Ron Dunlap Student Success Awards Program• Students serving on diverse student panels to educate

staff members on what they need to be successful learners

• Town Hall Meetings • Community Plunges

Providing Meaningful/Regular Community/School Events/Opportunities to educate and highlight student excellence across our District

BLACK EXPERIENCES IN THE FOX CITIES

Sponsored by: Appleton Area School District

City of Appleton

African Heritage, Inc.

Channel 5

History Museumat the Castle

Do you want to be part of a group of African American families and AASD staff working together for the success of our Black Children?

Do you want to discuss with community members and AASD staff about your child’s experiences in school?

Do you want to meet with many African American families and discuss your children’s success within the AASD Schools?

Is this SOUL FOOD town hall meeting for you? Yes! We Need You!

May 21st 5:00 p.m.

Wilson Middle School

225 N Badger Avenue Appleton

* Fre

e Admiss

ion!

Conversations with Black Families and AASD Officials

1. Please tell us if you have any children/grandchildren in the AASD. If so, what grades are they in and what schools do they attend? 

2. What are some of the successes that your children have achieved while attending school in the Appleton Area School District?

3. What are some of the challenges that your children have faced while attending school in the Appleton Area School District?

 4. We appreciate and want to hear your thoughts on how we

can continue to improve. What suggestions do you have for us as we continue our work to support all of our young people in the Appleton Area School District?

Table Time

Ron DunlapStudent Success Award

Congratulations! (Student name) has been awarded the Ronald Dunlap Student Success Award. This is a recognition program sponsored by the Appleton Area School District’s Achievement, Community and Equity (ACE) committee to identify and reward student success in the areas of academics, resilience, leadership, character and work ethic. Student name has been identified by her school as a person who has shown great success in at least one of the outlined areas of academics, resilience, leadership, character and work ethic. Each school in the Appleton Area School District has the opportunity to recognize up to three students for this award. In addition to this letter, students will receive a signed certificate of recognition and a pin to signify their accomplishment. We congratulate Student name on the success she has shown. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting Student name’s continued efforts in school. To celebrate your child’s success, we invite you to attend our Celebrating Student Success Community Gathering on Monday, March 9, 2015 which will take place prior to our School Board meeting. The program will begin promptly at 5:30 p.m. in Einstein Middle School’s auditorium. Einstein Middle School is located at 324 E. Florida Avenue. We are honored to have Ronald C. Dunlap as our guest speaker. In addition, a panel of high school students will share their insights and discuss what they have done to find success in school and beyond. Refreshments will be served following the award ceremony. We are looking forward to a great night…and we promise we will be done by 7:00 p.m. A group picture will be taken at the event and a copy of the picture will be given to each family. We hope that you and your child are able to join us!

• LA Gay Men’s Choir

• “Bullied”Jamie Nabozny

• Professional Development Opportunities for Staff

It Gets Better… Events

Building trust – How do we do that?

• Professional Development for staff

• Working with our parents and students

• Providing positive venues to communicate and collaborate

• Becoming part of the community

• Creating a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment

• Having a system in place to answer questions/concerns when they arise

Creating a District-wide Culture of Care and Trust

Diversity Circles: Courageous Conversations

Promoting Excellence for All - Promoting Excellence for All: Superintendent’s Task Force on Wisconsin’s Achievement Gap

CRP Resources

Validate, Affirm, Build, and Bridge: How to use CRP in your school

Journeys, Privilege Exercise

Utilizing Native American Culture to Develop Strategies to Address the Achievement Gap

Latino Culture – Immigrants are Makers, Not Takers

African American Culture – Building Stronger Student/Staff Relationships

Hmong Culture

Culturally Responsive Practices for AASD Staff

Next Steps

Non-negotiables for each level of organization

• PLC’s

• Building CSIP Teams

• District CSIP Support Team

Determine baseline data for each of three areas

(Academic, Behavioral, Cultural Competencies)

Formulate clear goals for each of three areas and a process to track progress and report back to Board and community

Questions to Guide Our Ongoing Work

How do we meet each student’s unique needs?

How do we form trusting relationships with our parents?

How do we show our commitment to equity and cultural responsiveness on a daily basis?