In Field Guide #8: Understanding the Most Critical Needs of Today’s African American Students (and Children from Other Communities of Color), you will hear from education leaders, researchers, teachers, and families about how educators can best meet the needs of African American students and other students of color given the historical and contemporary challenges they face.
DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
California Association of African-American Superintendents & Administrators (CAAASA)
The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) has created a suite of resources designed to help secondary students explore topics through text and talk. This learning path is an efficient avenue for educators to:
Better understand the Discussion Cards and the suite of resources in this interactive Teacher’s Guide
This learning path includes five modules, each with a video, tools, and supporting documents. Developed by the California Labor Management Initiative (CA LMI), the modules provide an overview of the CA LMI, introduce three frameworks for labor-management collaboration, and present perspectives from statewide thought leaders and practitioners.
Note: During CCEE’s Governing Board Meeting on December 2, 2021, Kaleena Fowler, who currently serves as a student board member in Mt. Diablo USD, shared her voice and thoughts on the road ahead for students. CCEE has been providing technical assistance support to Mt. Diablo USD since 2020.
This article was featured as part of the December 2021 edition of the CCEE Connection.
Could you introduce yourself?
Hi, my name is Kaleena Fowler. I am a senior at College Park High School and also the student board member for the Mount Diablo Unified School District this year (MDUSD). I am the president of the Black Student Union (BSU) at College Park for about two years now, and have worked with the Boys and Girls of Contra Costa County and the Yellow Heart Committee, both great non-profit organizations. I am also an active member of the California Student Board Member Association (CSBMA) serving as the Director of Partnerships on the Executive Board. CSBMA is a student-led association of school district Student Board Members from across California that works together to better represent their constituents, allow for statewide youth advocacy, and provide support in the effort to expand Student Board Members across the state. My passion is advocating and speaking up for underserved and underrepresented communities.
My role as the student board member is to represent all 30,000 students in the district. I speak for all the elementary, middle and high school students. I am at every board meeting, I sit with all the other governing members, and I stay as late as they do. My voting status is preferential, meaning my vote does not influence the outcome of policies being passed, but it does influence the other governing members’ votes. I think that having the student board member position being created last year was extremely beneficial because almost everything the board passes is for the students. Having a student voice on the committee to give that perspective that none of the other board members have is extremely crucial. For instance, I remember when the new technology plan, Chromebooks, were being implemented for all middle and high schools. I asked, “Where are the middle schoolers going to put their Chromebooks, since they do not have a locker? How are we going to ensure the integrity of the Chromebooks will stay safe?”
Could you share some of your experiences as a student board member?
As the student board member, I have got the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) up and running with the help of Cherise Khaund, the President of the MDUSD Governing Board. The SAC is basically a group of pupils, from each individual school, on their student site council. We come together once a month, and bring policies, solutions, input, and more to the board. I should also mention middle school students are a part of the committee as well, which is amazing! It’s great to hear their perspectives. The topics we are discussing this year are the availability of COVID vaccination sites, a district-wide event for each big club (BSU, GSA, Latino Club, Interact, etc.), diversifying the English curriculum and novels, and more.
Within the BSU, Dr. Clark, the superintendent of the district, has come to meetings. One last year, one this year. The previous meeting he came to, he talked about the Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) program in the district. He pointed out that this policy was made because the homeless, foster, and African American/Latinx population were being underserved in the district. He talked about the stakeholders meeting he had with the African American parents, and students in the BSU were beyond happy to hear this plan. During and after the meeting, many students expressed how grateful they are to have this plan in place.
I am also working with district representatives to diversify the novel list for the English curriculum. I want the students of color to connect with what they are learning in school, and I feel like we do not have enough of that in the district.
What do think students need the most right now?
In September, I had the opportunity to speak at the capitol, on behalf of the Boys and Girls Club and the Yellow Heart Committee, regarding how COVID-19 has impacted students’ mental health. It was a nerve-racking, but amazing experience. In my speech, I highlighted what students need right now is accommodation. Since they spent a whole year confined to little black boxes on a screen, they have forgotten how to sit in a classroom for hours. No one knows how to compromise with others anymore.
That is why the social emotional learning concept is so important during these times. Social-emotional learning (SEL) is a methodology that helps students of all ages to better comprehend their emotions, to feel those emotions fully, and demonstrate empathy for others.
MDUSD created a survey designed to address social-emotional areas of development for self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and decision-making. The survey is based on the CASEL (core competence areas and settings for learning) framework and is constructed from adapted survey items from peer-reviewed social and emotional research studies. All students in grades kindergarten and transitional kindergarten through grade twelve take the Social-Emotional Learning Survey. The survey is administered three times during the school year.
The suicide prevention workshops, school and community service, the social emotional education collaborative, mental health workshops, etc. are all amazing aspects of MDUSD.
What are your plans for the future?
In the future, I intend to go straight to a four-year college. I applied to a couple of Historically Black Colleges on the east coast, and many colleges in California. I will be studying political science, and then going to law school. I hope to become a human rights lawyer. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to share my experience. If you would like to contact me, my email is [email protected].
AUTHOR
Kaleena Fowler, Student Board Member, Mt. Diablo Unified School District
Sponsored by the CCEE, the Monterey County Office of Education invited district leaders, principals, and teacher leaders to participate in Professional Learning Networks in 2017. These networks provided resources and support to increase student achievement, develop leadership skills, and strengthen collaboration among its PLN members. This report includes the PLN’s focus, structure, evidence of impact, lessons learned, and recommendations for the field.
Stakeholder feedback and input will be critical as LEAs plan for a new model of teaching and learning in response to CDE, CDC, and other pandemic guidelines. This session will introduce tools from the Continuity of Learning Playbooks to help you work with teachers, families, and community members. Attendees will also hear from other LEAs about how they are engaging stakeholders across their schools to support the continuity of learning for all students.
PRESENTER
Chula Vista ESD, Murrieta Valley USD, Ontario-Montclair SD, Copernicus Coaching & Consulting
Resource Type
Media
Type of Audience
Other, Systems Leadership, Teacher
Topic Area
Equity, Family and Community Engagement, Responsive Teaching & Learning
The Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) Toolkit: Using research-based tools to promote equity for English Learners (LCAP Toolkit) is a resource for educators, families, and community members to ensure that the LCAP—the state’s public accountability mechanism— reflects how actions, services, programs, and resources are made visible to ensure equitable opportunities and outcomes for English Learners. The LCAP Toolkit consists of four parts that can be used together or independently. Part I presents information pertaining to policy, background, and LCAP Toolkit development. Part II introduces the English Learner Research-Aligned LCAP Rubrics. Part III offers four additional resources and tools that support the applied use of the rubrics by engaging EL-focused networks in developing, analyzing, and refining LCAP plans. Part IV appendices include references and resources.
AUTHORS
Loyola Marymount University, Center for Equity for English Learners
CCEE is partnering with TNTP to provide an eight-part learning series (each session 2.5 hours for instructional teams to design strong teaching and learning experiences in the coming year. Drawing on lessons from TNTP’s Learning Acceleration Guide and aligned to the requirements of the Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans, this learning series focuses on the critical pieces necessary for an accelerated learning approach.
For the LEAs that participated in the series, TNTP provided support to instructional leaders at every level of the system to develop the knowledge, skills, and mindsets they need to develop an accelerated learning approach, regardless of whether students are learning in the school building or in their living room.
At the end of this session, you will be able to:
Learn how to prioritize the most critical content for ELA and Math.
Identify the prerequisite knowledge, skills, and academic vocabulary that students will need to access that grade level content.
Resource Type
Professional Learning
Type of Audience
Site Administrator / Instructional Coach, Systems Leadership, Teacher
In this session, attendees will learn more about Orange County Department of Education (OCDE)’s supplementary support distance learning modules for TK-8th grade.The 6-week units are intended for use by all California schools and districts highlighting essential ELA and math standards organized around engaging science and history/social science topics.
PRESENTER
Trish Walsh, Holly Steele, Rhonda Marriott – Orange County Department of Education
Resource Type
Media, Professional Learning
Type of Audience
Site Administrator / Instructional Coach, Systems Leadership, Teacher
CCEE is partnering with TNTP to provide an eight-part learning series (each session 2.5 hours for instructional teams to design strong teaching and learning experiences in the coming year. Drawing on lessons from TNTP’s Learning Acceleration Guide and aligned to the requirements of the Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans, this learning series focuses on the critical pieces necessary for an accelerated learning approach.
For the LEAs that participated in the series, TNTP provided support to instructional leaders at every level of the system to develop the knowledge, skills, and mindsets they need to develop an accelerated learning approach, regardless of whether students are learning in the school building or in their living room.
At the end of this session, you will be able to:
Examine specific examples of instruction that accelerated learning by using just-in-time supports to ensure all students can engage with grade-level content.
Articulate the importance of aces, implementation and quality goals in accelerated learning work.
Explain how your system will create a plan to accelerate student learning over the next two years.
