REDUCING EXCELLENCE GAPS: THE GADSDEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT EARLY COLLEGE PROGRAM Melanie S. Meyer

Reducing Excellence Gaps: The Gadsden Elementary School District Early College Program

By Melanie S. Meyer

San Luis, Arizona is only a mile from the Mexican border wall. Between 85 and 97 percent of the students in San Luis who attend one of the eight schools in the Gadsden Elementary School District No. 32 (GESD) qualify for free or reduced-price meal programs.

Despite the economic challenges, this community is also home to some very talented young mathematicians. Homero Chávez, the Early College Program Director, explained how he started merging the goals of equity and excellence over 20 years ago. He said, “Back then, we wanted to make sure we had a program that prepared our kids for STEM-related degrees, but we didn't have anything for that.”

Chávez and his colleague, Jesus Arrizon, a former metallurgical engineer and advanced math teacher, chose to focus on developing students’ math skills for entry into science, technology, engineering, and math fields, and on preparing students for the American College Test (ACT) to increase their access to high-level education opportunities. The GESD Early College program began with free math tutoring on the weekends but over time has evolved into a coordinated system for developing mathematical talent.

eginning in fifth grade, universally screens students’ Arizona state math test scores. Using building-level local norms, the Early ollege rogram team identifies the highest performing students on each elementary campus. In after-school tutoring, math instructors at Southwest Junior High School and an uis iddle chool prepare fifth and sixth-grade students by frontloading the foundational math skills they will need for advanced coursework. In seventh and eighth grade, these students are grouped together for an accelerated math course, an ACT preparation course, and a college-level math course taught on their campuses by three GESD teachers who are also adjunct professors at Arizona Western College.

eginning in the fifth grade, these students all take the ACT, a test typically given to college-bound high school students. This above-level testing allows students to qualify for academic summer residential programs through the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY).

Year after year, GESD consistently has a large number of students qualify and earn scholarships to participate in CTY summer STEM programs on college campuses across the country. The GESD system for math talent development provides elementary and middle school students with access to advanced learning opportunities in their community and beyond.

Chávez emphasized, “We never shut the door. The door to this program is open for anyone who wants to try.”

The Early College Program is increasing levels of advanced performance in mathematics for students in GESD through early identification, universal screening, local norms, ability grouping, and frontloading, several key facets of the research-based model for reducing excellence gaps (Plucker et al., 2017). Equally important, though, is the fact that Chávez and his team actively encourage participation in these advanced learning opportunities by partnering with families and by removing traditional barriers to talent development, such as transportation and program costs (Plucker & Peters, 2016). By bringing these advanced math learning opportunities to GESD students locally, Chávez says, “we’re not just telling them they can do it, but we’re also showing them they can do it.”

Mr. Chávez lights up when he talks about his former students, many of whom have graduated with STEM degrees from highly competitive universities across the United States. He stays in contact with his students and features their academic and professional accomplishments on the program website. Chávez believes that the investment in excellence and equity has benefited the community as a whole and notes that, “a lot of kids who went through the system are coming back to work in and around our community.” Chávez and Arrizon are both former GESD students, and Raul Rojas, another GESD alumnus who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with degrees in mathematics and linguistics, has returned to Southwest Junior High School as a math teacher in the Early College Program.

Chávez summarized the program goals by saying, “We want to make a difference. We want to give our kids these opportunities to excel in math and science and break the cycle of poverty. We want our students to rid themselves of any preconceived, stereotypical, and societal notions that reinforce the belief that they cannot become scientists, doctors, or engineers because of race, gender, or socioeconomic inequalities. We want our students to understand that there are no limitations on their power to dream big.”

Chávez and his team of advanced math teachers have discovered a way to do just that and the GESD Early College Program is reducing excellence gaps in mathematics and preparing students for postsecondary college and career success.

Melanie S. Meyer is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of North Texas. She has been a teacher in gifted and advanced academic classrooms for over 20 years. Her research focuses on adolescent identity development, school-based talent development, and policy issues that impact the college, career, and military choice process for talented students.

At-Home Learning Program Changes Lives for Native and Changes Lives for Native and Rural Families Rural Families

Author: Kim Fischer

The COVID-19 Learning Slide

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought education inequities to the forefront and it’s an issue we can’t waste time in addressing. Many families do not have the resources needed to adequately prepare their young children for the coming school year which could have dire consequences for these young learners. Experts, like Dr. David Lawrence of The Children’s Movement, believe that this issue may a ect children’s academic performance over the long term.

“...a ‘COVID slide’ in which children could miss out on formal school for up to six months could look more like a ‘COVID cli ,’ ” says Dr. Lawrence. “We shouldn’t let that happen.”

And, unfortunately, as the pandemic progresses, children may not enter or return to school for much longer than six months. Many schools transitioned to online learning in the fall and remained that way while others resumed in-class teaching, only to return to remote learning as local cases rose.

While school-aged children may receive virtual support from their teachers, preschool students are being impacted before their formal education even begins as in-person options are forced to close their doors.

Early education is a critical period in a student’s academic journey, and largescale disruptions may have long-lasting repercussions. Without the right support during those crucial early years, children will start school at a serious disadvantage. And those who were already at risk of academic gaps are also those who may be most impacted by the COVID slide.

Educational Inequity in Rural Communities

The issue is particularly dire in rural areas, where early learning resources are already limited. Mother and healthcare worker Cornelia Yellowman knows this struggle only too well.

Living in a small Navajo Nation town near Southern Utah, the YellowmanWilliams family are grateful to have the outdoors right in their backyard. As Cornelia prepared her daughter Kenzie to start school, she wanted to secure a bright future for her.

“You know, you always want your children to succeed in life.”

While their rural backdrop provides unlimited beauty, its remoteness presents certain access barriers. Without Internet and digital resources in their home, Kenzie could not access the same learning resources as her peers, and Cornelia herself had to finish her online college courses from her work’s parking lot, the only place she could access Wi-Fi.

Cornelia’s family is one of many in the Navajo Nation unable to access educational resources from home. Between school closures and limited digital access, these families are left even more behind during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, schools in rural areas often function on limited budgets that may be strained even further this year, leaving little room to serve children who have not yet entered school as they struggle to support existing students.

“She told me that she would like to be a doctor,” Cornelia said, “so I have that huge hope for her.” Despite these challenges, Cornelia prioritized Kenzie’s education, even to the point of delaying her own degree. “It matters a lot to me because it’s a struggle, especially for this generation. You have to have… some kind of educational background behind you to basically get a job.” American Consortium for Equity in Education

Waterford.org is a non-profit whose mission is dedicated to ensuring educational equity and access for students. Through their kindergarten readiness program, Waterford Upstart, children learn key reading, math, and science skills the year before kindergarten to prepare children for school. The program costs participating families nothing, regardless of location and background.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and with generous philanthropic support, the organization provided an accelerated version of Waterford Upstart to families of incoming elementary students through their 2020 Summer Learning Path.

Families in nine di erent states and the Navajo Nation gained access to the program’s curriculum, educational resources, and program support through personal family coaches. Additionally, qualifying participants received Internet access and all technology needed to complete the program from the comfort and safety of their home regardless of where they live. In total, over 13,000 families participated in the Summer Learning Path.

In the Navajo Nation, almost 200 children were given access to Waterford Upstart. Of those participants, 91% belonged to low-income families, and nearly 89% received a computer to keep Arizona State Representative Arlando Teller expressed his gratitude for Waterford Upstart’s support in Navajo Nation communities: “The children who used the program are ready for kindergarten and many of them, along with their families, now have a computer and access to the internet. Ahéhee’ [thank you] for the opportunity and partnerships made.”

Yellowman-Williams Family: Digital Access in the Navajo Nation

After her daughter’s teacher informed her of the Waterford Upstart program during a parent orientation night, Cornelia signed up right away. Kenzie is now learning crucial skills that will help her begin kindergarten in the fall, ready to learn. It’s also empowering Cornelia and James with the tools they need to create a strong home learning environment.

Cornelia said of her daughter’s progress, “I just hope she can store everything, every educational thing in her brain, just so that it will help her understand what type of world she’s going to be ready for.”

Cornelia and Kenzie’s educational futures were revolutionized by Waterford Upstart’s access to Wi-Fi and technology. Cornelia understood digital literacy is an essential part of today’s education, so she knew this experience would help Kenzie reach her academic potential.

“It will broaden her horizon, it will open her up to a lot of opportunities [like] experience with laptops,” says Cornelia, “but especially, she will take this learning to school.” Plus, Cornelia no longer has to finish her college assignments from her work parking lot. Now, she can work on them at home and spend more time with Kenzie.

The Yellowman-Williams family was one of many Navajo Nation homes who built a strong educational foundation after completing the program, many of whom had never owned let alone used a computer.

for their children through Waterford Upstart. In a community where digital and educational inequity is rampant, this opportunity could be life-changing.

“It’s like a dream come true getting this software for my Kylie,” says Cornelia. “And also not just for her— for the family.”

Making STEM a Tool of Equity Through Private-Public Education Partnerships

By Marla Wilson, Executive Director of the STEM Careers Coalition

COVID-19 starkly illuminates the inequities that are prevalent in society, including in education. While school districts and communities did their best to adapt in this new educational environment, it is clear we need to continue to expand our collective efforts to maintain continuity of learning for all students as a point of equity and inclusion.

A focus of the diversity, equity, and inclusion discussion should be the integration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) into education for all. We have a collective responsibility to empower students “to see the STEM in them” by providing resources, as well as the infrastructure and support to contextualize STEM exploration.

As companies move to measure their success by their impact on global communities, placing education at the forefront of their plans is not something that is nice to do, it’s an imperative. Partnerships in education help historically and systemically disadvantaged communities gain

and discover experiences that will fuel future success.

As an example, in 2019, Discovery Education launched the STEM Careers Coalition in partnership with some of the world’s biggest brands and organizations. The goal has always been to harness the power of the collective to elevate diversity in STEM. That goal is more important now than ever, with change clearly needed to address the inequities in education head on.

The STEM Careers Coalition Has Three Clear Goals:

1.To empower educators to increase STEM literacy in the classroom,

2.To foster and promote equity and access to quality STEM education, and

3.To build the next generation of solution seekers with intentional focus on racial and gender equity.

Industry leaders – such as Chevron, Boeing, Microsoft, Caterpillar Foundation, AES Corporation, Arconic Foundation, Stanley Black & Decker, and The IF/THEN Initiative, supported by Lyda Hill Philanthropies – demonstrate the power of investing in education to help ensure that ip codes do not define students destinies. Each member of the Coalition believes that all students should have the opportunities and resources to reach their fullest potential as they explore the wide world of STEM careers and come to understand how T fits into their futures.

The STEM Careers Coalition helps connect students to STEM futures through a diverse array of relevant and standards-aligned content, all available at no-cost on STEMCareersCoalition.org. The resources are designed by curriculum experts to be integrated into educator’s lesson plans with ease wherever learning is taking place. Additionally, Coalition members partner with school districts to provide access to critical STEM learning platforms and professional development for under-resourced schools across the United States. Taken together, the private sector funds unique and essential content that helps close access and funding gaps in education. This double-pronged approach creates, and sustains, a culture of STEM education that supports success.

I really do believe that STEM is the great equalizer. Through partnerships between public and private institutions and deep-seated commitments to racial and gender equity, we can see to it that every single student is prepared to excel in the global community.

Marla Wilson is Executive Director of the STEM Careers Coalition from Discovery Education. In this role, she unites the business community to grow the STEM pipeline by preparing 10 million students for the future of work with no-cost, standards-aligned resources.

Learn more at STEMCareersCoalition.org

5 Ways to Support Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Social Studies

By Stefanie Wager and Lawrence M. Paska, Ph.D.

National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has a bold vision for social studies education: “A world in which all students are educated and inspired for lifelong inquiry and informed civic action.” This vision builds upon our previous definition of inclusiveness as a strategic priority, in which “NCSS encourages, promotes and ensures inclusiveness that reflects society and strengthens civic life.”

The challenge and opportunity for any education organization - from professional membership associations like ours to instructional resource providers - is to ensure that our services and supports reflect the diversity and include the perspectives of our educator workforce, students, and members of our communities. In short, how do we best represent those communities we serve?

Internally, NCSS strives to “actively recruit individuals who raise the voices of all social studies professionals in an organization whose culture is inclusive and where all voices are encouraged, supported and celebrated.” This language is embedded within the fabric of our own policies and actions. It is at the heart of how we fulfill our mission and achieve our vision.

Recently, our organization established a permanent standing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Social Studies Committee to fulfill our strategic priority. To us, strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion in social studies learning and teaching includes five possible approaches. 1.Promote equitable, inclusive, anti-racist, and anti-bias practices, resources, and programs in the social studies.

2.Review existing resources, position statements, and publications - and recommend necessary revisions - to ensure that they reflect equitable, inclusive, anti-racist, and anti-bias positions and practices.

3.Prepare position statements and responses to current events and issues that publicize and promote a commitment to equitable, inclusive, anti-racist, and anti-bias positions and practices.

4.Create professional learning opportunities, such as webinars and conference sessions, to promote equitable, inclusive, anti-racist, and anti-bias practices in the social studies.

5.Create and help identify high quality resources for use with faculty and with students to teach topics and teach through instructional practices that promote equity and inclusion.

We adapted these approaches from our committee’s charge, and offer them to guide your own organization’s focus to foster diversity, equity and inclusion in social studies. We invite you to learn more about our organization, our continued efforts to foster inclusiveness, and related work by joining us at www.socialstudies.org.