District Profile- IN-PROGRESS - Bernard Asagai - wk2 not complete

Negative District-wide Decisions Affecting Hispanic Learners in Plainfield Bernard Asagai PhD in Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Walden University June 11th, 2017 WORK IN-PROCESS

Abstract

The City of Plainfield New Jersey currently has to rely on the State Government to finance more than 90% of its education budget. Since the 1970s, the state has had many fluctuations with many long-term tenured residents moving from inner cities to outer suburbs which has caused a redistribution human-capital in those areas. Shifts in wealth, political power, educational infrastructures, and the movements in teacher as well as students availability to have trusted teachers living within their same neighborhoods had lasting impacts on the city. These changes not only affected the individuals in the city, but also had an effected the city's ability to generate tax revenue to pay for services such as education. Currently, the state of New Jersey has to fund all ​of the education budget within the school district, which has created a dynamic where schools are prohibited from use the resources that teachers have in order to help students, but have to use "prepaid" education plans created by third-party educational corporations that don't know the students, teachers, or the city.

Introduction

The city of Plainfield New Jersey is a location that has been undergoing an immense population redistribution for decades. During the in the 1970s, the city had a rapid out-migration of residences which diminished the level of jobs, businesses, property values, human capital, and other valuable resources. During that time of dislocation, movement, and out-migration Plainfield incurred an enormous in-migration of new residents from places like Puerto Rico, South America and Central America. This injection of residents from these mostly Spanish-speaking locations locations continues until today, creating a public education district that currently has a school population of almost 75% of students of Latin Origin. While most of the students are extremely academically sound, they lack the verbal skills in English to demonstrate their abilities in schools where the language of communication is only English, or on examinations like PSAT and the SAT.

Aside from the lack of social capital that played out in terms of teachers living in the same neighborhood where students lived, and the effect of that absence, there also was a financial crisis that occurred with the state government having to fund much of the city's educational infrastructure which created a "you have to do as I say� situation where leaders and decision-makers do not work together collaboratively to derive the best solutions that are in the best situation for learners. The end-result is the forcing of the city to “purchase� education packages as a condition to receive the state funding.

To put this into perspective, the local high school had a long history of having a strong football and basketball team. However, this is something that has changed over the last few decades and today, the city has one of the best baseball and soccer teams in the state.This is a transition that is directly linked to the growth in the Hispanic populations within the city.

Section 1: Plainfield School District Profile Mission Statement: The Plainfield Public Schools In partnership with its community Shall do whatever it takes for Every student to achieve High academic standards No alibis, No excuses No exceptions!

“Las Escuelas Públicas de Plainfield en asociación con la comunidad, hará todo lo que sea necesario para que cada estudiante alcance los niveles académicos más altos. “ ¡Sin Limitaciones, Sin Excusas, Sin excepciones!​ ​(Plainfield Schools Mission Statement, n.d.)

The fact that this mission statement is in English and Spanish speaks volumes when an individual knows the history of the city. To be taken seriously, the mission statement would have to be in both languages knowing the population of Spanish-speaking individuals living within it.

However, from the data it does not appear that the district has Spanish-speaking resources within it to adequately educate the 75% Spanish-speaking school population within the district.

Currently, only roughly 25% of the school district population is engaging with examinations such as the PSAT and the SAT. Given the data, it appears that the students are not being prepared for a life after high school.

Furthermore, you have to meet students where they are, and helping them progress to higher levels needs to involve not only their parents, but their communities as well. I state this because even the curriculum listed on the website for the district, is not in Spanish as well. Because of it only being in English, it could be robbing students of the use of a valuable resource in their parents, their communities, and other supporting networks.

Section 2: Data Analysis Why The PSAT GAP Exists?

One point of contention that is immediately apparent, is that a large number of students inside the school are not testing for statewide analysis tools such as the PSAT.

(N.J. ​School Performance Reports., 2016)

From reviewing the data, virtually 75% of the student population is of Latin Descent. (N.J. School Performance Reports., 2016) ​Is evident the region has become a major transient hub.

Students enter the city having learned skills in their countries of origin from locations such as

South and Central America, facing challenges not because they're not educated, but they face challenges because they are not being met where they are linguistically. They require ​Bilingual Resources to Bridge The Gap​ between that which they know, so they can engage and compete in tests such as the PSAT. These students are not engaging because of a language gap. Closing this gap would permit them to complete, and has the possibility of injecting major tax revenues into the city, and state coffers.

(N.J. ​School Performance Reports., 2016)

If they're not testing in large numbers for such test, then it begs the question “what” are teachers goals and aspirations for students, also, what support mechanisms do teachers have in place to help their development, as well as the supports for learners. Clearly more targeted investments from the investment from the city, state, and federal government to improve this district's language challenges, and cultural teaching & learning realities.

College and Career Readiness Indicator The State of New Jersey has a data indicator that measures the percentage of students in cities that are ready for college in specific cities, as well as a measurement for the state.according to this data, currently the city of Plainfield New Jersey is very low at this data point. As a coordinated team, I would seek to reverse this data using the methods of ​assessment of learning reviewing the data to see how students performed after tests.

I would also look at ​assessment for learning​ before classes began by having instructors converse with student’s previous instructors in courses to pinpoint strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to unify the human capital in teachers to produce the best results in students. In doing so, instructors can come up with methodologies and techniques to produce the custom teaching possibilities for students, even before the first school day begins. This ​collaborative assessment​ supports and augments the team to ensure that not only will students be prepared and assessed to perform highly on tests, have what they need to perform linguistically as well.

Foremore, the data should be presented in a disaggregated format to show who it is effecting, and the changes occurring in students should be monitored and reviewed. (​Bernhart, 2016)​ p.26

Attaining State Minimum As a team, I would seek to attain or surpass the average ​college and career​ ​readiness indicator in the state. Attainment of this indicator should ensure not only that students are on par with the average state students seeking to enter into state Universities such as Rutgers University, and

also would provide students better possibilities to compete successfully for employment positions in the region of the county, as well as possibly increasing the ​city's tax revenues​.

Currently the scores are very low, and have a direct effect on ​college admittance​, but also in the participation rates of graduates interactions with the economic environment within the city.

Plainfield Population and Aid Data

(Detailed Profile, n.d.)

(New Jersey Education Aid, 2017)

(Plainfield City Data Profile, 2017)

Section 3: Synthesis

Summary

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Cave, D. (2004, October 24). In a Divided Town, a Question of Hate, or Cash? Retrieved June 24, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/24/nyregion/in-a-divided-town-a-question-of-hate-or-cash.htm l?_r=0 Davis, T. (2017, May 24). New Jersey School Districts With Most Drug, Alcohol Cases.

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Plainfield Alignment . (n.d.). Retrieved June 24, 2017, from http://www.plainfieldnjk12.org/About%20PPS/CurriculumAlignment.php Plainfield City Data Profile. Retrieved June 24, 2017, from https://datausa.io/profile/geo/plainfield-nj/#education

Plainfield Schools Mission Statement . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.plainfieldnjk12.org/About%20PPS/PPS%20Mission%20Statement.pdf State Level Education Data http://www.nj.gov/education/data/

State politicians deny millions to Plainfield schools. (2015, September 25). Retrieved June 24, 2017, from https://plainfieldview.wordpress.com/2015/09/24/state-politicians-deny-millions-to-plainfield-sc hools/ 07060 Zip Code (Plainfield, NJ) Detailed Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2017, from http://www.city-data.com/zips/07060.html

S. (1970, January 01). New Jersey Education Aid. Retrieved June 28, 2017, from http://njeducationaid.blogspot.com.br/2016/07/the-unsung-excellence-of-dover.html