The Achievement Gap disproportionately effects Blacks & Latinos at higher rates. Take a look at the various reasons why this is the 21st Centuries biggest Social issue. Poverty is a man made construction and therefore can be undone!

1. Underlying Issues: Poverty and The Achievement Gap
FALL 2014: CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION POLICY, PROFESSOR LISA BELZBERG
ATHENA ROSA, SENIOR AT THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AT HUNTER COLLEGE (COMHE PROGRAM)

2. Nelson Mandela 1918-2013
“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.”

3. Vision & Mission
1.Identify and explore the various barriers that affect learning & achievement
2.Define and understand Parent Involvement under NCLB (2001)
3.Define and discuss the current state of the Achievement Gap (International & Domestic standing)
4.Discussion & activity: What can we do?

4. Theories of Poverty
1.Individual deficiencies ex. Self-fulfilling prophesy
2.CulturalBelief Systems that Support Subcultures of poverty ex. Latinas and “house chores”
3.Economic, Political, and Social Distortions or Discrimination ex. “The System”
4.Geographical Disparities ex. Population over Isolation
5.Cumulative & Cyclical Interdependencies ex. “The soft-bigotry of low expectations”
Source: Rural Poverty Research Center @ The University of Missouri
Theories of Poverty and Anti-Poverty Programs in Community Development
By: Ted k. Bradshaw / RPRC Working Papers No. 06-05, February 2006

5. Obstacles to Learning & Achievement
•Income / Wealth(SES, employment, Public Assistance, Social Security..) –parental marital status*
•Place of residence (urban, suburban, permanent, temporary) –racially segregated, environmental pollution*
•Type of housing (house vs. tenement) –racially segregated, environmental pollution*
•Language(non-English speaker: student / parent) –communication*
•Illness / disease (parent, student, immediate family member)-ability, attendance*
•Racial Inequality (Black and Latino Urban Youth) –equitable access to resources*
•Support services (school, home: i.e. Parent Involvement, after-school, mentorship) –exist, effective
•Students ability and belief in self-actualization(do they think they have the chops?)-Positive Mental Health Outlook
•Resiliency(ability to cope / recover from change of unfortunate, stressful events) –Health outcomes
•Policy & Implementation (changes, time, money) –allocations and restrictions*

6. Income in the United States
•The current distribution of wealth is more unequal than it was in 2010.
•75% of the Nations Wealth is held by the top 10% of families and the bottom half own 1.1%.
•The average net worth of a White family is $134K, compared Hispanic families $14K and Black families $11K.
•In short, White 90%, Hispanic 2.3%, Black 2.6%.
Wealth Breakdown by Race
White
Black
Hispanic
Other
Source: 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/scf/scfindex.htm
Accessed on: 9/9/2014 5:52pm

7. Population, Residence, Language
New York City
The Bronx
Population
White
Black
Hispanic
other
19,651,127
70.9%
17.5%
18.4%
9.3%
1,418,733
45.8%
43.3%
54.6%
7.6%
Residence / Housing
Homeownership
Multiple-unitdwellings
54.5%
50.5%
19%
89.3%
Language (ForeignBorn)
29.8%
56.8%
Source: US Census Bureau, Bronx County Quick Facts
www.quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/36005.html
Accessed on: 9/9/2014 4:24pm

8. Health Issues & RaceAngel R. and Worobey JL. Single motherhood and children’s health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 1988, Vol.29 (March):38-52.
•Single moms report poorer health (depression).
•“double jeopardy” resulting in “role overload” and increases psychological distress.
•Children without fathers present to have poorer mental health and experience gross forms of psychopathology such as disturbed sex-role development or antisocial behavior. Zalewski M. et, al. Poverty and single parenting and relations with preschoolers’ cortisol and effortful control. Inf. Child Dev. 2012, 21:537-554.
•Single parenthood and poverty status significantly related to a greater likelihood of children demonstrating the low am/pm pattern. This results in a blunted pattern or the diurnal HPA axis activity.
•Low levels of cortisol result in low effortful control
•Disrupted cortisol levels and reactivity have been related to behavior problems in children.

9. Policy
HOUSING:
•“Red Lining”: National Housing Act of 1934, created the FHA:
aggravated already bias lending practices, residential segregation, and urban decay.
EDUCATION:
•NCLB 2001 and Common Core: timely implementation process, some improvements but far from expected results.
•Zero-tolerance & the school to prison pipeline

10. Parent Involvement
•Under NCLB 2001 Public Law: PL 107-110
Establishes the agency of parent involvement through Parent’s Associations (PA) or Parent Teacher’s Associations (PTA).
•Senate Bill 1001 The Parent Empowerment Act became the Parent Trigger Law
Defined in application by state. However, empowers parents to employ legal defenses specific to failing schools.
ex. Parent Revolution 1stparent group to pull a “Trigger” Law move at McKinley Elementary School in California.

11. The Achievement Gap

12. International Standing
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
PISA 2012 Results for the United States
(Programme For International Student Assessment)
•27thin Math (below average)
•17thin Reading(average)
•20thin Science (average)
•United States spends more than most countries per student
•1 in 4 FAIL to achieve Level 2 of math proficiency (higher than OECD average and unchanged since 2003
•Below-averagesegment of top performers
•Socio-economic background has a substantial influence on performance.
Image source: Bing Image search under Creative Commons license.

13. Domestic Snapshot
•According to the NYSED, “more than 94% of students from low need districts graduate with a high school diploma as opposed to 65.9% of students from high need urban-suburban districts.”
•NYS overall graduation rates increased from 74% (2008 cohort)to 74.9% (2009 cohort).
•Large achievement gap still remains in graduates with Advanced Designation.
State
High School GraduationRates
(2009 Cohort)
Buffalo
46.8% -53.4% (+6.6%)
New YorkCity*
60.4% -61.3% (+0.9%)
Syracuse
48.0% -48.8% (+0.8%)
Yonkers*
66.0% -66.4%(+0.4%)
Rochester
43.4% -43.0% (-0.4%)
Source: Statewide High School Graduation Rate Shows Incremental Increase, Achievement Gap Persists
www.nysed.gov/print/611
Accessed on: 9/9/14 4:39pm

14. Addressing the Achievement Gap
1.Waiver from NYS Education Department NCLB & NY Teacher/principal evaluation system.
2.“Matched Student” tracking approach.
3.$500 million of Race to the Top funds up for grabs.
4.$150 million in competitive grants.
5.Parent Involvement under NCLB, Public Law: PL 107-110
6.Improving equitable access to Regents with Advanced Designation Coursework
Sources: State Education Department Releases Grades 3-8 Assessment Results
www.nysed.gov/print/805
Accessed on: 9/9/14 4:37pm
Statewide High School Graduation Rate Shows Incremental Increase, Achievement Gap Persists
www.nysed.gov/print/611
Accessed on: 9/9/14 4:39pm

15. What can we do?
Discussion: Supporting educators, parents and school communities in addressing the achievement gap.
Activity: Identify & briefly describe plan initiatives that address some of the underlying issues of poverty