“Our future depends on having an excellent public educational system, in which all students graduate from high school prepared for college or the world of work, no matter what the color of their skin, the language they speak, or where they happen to be born. And this is a goal I believe we can achieve.” - Dr. María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel, IDRA President and CEO

Published 10 times a year, each edition explores issues facing U.S. education today and strategies to better serve every student. This newsletter is published in print and on the IDRA website, in addition to this eLetter format. 

by Paula Johnson, M.A.

Students are encouraged for at least 12 years by parents, teachers, and their community to learn all they can in order to build a fulfilling life for themselves. At the heart of the American public education system is the desire for all students to graduate from high school fully prepared for college and to begin a professional career.

When students come to the fork in the road between college and career, we want them “armed and fully loaded” with the requisite knowledge and skills for both. The key question now is how do we create an educational community of practice that welcomes every learner and instills the qualities that will provide a strong foundation for further studies and employment?

Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) have been in the spotlight for some time. In his 2011 state of the union address, President Obama pledged the addition of 100,000 new STEM teachers. He also expressed the desire for the United States to reclaim its leadership in the world with the highest proportion of college graduates by the end of the decade.

Whether you live in a state that has adopted the Common Core standards or one that is paving its own path, the United States continues to focus on building a community of professionals that can uphold and renew our STEM capability. It seems that with the amount of attention focused on this issue, we would have arrived at a solution to that key question. There is a growing community of educators who are forcing STEM supporters to rethink how we deliver instruction to 21st century learners – by returning to the arts. – Keep reading

Listen to our Classnotes Podcast episode, “STEAM Education for Every Child,” Part 1 and Part 2

by Albert Cortez, Ph.D.

From 2007 to 2011, all high school students in the state of Texas were required to take four years of English, four years of mathematics, four years of science, and four years of social studies to graduate from high school. This rigorous curriculum (known as the 4-by-4) was designed to prepare all students to enroll in four-year colleges in Texas and around the country.

But some Texas educators felt too challenged to fulfill such “lofty expectations” for all students. After all, some argued, not “all” students should consider college as a real option for themselves. Such assumptions of potential, we suspect, were directed at not one’s own children but rather at other peoples’ children.

Leaders from a sub-set of private sector companies also had no interest in having all students being academically prepared. They were more concerned with having access to a “skilled workforce,” which for some is code often used to rationalize a preference for emphasis on minimal skills needed to run the machines or do the unsophisticated work required in “my company.”

Some educators had low expectations for groups of students, and some short-sighted private sector leaders had no concern with the diminished opportunities that lead to students enrolling in a watered-down high school curriculum with fewer math, science and social studies requirements. Working in tandem, these two forces orchestrated major revisions to the Texas 4-by-4 standards. – Keep reading

This alert is a reminder that public schools, by law, must serve all children. The education of undocumented students is guaranteed by the Plyler vs. Doe decision, and certain procedures must be followed when registering immigrant children in school to avoid violation of their civil rights.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education published in May 2014 a letter advising school officials that activities that deny or discourage students to attend school are unlawful. The letter begins, “Under federal law, state and local educational agencies are required to provide all children with equal access to public education at the elementary and secondary level.”

In Plyler vs. Doe, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that children of undocumented workers have the same right to attend public primary and secondary schools as do U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Like other students, children of undocumented workers in fact are required under state laws to attend school until they reach a mandated age. – Keep reading

See the full bilingual (English-Spanish) school opening alert flier 

Listen to IDRA’s Classnotes Podcast episode on “Immigrant Children’s Rights to Attend Public Schools.”

Get other resources

by Nilka Avilés, Ed.D.

Today’s global economy demands that students perform at rigorous levels. As educators, we must continually review our practices, policies and programs that are designed to improve students’ preparation for post-secondary pathways. Of primary importance for school leaders is equipping educators to succeed within the complexities of systemic change in culturally- and linguistically-diverse schools. Consequently, we should open the doors to greater collaboration that better serves our diverse student population.

When our secondary schools, for example, do not successfully prepare all students for college, their students struggle to navigate through the intricate transitions from high school to post-secondary education. Sometimes, the barriers are so overwhelming that even after students have entered college, they find themselves unprepared for the rigors of college-level work (Bangser, 2008).

Unpreparedness is not just about academic skills but includes other factors as well. Deborah Hirsch states, “Those who struggle are more likely to attribute it to bad luck or factors they see as out of their influence” (2010). As noted by Brian Harke (2011), student overconfidence, lack of preparedness and uninformed expectations about college resulted in nearly 34 percent of college students dropping out during their first year.

Mellard & Lancaster (2003) summarize that students’ limited success can be exacerbated by institutional issues, how well students are prepared, increasing competition for resources, and interagency collaboration.

Identifying limiters and developing culturally-responsive solutions are paramount if educators are to assist all students to enter and graduate from college. The key is having the mindset and commitment to be involved with the educational success of all the students. Solutions must integrate academic, personal, social and cultural information that directly support student transition, matriculation and retention in college. – Keep reading

Listen to our Classnotes Podcast episode: “A Principal on Supporting Teachers for Student College Readiness”

IDRA Annual Report 

IDRA’s 2014 Annual Report highlights seven defining moments in our work last year, from advancing educational and civil rights, to amplifying the voice of families and cross-generational leaders in securing educational quality and equity; to improving student success, graduation, and college preparedness; and preparing new teachers for increasingly diverse classrooms. We are grateful to funders and partners for their commitment to excellent and equitable education that made IDRA’s work possible.

This year, the IDRA Newsletter is highlighting our staff’s varied and diverse talents and backgrounds. At IDRA, Dr. Nilka Avilés leads teacher professional development in science education particularly serving English language learners, and in strengthening college access and readiness for underserved and underrepresented students. She also directs IDRA’s new School TurnAround and Reenergizing for Success Leaders project. Before joining IDRA, Dr. Avilés directed the Early College High School initiative at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is a native Puerto Rican and is the first-born daughter of Adolfo and Hilda Avilés, who were educators, principals and executive directors at the Department of Education in Puerto Rico. Her father also was city council manager for many years, and after he retired from the Department of Education, he became the vice-mayor of Nilka’s hometown Guaynabo. Her mother was her first grade teacher when Nilka was 4 years old. Nilka matriculated at the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras campus and completed her first semester of her freshmen year at the age of 16. She became a secondary science teacher at the age of 20 and taught at the high school from which she graduated in Guaynabo.

Nilka loves the outdoors. She was a Girl Scout for many years. Her camping skills and experiences were so profound that she has owned travel trailers and goes camping during her spare time. She also loves to dance, especially her salsa and merengue music, even though now she enjoys dancing polkas and country western music. Being raised in la “Isla del Encanto” (Island of Enchantment), Nilka loves the beach, and whenever possible, she goes on vacation back to the beach in Puerto Rico, to Cancún or to the Florida Emerald Coast. Nilka also enjoys travelling to discover the world. While in college along with 95 students and eight professors, she visited Greece, Italy, France, Spain and England during a 45-day trip. She also traveled to Antigua, Martinique, St. John, St. Thomas, Curacao, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Aruba, Trinidad & Tobago, Columbia, Venezuela, Panama, and San Andrés. – See online

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IDRA is inviting research applications for the IDRA José A. Cárdenas School Finance Fellows Program. This will be the second round of this new fellows program to support research that will inform efforts to secure equitable funding of public schools across the country. The Call for Applications packet is online now. IDRA will select one or more fellows who will dedicate themselves to a period of intense study and writing in school finance. This second round José A. Cárdenas School Finance Fellow will be selected for a defined period beginning in early 2016.  

A Principal on Setting Expectations for College – Episode 126

Principal on Creating a College Going Culture – Episode 86

Connecting Every Student to a Meaningful Future – Episode 85

High School Youth Tekies on College Access – Episode 74

Immigrant Children’s Rights to Attend Public Schools – Episode 94

• eBook: Immigrant Students’ Rights to Attend Public Schools
   
• eBook: What Parents Want to Know about the New Texas Graduation Requirements