SIG 1 Superintendent as Lead Teacher and Learner Final Project

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1 Topic: Tukwila School District Race & Equity Leadership Team: In December 2014, I began my Superintendent internship with Dr. Nancy Coogan, first year Superintendent in Tukwila School District. Dr. Coogan began her tenure in July 2013 following former Tukwila Superintendent Burke s departure when a racial harassment federal lawsuit was filed by nine employees in One of Dr. Coogan s goals was to settle the lawsuit and establish a plan to create an equity focused organizational culture that would be aligned to a strategic planning process to support Tukwila s diverse student population. In July 2014, Dr. Coogan and the Tukwila School Board settled the racial harassment with the plaintiffs and then established a Race & Equity Team for the district. "Bottom line: The school board and I want the families in the Tukwila School District to know that we are moving forward with what is most important educating the children," Coogan said. (Tukwila Reporter, July 25, 2015.) Dr. Coogan, Dr. Wanda Billlingsly, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning and I met to discuss our goals in the fall of 2014 in developing the leadership skills of the Equity & Race team to create long term goals for professional development. Dr. Coogan had created a year of inquiry into the Tukwila s culture at the school and district level in order to 1) be compliant with the state on program and fiscal policies/procedures, 2) to create an equity focused strategic plan to support short term and long term academic results for Tukwila s diverse student body and 3) to rebuild the trust of staff and the community in creating stronger cross-cultural relationships and working norms that will result in a healthier organization. 1

2 Problem of Practice: Equity Focused Learning to Equity Focused Outcomes Tukwila School District is an organization that prides itself on being an urban district within a small town. With a small town feel; Dr. Coogan was dealing with community discomfort on the anniversary of her first year as Superintendent following a racial harassment settlement, three program audit findings resulting in the resignation letters for both the Director for ELL as well as Special Education and the rebuilding of her Cabinet team with the hiring of five new Cabinet members including an Assistant Superintendent. For a small community, everyone was aware of the changes that were occurring and there was a bit of unsettlement moving into year two. However there was also renewed hope with fresh perspectives, a strategic plan and a group of committed staff members wanting to be part of the Race & Equity team s efforts on diversity. Dr. Coogan along with Dr. Wanda Billingsly met with me to discuss their goals for equity work in the district. Dr. Billingsly and I were adamant that the Race & Equity team be a cross section of district staff as well as committed to ongoing learning on critical race theory and conversations about connecting race to teaching and learning. As she was new to the district herself, we decided that having the team first look at the data from the audit and equity tool kit analysis would be beneficial in understanding the scope of inequities throughout different programs or systems. In addition, Dr. Billingsly and I felt that staff needed to be knowledgeable about diversity and equity terminology and research in order to make recommendations to the Superintendent for an action plan to support Tukwila s school/district improvement efforts. Dr. Coogan and Dr. Billingsly asked if I would lead the team in learning to facilitate conversations 2

3 about race and I told them I would. Based on an initial analysis and observations, these are the claims I wanted to explore: Problem of Student Practice Claim (1): Students of color and poverty are learning with lower expectations, lower developmental content and less rigor than their white peers according to district and school based assessments. Problem of Teaching Practice Claim (2): Some teachers do not differentiate learning, incorporate different modalities of learning nor utilize best culturally responsive strategies to support students linguistic and specific learning needs. Problem of Leadership Practice Claim (3): Principals and district leader have not engaged staff or the community in understanding the diverse students/family needs nor do they provide training on culturally responsive learning or specific instructional strategies to support the different needs of students and families. To begin to create outcomes for students; the district needs to begin to delve into deeper discussions about race, poverty and diversity to bring about equity focused thinking and planning in order to create stronger academic program and better learning outcomes to support student growth. Background: The Most Diverse District in the Nation According to the New York Times article Diversity in the Classroom, Tukwila School District ranks number one in diversity across the nation. This district is a high poverty and high ELL district with close to 80% of the students eligible for free and reduced lunch speaking over sixty world languages. The student demographic page on Office of Superintendent of Public 3

4 Instruction s (OSPI) Report Card for Tukwila gives you a general view of the vast diversity; hinting at the range of languages, cultures and religions amongst the students and families they serve. Student Demographics OSPI Report Card: Tukwila SD Enrollment October 2013 Student Count 2,950 May 2014 Student Count 3,000 Gender (October 2013) Male 1, % Female 1, % Race/Ethnicity (October 2013) American Indian/Alaskan Native % Asian % Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander % Asian/Pacific Islander % Black / African American % Hispanic / Latino of any race(s) % White % Two or More Races % Special Programs Free or Reduced-Price Meals (May 2014) 2, % Special Education (May 2014) % Transitional Bilingual (May 2014) 1, % Migrant (May 2014) 2 0.1% Section 504 (May 2014) % Foster Care (May 2014) % In addition to the school district challenges with teaching a culturally, socioeconomically and linguistically diverse population; it has also been challenging to support the students academically. This year with the loss of the state s waiver to No Child Left Behind, Tukwila School District faces the implications of that waiver. Out of five schools (three elementary, one middle and one high), two elementary schools and the middle school are in step 5 (the most restrictive sanctions imposed by OSPI and the federal government). Closely connected to this process; Dr. Coogan contracted two independent audits with the state in the 4

5 areas of special education and ELL programs. Both audits noted at least forty items out of compliance requiring corrective action. Tukwila SD s Cabinet has discussed the implications of these audits over the course of the year; we have met with consultants and reviewed the audit findings to begin the process of corrective action being monitored by two new Directors of ELL and Special Education under the Assistant Superintendent. This was in addition to an Equity Audit conducted by Sharon Green from Association of Washington State Principals (AWSP) and an Equity Tool Kit Review out of Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD). The audit findings concluded that there needed to be a focus on race and equity, discipline, ELL and special education targeted professional development and trainings for staff at all levels of the system to support students and their families. Project/Goal Statement: Leading Future Leaders for Courageous Conversations Over the past year of my internship, in addition to participating in Cabinet level reviews and progress monitoring with the various consultants; I was also part of the district s strategic planning work and timeline review of current outcomes. The Teaching & Learning Department collected data both qualitative and qualitative, in understanding the district problem of practice around equity to think about priorities for the district. We discussed the need for foundational work; especially after the racial harassment lawsuit and the evidence gaps in all areas within the district including discipline, graduation rates, academic standards and truancy. I was nervous in leading the equity learning for the team; some of the members were people who filed or testified during the racial lawsuit and the settlement happened just five months prior to our first meeting, so tensions were still high. I did not know how I d be 5

6 received as an outsider to the district knowing so many people were also new to the system. Thinking through my goals for the year I decided to think about developing adult learning and leadership. Dr. Billingsly and I also decided to lead with a book study simultaneously with data analysis in each of our early meetings to connect learning to purpose. I matched protocols to each chapter of (Courageous Conversation about Race by Glenn Singleton) so that the conversation would be focused but aligned to school improvement. We meet monthly for over two hours with the team. My goal established for the team was to create foundational knowledge on critical race theory to support the adult leaders into creating a plan for equity focused professional development. Rationale: Theory of Action The mission states: One student at a time: Each of our students graduates ready to succeed in post-secondary education, career, and citizenship. Tukwila School District has had all levels of the organization experience stress, leadership change and negative media in the last two years. I believe that each student will fulfill its mission in Tukwila School District and achieve 1.5 years of annual growth (as identified by the district plan) if teachers will develop culturally responsive teaching strategies and be responsive to student data through the trainings and support of the Race & Equity leadership who are creating equity learning opportunities for all members of the organization. Developing the team s capacity to learn, questions and analyze current district practices will provide stronger stability to the district and create a district who is strategically improving their structural, organizational and academic practices. 6

7 Evidence of Growth: Leaders Questioning Each Other We have met four times over the past four months delving into deep conversation about race. In terms of process, the groups is becoming more focused on the terminology and definition than they were earlier (based on verbatim notes from meetings); and the team anecdotal data from the regularly attending members have stated they are really appreciating the topics and chapters. One middle school counselor stated I was frustrated by the title because who is going to teach me about race? But I learned a lot reading this chapter; it has given me so much to think about myself and my school. In our April 2015, there was a shift in recognizing that their peers or the system need to be a part of the team s work and planning including the school board. Quotes from our book discussion included: (Other) Schools saw problems and took action. Are our school board and our students also part of the conversation? They need to be involved. We are not at a place where we are at realization to take action. It is hard for many people in our district to talk about race. Some might feel good working with these kids; they are meeting their needs so they are helping kids. We are not looking at the long view Am I making an impact that supports kids to be self-sustaining? We need to differentiate between equality and equity. We need authentic conversations. We need to believe kids can achieve. 7

8 It has been a shift in thinking about self to the organizational; the team members are also beginning to think about their colleagues in terms of their awareness or fears and I believe will develop differentiated opportunities so each school or department can learn in different ways. In terms of completion; the team is just beginning to scratch the surface but I believe that in the summer the team will have spent a considerable amount of working looking at data while learning about critical race theory and thinking about their district s needs will begin to carve some equity goals and trainings that would support their district into delving into supporting their students. As one staff member stated that everyone is Tukwila is there for the right reason; but they just now need to know how to create futures for the students. Outcomes & Next Steps: Action Plan for Equity Connected to the Strategic Plan Because of the delayed start to the Equity Team discussions; our goal is to meet in August and draft a two year recommendation for professional development that will enhance what is in place for ELL and Special Education. The district has taken on a lot of initiatives; so the thinking from the team is to build in culturally responsive practices within the Teaching & Learning Development calendar so it is not an add-on piece of work but is embedded in the supports and then becomes what the district does. The team has also recognized that the team needs to be broader; so school board members, other staff members and community members have been invited to take part. We have been thinking about how to bring them on board with the discussions and some of the members want to take that orientation on. Finally the team is at a place where are beginning to review some of the policies and procedures outlined by the board; the board is asking our team some of the policies and the team provided very strong and clear suggestions for the board s consideration. 8

9 References: Gebeloof, R., Evans, T. and Scheinkman, A. Diversity in the Classroom. New York Times, April 29, Radford, D. Racial discrimination lawsuit settled; Tukwila schools 'to move forward, Tukwila Reporter, July 25, 2014, Singleton, G. and Linton, C. Courageous Conversations about Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools (First Edition). Sage Publications, January 2006 Office of Superintendent of Public Instructions (OSPI) Report Card: Tukwila School District. el=district&year=