Equitable Literacy Programming – Y.O.U.th

by Ashley Walker | Oct 4, 2022

Youth Organized and United to Help (Y.O.U.th) is disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline through our #BooksNotBarsOr programming. We use tutoring, advocacy, literacy, and training—as well as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion education—to create awareness around the issues that cause the school-to-prison pipeline and what we can do to end it.

What if all children received an equitable education in the United States? Imagine a world where even the poorest children from the most desolate neighborhoods had the opportunity to dream through literacy.

Research and historical data have shown and proven the public educational system was designed to reach and benefit a specific demographic and population which often purposefully excludes the majority of learners, specifically Black, Brown, and Indigenous students. We see this immediately in the K-5 model, but also are aware of the preschool to prison pipeline that is sadly becoming more prevalent with the expulsion rates of students aged four and five.

This current educational system does not offer equitable educational resources to Black, Brown, and Indigenous students. As a result, students of those households are over-represented in incarceration and dropout rates.

Change Idea:

Our change plan is to ensure Black, Brown, and Indigenous students have access to literacy resources outside of school by providing free and low-cost tutoring services, ensuring parents are equipped to advocate for their children, and training white educators to see the beautiful diversity in each of our children.

As an organization, our ultimate goal is to equip children with the tools they need to add to their literacy toolbox and to ensure each child has access to additional literacy resources, including tutoring outside of school. We believe with our commitment to step into the gaps, that literacy will look equitable for communities that are often excluded. While our work focuses on Black, Brown, and Indigenous youth, we know any race from a lower socio-economic background will fall into this category of exclusion, not receiving resources, and often being left behind. We believe our commitment to change and our commitment to close the gap where we see need will begin to change the trajectory of young people’s lives one student at a time.

We are an organization that leads community and collaboration. We partner with organizations such as Decoding Dyslexia to provide Dyslexia screenings for our youth. We have strong relationships with local educators and students to provide tutoring services to our children. We partner with community members and parents to provide advocacy resources to parents. In addition, we created programs through our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion curriculum to deliver training to white educators across the state.

During our summer program, learners were tutored remotely for a total of 35 hours. Learners showed growth and progress in foundational reading skills (vowel and consonant sounds and decoding and spelling consonant-vowel-consonant words). The mothers of the learners were present, engaged, and supportive. The children responded positively to the instruction. Sometimes learners would even work beyond the 45-minute session because their engagement and focus were strong. Children responded joyfully to the images of children who had the same skin complexion depicted in books and learning games. When one boy was playing a matching game and he turned over a card depicting a Black baby, he remarked, “That looks like me!”

All parents of students expressed knowing their child was behind in reading and literacy and hoped their child improved with our support. With just a short amount of intentional tutoring time, the students began to improve drastically. What became clear to us, is the schools do not make time to be intentional with students until they are not meeting standards or grade levels. Once a child falls behind, it is very difficult to make up for that time loss. Now multiply that by three or four grade levels and this is how we get high dropout rates and loss of enthusiasm in students. The students in our tutoring program showed grit and joy while they were learning and became more confident in their reading.

We learned that all children can read when they are given the opportunity to learn—when they are seen as the brilliant little minds that they are. When educators are able to see children for who they are, anything is possible. Our change idea has reinforced the knowledge that time with children is the key to their success. Not every learner learns the same way. Therefore, intentional time is required to bring out of a child what is inherently inside of them.

This change has become the catalyst of our programming. It is in the very fabric of who we are as an organization and fuels the change we want to be in the world. It is important to us to ensure that our children have access to an equitable education. Education is a civil right and it’s our responsibility as parents, educators, and community members to ensure that our children are given the opportunity.

Status of the Change Idea: Adapted, Adopted, or Abandoned?

Adopted

Additional Resources

March to Literacy Summit

Parents: It’s Not Your Fault – Resha Conroy, MPA

Curricula & Accountability – Kareem Weaver

Why We Do the Work

Consistent Visual Schedules – Toledo Elementary

by Ashley Walker | Oct 4, 2022

School : Toledo Elementary
Grade : Preschool – 2nd grade

The Change Idea

At Toledo Preschool & Elementary in Lincoln County, the system was not designed to reduce student anxiety and stress about upcoming tasks in the school day. The team modified visual schedules by flipping over each part of the schedule after the subject.

Status of Change Idea : Adopted
This is what adoption looked like for the school : “Because of teacher capacity, we won’t scale up wholesale but certain grade levels will begin to adopt. We may adopt this across the whole school next year.”

What are visual schedules?

A visual schedule is a display of the major subjects and events (e.g. morning circle, literacy) of the school day in chronological order, with a visual symbol accompanying each word to support understanding for emerging readers. Usually the schedule is displayed in a pocket chart or other large, flexible method. The schedule is reviewed by the class at the beginning of each day and children are assigned the role of turning over each subject upon completion as a way to track the events of the day and know what’s next.

Process

Educators colored the flip side of each subject red to create a bold indicator that the subject was over. They used this practice consistently in our preschool through second-grade classrooms.

Predicted Outcomes

The team hoped to reduce student anxiety and stress and reduce student questions about the schedule.

What actually happened?

One of the educators realized she was forgetting to use the visual schedule; this practice increased her consistency.
Students reduced the number of questions they asked about the schedule.
This practice was also very helpful for new students. It was simple, and yet it had a big impact on student behavior related to the schedule.

Key Learnings

Aligning this practice across preschool through second grade reduced the need to teach and reteach schedule practices, freeing up more time for academic and social-emotional learning.

Challenges

There were few barriers to change because preschool to second grade teachers decided on this practice together and they had their principal’s support.

Guided Questions

Coming soon!

Intervention Design in Partnership – S.P.I.R.I.T.S

by Ashley Walker | Oct 4, 2022

Schools did not have a culturally responsive intervention system to support students in need of self-regulation.

Change Idea:

Educators work with families and community members to co-design strategies to support students in need of self-regulation. Families and communities use their culture, experience, and knowledge of the student to offer tools and practices that better support the student with self-regulation, like breathing, tapping, rocking, movement, etc. This partnership approach leverages the strengths of the family and educator to align practices with the needs and strengths of the student. We tried it first with one particular student.

We predicted the student would respond better to self-regulation strategies that reflected their experiences and culture and that because of this, they would use them more and have greater success in the classroom.

The student, family, principal, and other staff partnered together. There was a need for staff openness and willingness to learn, and for the family to be willing to engage with the school despite historical trauma.

The family of the student determined that drumming was a practice that could support their student’s self-regulation. They worked with school leadership to help them understand the use and importance of the drum in their family and culture. The school leadership learned the importance of the care of the drum and agreed to house the drum in their office so the student could come and use the drum when needed.

The student involved created new relationships with staff. Parents reported newfound trust in school staff.

When educators come into a reciprocal relationship with families and community members, practices and policies can be adapted to reflect the strengths of the student and get better outcomes. This student was able to self-regulate more often and thus remain engaged longer. The educators were able to learn from the family and the family felt empowered by this school experience.

Status of the Change Idea: Adapted, Adopted, or Abandoned?

Adopted

Important Note:

The use of the drum was not the adoption, but the process of educators being willing to challenge their current practices and beliefs, come into relationships with family and community, and give the family and community power to know, teach, and design solutions for their student.

Preschool for a Resilient Community – CAIRO Academy

by Ashley Walker | Oct 4, 2022

School: CAIRO Academy
Grade: Preschool

The Change Idea

The team at the Center of African Immigrant and Refugee Organization (CAIRO) knew that African immigrant and refugee children between 3 and 4 years old were waitlisted for long periods to start preschool. The team identified that the system was not designed to accommodate the unique needs of bilingual, bicultural communities and their school-aged children.

The change idea was to open a culturally specific preschool to serve African immigrant and refugee children, focusing on rich experiences, academic learning, social-emotional learning, and community involvement.

Status of Change Idea : Adopted

What are culturally specific organizations?

Culturally specific organizations are entities that focus on serving specific cultural or ethnic communities, tailoring their programs, services, and support to meet the unique needs and values of those communities. These organizations often play a crucial role in providing culturally relevant educational experiences and support for children and families from diverse backgrounds.

Process

In 2016, CAIRO opened its first preschool at North Powellhurst. The team invited families to participate in the classroom, from reading a story to the kids to doing activities with them. The organization worked with the community and had local service providers—firefighters, police officers, first responders—and small businesses visit with the students to share how they help the community.

Predicted Outcomes

To build an academic system that serves bilingual and bicultural students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, in which parents, teachers, and students are trusted to develop children’s educational advancements. A hallmark of this approach would be culturally responsive pedagogy, with engaged families, teachers, and students.
To support understanding the importance of early childhood for the community and families.
To provide equitable educational opportunities and lifetime experiences for 3 and 4-year-olds.
To help parents and guardians become more engaged with their child’s schooling.
To teach families that there is more than just academics involved in student success
To provide rich experiences and support children’s social-emotional learning.

What actually happened?

Over the years, the community witnessed significant changes:

Trust grew steadily among families, evident in the continued enrollment of children each year.
Parents were increasingly engaged, volunteering regularly, visiting classrooms, and actively participating in their child’s educational journey.
During conferences, parents and guardians openly discussed their children’s social-emotional and academic development goals.
Teachers and parents collaborated closely, embodying a collective village approach to ensure the optimal educational experience for the students

Key Learnings

This approach works for the communities that CAIRO serves.

Guided Questions

Coming soon!

Children’s Farmers Market – Adelante Mujeres

by Ashley Walker | Oct 3, 2022

Local, organically grown food is not accessible to all families. Although we have families who are migrant farmers who feed America, the foods that they grow are not necessarily foods they can afford to purchase at a store. All children and families deserve healthy choices.

We wanted to give children the chance to explore a farmers market and take what they needed. We know that children learn best through hands-on exploration, so we wanted to simply observe and have fun.

Change Idea:

We would hold a Children’s Farmers Market!

Our Nutrition Coordinator was able to get a grant to host a farmers market for our children and teachers. The exchange was paper money and the children had bags to collect the items they wanted. We had fruits and vegetables that children could purchase in exchange for one paper dollar. The children could also buy tamales, aguas, eggs, muffins, and artwork. The teachers were cautious of food allergies and helped to redirect the children. We noticed that children first recognized the tamales, a familiar food from home, and were later more comfortable exploring the rest of the food options.

The children’s farmers market integrated all the learning domains. The children were exploring new foods, counting, trading, learning new vocabulary, and immersing themselves in the process. The youngest toddlers understood that when they handed over a paper dollar, they would receive a container of blueberries. The older preschool children practiced bargaining and counting. The children filled their bags and then danced to music to celebrate our first ECE Farmers Market. In addition, the families received vouchers (provided by the same grant) to spend at the Forest Grove Farmers Market.

Status of the Change Idea: Adapted, Adopted, or Abandoned?

Adopted

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