The Institute for Student Achievement Launches the Women
of Color Education Collaborative (WOCEC)

ISA was one of 62 organizations funded by NewSchools Venture Fund’s Diverse Leaders portfolio. We are using this funding to launch the Women of Color Education Collaborative (WOCEC) as a response to the effects that both the events of the last year that brought racial equity to the forefront and the pandemic have had on education and educational leaders. The goal of the WOCEC is to create a thriving network of women of color superintendents and senior leaders by providing a program designed to enhance their leadership skills and capacity while also focusing on healing and building strong bonds between participants. It is a unique opportunity for participants to care for themselves while leaning into their strengths as leaders. The WOCEC will focus on building on existing strengths and capabilities to increase the ability to be strategic about the work to advance equity.

Want to learn more? Please be in touch with ISA’s Dr. Ebony Green.

From MDRC: Districts Can Create Conditions for Sustainable Change & Equity Through Social & Emotional Well-Being

In this newsletter we want to highlight a recent brief from MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research firm. Called Ideas from Experts on How Districts Can Create the Conditions for Sustainable Change: Educational Equity Through Social and Emotional Well-Being, the brief shares the experiences and recommendations of a practitioner and several district leaders who are working to reexamine their districts’ systems, structures, and policies to ensure they support the well-being and learning of all students. Their insights fall into three categories:

• They emphasized the importance of developing a new vision for a district.
• They shared how to support adults in shifting their mindsets about students.
• They discussed aligning district structures and policies with the new vision.

Read the full report here. (Reprinted and shared with permission from MDRC.)

What We Are Reading This September

Our reading list is very full this September. Here’s some of it:

• From the Hechinger Report, the article First Nationwide Look at Racial Breakdown of Career Education Confirms Deep Divides. It describes school systems in “which Black and Hispanic students benefit less often from classes connected to higher-paying careers and college degrees than their white peers. Despite years of work by some educators and advocates to increase equity in career and technical education, deep disparities remain.”
• In the Tennessee edition of Chalkbeat, the article Mask Mandate Hearing Raises Issue of ‘Separate But Equal’ for Tennessee Students with Disabilities. It discusses a lawsuit that “says allowing students to circumvent a county masks-in-schools mandate violates the Americans with Disabilities Act because it jeopardizes the health and education of their medically vulnerable children who are at higher risks for severe complications from COVID.”
• As part of the #WeNeedBlackTeachers campaign on Twitter, this article from The Hill, When Black Men Can’t Afford to Teach, Our Children Pay the Price. It states that, for “Black students, having a Black teacher has been shown to make them feel safer, learn more, drop out less and pursue college at higher rates. The benefits extend beyond Black students as well: Students of all races and ethnicities who have had a Black male teacher are less likely to hold stereotypical bias about Black men.”
• Lastly, this article from Education Week, 4 Myths About Suspensions That Could Hurt Students Long Term. It states that “high school students who get suspended out of school are significantly less likely to earn academic credits in the following year—and their peers get no academic benefit from their absence.”

Opportunity to Learn and the Global Pandemic

 

Addressing unfinished learning is of utmost importance as the global pandemic continues to impact access and opportunities for students. At ISA, we believe that every student can succeed—in school and in life—and that every educator can nurture that success. Teachers, principals, and other school and district leaders simply need the right support at the right time. ISA’s coaching and professional development accelerate student learning outcomes by supporting educators as they further enhance, develop, and refine their practice.

How can we partner with your school or district?

ISA

• is the only proprietary high school whole-school reform provider selected under the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program;
• is included in the What Works Clearinghouse as an evidence-based, whole school reform model;
• is identified by the US Department of Education as one of three organizations to successfully implement whole school reform; and
• meets criteria for the ESSA Tier 2, moderate evidence of effectiveness standard.

As professional development needs come to the forefront with the start of the new school year, can we help? Our coaching support and professional development assistance have moved the needle for a variety of middle and high schools, and we offer help in areas such as

Social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD)
Equity and inclusion
School improvement
Instructional and leadership coaching

Click here to be in contact.