Topic: Equity & Diversity
Issues of equity and diversity in education have long been central themes of the Alliance's work, with particular emphasis on immigrant populations whose cultural and linguistic backgrounds both strengthen and challenge the educational status quo. Many of our projects focus on the needs of English language learners (ELLs).
The Career Ladder Program has provided assistance to prospective teachers to pursue studies to become certified as teachers who are credentialed to teach English Language Learners in Rhode Island schools. The program has focused on participants from Southeast Asian and Latino communities. Participants have attended classes at RI colleges and universities, including the Community College of RI (CCRI), RI College (RIC), Providence College (PC), University of RI (URI), and Brown University.
The Education Alliance has convened a group of deans, superintendents, and principals to address the low rate of minority participation in the teaching profession. This consortium of six leading colleges and universities that prepare teachers in the Northeast, plus 3 principals and 3 superintendents, has created an innovative program aimed at lowering the barriers to entry by individuals of color into the education profession. This consortium is called the Collaborative Alliance Network (CAN).
With support from a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, The Education Alliance developed a research-based set of supports, strategies and processes to build and support collective leadership capacity, sponsor and foster cross-stakeholder problem-solving, and mobilize and facilitate collaborative learning. Known as the CSR Support and Capacity Building Program, the primary mission of our work was to support State Education Agencies and Districts in their efforts to significantly impact district and school improvement. With this as our mission, we engaged in a multitude of activities with several states and districts along the Eastern Seaboard.
Web site: /projects/csrqi
The Development and Dissemination Schools Initiative was a five-year project of the New York City Board of Education's Office of English Language Learners and The Education Alliance at Brown University. Its goal was to help New York's English language learners (ELLs) acquire both English language and other skills and knowledge they needed to meet the New Standards that the Chancellor had established for all students in New York City.
As part of our work helping schools and districts review and improve their programs for ELLs, The Education Alliance offers a research-based Self-Assessment Tool. This tool allows school and district leaders to reflect on current policies, practices, areas of need, and future goals for improving the education of ELLs, and helps to clarify how the work can best be done.
The Hartford Public School District contracted with The Education Alliance to conduct a formative evaluation of the district's bilingual education, English as a second language and language transition support services programs.
The East Hartford and West Hartford Public School Districts contracted individually with the Education Alliance to conduct formative evaluations of their programs for English language learners.
Introduction to Second Language Learning and Teaching: A Massachusetts Department of Education Training Module
The Education Alliance collaborated with the Massachusetts Department of Education (MADOE) to produce a professional development curriculum, Introduction to Second Language Learning and Teaching, that builds teachers’ knowledge of second language acquisition and culture. This curriculum fulfills the first set of requirements for MADOE’s recommended professional development for teachers of ELLs, known as Category 1.
Our Leading with Diversity (LWD) Professional Development Curriculum explores the cultural competencies—i.e., the skills and awareness related to issues such as culture, language, race, and ethnicity—that educators need to work with students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
American Education Solutions and The Education Alliance have partnered to conduct evaluations of the quality and effectiveness of federally funded Magnet School Assistance Programs (MSAP) for over eight years. Evaluations conducted through this partnership target educational opportunities designed to benefit 45,000 minority students in multiple diverse school districts from New York to Florida.
The Education Alliance and Brown University's Department of Portuguese & Brazilian Studies jointly offered advanced degrees in English as a second language and cross-cultural studies for candidates with a Bachelor's Degree and a teaching certificate. The program incorporated second language acquisition research, culturally responsive pedagogy, and practical experiences to build the candidate's foundational knowledge.
The New England Comprehensive Center (NECC) is one of 16 regional comprehensive centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education to support state education agencies in fulfilling the promises of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Headquartered at RMC Research Corporation of Portsmouth, NH, NECC is a partnership that has included the Alliance (2005-2010), Education Development Center, and Learning Innovations at WestEd.
Web site: http://necomprehensivecenter.org
The New England Equity Assistance Center (NEEAC) helps states, districts, and public schools plan and implement policies and practices that promote access to high-quality education for all students. One of ten regional centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education under Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, NEEAC provides training and technical assistance on educational issues related to race, gender, and national origin.
Web site: http://neeac.alliance.brown.edu
The New York Comprehensive Center (NYCC) is one of 16 regional comprehensive centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education to support state education agencies in fulfilling the promises of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Headquartered in New York City under the leadership of RMC Research, NYCC is a partnership that has included the Alliance (2005-2010), Education Development Center, Learning Innovations at WestEd, and the United Federation of Teachers' Teacher Center. The mission of the NYCC is to develop the capacity of the New York State Education Department and its networks and agencies to assist districts and schools in improving achievement outcomes for all students.
Web site: http://nycomprehensivecenter.org
The Northeast Superintendents’ Leadership Council is a network for superintendents, driven by superintendents. The superintendent plays a key role in promoting and effecting system-wide change related to student academic achievement and instruction. The Council is comprised of leaders from New England, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and provides a place where leaders can move beyond theory and discuss reform issues in an experiential realm.
New York City school districts identified for corrective action contracted with Learning Point Associates (LPA) in partnership with The Education Alliance to conduct curriculum audits in order to identify how districts have delineated, interpreted, aligned and articulated New York state standards and written district curricula in English language arts and/or math. The Education Alliance audits focused on English language learner instruction, as part of this comprehensive district audit process.
Portraits of Success was designed to recognize examples of outstanding bilingual education programs throughout the country. Based on criteria drawn from research in the fields of second language acquisition, bilingual education, and school improvement, a database that identified and disseminated the characteristics and outcomes of successful bilingual programs was created. Project work has been completed and is available through the archived web site.
Web site: /pubs/pos
The Massachusetts Safe Schools Initiative (SSI) was a project sponsored by former Attorney General Tom Reilly from June 2005 to January 2007. The SSI was an innovative, statewide collaboration of over 50 organizational and individual partners (including the New England Equity Assistance Center at The Education Alliance) committed to providing tools, such as comprehensive policies, technical assistance to district leadership teams, and professional development to school staff on issues surrounding safe school climates.
This project was a multi-site research project aimed at understanding how teachers who belong to study groups use on-line information and communication to build knowledge and support each other's work, improve instruction for diverse learners, and sustain the group for continued professional growth. This project built on findings from a previous research project on implementing standards in culturally diverse schools, and it used products developed by that project.
The Teacher’s Guide to Diversity Workshops present a professional development curriculum designed to build knowledge and skills that will enable teachers to respond constructively to the diversity in our schools and society. The curriculum is based on current research from several disciplines and engages participants with activities and opportunities for reflection to deepen their understanding of diversity issues in education.
The Education Alliance develops and identifies research-based practices at both the classroom and systemic level that promote high achievement for linguistically and culturally diverse students. We assist in preparing high-quality teachers who are responsive to the needs of English Language Learners (ELLs) in order to achieve No Child Left Behind's goal of having ELLs meet the same challenging standards required of all students, These research reviews were created as one component of our national leadership focus as the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (2000-2005).
The "Teaching Diverse Learners" Web site is a resource for teachers working with culturally diverse populations, especially English language learners (ELLs). Sections on teaching and learning strategies, assessment, policy, families and communities, and grant opportunities provide information and guidelines for advancing the education of all students. This site was developed as one component of our national leadership focus as the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (2000-2005).
Web site: /tdl
Voices from the Field was an online periodical produced from the Fall of 1999 through the Spring of 2002. The purpose of this free publication was to present issues from the perspectives of teachers experiencing change, challenges, and growth as education reform took shape. It was fully written and edited by public school teachers in the region.
Web site: /pubs/voices
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