Calling All School Leaders Reducing Disproportionality through Culturally Responsive Leadership CRL

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Calling All School Leaders! Reducing
Disproportionality through Culturally Responsive
Leadership (CRL)

• Lisa Maria Grillo
• Tracy D. Dace
• University of New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM

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Presentation Agenda

• Introductions
• Overview of Session and Significance
• Core Principals of CRL
• Creating a CRL Climate to Reduce
  Disproportionality
• Case Study and Discussion
• Question and Answer
• Summary

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Outcomes

• Participants will gain knowledge of the core
  principles of CRL
• Participants will engage in a research-focused
  discussion of ways to implement CRL in an
  effort to reduce disproportionality
• Participants will receive clear examples of
  CRL strategies to address disproportionality

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Significance of the Session

• Significant increase of school-aged culturally,
  linguistically diverse children

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What is Culturally Responsive Leadership?

• Definition
• Culturally responsive leadership involves a set
  of leadership behaviors that demonstrate
  knowledge, understanding, affirmation, and
  appreciation of the various characteristics of a
  particular cultural community.
• Grillo and Dace, 2005

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Culturally Responsive Leadership

• Culturally responsive leadership is
• one of the most important roles for
• contemporary school leaders.
• Juettner, 2003

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CRL Core Principles

• Sensitivity to cultural nuances in
  communication
• Deliberate and sequential processes
• Appreciation of ones own cultural biases
• Cultural responsiveness in education

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CRL Core Principles

• Students are impacted by how school
• leaders respond to hierarchical
• systems.
• (Klingner, et al. 2005)

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CRL Core Principles

• Principals values and leadership style shape
  the schools climate for learning and
  achievement.
• School leaders have to address the cultural
  issues within the school context and external
  entities, such as school district and government
  agencies.

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Foundational Knowledge

• Cultural superiority (White Supremacy)
• Racism
• Dominant cultural values (Individualism,
  Achievement, Property, Materialism)
• Segregation/Integration

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Creating a CRL Climate

• Deconstructing and recreating the current value
  system pertaining to low achieving students
• Which values inhibit progress? Which values
  facilitate success?
• Revisiting mission and value statements

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The Medical Model

• Searches for, diagnoses, labels, and prescribes
  treatment for problems.
• The value of Deficiency-- looks for deficits in
  children who need fixing.

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Affirmative Values

• Every student is intelligent, able to learn, and
  worthy of success
• As a school, we promote for every child
• Excellence
• Achievement
• Collaboration
• Inclusiveness

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Organizational Climate Chance and Chance (2002)
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Milieu

• Teachers are culturally-competent
• Parents are invited and encouraged to participate
  
• Focus on parental goals
• Community response to support students
• Students are constantly affirmed and reminded of
  their worth

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Ecology

• Classrooms/Learning space
• Access to technology
• Assistive technology
• Visual aids and other devices to accommodate
  various learning styles

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Organization

• Communication is culturally-responsive, channels
  and networks are clearly defined, accessible, and
  effective
• Culturally-responsive school-level policies
• Replacing traditional suspension policies with
  school-based interventions that focus on support,
  counseling, and rehabilitation.

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Culture

• Authentic multicultural curriculum (Beyond Heroes
  and Holidays!)
• Culture is affirmed, embraced, and included.
• Culture is one which fosters achievement for ALL
  students.

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Case Study and Discussion

• Case study on culturally responsive leadership
• Divide into small groups
• Large group processing

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Contact Information

• Lisa Maria Grillo
• Assistant Professor
• Department of
• Educational Leadership
• University of New Mexico
• [phone] (office)
• lgrillo_at_unm.edu

Tracy Dace Special Education Doctoral
Student University of New Mexico [phone]
(home) tddace_at_aol.com