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Suggestions for Closing the Achievement Gap

Nekita Lamour

As many officials who were elected in last November’s elections are getting reading for inauguration, I like to be some Education related suggestions. Having resided in a region that had seen an increased population of linguistic minority students where some groups do well and others don’t, I hope the following suggestions will be taken at heart.

Provide Enrichment Activities, Small Group Instruction & Better Assessments for Underserved Students

  • Organize more partnerships with universities and professional organizations so volunteers and paid personnel could provide extended educational enrichment programs after school, on Saturdays, during school vacations, and summers to underserved students with an integrated Arts, music, fieldtrips, and guest speakers component.
     
  • Outreach to college students for work study, internship, as well as retired, or semi- retired professionals to volunteer and facilitate small group instruction in the schools and in afterschool community centered programs – Have more role models in schools and districts with large ethnic and linguistic minority populations.
     
  • Basic Skills (small group) instruction for students with limited or no schooling from their home countries and accelerated support for students with advanced schooling from  their native land.
     
  • For Limited English Proficiency (LEP) or English Language Learner (ELL) students, assessments in addition to MCAS to measure growth, skills, and knowledge gained based on length of time in the country - Current standardized tests don't have sufficient provisions for students with limited or no previous schooling.
     
  • Additional school hours and or flexible times for teachers who want to work with students who need extra academic/enrichment support.  For instance, a program where students can receive 2-3 hours of small group instruction three to four afternoons a week and 4 hours on Saturdays.

Suggestions for Parent and Community Development /Partnerships (Engaging “the village”)

A call for a Black/Latino Educational Summit - Inviting Asians & other achieving communities
in the dialogue -

  • Periodic educational "Town Meetings" among teachers, parents, and community stakeholders after the Summit.
     
  • Provide training for teachers and staff about the benefits of parental involvement and how to involve them in the schools and classrooms.
     
  • Across the board systemic, hands on trainings & teaching of the Pre K -12 curriculum, school culture and expectations to parents- For immigrant and African American parents, trainings may be provided in times convenient to them (usually weekends) and highly frequented locations such as community centers or service agencies, and faith/worship places. Trainings to be provided in native language for non English speaking parents. Information got lost through translation.
     
  • Use culturally and linguistically relevant communication methods to operate Family/Community Learning/Educational "Clearing House" centers to ascertain that parents, community leaders and stakeholders of "target” communities know, learn about, and disseminate information that can help families obtain important educational resources and services.

I first communicated similar ideas in a North of Boston city in the mid 1980’s at the onset of the Haitian boat people phenomenon. Looking back, if those ideas were supported and nurtured for the past 25 years, there could have been more programs in Metro North cities and towns, modeled around  Yale based 21st Century school to serve underserved students and their familie. More locally the Ford school in Lynn is a nice model. The Harlem Children’s zone in Harlem and the Edible school in New Orleans are great examples that can be adapted also. The Cross Town Enrichment Center community based program could be expanded as well.

Nekita Lamour, educator,active Malden resident

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