Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity

A Leader's Guide to Using Data to Change Hearts and Minds
Edward A. Fergus - New York University, USA
Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity
November 2016 | 264 pages | Corwin
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Description

When the numbers don’t lie, this is your guide to doing what’s right

According to federal data, African American students are more than three times as likely as their white peers to be suspended or expelled. As a school leader, what do you do when your heart is in the right place, but your data show otherwise? 

In Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity, Edward Fergus takes us on a journey into disproportionality by engaging our hearts and minds on the presence of biases that create barriers to the success of students of color. If your school is faced with a disproportionate rate of suspensions, gifted program enrollment, or special education referrals for students of color, this book shows how you can uncover the root causes and rally your staff to face the challenge head on. You will:

  • Understand through compelling vignettes and case studies how bias affects policies and practices even in good schools
  • Know what questions to ask and what data to analyze to get to the root cause
  • Create your own road map for becoming an equity-driven school, with staff activities, data collection forms, checklists, and progress monitoring tools

If you are interested in developing a deep understanding of the policy, practice, and beliefs necessary for schools to address disproportionality and achieve equity, this book delivers all that and more.

"Through careful analysis of data obtained from real cases, Edward Fergus shows how disproportionality is manifest and how it can be thoughtfully addressed. For educators and policy makers seeking solutions to these complex issues, this book will be an invaluable resource." 
—Pedro Noguera, Distinguished Professor of Education
UCLA, Graduate Schools of Education and Information Studies

Contents

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Author

Introduction

  • Changing Landscape of Teaching Force and Its Effect on Disproportionality
  • The Backdrop of the Integration Project Framework
  • Organization of the Book

Sample Road Map for Creating an Equity-Driven School

  • Chapter 1. Social Integration and Intensified Segregation Leading to Disproportionality
  • Post–Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Integration Patterns
  • Integration Project: Patterns of Student Enrollment Demographics
  • Integration Project: Patterns of Teacher and Principal Demographics
  • Chapter 2. Knowing the Bias-Based Beliefs in Disproportionality
  • Bias-Based Beliefs in Pedagogy and School Practice: How Does It Show Up in Schools?
  • Colorblindness Belief
  • Deficit-Thinking Belief
  • Poverty-Disciplining Belief
  • Chapter 3. Leadership Inquiry Skills for Building Equity Focus
  • Section 1: Understanding Your Data and Data System Capacity
  • Section 2: Practicing Analysis and Interpretation of Data: Case Studies
  • Chapter 4. A Process for Identifying Disproportionality and Building an Equity Plan
  • Step 1: Identifying Your Starting Place
  • Step 2: Root Cause Process for Understanding Disproportionality Problems
  • Step 3: Monitoring Equity Work: 3- to 5-Year Span of Work
  • Step 4: Progress-Monitoring Tools: Monthly Data Calendar
  • Additional Equity Examinations
  • Chapter 5. Building an Equity Belief School Climate
  • Leading Equity Competency 1: Know How to Manage Race Dialogues
  • Leading Equity Competency 2: Know How to Manage the Comfortable and Uncomfortable Tensions of Learning and Practice
  • Stage 1 Activities: Building Universal Equity Principles
  • Stage 2 Activities: Monthly or Quarterly Sessions on Bias-Based Beliefs
  • Other Ongoing Activities for Replacing Biased Beliefs
  • Application Activities

Appendixes

  • 1. Data Inventory Worksheet
  • 2. Planning Sheet for Addressing Beliefs and Building Equity Principles
  • 3. Exit Ticket
  • 4. Definitions of Educational Equity Worksheet
  • 5. Applying Definitions of Educational Equity
  • 6. Applying Definitions of Educational Equity: Homework Worksheet
  • 7. Building Our Universal Equity Principles Worksheet
  • 8. Shifting Deficit-Thinking Worksheet
  • 9. Shifting Deficit-Thinking Survey Worksheet
  • 10. Definition Flashcards
  • 11. Shifting Poverty-Disciplining Belief Statements Worksheet
  • 12. Shifting Poverty-Disciplining Belief Statements Survey Worksheet
  • 13. Meritocracy Line Exercise
  • 14. Dual-Axis Model of Vulnerability
  • 15. Dual-Axis Model of Vulnerability Application Worksheet
  • 16. Racial Timeline Worksheet
  • 17. Racial and Ethnic Group Worksheet
  • 18. Shifting Common Colorblindness Statements Worksheet
  • 19. Shifting Common Colorblindness Statements Survey Worksheet
  • 20. Cultural Responsibility Beliefs Worksheet
  • 21. Looking at Books Worksheet
  • 22. Observing Classroom Environments Worksheet
  • 23. Equity Resources for Curricular, Culture/Climate, and Instruction

References

References

Index

Index

Additional materials

Description

When the numbers don’t lie, this is your guide to doing what’s right

According to federal data, African American students are more than three times as likely as their white peers to be suspended or expelled. As a school leader, what do you do when your heart is in the right place, but your data show otherwise? 

In Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity, Edward Fergus takes us on a journey into disproportionality by engaging our hearts and minds on the presence of biases that create barriers to the success of students of color. If your school is faced with a disproportionate rate of suspensions, gifted program enrollment, or special education referrals for students of color, this book shows how you can uncover the root causes and rally your staff to face the challenge head on. You will:

  • Understand through compelling vignettes and case studies how bias affects policies and practices even in good schools
  • Know what questions to ask and what data to analyze to get to the root cause
  • Create your own road map for becoming an equity-driven school, with staff activities, data collection forms, checklists, and progress monitoring tools

If you are interested in developing a deep understanding of the policy, practice, and beliefs necessary for schools to address disproportionality and achieve equity, this book delivers all that and more.

"Through careful analysis of data obtained from real cases, Edward Fergus shows how disproportionality is manifest and how it can be thoughtfully addressed. For educators and policy makers seeking solutions to these complex issues, this book will be an invaluable resource." 
—Pedro Noguera, Distinguished Professor of Education
UCLA, Graduate Schools of Education and Information Studies

Contents

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Author

Introduction

  • Changing Landscape of Teaching Force and Its Effect on Disproportionality
  • The Backdrop of the Integration Project Framework
  • Organization of the Book

Sample Road Map for Creating an Equity-Driven School

  • Chapter 1. Social Integration and Intensified Segregation Leading to Disproportionality
  • Post–Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Integration Patterns
  • Integration Project: Patterns of Student Enrollment Demographics
  • Integration Project: Patterns of Teacher and Principal Demographics
  • Chapter 2. Knowing the Bias-Based Beliefs in Disproportionality
  • Bias-Based Beliefs in Pedagogy and School Practice: How Does It Show Up in Schools?
  • Colorblindness Belief
  • Deficit-Thinking Belief
  • Poverty-Disciplining Belief
  • Chapter 3. Leadership Inquiry Skills for Building Equity Focus
  • Section 1: Understanding Your Data and Data System Capacity
  • Section 2: Practicing Analysis and Interpretation of Data: Case Studies
  • Chapter 4. A Process for Identifying Disproportionality and Building an Equity Plan
  • Step 1: Identifying Your Starting Place
  • Step 2: Root Cause Process for Understanding Disproportionality Problems
  • Step 3: Monitoring Equity Work: 3- to 5-Year Span of Work
  • Step 4: Progress-Monitoring Tools: Monthly Data Calendar
  • Additional Equity Examinations
  • Chapter 5. Building an Equity Belief School Climate
  • Leading Equity Competency 1: Know How to Manage Race Dialogues
  • Leading Equity Competency 2: Know How to Manage the Comfortable and Uncomfortable Tensions of Learning and Practice
  • Stage 1 Activities: Building Universal Equity Principles
  • Stage 2 Activities: Monthly or Quarterly Sessions on Bias-Based Beliefs
  • Other Ongoing Activities for Replacing Biased Beliefs
  • Application Activities

Appendixes

  • 1. Data Inventory Worksheet
  • 2. Planning Sheet for Addressing Beliefs and Building Equity Principles
  • 3. Exit Ticket
  • 4. Definitions of Educational Equity Worksheet
  • 5. Applying Definitions of Educational Equity
  • 6. Applying Definitions of Educational Equity: Homework Worksheet
  • 7. Building Our Universal Equity Principles Worksheet
  • 8. Shifting Deficit-Thinking Worksheet
  • 9. Shifting Deficit-Thinking Survey Worksheet
  • 10. Definition Flashcards
  • 11. Shifting Poverty-Disciplining Belief Statements Worksheet
  • 12. Shifting Poverty-Disciplining Belief Statements Survey Worksheet
  • 13. Meritocracy Line Exercise
  • 14. Dual-Axis Model of Vulnerability
  • 15. Dual-Axis Model of Vulnerability Application Worksheet
  • 16. Racial Timeline Worksheet
  • 17. Racial and Ethnic Group Worksheet
  • 18. Shifting Common Colorblindness Statements Worksheet
  • 19. Shifting Common Colorblindness Statements Survey Worksheet
  • 20. Cultural Responsibility Beliefs Worksheet
  • 21. Looking at Books Worksheet
  • 22. Observing Classroom Environments Worksheet
  • 23. Equity Resources for Curricular, Culture/Climate, and Instruction

References

References

Index

Index

Additional materials

SAGE Publishing Logo

Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity

A Leader's Guide to Using Data to Change Hearts and Minds


November 2016 | 264 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/01/2025 9781506311258 $40.95
Lifetime 01/01/2025 9781506343389 $37.00

When the numbers don’t lie, this is your guide to doing what’s right

According to federal data, African American students are more than three times as likely as their white peers to be suspended or expelled. As a school leader, what do you do when your heart is in the right place, but your data show otherwise? 

In Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity, Edward Fergus takes us on a journey into disproportionality by engaging our hearts and minds on the presence of biases that create barriers to the success of students of color. If your school is faced with a disproportionate rate of suspensions, gifted program enrollment, or special education referrals for students of color, this book shows how you can uncover the root causes and rally your staff to face the challenge head on. You will:

  • Understand through compelling vignettes and case studies how bias affects policies and practices even in good schools
  • Know what questions to ask and what data to analyze to get to the root cause
  • Create your own road map for becoming an equity-driven school, with staff activities, data collection forms, checklists, and progress monitoring tools

If you are interested in developing a deep understanding of the policy, practice, and beliefs necessary for schools to address disproportionality and achieve equity, this book delivers all that and more.

"Through careful analysis of data obtained from real cases, Edward Fergus shows how disproportionality is manifest and how it can be thoughtfully addressed. For educators and policy makers seeking solutions to these complex issues, this book will be an invaluable resource." 
—Pedro Noguera, Distinguished Professor of Education
UCLA, Graduate Schools of Education and Information Studies


Table Of Contents:

  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Author
  • Introduction
  • Changing Landscape of Teaching Force and Its Effect on Disproportionality
  • The Backdrop of the Integration Project Framework
  • Organization of the Book
  • Sample Road Map for Creating an Equity-Driven School
  • Chapter 1. Social Integration and Intensified Segregation Leading to Disproportionality
  • Post–Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Integration Patterns
  • Integration Project: Patterns of Student Enrollment Demographics
  • Integration Project: Patterns of Teacher and Principal Demographics
  • Chapter 2. Knowing the Bias-Based Beliefs in Disproportionality
  • Bias-Based Beliefs in Pedagogy and School Practice: How Does It Show Up in Schools?
  • Colorblindness Belief
  • Deficit-Thinking Belief
  • Poverty-Disciplining Belief
  • Chapter 3. Leadership Inquiry Skills for Building Equity Focus
  • Section 1: Understanding Your Data and Data System Capacity
  • Section 2: Practicing Analysis and Interpretation of Data: Case Studies
  • Chapter 4. A Process for Identifying Disproportionality and Building an Equity Plan
  • Step 1: Identifying Your Starting Place
  • Step 2: Root Cause Process for Understanding Disproportionality Problems
  • Step 3: Monitoring Equity Work: 3- to 5-Year Span of Work
  • Step 4: Progress-Monitoring Tools: Monthly Data Calendar
  • Additional Equity Examinations
  • Chapter 5. Building an Equity Belief School Climate
  • Leading Equity Competency 1: Know How to Manage Race Dialogues
  • Leading Equity Competency 2: Know How to Manage the Comfortable and Uncomfortable Tensions of Learning and Practice
  • Stage 1 Activities: Building Universal Equity Principles
  • Stage 2 Activities: Monthly or Quarterly Sessions on Bias-Based Beliefs
  • Other Ongoing Activities for Replacing Biased Beliefs
  • Application Activities
  • Appendixes
  • 1. Data Inventory Worksheet
  • 2. Planning Sheet for Addressing Beliefs and Building Equity Principles
  • 3. Exit Ticket
  • 4. Definitions of Educational Equity Worksheet
  • 5. Applying Definitions of Educational Equity
  • 6. Applying Definitions of Educational Equity: Homework Worksheet
  • 7. Building Our Universal Equity Principles Worksheet
  • 8. Shifting Deficit-Thinking Worksheet
  • 9. Shifting Deficit-Thinking Survey Worksheet
  • 10. Definition Flashcards
  • 11. Shifting Poverty-Disciplining Belief Statements Worksheet
  • 12. Shifting Poverty-Disciplining Belief Statements Survey Worksheet
  • 13. Meritocracy Line Exercise
  • 14. Dual-Axis Model of Vulnerability
  • 15. Dual-Axis Model of Vulnerability Application Worksheet
  • 16. Racial Timeline Worksheet
  • 17. Racial and Ethnic Group Worksheet
  • 18. Shifting Common Colorblindness Statements Worksheet
  • 19. Shifting Common Colorblindness Statements Survey Worksheet
  • 20. Cultural Responsibility Beliefs Worksheet
  • 21. Looking at Books Worksheet
  • 22. Observing Classroom Environments Worksheet
  • 23. Equity Resources for Curricular, Culture/Climate, and Instruction
  • References
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

"Throughout the country, a growing number of educators have come to the realization that disproportionality in the placement of children of color in special education, and in school discipline practices, is a vital equity issue that must be confronted. In this important new book, Dr. Edward Fergus explains why this issue is so important and he shows what educators can do to solve the problem. Through careful analysis of data obtained from real cases, he shows how the problem is manifest and how it can be thoughtfully addressed. For educators and policy makers seeking solutions to these complex issues, this book will be an invaluable resource."
Pedro Noguera, Distinguished Professor of Education, UCLA, Graduate Schools of Education and Information Studies
"Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity addresses burning and significant needs and issues in the field, including areas in which districts are facing legal requirements for action. The synthesis of research, theory, application, with an acknowledgment of the interpersonal and emotional dimensions of this work all contribute to its value."
Gary Bloom, Senior Program Consultant, New Teacher Center
"I believe that this text has the potential to become a bible for every school leader who truly wants to examine the inequities in schools and then move forward with a comprehensive plan applying a sound analysis of the data."
William A. Howe, Educator, Connecticut State Department of Education

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