Effective Teaching: A Key to Ensuring Success for High School Students of Color
The Campaign for High School Equity hosted a virtual briefing and live chat on March 25, 2010 to discuss how effective teaching can help address the American high school graduation crisis.
Speakers included:
- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
- Jane Hannaway, Ph.D., director, Education Policy Center, Urban Institute
- Rhonda “Nikki” Barnes, N.B.C.T., world literature teacher, KIPP Pride High School (Gaston, NC)
- Tomeka Hart, president/CEO, Memphis Urban League
- Michael Wotorson, executive director, CHSE
High-quality teachers are the single most important influence on student academic outcomes, including graduation. Yet research shows that students of color and Native American students, who are the most likely to benefit, are not being taught by effective teachers. These are the same students who have traditionally been underserved by our schools.
How can we ensure that students of color have access to the most effective teachers? What are the federal and state policy adjustments that may be necessary to support effective teaching? What does effective teaching look like in high minority high schools and in schools that serve large numbers of Native American students? This policy briefing explored practical models for ensuring that teachers of diverse learners are well-equipped and prepared; improving classroom instruction and leadership decision-making; and encouraging policy makers to support initiatives to recruit, train, support, and retain effective leaders and teachers in high-poverty high schools.