Equity Standard

In a recent article titled What do you expect? Pat Roy talks of the importance that central office staff plays in improving achievement in low performing schools in relation to National Staff Development Council's Equity standard. She believes that high expectations means more than setting goals for performance; high expectations means building systems of support so that principals, teachers, and students have the capacity to attain those high standards.

Roy defines Equity as "staff development that prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students; create safe, orderly, and supportive learning environments; and hold high expectations for their academic achievement."

Although working on equity issues is one of the hardest tasks for any district administrator, Roy suggests that all of the following must be undertaken by central office staff in order to improve student achievement:

. Create an ongoing system of staff learning to enhance teacher and administrator knowledge of and skills to teach struggling students.
. Accept no excuses for lack of achievement by subgroups of students.
. Share school data with the whole district in order to identify effective practices.
. Challenge colleagues' underlying assumptions concerning student learning and the role of parents, SES, race, and background.

Pat Roy's entire article What do you expect? can be read at http://www.nsdc.org/publications/getDocument.cfm?articleID=1607 or in the December/January 2008 The Learning System.

Another useful tool for district leaders can be found in the same issue of The Learning System. The Analysis of Practices and Results worksheet provides a format for leaders to examine grade level statewide assessment data and use the results for more effective planning for the coming school year. The worksheet can be accessed at http://www.nsdc.org/publications/articleDetails.cfm?articleID=1608 at no charge for subscribers and for a fee if you are not a subscriber.