Real school reform requires minority community input
How can our public schools better meet the needs of minority children?
To find out, CTA hired researchers to survey parents in minority communities throughout the state. The results of the study, titled Research on Minority Attitudes Toward Education, offer unique perspectives and possible solutions from those whose voices are seldom heard by education policymakers.
"Education for children of color is at a critical juncture in California," says Antonio Duarte, chair of CTA's Minority Community Outreach Workgroup. "Our survey confirms many commonly held beliefs expressed by communities of color. Simply put, communities of color are very dissatisfied with the current state of public education for a myriad of reasons - some complex, some obvious."
Indeed, the state's so-called "low-performing schools" tend to be located within the most impoverished areas, which are inhabited primarily by ethnic minority communities. These "schools of greatest need" have more run-down facilities, fewer credentialed teachers, severe overcrowding and fewer resources than more affluent schools. CTA recently embarked on a campaign asking the governor and Legislature to take the money earmarked for teacher bonuses and an extension of the middle-school year and redirect it to these schools.
"It's obvious that we have to focus on making improvements in the bottom 25 percent of schools," asserts CTA President Wayne Johnson. "If we don't, the future of public education is really in doubt. The top 75 percent of students are getting better and the bottom 25 percent are getting worse. If we don't help those students in the bottom deciles, the very future of public education is at risk."
Input from members of minority communities is crucial for real school reform to take place, says Johnson. "In order for public education to succeed for all children, we must understand and respond to the perceptions and needs of our minority communities."
Six focus groups were conducted in the Latino, Asian and African American communities. One group for each ethnicity was held in San Jose and Los Angeles. In addition, 30 individual interviews were conducted with Native Americans. Surveys were also conducted in the African American, Latino and Asian communities. Each had a sample size of 500 respondents.
The poll showed that education is the top concern for Latinos, African Americans and Asian Americans, far outdistancing other critical issues such as jobs, the economy, health care and crime. Latinos and African Americans were critical of public schools in California and their neighborhoods; Asian Americans were also critical of schools statewide, but were much more positive about their neighborhood schools.
Following is a summary of the problems minority students face in public schools - as well as some possible solutions - voiced by the minority community members as surveyed by researchers.
The Latino community Language barriers, racism, gangs and drugs are among the top problems facing Latino students, according to those surveyed. Other problems include not enough qualified teachers, too much poverty in the communities and the lack of parental involvement at school sites. Latinos believe their schools do not have enough funding and lack the resources for their children to receive as good an education as at schools in more affluent communities.
They acknowledge that parents are not as involved in their children's education as they should be for two reasons: Working parents do not have enough time to spend with their children because they're often holding two or three jobs to make ends meet; and schools do not often welcome input from Latino parents.
Latinos would like schools to be more welcoming for parents and to make it easier for them to be involved in their children's education. Those surveyed said parental involvement is crucial for children to succeed in school. Their suggested solutions in order of importance are:
Getting parents more involved as volunteers at the schools their children attend (87 percent).
Starting programs to show parents how they can help their children succeed in school (83 percent).
Turning schools into community centers with activities like after-school sports, parent education classes and community health services (81 percent).
Making sure schools are clean and well maintained (80 percent).
Encouraging the Latino community to become politically active and make its voice heard (78 percent).
Providing more interpreters to help parents who don't speak English to communicate with those who work at their child's school (75 percent).
Having more teachers and administrators available in the evening for parents to talk to after work (75 percent).
Creating Spanish literacy and English classes for adults (74 percent).
Encouraging groups and institutions in the Latino community to become more involved in public schools (70 percent).
Hiring more Latino teachers and administrators (54 percent).
The African American community Too many African American students attend overcrowded schools that are run-down, with insufficient resources such as textbooks, computers and classroom supplies, said African American community members who were surveyed.
Other problems they cited were poverty, racism, working parents with not enough time to spend with their children, and low teacher pay that means there aren't enough teachers with adequate training to meet the needs of African American children.
They also voiced concerns that African American students are encouraged to focus on sports rather than academics, that schools are not welcoming enough to African American parents, that schools discriminate against black students, and that not enough black history is taught in schools.
African Americans said that public education will improve if community members become more involved in their children's education, and that students need more black role models at school sites. Among the solutions they found most appealing were:
Getting parents more involved as volunteers in the schools (89 percent).
Starting programs to show parents how they can help their children succeed academically (89 percent).
Making sure schools are clean and well maintained (87 percent).
Turning schools into community centers with after-school activities, parent education classes and community health services (81 percent).
Encouraging groups and institutions in the community to become more involved in public schools (79 percent).
Having more teachers and administrators available in the evening for parents to talk to after work (76 percent).
Hiring more African American teachers and principals (58 percent).
The Asian American community Language is the problem most frequently mentioned as a challenge to Asian American students. Asian Americans feel there is strong pressure for students to do well in school. Stereotyping in this regard is mentioned as a problem uniquely facing Asian American students. Another problem is that students feel isolated from other students due to cultural differences and often experience prejudice and/or racism.
Those surveyed said that because Asian kids are assumed to do well academically, teachers may ignore other problems they face. In addition, concerns were voiced about large class size, underqualified teachers, run-down buildings, insufficient resources and not enough Asian teachers who understand students' needs.
Asian Americans surveyed see individual teachers as the key to improving education in California, and suggested raising teacher pay to improve teacher quality. Among the solutions they consider most worth pursuing are:
Getting parents more involved as volunteers (73 percent).
Starting programs to show parents how they can help their children succeed academically (70 percent).
Turning schools into community centers with after-school activities, parent education classes and community health services (66 percent).
Making sure schools are clean and well maintained (65 percent).
Providing more interpreters to help parents communicate at school sites (60 percent).
Providing English classes for adults (59 percent).
Having more teachers and administrators available in the evening for parents to talk to after work (56 percent).
Hiring more Asian teachers and administrators (41 percent).
The Native American community Unequal and insufficient funding of schools attended by Native Americans was among the top concerns voiced by Native Americans surveyed, as well as student poverty, racism and absence of student discipline.
While seeing the absence of discipline as a great impediment to the quality of education, they said they recognize that teachers' hands are tied in that area. Still, they don't want teachers to be babysitters. They sense that teachers are doing the best they can under tough circumstances.
They said teachers should respect Native American culture, but that teaching it is primarily the responsibility of parents and the community. At the same time, they said teachers need to do more in the area of understanding the needs of Native American students and students living in poverty. Native Americans, they said, seem to get lost among all the minorities in schools, especially where their numbers are small.
Other major themes were that Native Americans have to play a more active role in their own lives, which includes less reliance on government, speaking out on Native American concerns and taking a more active role in educating their children and helping them to succeed in school.
