[Update: Although Assistant Superintendent indicated to me that the Board of Education did not vote on implementing culturally responsive practices, he did, in an email to me on September 23, state that the Board of Education voted to implement these practices on 04/10/2017.]
I do finally have an update regarding the Culturally Competent Practices utilized by the Appleton Area School District.
Also called Culturally Responsive Practices, these were implemented under the guidance of Dr. Sharroky Hollie and, per Assistant Superintendent Steve Harrison, are intended to “provide instruction and educational experiences that are culturally responsive to the diverse student population we serve. In particular, this means recognizing the various rings of culture that all of our students and staff have and how we must work collaboratively to validate, affirm, build, and bridge relationships with our students.”
I had asked what prompted the implementation of this program, when the Board of Education had voted to approve it, and how its success was being measured. I have now finally heard back from the District regarding some of those questions.
Per Assistant Superintendent Steve Harrison, the Board of Education did not vote on the implementation of Culturally Responsive Practices. [Note: he did in an email sent on 09/23/2021 state that they voted on this during the 04/10/20217 meeting.]
The practices were put in places because, “[o]ur District’s student performance outcomes have shown significant gaps between various groups of students. CLR practices are designed to build a sense of belonging for all students, which is a learner trait that is linked to improved student performance.” [CLR is an abbreviation for Culturally and Linguistically Responsive practices.]
The District is measuring the success of the program by “using the Panorama Survey tool to measure a sense of belonging for our students as part of our continuous school improvement efforts.”
I have asked Superintendent Harrison whether AASD has been able to measure an increased sense of belong among students and whether the academic performance gap has decreased since implementing Culturally Responsive Practices. I also asked if they have implemented any specifically academic interventions alongside Culturally Responsive Practices in order to target the performance gap. I am still waiting on a response to that and will update you when I receive it.
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