Cultural Practices that are Relevant for MMSD:
Evolving Teaching Styles
Evolving Teaching Styles
popularity.
“At Falk we had over 90 people attend and participate in that event,” Davis said. “Most of those who participated were people of color. At
Hawthorne, we had about 50 people attend. At Lowell, there were 90 plus and at Mendota, there were a little over 40 who attended.”
Parental involvement also means participating in leadership positions in the PTO and other organizations.
“We’ve been able to change the face of the PTO where it is one of the most multi-cultural,” Davis said. “We have three African American
families co-leading the PTO. We identified the steps they needed to take in order to make them more comfortable and also ready to step
out and take leadership roles on the PTO. There is a strong Latino parent empowerment group as well as a strong African American
empowerment group at Lowell. Last year, there were 45 African American parents participating in the work and 30 Latino parents
participating.”
Instead of using suspensions as a method of behavior control with some young African American male students at Falk, Davis arranged
for Pastor Richard Jones from Mt. Zion Baptist Church to come in and work with 10-14 of the students to try and improve their referral
rates. They are also working with Uriel on drum circles to give them an incentive to behave and follow the rules.
“Ten out of 14 boys experienced reduced referral rates,” Davis said. “Many of them contributed to about 125 behavioral referrals at that
particular site as of September 2010. This year, those referrals are down to 69.”
And one last component of their work that has been spreading through district schools is Harambee Time, a period of affirmation that may
be used to begin the students’ day.
“Harambee Time is a culturally relevant way of starting your morning each day or it can be a Friday activity where affirmations are done
and drum circles take place,” Davis said. “It’s almost like a celebration if it is done at the end of the week. But during the week, it is a
way to pull together. It’s a way of grounding the students so they are ready for the work that will take place that day. They may be
introduced to a theme for the day. They may have a Read Out Loud that contributes to that theme. They may have a particular principle like
unity that will be focused on. And that is a set-up for what students can expect across the course of the day.”
Through cultural relevance, students bond and perform.
“At Falk we had over 90 people attend and participate in that event,” Davis said. “Most of those who participated were people of color. At
Hawthorne, we had about 50 people attend. At Lowell, there were 90 plus and at Mendota, there were a little over 40 who attended.”
Parental involvement also means participating in leadership positions in the PTO and other organizations.
“We’ve been able to change the face of the PTO where it is one of the most multi-cultural,” Davis said. “We have three African American
families co-leading the PTO. We identified the steps they needed to take in order to make them more comfortable and also ready to step
out and take leadership roles on the PTO. There is a strong Latino parent empowerment group as well as a strong African American
empowerment group at Lowell. Last year, there were 45 African American parents participating in the work and 30 Latino parents
participating.”
Instead of using suspensions as a method of behavior control with some young African American male students at Falk, Davis arranged
for Pastor Richard Jones from Mt. Zion Baptist Church to come in and work with 10-14 of the students to try and improve their referral
rates. They are also working with Uriel on drum circles to give them an incentive to behave and follow the rules.
“Ten out of 14 boys experienced reduced referral rates,” Davis said. “Many of them contributed to about 125 behavioral referrals at that
particular site as of September 2010. This year, those referrals are down to 69.”
And one last component of their work that has been spreading through district schools is Harambee Time, a period of affirmation that may
be used to begin the students’ day.
“Harambee Time is a culturally relevant way of starting your morning each day or it can be a Friday activity where affirmations are done
and drum circles take place,” Davis said. “It’s almost like a celebration if it is done at the end of the week. But during the week, it is a
way to pull together. It’s a way of grounding the students so they are ready for the work that will take place that day. They may be
introduced to a theme for the day. They may have a Read Out Loud that contributes to that theme. They may have a particular principle like
unity that will be focused on. And that is a set-up for what students can expect across the course of the day.”
Through cultural relevance, students bond and perform.
Andreal Davis’ office is helping Madison public school
teachers develop new culturally-relevant teaching
practices for their diverse classrooms.
teachers develop new culturally-relevant teaching
practices for their diverse classrooms.
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 2 of 2
For the past four years, Andreal Davis, assistant director of equity and family
involvement at the Madison Metropolitan School District, has been quietly
going about the business of assisting her fellow teachers in evolving their
teaching styles and practices to become more effective in their work with
increasingly diverse student populations
Davis calls the effort CPR, which stands for Cultural Practices that are
Relevant.
While the bulk of Davis’ work has been in teacher development, her office
has also focused on parent empowerment and work with students who are
exhibiting behavioral problems on the elementary school level.
For the past few years, Equity and Family Involvement has used the Read
Your Heart Out program to spur family and community involvement in the
schools. Spearheaded by Michelle Belnavis, The program is growing in