Achievement Gap

Discussing racism and how it is embedded in the practices, policies, and procedures of schools makes for uncomfortable conversations. But having those conversations is essential if a school district is committed to closing academic achievement gaps, education equity leader Glenn Singleton told two full sessions of attendees Monday, the closing day of NSBA’s annual conference in Boston.

At the heart of the achievement gap is “a belief gap” over “who deserves a highly resourced education,” said Singleton, president of the consultant firm Pacific Educational Group.

School leaders wanting to reduce gaps in student achievement and success can’t proclaim “I don’t see a child’s color” and advance such efforts. In fact, such positions may hamper change.

That advice was shared by several speakers at NSBA’s Annual Conference preconference workshop on Friday, “Achieving Equity: Leadership Strategies and Promising Practices for Closing the Opportunity and Achievement Gaps.” The clinic centered on equity programs of the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) and two districts in that state.

Frequently, a key to a high-poverty/high-performing school depends as much on what the educators stop doing as on what they start doing to effect change.

That’s a lesson Boise State University researcher Bill Parrett has learned in 25-plus years examining poverty and learning. Parrett, a regular NSBA speaker for two decades, offered insights into his studies of dozens of U.S. high-poverty/high-performing schools during a Friday preconference workshop at NSBA’s Annual Conference in Boston.