Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Policy Proposal
Sharon Hopkins
Abstract
Given the decades long debate about how to close the racial achievement gap that exists
between racially and ethnically diverse students and their white counterparts, this policy proposal
examined three solutions to closing that gap: early childhood education, school choice, and
Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT). An analysis of the major actors involved in each policy
and a literature review was conducted on the effectiveness on all three policies in increasing
student achievement over time. CRT was chosen as most effective. A policy proposal was
recommended that will require school districts to create a plan to ensure the implementation of
Culturally Responsive Teaching practices in all classrooms. Recommendations are made for what
policy instruments should be used when implementing the policy, steps to implementation, and
For decades, the education community and society at large has wrestled with how to close
the racial achievement gap. This gap refers to the large disparity in minority educational
achievement when compared with their white counterparts. This includes standardized test scores,
high school graduation rates, placement in advanced courses, suspension rates, college
matriculation, and post-secondary degrees earned. According to the National Center for
Education Statistics, in 2014, for the first time, the number of minority students (50.5%) educated
in public schools surpassed white students (49.5%). By 2026 it is projected that 55% of all public
school students will be non-white. Despite the changing student demographics in America’s public
schools, a 2014 survey of teachers found that 82% of teachers identify as white. With the growing
number of minority students in America’s schools, it is becoming imperative that more stringent
measures be taken to ensure that all students succeed. This paper will examine several policy
solutions that both political and educational advocates have proposed for closing the achievement
gap. The researcher will weigh the options and provide a policy recommendation.
There has been a disparity in the quality of schools between black and white children long
before the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. Boozer (1992), explains that
between 1890 and 1910 the quality of schools attended by black students declined relative to
those attended by white students, as judged by expenditures per student, average class size, and
the length of the school term. Fifty years later, Congress commissioned the Equality of
Educational Opportunity Study (EEOS), known as the Coleman Report after its lead author,
sociologist James S. Coleman, as part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The report found that in both
math and reading, 87 percent of white students in grade 12 scored higher than the average black
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student who only scored in the 13th percentile. One would think that after de jure segregation was
ended after the 1960s, that all students in American schools would be achieving at relatively
similar levels. Unfortunately, this is not the case. According to Hill (2017), The National
Assessment of Education Progress regularly reports that white students’ proficiency rates on
mathematics and reading exams are double or even triple those of African American and Hispanic
students, and the size of gaps is similar when comparing students based on family income and
parental education. Whites also lead in high school completion and college attendance rates, and
It is important to note that this issue is one of equity beyond the classroom. According to
Boozer (1992), evidence suggests that disparities in school quality that historically existed
between black and white students are responsible for a portion of the gap in earnings between
black and white workers. Similarly, O’Sullivan (2013) asserts that surveys of adolescents and
young adults with criminal records show that about half have reading difficulties as well as half of
youth with a history of substance abuse problems. America was founded on the principles of life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which all are linked to one’s ability to provide the basic
necessities of life for themselves and their families and be free to pursue their dreams. The racial
achievement gap then highlights the fact that the American Dream is not accessible to all. Horace
Mann, founder of the Common Schools movement which resulted in our current traditional public
schools, proclaimed that education is the “great equalizer.” What then should be done about the
fact that the current educational system directly contributes to inequality in society? While many
agree that closing the racial achievement gap is the goal of equality based educational reform,
various political actors and educational advocates have proposed different solutions in recent
years. This paper will examine early childhood education, school choice, and Culturally
Responsive Teaching.
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One proposed policy for closing the racial achievement gap has been to offer free early
childhood education, especially to those students who will feed in to underperforming school
districts. In 2014 President Obama announced $750 million in federal funding for early learning
programs through the Preschool Development Grants and Early Head Start-Child Care
Partnerships totaling more than $1 billion. According to the National Association for Elementary
appropriate behavior and cognitive abilities, both of which contribute to increased test scores.
One claim that advocates of early childhood education make is that minority student’s
parents are less involved in their education as such their preschool children are exposed to far less
vocabulary words than their counterparts. The problem with this assertion is that it places the
onus of failure to educate public school children on the parents. This pathologizing of minority
families shifts the blame away from educational institutions. There was a time in this country
where farmers and domestic workers were unable to read to their children and it was still the
responsibility of the school to educate children. The idea that learners themselves contribute to the
racial achievement gap from birth to age five does not explain the achievement gap that continues
to persist even for those minority children that do attend Head Start programs.
For example, research shows that the benefits of early childhood education fade over time.
In 2014 professors Greg J. Duncan of the University of California and Aaron Sojourner of the
University of Minnesota published a study on the long-term impact of early childhood education.
They used statistical controls to use the random sample of infants that received the program to
project its effects for low-income children across the United States. They found that the program
boosted the cognitive ability of low-income children much more than the cognitive ability of
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higher-income children. In fact, they projected that the program could if made widely available to
low-income families in the United States eliminate income-based gaps in IQ at age three. Their
results suggested that these effects would fade somewhat over time, but would remain substantial
in later years: were the program universal, the high/low-income IQ and achievement gap at age
eight would be one-third to three-quarters erased. Even the National Association of Elementary
School Principals admits that closing the achievement gap through early childhood education
would be easier to do for simple literacy skills but much more difficult for broad domains like
Furthermore, O’Sullivan (2013) explains that as of 2010 forty states provided some form
of state funded pre-school, only 4% of three-year-olds and 27% of four-year-olds had access to
early childhood programs. A major reason for this is that opponents of public early childhood
education argue that the tax burden would be too great on already struggling tax-payers. While it
is evident that early childhood education is one piece that could help decrease the racial
achievement gap, effective policies must be more far-reaching to address the deficits that students
School Choice
Yet another proposed solution to decrease the racial achievement gap has been school
choice. School choice refers to a student’s ability to leave their failing public school district for a
more high-performing public school district or private school through voucher programming or to
attend a public charter school that is privately managed. In support of Secretary of Education,
Betsy Devos’ budget proposed in February 2018, President Trump stated, “So many of America’s
poorest children especially African American and Hispanic children attend failing public schools
that afford them little hope of fulfilling their great potential. That is why families should be free to
choose the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school option that is right for them.
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The budget empowers parents, especially of our disadvantaged youth, to choose the very best
school for their children.” According to the Foundation for Economic Education (2015), allowing
students to use vouchers to attend private schools would increase educational performance and
attainment, using a voucher to attend private school increased the overall college enrollment rate
among African Americans, and that choice forces traditional public schools forces to increase their
educational achievement due to the competition. In fact, Jeynes (2014) asserts that research
indicates that the achievement gap in faith-based schools is generally 25% narrower than one finds
in public schools. Despite this assertion, in the 200-2006 period, 1,162 inner city faith-based
schools were closed losing nearly 425,000 students. These schools were closed due to insufficient
funding.
Although data shows some positive trends for students of color attending faith-based
private schools, much of the school choice movement has centered around charter schools.
Advocates of charter schools declare that schools that are free from bureaucracy and union
obligations are able to operate more efficiently, have more innovative able to make allowing them
to have a greater impact on student achievement. A major difference between public and charter
schools is the presence of teachers unions. It’s no wonder then that the largest teacher’s unions,
the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers oppose the school
choice movement. President Lily Eskelsen García argued in the NEA’s new policy on charter
schools that “Handing over students’ education to privately managed, unaccountable charters
jeopardizes student success, undermines public education and harms communities. This policy
draws a clear line between charters that serve to improve public education and those that do not.
Too frequently charters are operated expressly for profit, or are nominally non-profit but managed
or operated by for-profit entities. Most importantly, the growth of charters has undermined local
public schools and communities, without producing any overall increase in student learning and
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growth.” The NEA’s new position acknowledges that there are some good charter schools that
have managed to sufficiently educate students. It may also be noted that the pivot on charter
schools comes since several charter schools across the country have had successful union drives
One problem with the choice rhetoric in education is that it provides a false sense of
choice, meaning the failing school district that a minority student attends does not even become an
option due to its failing status. “Choice” implies that every school has a chance at being chosen.
Parents could only be said to have truly preferred a choice school if they had access to a quality
neighborhood school to begin with. According to James (2014) choice policies amplify cultural-
deficit theories which suggest that community schools in minority areas will never be capable of
providing a quality education. It encourages those with economic and social capital to remove
their children from neighborhood schools, placing them in private schools, charter schools, or
more privileged districts even if they would otherwise be inclined to remain in their home district
to work with district administrators to improve it. This leaves behind those children and families
who have less social and economic capital. James also contends that school choice plans only
compound the de facto segregation that makes America’s public schools more segregated now
than they were at the time of Brown v. Board of Education and undermine democracy. He asserts
that public schools are about the public, a community invested in educational learning outcomes
for children of that community. School choice policies and rhetoric however, promote
competition, individualism, and subordination. None of those things has resulted in increased
accountability or achievement. The narrative around charter schools are that they are better than
traditional public schools, however, the majority of charter schools are attended by minority
students of low socio-economic status. Again, white students and minority families with social and
economic mobility when given the choice, opt for traditional public schools.
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Academies (2016), over the past twenty-two years, 100 charter schools have been closed in
Michigan by their authorizers for academic reasons. According to the Center for Public Education
better than if they had attended their neighborhood traditional public school. On the flip side,
students in 37 percent of charter schools performed significantly worse, and students in the
remaining 46 percent of charter schools did not perform significantly better or worse than if they
had attended their neighborhood traditional public school. Overall, the majority of charter schools
Additionally, just as conservatives resist funding early childhood education, the same has
been true for school choice programming. Klein (2018) notes that a Republican Congress
rejected the administration’s budget proposals on choice, including $250 million private
school voucher program, and a push to allow school districts to use some of their federal
Another policy that has been operating more at the grassroots level within individual
districts has been Culturally Responsive Teaching. According to Gay (2000), one of the causes of
a lack of achievement amongst minority students is that they are taught through a Eurocentric
framework whereby their teachers believe that education has nothing do with culture and
heritages. Instead, it is about teaching intellectual, vocational, and civic skills. This colorblind
approach is problematic because it devalues their own cultures that may be very important to
them, is unrealistic as it is impossible to “not see color”, promotes the belief that good teaching is
identical for all students under all circumstances, and leads to the effective assimilation of minority
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students into the dominant culture. The impact of the aforementioned beliefs has led to decades of
It is evident that societal factors such as poverty, lack of parental education, and family
support contribute to student achievement outcomes, however, research shows that schooling
practices have the greatest impact on student achievement. When a child’s teacher engages in
practices that sets high academic expectations for all students, has a complex understanding of
their own racial identity, an understanding of how culture is framed and understood in the context
of students’ lives, re-shapes the curriculum in a way that posits learning within the context of
culture, and delivers student-centered instruction, then student achievement increases. This is the
premise for Culturally Responsive Teaching also sometimes referred to as Culturally Responsive
Pedagogy, or Culturally Relevant Teaching. All of the terms are interchangeable and hereafter will
be referred to as CRT.
Beginning in the mid 1990s with the publication of Gloria Ladson-Billings’ book, The
Dream-keepers, educational think-tanks, departments of education, and school districts across the
country began investigating Culturally Responsive Teaching practices to serve the ever increasing
minority population in their school districts. Most recently, California and Oregon have proposed
professional development opportunities on their websites. In 2017, New York State proposed a
more comprehensive bill that not only requires CRT professional development but also requires
districts to create a plan for how CRT will be implemented. The bill is still active and presently sits
in the education committee. At a local level, many districts across the country have adopted their
own policies voluntarily with varying levels of accountability and success. Several intermediate
school districts in the state of Michigan offer professional development series on CRT.
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Additionally, one local suburban district has developed a three year plan to train teachers on CRT
The theory behind CRT is that there are certain assumptions about student achievement.
According to Gay (2018), the first premise is that culture is at the heart of all we do in the name
She notes the connection between literacy and culture by declaring that the relationship between
the two is bidirectional. Not only will cultural diversity mediate the acquisition and expression of
literacy, but literacy education will also influence and mold an individual’s cultural identity.
Another assumption that Gay makes is that the current proposals for “at-risk” students are
doomed to fail absent a focus on culture. This is largely due to those proposals operating on a
deficit model concentrating on what racially and culturally diverse students don’t have and can’t
do. These proposals only emphasize the technical and academic dimensions of learning. The result
of this approach is the racial achievement gap remaining stagnant or growing in some areas.
Lastly, another assumption is that lack of achievement on standardized tests and classroom tasks
is a symptom, not the cause of the problem. Unless teachers understand what is interfering with a
student’s performance, they cannot intervene appropriately. Blaming the student’s socio-economic
background, home life, or motivation does not help drive student achievement. CRT proposes that
instead of focusing on what is wrong with racially and culturally diverse students, that teachers try
to find what is “right” with them and leverage that knowledge to teach them.
In addition to the assumptions that CRT makes about student achievement, there are a core set of
themes as well as curricular and instructional practices that are seminal to it. The very first tenet is
communicating high expectations. Teachers must let students know that they are expected to
engage and perform at a high level. Another key feature is to anchor the curriculum in the
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everyday lives of the students as well as to ensure that they learn about diverse peoples
consistently. Students making a personal connection to the material that they are learning
increases the likelihood that they will retain the knowledge. It is also important for teachers
engaging in CRT to acknowledge their own privilege, while making a concerted effort to visit the
communities of their students, learn about their families, and learn about the history and
Office of Special Education Programs, there are some emerging evidence-based teaching practices
associated with CRT. These include collaborative teaching and learning, responsive feedback,
problem-solving, and child-centered instruction. With collaborative teaching and learning, teachers
collectively organize students into heterogeneous learning teams by grouping based on learning
abilities. After students have read and identified the assignment, they discuss the topic with their
groups, share their knowledge, and complete the lesson as a whole group. This strategy builds on
the interpersonal nature of learning and allows for students to share their background and
experiences with the content. With responsive feedback, teachers offer critical, ongoing, and
sensitive to students’ individual and cultural preferences. The report further mentions that another
key component includes problem solving. This requires teachers to create opportunities for
students to investigate real, open-ended problems; formulate questions; and develop solutions to
genuine challenging situations. Engaging students in solving meaningful problems allows for
complex and higher order thinking while increasing students’ motivation to learn and resolve
authentic issues in their daily lives. Teachers create opportunities for students to critique,
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challenge, and transform examples of injustice or inequity in their daily lives and communities.
Lastly, in a student-centered classroom, students’ contributions drive the teaching and learning
responsive classrooms, teachers provide opportunity for student choice in classroom activities,
facilitate Instructional conversations that allow students to dialogue academic content while
Some critics of CRT argue that there is not enough data available to determine its
compiled a report in which they evaluated forty-two studies examining the impact of CRT on
student outcomes. In eight studies of the effectiveness of CRT in mathematic classrooms, they
found that teachers who used community issues as a framework improved students’ math
proficiency and engagement in the classroom. The researchers found students able to engage in
“math talk” and make connections that became “personal and meaningful”. For example, one
student was able to explain clearly the difference between perimeter and area when referring to
the classroom garden; she appropriately switched terminology when using descriptors such as
centimeters or square feet, indicating her understanding of measurement. They also found that
data from a National Educational Longitudinal Study using questionnaires obtained from students
compared with performance on state standardized tests. Black and Latino students whose
mathematics teachers’ emphasized awareness about the importance of math in their everyday lives
and encouraged students had higher scores on standardized tests. Likewise, in a quantitative study
done with fifth graders, a group using CRT methods in reading instruction, the group was able to
move students from a frustration level to above instructional level in overall reading. Similar
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studies exist examining CRT in Science and Social Studies classrooms as well with increased
student engagement and motivation being the common outcome. Outside of the quantitative data
on CRT, there are qualitative aspects of CRT that point to increased student engagement and
better teacher-student relationships. Despite this, there has been no federal legislation or policy
With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015, pressure has been put on
districts to improve student outcomes with evidence-based instructional practices. Not only does
CRT meet the threshold for effective under ESSA but there are other provisions of the Act that
directly support its implementation. For example, Jackson (2016), highlights that the ESSA calls
for increased funding and support for indigenous languages and cultures, culturally responsive
education, and supports to improve academic outcomes for Native American and indigenous
students. Several provisions also focus on engaging families, particularly for minority students.
Additionally, state plans must indicate how low-income and minority students in Title I schools
CRT would be a critical component in preparing educators to meet the needs of all learners in
Title I schools. ESSA also calls for increased Title III funding for states and schools to implement
and maintain high-quality instruction to ensure English learners develop English language
instructional practice that will meet the needs of the diverse learners in America’s schools.
proposed for all New York State’s public schools and successfully implemented in a large
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suburban public school district in Michigan. In 2017, the New York State Assembly proposed a
bill that would require all school districts to develop a three year CRT plan for professional
development that would be evaluated through teacher and student surveys. In an interview with a
public policy fellow for New America, a think-tank in Washington, D.C, the fellow stated that
New York Bill 4710-A could serve as a model for other districts across the country that are
CRT. Among the most promising parts of the bill is its clear definition of what constitutes CRT
training—this helps elude muddy interpretations of CRT that are common. She further stated that
the bill is also promising because of its commitment to evaluation. Since districts are required to
develop three year plans, there is an ongoing commitment to the practice. When asked if she was
aware of any local barriers to the bill, she stated that there is a timely and visible groundswell of
community interest in the approach which could ensure it garners enough support from
legislators. She did caution however that upon passing, the next challenge will be to ensure
I also interviewed a program manager for a non-profit organization in New York City that
teaches middle and high school students to research and debate public policy. He worried that the
initiative might be placed on the backburner in place of any education policy that would ensure
higher test scores. There may be a greater focus on using curriculum materials that policymakers
would presume are effective for getting students ready for examination while ignoring that the
CRT in Michigan
There are some districts across the country that have implemented CRT policies through
their own volition. A K-12 district in a suburb outside of the city of Detroit created a four year
strategic plan to address diversity in 2013. Included in the plan is a Culturally Responsive
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Teaching Professional Learning Plan. Their student body consists of a little over 8,000 students of
year 1 of the plan, Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) Liaisons were identified to serve as
teacher-leaders and trainers for each school. They participated in a year-long training learning
series on CRT practices to prepare professional learning activities for the following school year. In
year 2, all teachers and support staff participated in on-going professional learning that included
self-reflection and awareness regarding cultural responsiveness. CRT liaisons lead professional
learning at the school level throughout the school year. One year ahead of teachers, liaisons
responsive relationships between adults and students. In year 3, all teachers and support staff
culturally responsive relationships between adults and students. One-year ahead of teachers,
responsive instruction. In year 4, all teachers and support staff participate in on-going professional
learning to implement culturally responsive instruction in each classroom and school community.
The Director of Character Education, Diversity, and Equity for the district and one of the
authors of the CRT policy, explained how the policy was conceived as well as noted some
successes and failures of implementation. She indicated that the Cultural Responsiveness Plan was
developed to ensure that “all learners will continually excel in a learning environment that is
engaging, global, and free of achievement gaps.” She indicated that the strategic plan action team
was co-chaired by a building principal and central office administrator. The team included
teachers, parents, building, and district administrators. Through the work of the action team, one
of the strategies to achieve their goal was to implement Culturally Responsive practices. When
asked about the successes so far in year 3 of the 4 year plan, she explained that (1) all teachers
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and principals have been receiving ongoing training through a train-the-trainer model, which
includes a minimum of 8-10 professional development hours per year (2) there are CRT liaisons
(staff members) who serve as trainers in all schools throughout the district (3) this four-year plan
has sustained over a series of years and no longer consists of small groups of teachers being
She was also very transparent in noting the struggles of implementation. The director
asserted that although there has not been a formal program assessment to date, there has been
some anecdotal feedback consisting of (1) desire to go deeper within topics that include
race/white privilege (2) additional practical strategies are needed (3) some staff members do not
understand the need/urgency about these topics (4) some school leaders are more supportive of
the CRT work than others (5) inability to grasp how CRT connects in a larger picture of district
initiatives. She also made sure to highlight that apart of their strategic plan includes aligning their
diverse workforce.
One key component to ensuring that educators are prepared to implement best practices
for an increasingly diverse student population is to require that pre-service teachers receive CRT
training in their pedagogy courses. In an interview with an associate professor in the Department
university, the professor stated that her university has been maintained its number 1 ranking by
World News and Report for it elementary, secondary, and higher education programs. They
currently offer several graduate and undergraduate courses that speak specifically to CRT. She
personally teaches several of those courses. They also have a summer urban immersion program
that places pre-service teachers in various classrooms in Detroit for seven weeks while their
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cultural competency is explored. When asked what recommendation she has for getting more
culturally responsive curriculum implemented in schools, she gives the following suggestions:
Individuals (i.e. educators, parents, students, community members, etc.) who deeply care about
the culturally relevant instruction and achievement of students could do a few things: attend
school board meetings, create what a CRT curriculum looks like for them and attempt to meet
with school officials to discuss ways to implement the work, and offer to host community/working
meetings where individuals can brainstorm and write ideas. Later, the chosen curriculum can be
taught to students in a summer or after school format to see how students and teachers connect
with the material. The goal here is for it to be successful, in an effort for the curriculum to used
school or statewide. She also recommended that leaders conduct weekly and monthly classroom
visits, and for teachers to complete written and video reflections. Additionally, focus groups with
students, teachers, and parents could assist with everyone learning from each other and how the
Recommendation
Given the extensive research that supports CRT as an evidence-based strategy for decreasing
the racial achievement gap, increasing student engagement, and fostering teacher-student
relationships, it is the recommendation of this researcher that the State Department of Education
1. All district superintendents will initially develop a three year Culturally Responsive
Districts will collect quantitative data on student achievement pre-training and post
training to include classroom and state standardized assessments. They will also collect
qualitative data including teacher survey responses that evaluate the effectiveness of the
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CRT practices. Schools will also collect student survey responses which measures the
2. In the plan, districts must indicate how the teacher evaluation instrument that will be used
3. After the three year plan has been implemented, district superintendents must have a
4. All state teacher preparation programs must have a course or embedded within a course
practices. A syllabus for the course that has been designated to meet this requirement must
Districts who fail to comply risk sanctions from the MDE that may include fines and the
appointment of a state monitor to bring the district into compliance. Colleges and University
who fail to meet their obligation, will have their teacher education programs lose their
Policy Instruments
A key component to drafting a policy is to identify the structure of the policy as there are
several options available. Theodore Lowi asserted in 1964 that there are three types of policies or
formalized rule expressed in general terms that would be applied to all schools in the state and
would be enforced by the State Department of Education. Some might contend however that the
CRT policy is redistributive in that the end result would be a shift of resources and power away
from the dominant group in society similar to some of the redistributive policies of the 1960s and
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1970s such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Education for All
Handicapped Children Act, or the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. That is, after
successful implementation, the racial achievement gap would close making education a true
equalizer for all people. Fowler (2013) contends that regulatory policies create regulatory politics.
She explains that several social groups usually with competing interests usually oppose regulatory
policies for different reasons. In redistributive politics, conflicts generally arise along class lines,
however, because the CRT policy is not redistributive in terms of money, it may not face as much
In addition to understanding the types of policies, a policy maker must determine what
instrument they will use in order to translate substantive policy goals into concrete action.
Because all schools in the state will be required to adopt and monitor a CRT plan, it is categorized
as a mandate. Fowler asserts that mandates consist of two components: (1) language that spells
out required behavior for all people in a specified social group, and (2) a prescribed penalty for
those who fail to comply. Another policy instrument that will be used in this policy is hortatory.
Fowler describes the instrument as one that sends a signal that particular goals and actions are
considered a high priority by government. The ideal result of a hortatory policy is successfully
persuading the targeted population to act differently. In order to get school leaders, teachers, and
communities to buy into the idea that Culturally Responsive Teaching is a priority for the State
Department of Education and that the policy will close the racial achievement gap, a press release
and other educational materials would need to be disseminated to the public. The State
Superintendent would also need to meet with the professional organization for district leaders in
order to rally them around the shared goal. Ultimately the public relations campaign promoting
the new CRT policy would be similar to that of Horace Mann’s Common School Movement at a
state level. The State Department of Education would have to ensure through persuasion that
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educators understood the value of CRT as a tool to finally provide equity in education and
Implementation
Facilitating Change
In order to facilitate the transformative change not only in educator’s pedagogy but also to
implement the new policy, it is necessary to consult change models. Kurt Lewin, a German
philosopher, conducted research on the factors that influence people to change and the three
stages needed to make change successful. Lewin (1947) explains that there are three steps to
change, the first being “unfreezing.” This stage is about getting ready to change. It involves
getting to a point of understanding that change is necessary, and getting ready to move away from
our current comfort zone. Another change guru, John Kotter, in his change model calls this stage
“creating a sense of urgency.” This first stage is about preparing ourselves, or others, before the
change (and ideally creating a situation in which we want the change). Unfreezing involves
weighing the pros and the cons of change. Lewin calls this “force field analysis.” In other words,
there are lots of different forces for and against making change that we need to be aware of
(analysis). Change makers must be convinced the factors for change outweigh the factors against
in order to make the change. This stage works in concert with the hortatory policy instrument.
There must be a significant mindset shift that must occur amongst educators where they realize
that the current model of educating racially diverse students will not lead to a closing of the racial
achievement gap. Those educators will have to confront their privilege, examine structural
inequities in society, assess their own teaching practices, and really get to know their students in a
way they have not before. It is important to note the struggles of the Harbortown Public School
teachers to grasp how the CRT policy relates to larger district initiatives. Moving forward, the
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district may want to create materials, and have in-person sessions that makes that connection
abundantly clear.
The second stage that Lewin identifies is “change or transition.” Change is a process not
an event. In this stage, people are unfrozen and are often unsure of themselves which is why
leaders must provide extra layers of support. Lewin asserts that support can be in the form of
training, coaching, and expecting mistakes as part of the process. Using role models and allowing
people to develop their own solutions will help the change process. It's really useful to keep
communicating a clear picture of the desired change - and the benefits - so people don't lose sight
of where they are heading. In this stage of the CRT policy implementation it is important the State
Department of Education provide district and school leaders with consultants who specialize in
CRT but also educational consultants experienced in facilitating change. Teaching staff should be
provided with instructional coaches to help observe their practice and give them timely feedback.
Frequent check-ins should be done with leaders and staffs to remind them of the desired change
The third stage of change is “freezing or (refreezing).” Lewin explains this stage is about
establishing stability once the changes have been made where the changes are accepted and
become the new norm. People form new relationships and become comfortable with their
routines. This stage is about reinforcing the change and ensuring that it is maintained into the
future. It is important to realize that with any major change, it will not become the norm in a few
days or weeks but will take time. Kotter refers to this stage as “anchoring the change in the
organizational culture”. When implementing CRT, it must be clear that schools expect all of their
teachers to use the evidence-based strategies associated with CRT in their classrooms daily,
curriculum be culturally responsive, and teachers make positive meaningful relationships with their
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students acknowledging their cultures and heritages. CRT must be interwoven within the fabric of
Policy Evaluation
Fowler (2013) explains that policy evaluation can be difficult due to it being political,
however, programs or policies cannot be made better unless they are evaluated. Educators may
not like to be evaluated, as public servants we must show our constituents evidence that have
produced beneficial results. The criteria for judging evaluations is that it must have utility,
feasibility, propriety, and accuracy. This means that findings should be related to practical
situations, all important stakeholders should be involved in the process, the evaluation should be
ethical and conform to the accepted norms for research, and conclusions should be reached using
data that is collected systematically. Polices should be evaluated both formatively and
summatively. Waiting to summatively assess a policy doesn’t allow for mid-course adjustments to
strengthen policy implementation. Evaluation should be built in early, communication about the
evaluation be done with all stakeholders, clear indicators be selected, data collection be built in at
various intervals, and ethical evaluators be chosen. Lastly, action should be taken based on the
Given the above information, the CRT policy must be evaluated at the State Department
of Education as well as at the school level. The SDE must evaluate its own implementation of the
policy. A team of ethical evaluators should be assembled to determine the effectiveness of the
support it provides to local school districts. They also should be clear on which standardized test
results will be used for quantitative data as well as carefully crafting the survey to be disseminated
to staff and students about their perception of CRT. There should be an additional survey given to
district and school leaders to determine how supported they felt by the SDE with implementing
the policy. Data on how many school districts submitted their CRT plans on time, the quality of
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the plans should be reviewed. The same should be done for syllabi submitted by colleges and
At the district and school level the CRT should be evaluated using the pre-determined
criteria given from the SDE but also there should be some internal evaluation. School leaders
should assemble a team of ethical evaluators which may include outside consultants to evaluate
the process with which the policy is implemented. Questions to be answered would be were
timelines met, how well were staff, parents, and students involved in the process, what
incremental gains were accomplished, and what year end goals were accomplished? District
leaders should compile all sources of data in a palatable way for all community stakeholders and
Considerations
When implementing a new policy it is important to consider practical barriers that may
hinder implementation. One barrier to implementation of the CRT policy would be the initial
upfront cost of providing districts with CRT consultants as well as schools providing training for
their building-level CRT coaches. It is recommended that districts follow the model of the
Harbortown School District in which they select a small group of coaches to be trained first and
then those coaches would be responsible for training and supporting teachers. Colleges and
universities may have to similarly train their pre-service teaching faculty to become well versed in
evidence based CRT practices. Purchasing new more culturally responsive curriculum may also be
a cost that districts will incur in order to be in compliance with the policy. The initial added
expense to districts may be one cause for dissent. Furthermore, the SDE and school leaders may
have to contend with resistance in implementing the new practices from those educators with
fixed mindsets. The SDE should offer districts guidance on how to use existing curriculum
budgets to purchase culturally responsive curriculum and for Title I districts, how to use existing
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Title I funds to pay for instructional coaching. To address the resistance to implement the policy,
leaders should refer back to the hortatory policy instrument to ensure a clear vision that is clearly
Conclusion
There are many societal factors that one can point to as to why racially diverse students
don’t achieve at the level of the dominant culture. Despite these societal factors, schooling
practices have the greatest impact on student achievement. Ultimately the hard work of ensuring
that all students are exposed to culturally relevant curriculum grounded in high expectations, build
strong relationships with their teachers, are exposed to engaging instruction, and connect their
content knowledge to the real-world, cannot be legislated. All of these components come together
when educators receive the proper training not only to implement those instructional practices,
but to also engage in the interpersonal practices that create culturally responsive classrooms. It is
the hope that this educational policy will be one piece of many that will result in a decrease in the
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