Resources

Breaking barriers success story - Salem-Keizer

September 21, 2009

Salem-Keizer: Working with a coalition

Oregon’s second largest school district has been working with the Salem-Keizer Coalition for Equality to address the diverse needs of its student population. The following is a review of some of the major issues the district and coalition have been working towards (adapted from a memo dated March 22, 2001 from Superintendent Kay Baker):

Work force diversity

• Hiring - Efforts made in hiring a workforce that reflects the diversity of the student population: 14% of new licensed teaching staff and 23 % of new administrative staff reflected the diversity of our students.
• Recruiting efforts - increased expenditures and efforts to recruit and hire minority staff members.
• “Grow your Own” - efforts to advance minority staff members are being expanded.
• Welcoming committee - minority staff and community members host events and provide support to assist new minority staff members who move to Salem-Keizer.

Volunteer Diversity

• Training - Hired Dr. Beverly Hobbs to provide training to all building volunteer coordinators about working with minority volunteers.
• Ongoing committee formed to guide training and systems to support minority volunteers.
• New Spanish language phone line for volunteers, new Spanish language recruiting materials, creation of games and learning materials in Spanish.

Bilingual access and bilingual funding

• Hired new Director of Bilingual Education.
• Evaluating our bilingual program for effectiveness and adequate funding.
• Identifying and seeking additional resources through grants and partnerships.

Discipline

• 1999-2000 Annual Report of Suspension, Expulsion, and Diversion was presented to the School Board, Equity Issues Committee, and Oversight Committee in April for evaluation and recommendation.
• New work groups formed to study dress code and use of Resource Officers.

Developing and Identifying Assessment

• Guidelines to insure that all Spanish-speaking students will be assessed with tools appropriate to their language have been developed.

District Complaint Process

• The charge for the task force includes evaluation of the current process, analysis of other district/department’s complaint processes, identification of steps/processes that need changed, altered or enhanced.
• Task Force members will present their recommendations to their constituent groups before presenting it to for final board approval.

Welcome Audits

• All schools audited by trained teams of community members which include minority and Spanish-speaking representatives.
• We have committed additional resources to increasing the number of Spanish-speaking personnel in school offices.
• We continue to increase the number of materials provided in multiple languages of our parents and students.
• Multiple headphone sets are available throughout the district to use for interpreters at parent meetings.

Family Outreach

• Hired bilingual/bicultural Community School Outreach Coordinator for families of Latino secondary students.
• Grant written for a additional coordinators representative of other ethnic groups.
• Adult literacy and ESL classes offered to parents.

Academic Success and Graduation Rate

• Out-of-School support system - Half-time coordinator per high school to work with students who are dropping out to reduce barriers and encourage their further school participation.
• Cooperative class with Western Oregon University at McKay linking high school students with college students.
• Identified four middle school ELL classes with over 35 students and are adding sections and/or assistants.
• Credit tracking earlier to intervene with students who are becoming credit deficient and attendance projects at middle schools and high schools.
• 21st Century Schoolhouse High School has developed materials in Spanish to inform Spanish-speaking families of alternative high school opportunities.

Security procedures

• We have learned about a number of inconsistencies in our security procedures and will work quickly to correct them. (doors to portables, parent notification, videos).
• We will work with our contract security company to encourage them to diversify their security force and to provide cultural competency training to their employees.

Relationships

• Research shows that a likely indicator of student success in school is the existence of a positive student to adult relationship at school. We continue to increase the effort and availability we offer to students and their families to build those relationships.

More >>