Cultivating Culturally Responsive Leaders Essay Example for Free

Cultivating Culturally Responsive Leaders Essay The purpose of this study is to make school administrators aware and familiar with the challenges and obstacles ELL students encounter. With such a growing population of ELL students, teachers are having to become more and more aware of instructional strategies. Teachers are now being held accountable more than ever for their student’s performance and need to make sure every student makes learning gains. With South Florida’s increasing ELL population teachers are struggling to get these students, whose first language is not English, to speak, read, and write proficiently in English before they take the FCAT or by the end of the year to be able to show learning gains. This case study will take place at Winston Park K-8 School. Winston Park is located in a suburban, middle to lower class multiethnic community in the southwest section of Miami-Dade County. The student population is composed of eighty-six percent Hispanics, nine percent white, one percent black, and four percent other. Sixty percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced lunch, 46% are ELL, six percent are SWD, and four percent are gifted students. Average daily attendance is 98%. There is a total of 96 instructional staff members. Ninety-one percent of the instructional staff is highly qualified. Twenty-six percent of teachers have received advanced degrees. Parental involvement is high and growing. The student interviewed is an eight-year-old third grade student. Gabriela came from Cuba in March of 2012. Gabriela and her family came from Cuba in search of freedom and a better life. Gabriela came to the United States with her father and mother. Gabriela states that they lived in a poor neighborhood and struggled to get the little food that they did to put on the table. After school Gabriela would go to work with her mom at a farm to pick fruits, vegetables, and even milk cows. Gabriela has showed great growth in the one year that she has been in the Miami-Dade County Public school system. Although Gabriela has attended Winston Park from the beginning of this school year, this is the second school she’s attended in the district since arriving from Cuba. Gabriela’s mom informed that she was very unhappy at her previous school but that now Gabriela loved waking up in the morning to attend school. Even though both of her parents work they are very involved in her studies and will stop at nothing to make sure Gabriela gets a good education. Gabriela is not your average recently arrived ELL student. In the short time she has been here, Gabriela has learned to read, write and comprehend English just as well, if not at times better than many of her non-ELL classmates. Gabriela has made Honor Roll every nine-week grading period and was even referred to be tested for the gifted program. In this case study we will answer how do ELLs, their parents, teachers, and other stakeholder understand ELLs academic experiences in school and how can administrators work be informed by a case study that focuses on ELLs and their experiences in Florida schools. Literature Review In reviewing literature based on paired reading and fluency increase, I found several sources that supported my hypothesis that pairing low (ESOL) and high (Non-ESOL) students during reading is an effective intervention. These findings are particularly significant to those educators who are seeking ways to help students with reading fluency difficulty. Reading fluency is important for comprehension. When students read efficiently and accurately, then they can comprehend what they read more easily. In primary grades, students learn to read but in upper elementary grades students read to learn. What is fluency? According to the National Reading Panel (2000), fluency is the ability to read text aloud with speed, accuracy, and proper expression (Armbruster, Lehr, Osborn, 2001; Meyer Felton, 1991; Rasinkski, 2003). Fluent readers can recognize the majority of the words they read automatically without having to decode individual words; they are ble to dedicate their attention to the ultimate goal of reading: comprehension. Fluency is the bridge between word recognition and reading comprehension (Kuhn Stahl, 2000; Nathan Stanovich, 1991; Rasinksi Padak, 2004). While studies have not determined the ideal number of times necessary to achieve reading fluency, researchers say the more times the better. A typical reader needs to read a passage four times to reach maximum fluency levels (National Reading Panel, 2000). Beginning readers and struggling older readers tend to read slowly, haltingly, and with little or no expression. Often as a result, text comprehension is affected, confidence levels are low, and they do not enjoy reading. Therefore, fluency is and should be a primary goal of literacy instruction. The oral reading fluency norms for grades 1-5 are: 1st 53-111, 2nd 89-142, 3rd 107-162, 4th 123-180, and 5th 139-194 (Hasbrouck Tindal, 2006). While conducting my research, I found different types of reading interventions that can help increase an ESOL student’s fluency: Choral Reading, Duet Reading, Audio-Recorded Books, Echo Reading, and Paired Reading (Hudson et al. , 2005; The Partnership for Reading, 2001). In choral reading, a group of students read aloud from the same selection. The teacher can read along to set the pace and model targeted skills. Students can improve their fluency skills, including appropriate pausing and expression, by reading along with a group of readers or with a strong reader as a partner (Hudson, 2005). In duet reading, a stronger reader is paired with a less-fluent reader. The stronger reader sets the pace and provides visual tracking by moving his or her finger below each word as it is read in unison. In audio-recorded books, the student reads aloud with an audio-recorded version of a book. The purpose is to encourage the weaker reader to read along with the tape. In echo reading, the adult reads a short passage and then invites the child to â€Å"Say what I say† or â€Å"Copy me,† encouraging the child to repeat what the adult has read (Robertson Davig, 2002). In this way, the adult models fluent reading and then provides the child with an opportunity for immediate practice. In paired reading, children who are struggling with reading fluency are paired up with a more capable reader. In this strategy, the fluent reader and reader take turns reading by lines or pages (Mathes, Fuchs, Fuchs, Henley, Sanders, 1994). In evaluating the different types of reading interventions, I found that paired reading is the most commonly used to increase fluency. According to the report of The National Reading Panel (2000), guided repeated oral reading is the most effective procedure for developing reading fluency (Kuhn Stahl, 2000; Rasinski Hoffman, 2003). Paired reading was originally developed as a strategy for parents and children reading at home, but it is easily adapted for classroom use in intervention lessons (Morgan Lyon, 1979; Topping, 1989). Paired reading requires the reading partners to read aloud. Reading aloud to elementary school students can have many beneficial effects; it improves their language skills, motivates them to read on their own, makes students familiar with books, and expands vocabulary (Saban, 1994). Research indicates that repeated paired reading leads not only to improving in reading the passage but also improvement in decoding, reading rate, expression, and comprehension of passages that the reader has not previously seen (Dowhower, 1994; Kuhn Stahl, 2000; National Reading Panel, 2000). Rasinski and Fredericks (1991) reported on a paired reading project launched by the Akron, Ohio Public School System; the results of the project suggest that paired reading also helped improve reading performance but in addition helps improve reading motivation and child bonding. Studies on paired reading showed that students of all ages can make extraordinary reading gains. In one study of paired reading over a period of six to ten weeks, students made a gain of at least six months in reading (Limbrick, McNaughton, Cameron, 1985). In another study, students made an average of three months gain for every month of paired reading. The less proficient readers were not the only ones who benefited; the student who served as the tutor also made substantial gains in their reading abilities (Topping, 1989). In summation, the characteristics of the paired reading instruction (positive one-to-one collaboration between skilled and less-skilled readers, reader engagement, practice, evidence of progress, and reader expression) support my hypothesis that pairing a low and high student during reading is an effective intervention for fluency increase. It may promote rapid turnaround in reader proficiency for less-skilled readers. Furthermore this finding is particularly significant to those educators who are seeking ways to help students with reading fluency difficulty. Method Three people participated in this study: Gabriela, an eight-year old student in third grade and an ESOL level one, her mom and the teacher, Mrs. Sanz. Everyone has given full consent and agreed to interview with us and give us information on Gabriela and their culture. Every person interviewed was cooperative and helpful throughout the interview. The teacher was a crucial part to our interview since she is the one who works directly with Gabriela on a daily basis and can best describes her strengths and weaknesses. During the interview, we asked Mrs. Sanz to please provide us with information and data about Gabriela. We explained to her teacher and mother that all of Gabriela’s information would be kept confidential and that her name would be changed for privacy purposes. Some of the data we collected was from the SAT (Stanford Achievement Test), FAIR (Florida Assessment in Instruction and Reading), and the CELLA (Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment). While the teacher pulled out useful pieces of data she gave us a synopses of how Gabriela is in class and how she is getting along with all the other students. Mrs. Sanz feels she’s a bright young girl (probably gifted) with lots of potential. She is self-directive and puts forth maximum effort. Mrs. Sanz also told us Gabriela enjoys helping the other students in class. Mrs. Sanz feels this may be due to the high level of importance her parents have instilled in her regarding school. Sandra, Brenda and Mrs. Sanz all discussed and analyzed the data and we identified all her strong areas as well as a few minor weak areas. Sandra Ramallo and Brenda Gomez conducted the study. Sandra and Brenda were both present at all interviews and had the opportunity to talk to each interviewee. Since the study was conducted by both Sandra and Brenda the work load was distributed amongst each other. Brenda worked on the introduction, method, findings, and consent forms. Sandra worked on the literature review, discussion, and the transcription of the interview.

Actions And Behavior Of The President Essay -- essays research papers

Actions and Behavior of the President The broad language of the second article of the Constitution left many questions about the power and authority of the President and the Executive branch of the Federal Government. Since George Washington, each Chief Executive has come to the position with different beliefs on the responsibility and power of the President. However the performance of the president is often shaped by outside factors which control how he must act as a Chief Executive. The behavior of presidents come from a number of different criteria. A president's personal character, his approach to the position and circumstances during his term all contribute to presidential behavior. Presidents have approached the office from two vague positions. They have believed, to varying degrees, that either the president has a strong leadership position and broad powers to direct the nation in one direction, or that the president has very limited powers dictated by the Constitution and should act like a chief administrator for the Federal Government. These beliefs were reflected in their behavior while in the White House. Franklin Roosevelt believed that the Federal Government had an obligation and interest in bringing the nation out of the depression. In order to do this he initiated a number of agencies and projects to employ people. In the first "Hundred Days" of Roosevelt's first term he initiated a number of programs which increased the size of the Federal Government and the power of the President. He did all that he could to see that his proposals were put into place. This included a failed court packing scheme to have a more friendly Supreme Court to find his programs constitutional (Lowi and Ginsberg 230.) In contrast to this belief in broad presidential authority by Franklin Roosevelt was Howard Taft. Taft believed that Presidential authority was very limited the constitution and had to be specifically granted to the President by Congress or the Constitution (Lowi and Ginsberg 220.) Another example of a passive approach to the presidency to is George Washington. While he is often seen as a very influential president, his position as the first President require that he had to set many standards. In fact President Washington hoped that the presidency would not be dominate. In his inaugural address he argued for a strong legislature which he r... ...t must deal with, it does not necessarily explain how he comes to a position on issues and deals with problems. The behavior of a President can only be explained as a combination of many factors. His personal politics and approach to the power of the Presidency will explain if he will try to lead the whole government and beyond that the whole nation, or if he will act as a clerk, putting into action the orders of Congress. A Presidents character and style of leadership are an important factor in his approach to leadership. The size and duty of the Federal Government also effect a President's behavior and the priorities of his office. Finally a President must react to events at home and abroad which are out of his control. The pressures that these events and the public reaction to them probably have the greatest influence over his behavior and decisions. Actions and behavior of a President are the result of a complex set of circumstances. No one criteria can be used to explain the behavior of the president in any event. Explaining actions on the basis of one criteria is futile and should be reserved to talk radio hosts.

Howard Zinn

A People's History of the united States Chapter 9 Summary Chapter nine of Howard Zinn's book explains slavery before and after the Civil War. The majority of the united States Government was in support of slavery until Abraham Lincoln publicized his support for the end of slavery. This chapter Includes details of slavery from the accounts of different slaves and records kept about their oppression. Their servitude was preserved through the separation of their families, whipping, and killing. Prior to the Civil War there were many failed attempts to abolish slavery, such asJohn Brown's Raid. John Brown was later executed by Virginia for his failure to capture the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry which instigated a revolt of slaves throughout the South. The government did not wish to achieve the abolishment of slavery through revolts. Abraham Lincoln was able to combine the interests of the white elite and the blacks. When Lincoln was elected, the South felt that their way of life was being threatened over the issue of abolishing slavery. This threat caused eleven states to secede the union after Lincoln's election.This secession created the Confederacy, starting the beginning of the Civil War. With Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation he tried to end the war. This gave the South four months to end Its rebellion, slavery In the states that turned over to the North would not be touched. Through the Emancipation Proclamation, blacks were now able to serve In the union army which was later issued January 1, 1863. The Thirteenth Amendment was later ratified by the Senate in April 1 864 and the House of Representatives followed in January 1865.All people born or naturalized in the united States are citizens was declared by the Fourteenth Amendment, which limited states' rights concerning racial equality. The Fifteenth Amendment states that all citizens have the right vote and they shall not be denied on reason of race, color, or previous condition of enslavement. These amendments opened the door to Congress passing laws to make it a crime to deny blacks of their rights. Blacks began forming political organizations with these laws.Andrew Johnson, who was Lincoln's Vice President and ecame President after Lincoln's assassination, held back the blacks. He vetoed bills that Improved the rights of the blacks. These vetoes did not guarantee equal rights for blacks. The Senate and Congress did not like the actions of Johnson. The Congress, in 1868, were almost successful in their attempt to impeach Johnson and were only one vote short in the Senate. The election of Ulysses Grant as president would reopen the doors for blacks, they began to be elected into the United States Congress, Senate, and southern state legislatures.Black women began helping to rebuild postwar south and black children began going to school. Although it looked as if blacks were starting to become equals there was still a lot of antagonism towards them and dependency on whites for w ork. The Ku Klux Klan and other terrorist groups were formed through the use of the South's economic power. Not much later were thing back to where they began. It would still be a long time before blacks began to be treated as equals. A People's History 0T states cnapter 10 summary Howard Zinn A People's History of the united States Chapter 9 Summary Chapter nine of Howard Zinn's book explains slavery before and after the Civil War. The majority of the united States Government was in support of slavery until Abraham Lincoln publicized his support for the end of slavery. This chapter Includes details of slavery from the accounts of different slaves and records kept about their oppression. Their servitude was preserved through the separation of their families, whipping, and killing. Prior to the Civil War there were many failed attempts to abolish slavery, such asJohn Brown's Raid. John Brown was later executed by Virginia for his failure to capture the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry which instigated a revolt of slaves throughout the South. The government did not wish to achieve the abolishment of slavery through revolts. Abraham Lincoln was able to combine the interests of the white elite and the blacks. When Lincoln was elected, the South felt that their way of life was being threatened over the issue of abolishing slavery. This threat caused eleven states to secede the union after Lincoln's election.This secession created the Confederacy, starting the beginning of the Civil War. With Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation he tried to end the war. This gave the South four months to end Its rebellion, slavery In the states that turned over to the North would not be touched. Through the Emancipation Proclamation, blacks were now able to serve In the union army which was later issued January 1, 1863. The Thirteenth Amendment was later ratified by the Senate in April 1 864 and the House of Representatives followed in January 1865.All people born or naturalized in the united States are citizens was declared by the Fourteenth Amendment, which limited states' rights concerning racial equality. The Fifteenth Amendment states that all citizens have the right vote and they shall not be denied on reason of race, color, or previous condition of enslavement. These amendments opened the door to Congress passing laws to make it a crime to deny blacks of their rights. Blacks began forming political organizations with these laws.Andrew Johnson, who was Lincoln's Vice President and ecame President after Lincoln's assassination, held back the blacks. He vetoed bills that Improved the rights of the blacks. These vetoes did not guarantee equal rights for blacks. The Senate and Congress did not like the actions of Johnson. The Congress, in 1868, were almost successful in their attempt to impeach Johnson and were only one vote short in the Senate. The election of Ulysses Grant as president would reopen the doors for blacks, they began to be elected into the United States Congress, Senate, and southern state legislatures.Black women began helping to rebuild postwar south and black children began going to school. Although it looked as if blacks were starting to become equals there was still a lot of antagonism towards them and dependency on whites for w ork. The Ku Klux Klan and other terrorist groups were formed through the use of the South's economic power. Not much later were thing back to where they began. It would still be a long time before blacks began to be treated as equals. A People's History 0T states cnapter 10 summary

Stakeholder Analysis The Fox School Of Business Of...

Stakeholder Analysis An area that has received ample criticism has been educational business institutions, specifically MBA’s, having too much emphasis on profit maximization and bottom-line that benefit stockholders rather stakeholders. With the economy in a frenzy and so many financial firms in free fall, analysts, and even educators, wonder if the way business students are taught may have contributed to the economic crisis (Holland 2009). With all the accusations being made about the legitimacy of business schools, the Fox School of Business of Temple University, must be sure to keep all of its important and influential stakeholders as one of their top priorities. A stakeholder is an individual or group that is affected by the actions of a business. Being a stakeholder can happen by choosing such as, becoming an employee of a business, or by chance such as, living in the same municipal as another business that has an impact on the community. In general, a person or busines s has a stake in something because of interest, right or ownership of it. As the Fox School of Business must have hundreds of stakeholders, the following is a general list of major stakeholders. The Board of Directors is the group of members who jointly oversee the activities of the Fox Business School. This board holds the power of final authorizations of policies and governance the university stands by. The Board of Directors invest a great deal of their time, money and efforts to see thatShow MoreRelatedFundamental Financial Accounting Concepts13807 Words   |  56 PagesEighth Edition Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts Thomas P. Edmonds University of Alabama–Birmingham Frances M. McNair Mississippi State University Philip R. Olds Virginia Commonwealth University Edward E. Milam Mississippi State University (Contributing Author) FUNDAMENTAL FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING CONCEPTS Published by McGraw-Hill/Irwin, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10020. Copyright  © 2013, 2011, 2008, 2006Read MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 PagesContemporary Issues in Management Accounting This page intentionally left blank Contemporary Issues in Management Accounting Edited by ALNOOR BHIMANI 1 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesstudents (and indeed others who should know better) to trivialize this very problematic and challenging subject. This is not the case with the present book. This is a book that deserves to achieve a wide readership. Professor Stephen Ackroyd, Lancaster University, UK This new textbook usefully situates organization theory within the scholarly debates on modernism and postmodernism, and provides an advanced introduction to the heterogeneous study of organizations, including chapters on phenomenology, criticalRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 PagesLeadership Chapter 2 Organization Strategy and Project Selection 1.4 Projects and programs (.2) 1.4.1 Managing the portfolio 1.4.3 Strategy and projects 2.3 Stakeholders and review boards 12.1 RFP’s and vendor selection (.3.4.5) 11.2.2.6 SWAT analysis 6.5.2.7 Schedule compression 9.4.2.5 Leadership skills G.1 Project leadership 10.1 Stakeholder management Chapter 11 Teams Chapter 3 Organization: Structure and Culture 2.4.1 Organization cultures [G.7] 2.4.2 Organization structure [9Read MoreStrategic Marketing Management337596 Words   |  1351 Pagespreparation of the manuscript. Strategic Marketing Management Planning, implementation and control Third edition Richard M.S. Wilson Emeritus Professor of Business Administration The Business School Loughborough University and Colin Gilligan Professor of Marketing Sheffield Hallam University and Visiting Professor, Northumbria University AMSTERDAM †¢ BOSTON †¢ HEIDELBERG †¢ LONDON †¢ NEW YORK †¢ OXFORD PARIS †¢ SAN DIEGO †¢ SAN FRANCISCO †¢ SINGAPORE †¢ SYDNEY †¢ TOKYO Elsevier Butterworth-HeinemannRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 PagesYour WileyPLUS Account Manager Training and implementation support www.wileyplus.com/accountmanager MAKE IT YOURS! Fundamentals of Human Resource Management Tenth Edition David A. DeCenzo Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC Stephen P. Robbins San Diego State University San Diego, CA Tenth Edition Contributor Susan L. Verhulst Des Moines Area Community College Ankeny, IA John Wiley Sons, Inc. Associate Publisher Executive Editor Senior Editoral Assistant Marketing Manager