Students are diverse. They bring to the classroom different academic histories and backgrounds that educators must consider to be able to determine appropriate steps to meet their needs. Much of what has happened in education speaks to a deficit model; that is, how to remediate a problem of practice or remediate a learning issue. Such deficit thinking serves to marginalize students. Instead, there is a need to change the messaging to one that reflects an asset model where educators attend to students’ unique backgrounds, interests, and strengths. They must adopt a whole-child perspective. Culturally responsive data use goes to the heart of changing the message and using a whole child perspective. Instead of focusing only on student indicators, educators must consider diverse data sources to gain a comprehensive picture of the student.

This session will discuss culturally responsive data use. It will contrast asset versus deficit models. It will step through the kinds of guiding questions educators should be asking about both students’ academic histories and personal histories. It will help educators to consider the kinds of implicit biases they may bring to the classroom that lead to unfounded attributions for failure. The session will stress the need to examine all sorts of data that can inform educators’ understanding of their students from which they can make more informed and complete decisions.


This session is Part 5 of the Special Education Equity by Design (SEED) Project. The sessions in this project are free and will be offered via the Zoom platform. There are six sessions in this series and each is a stand-alone session.

Statewide PK-12 public or charter school staff including administrators, counselors, teachers, auxiliary staff, counselors, fine arts staff, paraeducators, substitute teachers, parental involvement liaisons, migrant staff. Also, community members including school board members and professionals from higher education are encouraged to attend. Although this session is advertised as a special education project, the content to be shared will benefit all general education staff and leaders.

Administration & Leadership
Advanced Academics
Bilingual / ESL
Coaching for Leaders
Coaching for Teachers
College/Career Readiness
Counselors
Culturally Responsive Teaching
Curriculum
Discipline Management
Diversity and Special Needs Populations
Fine Arts
ILN – Instructional Leadership Network
ILP3/Alternative Certification for Principals
Migrant
Parental Involvement
Project PaCE/Alternative Certification for Educators
Social/Emotional Development
Special Education