How does the unit prepare candidates to work effectively with all students, including individuals of different ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, gender, exceptionalities, language, religion, sexual orientation, and/or geographical area?

4. 1.a. Design, implementation, and evaluation of curriculum and experiences

The Unit’s commitment to diversity is the foundation for all programs andis reflected in Mission Statements (I.5.c.2), WCSU’s Strategic Plan (1.5.a.2.5), and the Conceptual Framework (I.5.c.1). Curricula practices prepare candidates to teach, lead, and serve within schools with diverse populations so that all students learn. Unit assessments demonstrate that candidates are prepared to work in schools with high levels of diversity. The term diversity has been defined by the unit to include different ethnicity, race, age, socioeconomic status, gender, exceptionalities, language, religion, sexual orientation, geographical location, and learning styles to align with the NCATE definition of diversity.

Connecticut is unique in the nation with an approved State Board of Education Position Statement on Culturally Responsive Education (4.4.j.8): “Culturally responsive education is a teaching approach that helps students use their cultural backgrounds to aid in the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.” Culturally Responsive Education supports closing the achievement gap (CT has the largest in the nation), fighting racism, and other forms of discrimination, bias, and oppression.Unit faculty havebenefitted from training provided by the university and our programs reflect these beliefs.

Course content and clinical field experiences give candidates the opportunity to develop an understanding of diverse populations as documented in three core areas within the CF (I.5.c.1). Diversity: Candidates demonstrate the ability to plan, develop, and adjust services that meet the needs of diverse learners, and develop dispositions that are respectful of others differences and how to model these for others. Unity: Candidates demonstrate the ability to work jointly, cooperatively, and collaboratively with learners, peers, educational professionals, parents, and other community members. Organized knowledge and facilitate learning: Candidates demonstrate the ability to use pedagogical skills in planning, development, delivery, and assessment offered in support of students’ needs regardless of location.

In response to new state licensure requirements, the unit made significant changes to initial programs. Revisions to initial programs include curricular changes in literacy, science, and social studies that engage candidates with English language learners (ELL) and students with exceptionalities.Candidates are required to take courses that allow them to plan for diverse learning styles and focus on ways to modify instruction in the areas of content, process, and product. The unit gives candidates many opportunities to work on campus and in schools with faculty who are diverse in terms of age, ethnicity, family, race, gender, language, socioeconomic, religion, sexual orientation, geographical location, exceptionalities and learning and teaching styles. Select examples within graduate initial and advanced programs are described in the following sections to provide examples of ways diversity is included in the curriculum and clinical experiences.

The Professional Development Schools (PDS) professional semester field placement evaluation form includes a column that requires candidates to incorporate internal and external resources to show respect for diverse populations. Candidates in the professional semester are placed in two diverse school districts prior to their student teaching experience, Bethel Public Schools (4.4.j.1) and Danbury Public Schools (4.4.j.2). The Student Teaching Evaluation Instrument (1.4.d.3a, p. 27-75) requires candidates to use a variety of strategies to address learning differences, including differentiation of lesson content, processes for developing understanding, and products to exhibit student learning. Initial licensure courses in the MAT program have been designed or revised to prepare candidates to work with diverse populations in meaningful ways. For example, the ED 571 Urban Education Experience course is designed to enhance knowledge of urban schooling as related to the dynamics of race, class, and culture through the analysis of historical, socioeconomic, and political factors.

Advanced candidates are required to complete courses that address competencies related to the complexity of diversity. EdD and Intermediate Administration and Supervision Certificate candidates are exposed to diversity in ED 824: Diversity Issues in Schoolswhere they develop a pluralistic and global perspective about the equitable education of diverse students. School Building and District Shadowing Experiences allowcandidates to work in different types of settings (e.g., rural, suburban, and urban).School Counseling Education candidates take ED 587 Counseling Diverse Populations,a required course in counseling diverse populations. The importance of adopting a multicultural perspective on counseling is introduced in ED 585 Introduction to Community and School Counseling and in EPY 602 Interviewing and Consultation across the Lifespan. In the assessment course EPY 600 Assessment for Counselors, issues of cultural bias in test construction and interpretation are presented.

4b. Experiences Working With Diverse Faculty

Candidates have many opportunities to interact with diverse faculty and school personnel. They are also exposed to diverse faculty in their general education courses prior to being admitted into the program (information on university and Unit faculty regarding gender and ethnicity: 4.4.d.1). Although the majority of unit faculty members are Caucasian, they tend to be diverse in many ways and are knowledgeable about preparing candidates to work with diverse students. Several have taught internationally and in urban settings. Unit faculty extend their scholarship and service by conducting research and service activities in diverse PK-12 school settings or with diverse clients. The unit is dedicated to increasing and maintaining diverse faculty. Publications that target diverse populations are used to recruit diverse candidates. Unit search committees are diverse and subscribe to the conditions outlined by the university’s Multicultural Affairs Office.

Candidates work with diverse practitioners during their field experiences in the Bethel Public Schools (4.4.j.1) and particularly in the Danbury Public Schools (4.4.j.2),one of the most racially, ethnically, and economically diverse school districts in the state. According to the 2009-2010 Danbury Strategic School Profile (4.4.j.7), approximately 10.6% of its professional faculty were minority.

4c. Experiences Working With Diverse Candidates

Initial candidates routinely interact with diverse groups throughout their coursework. Candidates in advanced programs interact with each other through online forums, group projects, and conferences. Candidates also have opportunities to interact with individuals from diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds through campus activities and field work. Add Table contains information related to the ethnicity and gender of all students attending WCSU during 2011-2012. Diversity as defined by the Unit is not limited to race and ethnicity, in alignment with the NCATE definition. Other forms of diversity are evident on campus including religious, socioeconomic, and exceptionalities. Counseling candidates are exposed to clients from such diverse backgrounds as socio-economic status, race/ethnicity, gender, diverse lifestyles, and an array of issues, such as eating disorders, depression, prison, and domestic violence.

4d. Experiences working with Diverse Students in P-12 Schools

The Unit has partnered with local school districts with diverse student and faculty populations to provide opportunities in field and clinical settings. For example, the Bethel Strategic School Profile (4.4.j.6) indicated there were 2,938 students enrolled in 2010, with 634, or 21.6%, of these as minority students. There were 24 different languages spoken in their district at that time. Danbury Public School District has 10,300 students with over 48 different languages spoken at the high school. According to the district’s 2009-2010 Danbury Strategic School Profile (4.4.j.7), 5,295, or 52%, of these students were from diverse ethnic or racial backgrounds, 3,418 qualified for free or reduced lunch, 1,187 were not fluent in English, and 24 were homeless. Specifically, candidates in the professional semester (4.3.i.1) must complete two field experiences and document their multicultural and special education work. Placements provide opportunities for candidates to work with students from different ethnic, racial, gender, and socio-economic groups and exceptionalities.

Danbury Public Schools uses District Reference Group (DRG) levels to show students whose families are similar in terms of education, income, occupation, and need (4.4.j.5).This classification was initiated by the Connecticut State Board of Education to allow schools to report comparative data. DRGs range from A (most economically advantaged) to I (most economically disadvantaged).  Danbury is at the H level in the District Reference Groups. The district is at the top or in second place in the DRG and, in some areas, the district out-scored the reference group placing at the bottom of the next higher DRG or two DRGs above, as the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) proficiency table for grades 3-8 show (4.4.j.11). In Fall 2012, a Tk20 database was created to track initial candidates’ diversity placements. This database uses the District Reference Group (DRG) levels to show similarities in terms of education, income, occupation, and need.