The “Mix it Up” Program for U.S. Schools

This week’s School Spotlight is highlighting the “Mix It Up” program schools throughout the U.S. have been implementing into their students’ lunchtime. As a result, participating schools have been enjoying great success in breaking down barriers that often stem from misunderstandings in cultural diversities.

Source: http://www.tolerance.org/supplement/fordson-high-school "Mix It Up"- Fordson High School Webpage

The “Mix it Up” program is the brain child of Teaching Tolerance: A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that “is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation’s children.” And with the “Mix It Up at Lunch” program, they are certainly living up to their modus operandi. With just a few years in operation, this program has quickly grown to include 2,420 schools that are utilizing its service. In this number, 50 different schools serve as “Mix It Up Model Schools.”

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Just what is Mix It Up at Lunch Day?

According to Teaching Tolerance’s Website, this is “A national campaign launched by Teaching Tolerance a decade ago, Mix It Up at Lunch Day encourages students to identify, question and cross social boundaries.

In our surveys, students have identified the cafeteria as the place where divisions are most clearly drawn. So on one day – October 18 this school year – we ask students to move out of their comfort zones and connect with someone new over lunch.”

Source: http://www.tolerance.org/supplement/fordson-high-school "Mix It Up"- Fordson High School Webpage

This program has changed hearts, minds and attitudes of many students in our nation’s schools, building tolerance, breaking barriers and bridging gaps. One such school experienced great success when it implemented the program in 2009. Through Mix It Up, students at Fordson High School in Dearborn, Michigan, were happy when they were included in the project.

One hundred and fifty ninth-grade students where chosen and then divided into three lunch periods (50 students per lunch period). They were hand-picked from among the following subgroups: blacks, whites, Lebanese, Yemenis, Iraqis, jocks, band members, cheerleaders as well as students in special education and bilingual classes.

Each table was overseen by two older team leaders to help get things started. The results: “Many of them walked away with new friends. Also, Mix It Up brought down walls of race and ethnicity. At the same time, it built new relationships among the team leaders and the staff members who supported the event.”

The Mix It Up Website “offers an array of free online resources designed to help school groups and classroom teachers explore the issue of social boundaries. These activities can be used as ice-breakers during the planning process, to get the group geared up for the event; or they can be used as classroom activities by teacher allies seeking to support the Mix It Up effort.”

The Teaching Tolerance organization supplies the tools and know-how for schools to involve their students in Mix It Up. The program is offered absolutely free for any school in America, and only has six simple steps to get started mixing it up at lunch.

Source: http://www.tolerance.org/mix-it-up/model-schools

“Mix It Up Model Schools embrace respect and inclusiveness as core values—they ‘mix it up’ all year long.  These schools have done an exemplary job of organizing, publicizing and implementing Mix It Up at Lunch Day. By sharing their recipes for success, Model Schools are beacons for other schools striving for inclusiveness.” To learn more about the criteria schools need to meet to become one of the 2011/2012 Mix It Up Model Schools, click here. Do you know a school that has the potential to become a “Mix It Up Model School?” It’s not too late. Teaching Tolerance is accepting application for schools wishing to become a Model School until February 1, 2012.

Teaching tolerance and appreciation in cultural diversity is one of the most important and fundamental things that we can do for our children. Through doing this, our youth are instilled with the ability to understand, accept, and yes, even appreciate the many differences filling our world. This is a part of creating the “better tomorrow” that is so often heard and yearned for by community. If you know of a school participating in a similar program, we would love to hear how it has affected students, staff and your community. So, please, write us and let us know. We are all ears.

Natchez Elementary School: Wadsworth, NV

This week’s School Spotlight takes us to Natchez Elementary School in Wadsworth, Nevada. This small school, located directly in the heart of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Indian Reservation, is being named as a “Bright Spots” High Opportunity School.

A view of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Indian Reservation

For all intents and purposes, Natchez Elementary is in the middle of the desert, miles away from what most would call civilization. The nearest city is Reno, and it is 30 miles away. At 92 percent, the school is mostly made up of Native Americans, a demographic who often exist right at the threshold of poverty. In addition to this challenge, communicating through speech is quite limited in Paiute culture. This means that some children have virtually no language experience when they start school, posing a serious issue.

Many things for the people living in this community involve drawn-out processes, and their children’s education has been no exception. At least that is how the school’s Principal Rick Taylor explains it. According to a Bright Spots release, “Taylor describes his school’s path to success as ‘a really long process.’ When he became principal in 2003, Natchez teachers felt such empathy for their students that ‘there was always a reason they couldn’t perform.’ Then as now, students faced genuine problems — extreme poverty, crime, and drug and alcohol addiction in their families. Still, says Taylor, ‘Teachers were magnifying the impact of the problems by being so sympathetic.’”

The sympathetic mentality started changing, and along with it, student performance. The teachers, and all school staff members, now firmly believe that every one of their students is capable of learning. The “No-Exceptions” policy is a testament of this. Sympathy has been supplanted by high expectations for each student. They allow no excuses for these children to fail. Therefore, all of their students are fed three meals and even cleaned up, if necessary. They make certain that their children are ready to learn.

Per the release, “Taylor gives substantial credit for the rise in student performance to the reading curriculum, Success for All, which emphasizes prevention and early intervention around learning problems. Its leveled readers offer the same story, pitched to varying skill levels. Natchez teachers can also use the Houghton Mifflin Journeys curriculum, a district-wide adoption. A ‘sacred’ 90-minute reading block takes place each day, during which nothing else is scheduled and no interruptions are permitted.”

1973: Children from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Indian Reservation

The staff at Natchez Elementary check each student’s progress through frequent testing and monitoring, allowing them to adequately assess the needs of each child. This information helps the staff pinpoint “specific skill deficits” as they work in teams to “identify the most effective supports.” The release also states that “A $68,000 Save the Children grant supplements Title 1 funding for intensive 45-minute interventions every day for the 16 children who currently qualify. The other 129 children do enrichment activities, such as Accelerated Reader. ‘We use every adult in the building,’ says Taylor. ‘Not just teachers, aides, and speech therapists, but also music teachers, lunch ladies, and custodians.’ A reading coach provides in-service training three times a year, and three Natchez teachers are trained in the Lindamood-Bell Visualizing & Verbalizing program, a ‘fantastic but time-consuming’ approach to language comprehension.”

The school does get more private money than many Title 1 schools due to the dominating presence of Native Americans, so Natchez Elementary makes certain its abundance is shared with the community. Parents are invited to attend various activities that take place at the school, “often including Native American culture and always dinner … In addition, people in the community are provided books and clothing, access to computers, phones and fax machines, help with job applications and even space for funerals.” As the principal puts it, “Natchez IS the community.”

Many schools, especially in rural areas, are becoming the hub of their community, if they aren’t already. Educational establishments are reaching out to help solve many issues through opening their doors and resources to the community. Fortunately, it seems this practice is becoming more commonplace. The next time you visit a school, look at the bulletin board and I can almost guarantee you will see quite a few flyers and pin-ups offering classes, services or programs designed to enhance, not just children, but families and communities. What are some programs that you think belong on that bulletin board? We want to know.

Loma Park Elementary – San Antonio, TX

Today’s School Spotlight takes us to Loma Park Elementary in San Antonio, Texas, where in true Texas form, everything is done BIG. Yesterday’s blog by State of the Re:Union’s contributor Mark McGrath mentioned the Bright Spot Program, which is part of  Campaign for Grade Level Reading, a collaborative effort that the National Civic League is involved with. (To read yesterday’s post, click here.)

Source: Campaign for Grade Level Reading

This program reaches across the country and customizes its tactics to reflect the issues of each region. According to the Website, the one thing that the program shares across the board is its goal:

• Closing the gap in reading achievements that separates many low-income students from their peers
• Raising the bar for reading proficiency so all students are assessed by world-class standards
• Ensure all children have equitable opportunity to meet those higher standards

The Bright Spot Program recognizes Loma Park Elementary is a high opportunity school. According to a release from the program, “The students at Loma Park Elementary get excellent scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, but they learn much more at school than the answers to test questions. ‘I want my students academically prepared for their careers in school and beyond,’ says Principal Alicia Garcia. She and Loma Park teachers want all students to “be self-directed learners, to read critically for meaning, and simply to love reading literature.”

Source: Loma Park Elementary School

Loma Park staff and district personal worked together in designing an innovative program that uses a balanced literacy approached to instill in the children a passion for reading.

In their approach to resolving educational issues plaguing their community, their reading initiative “Let’s Read!” is looking systemically at child development issues that can potentially impede a child’s academic success. According to the Grade Level Reading Initiative post, “Loma Park is leading the district in preemptive, early developmental screening of all incoming students — looking at social and emotional issues, health issues such as diabetes and asthma, fine and gross motor coordination, speech problems, and any other difficulties that might interfere with reading and overall academic success. Teachers trained in evaluation and data interpretation by a health professional administer the screening in January, after they’ve developed a relationship with each child. Parents trained as advocates, called ‘Promotoras,’ play a crucial role by reaching out to individual families in the community and communicating results.”

‘Through this approach,’ says Garcia, ‘we are able to identify and address developmental issues as early as possible to ensure that each child has the best possible chance to reach his or her academic potential.’”

Another way that Loma Park is achieving success is through marrying fun and education with its after-school program. The “Club House” embeds literacy instruction in the settings of students’ play. As an example, in the Cooking Club, students read and interpret recipes and convert measurements. They also have “Saturday Adventures,” which allows after-school students to take what they’ve learned throughout the week in the Club House and apply it in various locations in the community.

In addition to these program elements, Loma Park uses the district-wide “Universal Review System,” making it possible to evaluate a child’s progress every nine weeks. “The System also matches each child with appropriate interventions and tracks progress for each intervention. With support through the Casey Foundation’s Making Connections program, Foundations, Inc. provides additional assistance in staff development and needs assessments,” according to the Bright Spot release.

The Alamo in San Antonio, TX

Loma Park Elementary School is doing all that it can to “develop community-based strategies that reinforce reading progress.” The school is working with many community organizations (civic, nonprofit, churches, universities, et al.) to make certain that “every child has access to individualized support.”

San Antonio is a place that is steeped in the Texas tradition of never giving up – the epic battle of the Alamo bears testament to that. Embracing this same spirit are the faculty, teachers, students and families of the community that Loma Park Elementary School serves. This approach introduces students to environments rich with reading materials. As part of its base instruction, they use the premise that students’ reading abilities will advance with access to the proper materials and support. With a teacher’s guidance, reading increases in difficulty with each accomplished level of reading skill improvement.

SOTRU’s School Spotlight continues in its quest to find schools such as this who demonstrate and achieve community in education success. If you know of a school or community with the same modus operandi, we would love for you to tell us about it.

“ONE by ONE” in Jacksonville, FL – an Education Initiative

This week’s School Spotlight is featuring Jacksonville’s ‘ONE by ONE’ education campaign that is working to combat the alarming statistics on students (one in three) not graduating high school in four years. This campaign has taken an unusual approach in getting the word out to the community, and it is making people take notice.

Courtesy of Brunet-Garcia Advertising: This is the 'Statement Wall' - part of Ingrid Damiani's "ONE in THREE" exhibit on display at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, FL

Throughout the United States, communities are continuing to feel the strangling effects of the tightening of purse strings. It seems schools are often  first in line in the plan of attack when cutting away the “fat” of budgetary matters, leaving an emaciated educational system that barely has the resources to survive, much less thrive. This jeopardizes the future of our children, families and cities. One campaign in Jacksonville, Florida, has decided there has been enough inaction and is creating a movement to implement change, ONE by ONE.

According to ONE by ONE’s Website, “high school students from low-income families are six times more likely to drop out than students from higher income families.” And the Alliance for Excellent Education gives some sobering statistics related to the dropout rate. Reducing the dropout rate in Jacksonville by just half is estimated to produce an additional $36 million in spending, and “result in an estimated $13 million in additional earnings each year for those students.” ONE by ONE adds that “this would amount to about 400 new jobs in the community, with an increase in the gross regional product of $65 million.” That’s some trade off. And it would certainly be a great deficit-cutting tool for creating economic improvement and growth.

However, cuts to education continue during a time when our children are in desperate need of an education system that prepares them for serious competition in a ever-widening global economy. Enter the “Jacksonville Public Education Fund.” JPEF’s education initiative, ONE by ONE - specifically funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of the American Graduate Initiative – is looking to educate not just students, but the community, on the impact that will be felt if students continue to struggle in finishing school. They are working toward a goal of starting a meaningful conversation leading to motivate change in schools and the community. They want to increase civic investment in education. (Click here to find out more about the program.)

Courtesy of Damiani: This is "Brooke"- part of Ingrid Damiani's "ONE in THREE" exhibit at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, FL

On its site, ONE by ONE states: “The vision produced through the process will serve as a road map for the [Jacksonville] community to begin turning their aspirations into reality.” For them, this reality includes becoming a coordinator between the public and public officials, holding all of them to account because, as they say, “We are all responsible for our children’s future.”

In creating an open dialogue for the community, ONE by ONE has made the above statement perfectly clear. They are making it known that everyone has a stake in the education of children, not just those with children in the school system. Even area business leaders are becoming active in voicing a concern. They understand the symbiotic nature of education and economy. According to ONE by ONE, Jacksonville needs to improve its education system in order to thrive economically. When the economy begins to recover, its city must be poised to capture that growth. They understand that it is not only the education system - but the community’s perception of it – that can hold them back if it does not improve.

One way the program is making the community’s dropout epidemic known is through partnering with two of its local resources: Jacksonville’s public radio station, WJCT, and with the help of a local photographer, Ingrid Damiani. Together, they have produced a multimedia experience  explaining just what the campaign is doing. Damiani’s ONE in THREE: Let’s Solve Our Dropout Crisis is photography exhibition designed to work with and spark an interest in the community engagement campaign: ONE by ONE: Transforming Our Future Together.

Courtesy of Damiani: "Mary and Aurora" - Part of Ingrid Damiani's "ONE in THREE" series on exhibit at The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, FL

Damiani tells the stories of 20 current and former Jacksonville students through her captivating ONE in THREE series that is on display at The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. Regarding Diamani’s exhibit, “The students’ stories demonstrate the power of an engaged community that works hand-in-hand with the school district to improve student success. Many of the students overcame great obstacles to succeed—and they will inspire the community to do the same.” The local public station, WJCT, enhances Damiani’s work with the addition of audio and video. This multimedia platform promotes a better understanding of the stories being explored. To see more of Damiani’s work from her ONE in THREE photography series, click here. Because the exhibits aim is to get viewers involved with the campaign, it will travel around 16 Jacksonville neighborhoods, providing an opportunity for many to learn about these stories, why they are important, and how they relate to the community.

The best way to arm yourself against ignorance and fear is knowledge, and the ONE by ONE Program in Jacksonville, Florida, is doing just that. The community is working together to take control of its future, literally. This campaign is making  it known that educational wellness in Jacksonville impacts everyone, not just families. This is certainly a great step in turning the attitude of education from “Not my job” to “It takes a village.” Having this understanding throughout the community makes the problem three-dimensional, and it becomes easier for all to see and focus on finding a solution.

While the diminished graduation rate might not be as severe in all cities, educational wellness is something that affects us all. This town is working to create a change through what works for its people and children. They are getting to the heart of the problem through educating the public that, first, there is a big problem; and second, gathering community concerns to put together a clearly defined path of attack. This is what is working for them, we want to hear what your community is doing to combat educational concerns. Or, if you have become inspired by their story, we would love to hear that, too.

Today’s School Spotlight is highlighting a great piece from State of the Re:Union’s contributor Mike McGrath with the National Civic League. This post on education elicited such a positive response, SOTRU would like to share it one more time for your ruminating pleasure.

Sacramento Focuses on Grade-Level Reading

I see that State of the Re:Union has been doing some reporting on Sacramento, California, exploring some of the tough challenges facing the community, so I thought I’d mention that Sacramento is joining the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, a national effort to get more low income kids to read at grade level by third grade.

Last month, Mayor Kevin Johnson launched the Sacramento Reads! 3rd Grade Literacy Campaign, one of the largest community-wide reading initiatives in the United States. Currently only about 37 percent of third graders in Sacramento read at grade level. The goal of Sacramento Reads! is for 80 percent of third graders to be reading at grade level by 2020.

Sacramento’s ambitious plan is part of a collaborative effort by dozens of funders and nonprofit partners across the nation known as the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. Other communities that have answered the call include New Britain, Connecticut; Springfield, Massachusetts and Los Angeles, California.

The campaign focuses on three preventable causes of the performance gap between low income readers and other students:
• The readiness gap: The fact that many low income kids who show up for school are already behind because they haven’t had as much access to books or high quality pre-kindergarten programs that help prepare students to learn.
• The attendance gap: I’ve already written a blog post about this problem. Research has found that one in 10 kindergarten and first grade students nationwide misses nearly a month of school each year in excused and unexcused absences.
• The summer slide (summer learning loss): Lots of students lose ground over the summer if they are not reading at home or engaged in enrichment programs.

The National Civic League has also joined this nationwide effort. Our part will be to encourage communities to address the reading gap by focusing the 2012 and 2015 All-America City Awards on grade level reading efforts. Ordinarily, the award programs let communities choose the issue areas they want to present to our jury of civic experts at the annual event. In 2012, we’ll be doing things a little differently.

In 2012, the All-America City Award program will be a little different. NCL is asking communities to develop comprehensive plans that focus on the three critical areas identified by the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. Winners must demonstrate capacity to use data, deploy effective interventions, build strong cross‐sector partnerships, and mobilize public will to improve reading proficiency in the early grades.

Since the late 1990s, NCL has asked All-America City finalist communities to list at least one project that benefitted or engaged young people. Consequently, we’ve had more than a few past winners present reading or literacy projects.

For example: Marietta, Georgia, a winner in 2006, touted “Marietta Reads!” program. Participants selected books from approved lists and are tested on reading comprehension. Students earned points on the basis of the book’s difficulty and test scores. Goals were set for students at each grade level in all the city’s schools, and students earned awards by reaching those goals.

Hollywood, Florida, a winner in 2007, presented its “Born to Read” program, which positioned a fulltime librarian at the Memorial Primary Care Clinic, to interact with each family of young children. New families were given an application for a library card, a resource guide and a first book for the child. Families were given instructions on ways to encourage reading and this is reinforced with every subsequent visit to the clinic.

El Paso, Texas, a winner in 2010 has its annual Día de los Niños/ Día de Los Libros to improve literacy and health awareness in the community. The event involves a free giveaway of books and opportunities for young people to sign up for the Summer Reading Club.
For today

Tupelo, Mississippi, a winner last year, featured two projects from the mayor’s task force on education: “Read Tupelo” which provides a morning of learning for approximately 400 four and five year olds, including art activities, a music demonstration with various instruments, and story time presented by local officials and volunteers. Another initiative provides every baby born at North Mississippi Medical Center’s Women’s Hospital a copy of the book, Goodnight Moon.

Our hope is that more and more communities will do what Sacramento is doing and organize community-based efforts to address the reading gap. (Another difference in 2012 is that the campaign and its partners are offering technical assistance and peer learning opportunities to cities that participate in the award process.) To qualify, communities must submit a letter of intent by October 14.

For more information on the All-America City Grade Level Reading Award, visit the campaign’s website or the All-America City Award blog.

Because (thankfully) we are all different, we’d like to hear what your comments and thoughts are. Do you know of a unique school program that works for your community? If so, please, let us know.

This week’s School Spotlight features a school that was mentioned in our recently released Cleveland, OH: Entrepreneurs at Work episode. The Near West Intergenerational School (NWIS)  is a new charter school that was born of parents’ aspirations to obtain a better community and future for their children. (To hear this podcast segment, click Here.)

Source: The Near Intergenerational School

Modeled after a highly regarded school in Cleveland, NWIS is currently in its first year of operation as a publicly funded charter school, offering children in grades K-4 an opportunity to be involved in a better education right now. While there is availability in public schools around them, those schools didn’t exactly tout high expectations of students’ developmental achievements. And the schools that did have waiting lists that are ridiculously long. Instead of forsaking their neighborhood in search of a better school zone, these parents, and later founders, opted to create a school dedicated to the heart of their community’s future.

A brief explanation of the reinforcing reasons for starting NWIS resides in the Founders’ Statement found on Website. It states that school was “founded by a group of neighborhood parents who desire a school rooted in and reflective of the physical and social fabric of the local community it serves.” Its goal is to  provide quality, free and accessible education to all children. The school intends to serve the children and families of that community, but not exclusively to that area. The founders want it to serve “as a cornerstone for continued community development, economic and neighborhood stability, and a gathering place for lifelong learners.”

According to an article from Cleveland.com, “Many of the parents are young professionals. At a time when Cleveland is emptying out, they are dedicated to urban life and have found a pocket where it thrives with historic houses and clusters of shops and restaurants.” You can read more about the school in the article here.

While opening a school is not the obvious or even right choice for others facing a similar situation, it is a working solution for this community of Cleveland parents. However, as wonderful of an accomplishment as this is, the school will need support to survive the rounds of voting and scrutiny it will encounter from city officials, sponsors and residents since it is publicly funded.

To that point, NWIS and its founders are the very reason that there will be money staying in and promoting growth in this Cleveland neighborhood area. Of course this situation begets controversy. Some wonder if this is an appropriate answer to the educational dilemma. The families whose lives have been positively affected through NWIS would say “yes.”

Is this a feasible solution for your community? Or is there another approach that could offer a better solution? Do you think your family or community would benefit from a program like this, or do you think public schools and the communities they serve would benefit from a different approach? We don’t have a one-size-fits-all answer, so we want to hear from you.