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District 148 gets training in
One week into the start of summer break, about 40 Dolton West Elementary District 148 teachers and other staff returned to school for a two-day professional development workshop and training in Culturally Responsive Teaching. The Train the Trainers Course, presented by Dr. Sonya L. Whitaker on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 8th and June 9th, provided representatives from each of the district’s schools with a safe place to engage in conversation centered on the topic of culture and cultural differences. In addition, each District 148 school is being given a DVD which includes the training manual to help all teachers learn about becoming culturally responsive. District 148 is the first school system in Illinois to have its teachers go through the course, according to Dr. Whitaker, an education administrator and senior trainer with Whitaker Educational Consulting Incorporated. “It tells me the district is serious about wanting to connect to all students in order to improve student achievement. This district is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure all students learn and that they (administrators and teachers) have adopted a ‘no excuses’ philosophy,” Dr. Whitaker said. Her visit was initiated by District 148 Superintendent Dr. Jayne E. Purcell and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Patricia Moore who were on hand for Dr. Whitaker’s DVD release in April. After hearing her presentation, they both agreed Dr. Whitaker was just what District 148 needed. Committed to helping all students be successful, Dr. Purcell asked Dr. Whitaker to teach the district’s teachers about cultural responsiveness and to make the DVD available to the district's schools. District 148 RtI Analyst/Administrative Liaison and 21st Century Community Learning Centers Director Cynthia Marks made sure Dr. Whitaker had everything she needed for the presentation. Marks also was responsible for completing the necessary paperwork to receive grant funding for the workshop and the district’s DVD's. The course was developed by Dr. Whitaker who, during the past three years, has traveled to 27 school districts across the country, talking with teachers about the goal of achieving high levels of learning among all children. “We won’t improve student achievement if we don’t talk about ways to resolve cultural conflicts,” said Dr. Whitaker who has worked as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, central office administrator, educational consultant, and has been named superintendent in Lockport. During the sessions in District 148, groups of teachers developed an awareness of their own cultural values and attitudes and talked about situations when students in their classrooms were unable to relate to certain lessons because of their cultural differences. The groups established their own so-called Rules of Engagement which included key behaviors and responses such as trust, respect and being sensitive, open, and mindful when formulating positive solutions to cultural conflicts. “Culture is the air we breathe. It is who we are,” Dr. Whitaker writes in one of her workshop handouts. “It’s all our childhood experiences and how those experiences impact our interactions with others … It is not specific to gender, race, or ethnicity. It is about what makes us alike and what makes us different.” “If teachers are not aware of their own culture and are uncomfortable with where some of their students come from, or how they behave, it can impact their assessment of what students know and are able to do … Culturally responsive teaching is about creating a safe environment that supports all students’ learning,” she writes.
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© Copyright 2010 Dolton Riverdale School District 148
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