What Does it Mean to be Culturally Proficient - NAESP

Diversity

IN tHe ClASSrOOm

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A suburban school in Pennsylvania prepares for an increase in English-
language learners by incorporating culturally proficient instruction.

Anthony moyer and Janice Clymer

14 Principal n November/December 2009 www.naesp.org

today in the U.S., more than 4 million elementary and secondary students require
language assistance, and growth of the English-language learner (ELL) population is
expected to continue. In “The Impact of Experience and Coursework: Perceptions of
Secondary Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom,” Miguel Mantero and Paula
McVicker reveal that by 2050 minority students will account for approximately 57 percent of
the student population, largely due to the increase of Latinos and Asians. As a result, “The
multilingual classroom is an American reality in the 21st century,” write Jennifer Costa and
her colleagues in “The Challenge of Infusing the Teacher Education Curriculum with Schol-
arship on English Language Learners.” Thus, school staffs must be prepared to meet chal-
lenges that will arise because of the changing population and an increase of ELLs. School
districts that are prepared to manage population changes will
be able to offer more effective instruction and services and
avoid difficult transition periods that affect teachers,
administrators, and students and their families. Cultural
proficiency will be an integral component for shaping a
school environment to enable ELLs to perform optimally.

AlIStAIr Berg/getty ImAgeS Principal n November/December 2009 15

An Increasingly Common Case Cultural proficiency is a mind-set, that represent the varied cultures of the
Wescosville Elementary School, a a worldview, a way a person or student population.
an organization makes assump-
suburban school near Allentown, Penn- tions for effectively describing, This annual celebration, which staff
sylvania, has experienced an increase responding to, and planning eagerly anticipate, occurs in conjunc-
in ELLs in recent years. While more for issues that arise in diverse tion with the school’s spring open
than 25 languages are represented, with environments. For some people, house on a weekday evening. Students
Spanish-speaking students constitut- cultural proficiency is a paradigm and their parents staff the information-
ing the largest portion of ELLs, district shift from viewing cultural differ- al, interactive booths set up throughout
officials predict that the number of ences as problematic to learning the gymnasium that represent their
ELLs will continue to grow. Adminis- how to interact effectively with cultural heritage. The fair attracts hun-
trators and teachers work diligently to other cultures. dreds of visitors and other schools in
provide remediation for ELLs so they the district have begun to stage their
can perform at a level commensurate Culturally proficient lead- own multicultural fair as a result. In the
with their peers. Even though there ers display personal values and future, we plan to expand the fair so
has been progress, assessment data behaviors that enable them and that it takes place throughout an entire
indicate that this group of students is others to engage in effective school day and becomes more connect-
still lagging in academic performance. interactions among students, ed to the school curriculum. Students
Moreover, the majority of staff members educators, and the communities will attend programs and assemblies
are white, whose ancestors emigrated they serve. throughout the day, research the vari-
from Germany, and are unfamiliar with ous cultures represented at the fair, cre-
the diverse cultures represented by the Cultural competence is behav- ate projects for display, and orally pres-
ELLs they serve. ior that aligns with standards ent their research to the student body.
that move an organization or an
Haitian Creole, Arabic, Spanish, individual toward culturally pro- In addition to the fair, we use staff
Korean, French, Japanese, and multiple ficient interactions. meetings and employee development
Indian language dialects are just a few workshops to explain the concept of
of the languages spoken by students at Source: Cultural Proficiency: cultural proficiency. These occasions
the school. One hundred of the 650 stu- A Manual for School Leaders, by provide opportunities to teach the
dents are monitored for their English Randall B. Lindsey, Kikanza Nuri staff about techniques that can be used
language proficiency and 40 students Robins, and Raymond D. Terrell within the classroom to improve the
are identified as ELLs. There is no learning environment for our cultur-
doubt ELLs feel different and isolated and expressions of each cultural group ally diverse students. For example,
from other mainstream students due to represented in the population.” Howev- staff members have been trained to be
their diverse cultural backgrounds and er, typical U.S. public school classrooms sensitive to the cultural traditions and
native languages. They lack a sense of continue to function as they tradition- beliefs of students in their classrooms.
belonging to the classrooms and school ally have, based on mainstream, white, As a result, red pens are rarely used
they attend, which mounting evidence Anglo-Saxon culture. As a result, many when correcting student work because
suggests hinders academic progress. teachers are unaware of the importance the color red symbolizes death in vari-
of helping ELLs—who frequently feel ous Asian cultures, and teachers now
In “Changes in Latino Students’ lost, depressed, alienated, lonely, fear- avoid touching the top of students’
Perceptions of School Belonging over ful, and abandoned when immersed in heads since Indian students consider
Time,” Emily Campos and her col- a class of students that caters to a cul- the head a sacred part of the body. Jan-
leagues define school belonging as “the ture unlike their own—develop a sense ice and I continue to attend workshops
extent to which students feel personally of belonging. and read research articles that enable
accepted, respected, included, and sup- us to learn more about becoming cul-
ported by others in the school social Develop Staff Buy-in turally proficient.
environment.” Students who lack a As principal of Wescosville School,
sense of belonging are unmotivated and Here are other steps that we are
nonparticipative. In The Culturally Profi- I worked closely with the English as a taking toward cultural proficiency:
cient School: An Implementation Guide for second language (ESL) teacher, Janice
School Leaders, Randall Lindsey, Lorraine Clymer, to introduce the concept of n S taff members learn appropriate
Roberts, and Franklin CampbellJones cultural proficiency to the staff. Five pronunciations of student names
write that the appropriate response to years ago, Janice and I decided that it and learn basic words in ELLs’
this dilemma is to “seek and develop was time for the staff to begin embrac- home languages, which encourages
the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that ing the cultural diversity of our student an inclusive school environment;
demonstrate openness and authentic population. As a first step, we staged a
responsiveness to the heritage, values, multicultural fair that featured music, n T eachers routinely use multicultural
dance, food, and customs and traditions books in their classrooms to show

16 Principal n November/December 2009 www.naesp.org

students that cultural traditions ings as their children, their ideas and ment, they may experience a sense of
of all students are recognized and opinions about effective educational competence and acceptance.”
accepted throughout the school practices and the most suitable learning
year; and environments are crucial. Parents real- Staff members at Wescosville now
n W ritten communication sent home ize their involvement in the education show more patience and understanding
from the school is translated into process is important when schools value in their relationships with students and
various languages so that family their input. exhibit sensitivity regarding students’
members can clearly understand cultural heritage and traditions. In addi-
relevant information. Positive School Changes tion, the overall school environment is
There have been many changes free of prejudice—Wescosville students
Parent Involvement Is Critical are frequently complimented by staff
Teachers alone cannot improve ELLs’ since we have become more culturally members, parents, and community
proficient at Wescosville. Staff meetings members for their willingness to accept
achievement; parental involvement at routinely include agenda items that all students regardless of their cultural
home and at school is a critical com- focus on culturally proficient practices. background. ELL families who have
ponent. That is why before ELLs enter Also, our ESL teacher has become more become involved in our school as a
our school or a new class, a meeting is involved with each classroom teacher by result of our culturally proficient efforts
scheduled between the classroom teach- serving as a valued consultant who pro- thank us profusely. Hugs and hand-
er, guidance counselor, school psycholo- vides teachers with packets of cultural shakes abound after team meetings
gist, instructional support teacher, ESL information for each ELL assigned to when parents and students realize our
teacher, principal, and most important, them. The amount of time she spends willingness to work with them to create
parents. These meetings, which are co-teaching has increased in an effort to a successful learning environment.
pleasant and nonthreatening, serve as help teachers include multicultural edu-
the initial point of contact with parents cation in the daily curriculum. An Ongoing Process
to encourage their involvement. Lois In the future, we plan to do even
Yamauchi and her colleagues confirm Cooperative learning has become a
in “Family Involvement in a Hawaiian common teaching strategy for all teach- more to encourage family involvement
Language Inclusion Program” that ers since we know that it is beneficial for at Wescosville. In addition, our ESL
home environments that encourage ELLs. Emily Campos and her colleagues teacher and other staff members plan to
learning, family involvement at school, write in “Changes in Latino Students’ create a community resource guide spe-
and high academic expectations con- Perceptions of School Belonging over cifically designed for families of ELLs
tribute significantly to student achieve- Time: Impact of Language Proficiency, that includes listings of available school,
ment for ELLs. Self-Perceptions, and Teacher Evalua- district, and community resources. We
tions” that “Cooperative learning activi- are also encouraging our school district
Parental input is also helpful in deter- ties help to facilitate a sense of belong- to employ our ESL teacher as a full-time
mining factors that create culturally ing in ELL students. Working with peers co-teacher.
proficient environments. Because the fosters new relationships, and, if given
parents of ELLs often experience the the chance to share and explore their Finally, in order for teachers to
same type of isolated, unwelcome feel- own histories within the school environ- ensure that students in their class-
rooms accept cultural and linguistic
differences, they must develop a
greater awareness of their own cultural
heritage. The importance of develop-
ing cultural self-awareness and self-
knowledge is crucial for teachers who
wish to develop a multicultural class-
room environment. When teachers
engage in the process of cultural self-
awareness, they are able to recognize
personal bias and other preconceived
notions that may create barriers, which
prevent them from effectively teaching
their culturally diverse students. There-
fore, we plan to conduct various activi-
ties such as book studies and electronic
discussions about cross-cultural sensi-
tivity to help our staff become more
aware of their own diversity issues.

Alistair Berg/Getty Images Principal n November/December 2009 17

Cultural Proficiency Is Crucial teaching eventually benefits our global WEB RESOURCES
All schools need to focus on becom- society. According to Hannah Jaber’s
dissertation, Personal and Professional The Teacher’s Corner Web site
ing culturally proficient because Beliefs of Pre-service Teachers About Diversity, provides activities, lesson plans, and
the U.S. population will continue to schools that help children to develop songs that are appropriate for a diverse
become more racially diverse. In order both strong national identities and group of students.
for our schools to continue to be suc- ethnic identities produce global citizens www.edchange.org/multicultural/
cessful, we must be able to respond to who function more effectively in the teachers.html
the needs of the changing student pop- world community. Racism, stereotyping,
ulation. Each student has the right to be and cultural bias are persistent con- In addition to multicultural activities,
treated equally, and it is the responsibil- cerns that continue to grow as countries lessons plans, and songs, this Web site
ity of public schools to implement social become more diverse. Exploring issues also provides instructions for planning a
justice. pertaining to cultural awareness in a multicultural fair.
country that is becoming more diverse www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/
Cultural proficiency benefits all is more important than ever before, edmulticult.htm#collections
involved: Students are taught in an especially in the school setting, which is
improved learning environment where common to all students’ lives. P
their parents will be more involved in
the learning process; administrators Anthony moyer is principal of Wescosville
improve the academic performance of Elementary School in Emmaus,
their schools; and parents become more Pennsylvania. His e-mail address is
acclimated to the school, feel more [email protected].
comfortable in the school environment,
and develop a sense of ownership in the Janice Clymer is an ESL teacher at
school since their opinions and input Wescoville Elementary School.
can help to create positive changes.

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