Leadership Matters February 2014

Poverty in the public education classroom

Teaching with poverty in mind is more than a book title in Rochelle

Todd Prusator has been an educator for 27 years, the last nine as Superintendent in Rochelle after being a teacher, assistant principal and principal. His family has a distinguished heritage in education as his two brothers also are school

By Todd Prusator Rochelle Elementary School District 231

Rochelle Elementary School District, like many others, has seen an increase in students from low-income families. Our percent of low-income students has gone from 22.2 percent in 2000 to 62.2 percent in 2013. We have also had an increase in our English Language Learners (ELL) population, going from 4.7 percent to 21.1 percent over the same time span, with many of the ELL students also being low-income. There is an obvious correlation between academic achievement and social-economic status. If one were to simply examine the relationship of ISAT scores to percent of low-income students, it is clear that a higher percentage of low-income students results in a lower percentage of “meets” and “exceeds.” This has even been amplified with the new cut scores used in 2013. I do not believe that the differences in achievement levels are due to a lesser quality of curriculum and instruction. Most districts and teachers work extremely hard and do many of the same interventions to meet the needs of students. I would even make the general assertion that ISAT scores are less of an indicator of the quality of curriculum and instruction and more of an indicator of the relative wealth of a district’s demographics. However, this does not abdicate our responsibility to look deeper and more intentionally at how we can best serve all of our students. We have done what most districts are doing regarding aligning our curriculum to the Common Core Standards and monitoring and improving our instruction through the Danielson Framework. We have invested much time and effort in the Response to Intervention (RtI) process to identify deficiencies and provide the necessary interventions. We have also developed a bilingual program K-3. In addition, we applied for and received a 21 st Century Learning Community grant to provide extensive after school opportunities. Yet, if our circumstances are different and the needs of our students are changing, then we felt

Todd Prusator

strongly that we needed to understand our students better and how to address their needs. This led us to the work of Eric Jensen and his book, “Teaching with Poverty in Mind.” The concepts and information resonated with us. Each building did a book study on Jensen, who provides the research and impact on students who live in poverty. We also had all administrators, a teacher from each building, and a board member attend a four-day Jensen conference. This helped us go beyond what we were doing and focus on why our students have increased challenges when it comes to school and achievement. By understanding the “why’s,” it has helped us determine the “what’s” more strategically, intentionally, and comprehensively. Essentially from Jensen, we learned that “poverty is not a culture, but a chronic condition affecting mind, body, and soul resulting from multiple adverse risk factors.” The three main areas that impact students from poverty more than middle or upper class students are (Continued on page 14) superintendents in Illinois, his father is a retired superintendent, his mother is a retired school nurse and his wife is a special education teacher. As his column illustrates, he is using Eric Jensen’s book “Teaching with Poverty in Mind” as a tool for administrators, teachers and board members in the Rochelle district where the poverty level has grown to more than 60 percent.

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