In Smith Elementary, there is a state of inadequate practice regarding discipline within the reams of racial and cultural status. More specifically, there is a disbalance of discipline referrals among African American and Special Education students. As of today, discipline referrals and their consequences affect these demographics rather disproportionally. For example, 72% of discipline referrals in fifth grade are African American and Special Education students, while these groups constitute 44% of the students in this grade.
Proposed Actions
Development of Proposed Actions and Collaboration with Stakeholders
A very important aspect of implementing new strategies is discussing them with the stakeholders. Allowing the stakeholders to have more involvement in this process helps to establish more adequate and well-rounded strategies and methods. In addition to using educational sources in search of appropriate methods, stakeholders should also be consulted on this matter. Their prepositions include suggestions on specific courses that the teachers may take and literary sources of cultural sensitivity development.
Organizational Beliefs and Assumptions
As a team and in collaboration with the organization, we realize that in order to solve the problem of disciplinary inequality, a plethora of methods and strategies have to be employed. Cultural and social understanding is the key to a more compassionate and sensitive approach to education for African American and Special Education students. It is the team’s and the organization’s belief that each student must be treated equally. In this particular case, the assumption is that by changing the educators’ outlook and teaching mythology, a deeper understanding of the importance of equality and diversity will be achieved among teachers.
If Propositions and Then Statements
If the organizational leadership uses a new theoretical, more culturally charged methodology, the core approach to discipline will change. The teachers will learn more specifically about the differences that lie within the field of handling racially-involved disciplinary practices. If multicultural training is provided, the educators will have a first-hand experience with people of various communities, which will help them to connect with African American and Special Education students. If the teachers broaden their horizons in terms of new ways of providing education, their teaching models will change according to the current standards and will be no longer outdated. If self-contributions to the knowledge base are used to gauge change, future efforts in this direction will be more coordinated and well-managed (Choo, 2020). In combination, these methods and measures will result in overall improvement of the school’s atmosphere, communication, and performance. The children will not feel singled out and discriminated against, and their performance and engagement will improve. The teachers will find the ability to express empathy and a more personable approach more rewarding.
References
Choo, E. (2020). Seven things organizations should be doing to combat racism. The Lancet, 396(10245), 157.