IDRA EAC-South

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National Origin

National Origin Equity

IDRA EAC-South Technical Assistance

The IDRA EAC-South’s capacity-building technical assistance can help state and local education agencies in creating asset-based solutions that help address inequities and desegregation issues impacting national origin equity. National origin issues in public schools may be self-identified by districts or may be identified through an active school desegregation court order, an Office for Civil Rights resolution, or an investigation by a federal or state civil rights enforcement agency.

Among other benefits, promoting national origin equity can help schools ensure equal access to strong academics for all students, improve leadership capacity, and increase student expectations.

To ask about the availability of services for your school or school district, complete an intake form.

How national origin inequity may manifest itself in schools
  • Bullying and harassment based on national origin, ethnicity, or language
  • Lack of a comprehensive, structured English language (EL) assistance program
  • Low expectations, disproportionate grade-retention rates, and low graduation rates for ethnic minority or EL students
  • Failure to identify EL students who are gifted and/or talented
  • Under/Over-representation of EL students for special education
  • Low expectations and poor school climate for secondary EL students, including newcomers and students with limited formal schooling
Examples of technical assistance and training available through the IDRA EAC-South
  • Review of policies and practices on recognizing and responding to bullying and harassment based on national origin to align with best practices
  • Contextual analysis to identify strengths and needs of current language program policies and practices
  • Climate analysis and training to ensure student diversity, bilingualism, and student experiences are valued
  • Train-the-trainer workshops to help build internal district capacity
  • Coaching and mentoring of instructional and/or administrative staff online and/or onsite
  • Conducting bilingual (Spanish-English) parent and student forums to increase family engagement and family leadership
  • Creating rubrics and turn-key tools
  • Establishing a local monitoring plan to ensure fidelity of implementation of program model
  • Professional development on cultural competency and implicit bias
  • Professional development for teachers focused on engagement of EL students in instruction utilizing best practices

See our resource page for tools on educational equity and national origin. Highlights are below.

eBook: Supporting Immigrant Students’ Rights to Attend Public Schools

As schools are opening their doors for a new school year, this alert is a reminder that public schools, by law, must serve all children. The education of undocumented students is guaranteed by the Plyler vs. Doe decision, and certain procedures must be followed when registering immigrant children in school to avoid violation of their civil rights.

See eBook and other resources

Bilingual eBook on Supporting Immigrant Students’ Rights to Attend Public Schools

School Opening Alert flier (in English and Spanish).

eNews School Opening Alert – August 2017.

Alert for Registering Students for School

More resources are on our Education of Immigrant Children web page.

Classnotes Podcast Episode: Skills Needed for Teaching in Diverse Classrooms – #173

With the quickly-changing dynamics across our communities, teachers often are facing the challenge of incorporating multicultural education without proper preparation. To stay engaged in the learning process, students – like adults – need the school climate and curriculum to reflect their racial and economic backgrounds, languages, religions, funds of knowledge and family structures.

Get details and listen

Paula Martin Johnson, M.A., an IDRA education associate, presents three critical areas of professional development that school leaders need to be providing for their teachers to effectively deliver high-quality and inclusive instruction in 21st-century classrooms.

Paula is interviewed by Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed., IDRA senior education associate. Show length: 14:30 min.

Listen now: Skills Needed for Teaching in Diverse Classrooms – #173

Article: Data to Measure an Effective Instructional Context for Secondary Level Newcomers and English Learners

Teachers and administrators may feel overwhelmed by the use and analysis of data for English learners (ELs) as is required by the federal guidelines under Title III of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Yet collecting and conducting data analysis is essential for EL success and is based on strong and seminal research in second language acquisition. Using data is even more critical when students are secondary level newcomers and English learners with interrupted schooling.

Read article

When considering how to collect and use data, the Casteñeda v. Pickard decision of the Fifth Circuit Court,1981, provides an excellent framework (Thomas & Collier, 1997). This article focuses on the data needed to support teachers and English learners who enter U.S. schools as newcomers and as students with interrupted schooling. IDRA’s Good Schools and Classrooms for Children Learning English ~ A Guide (Robledo Montecel, et al., 2002) and its supplement for secondary students also provide a way to collect much of the needed data.

Read article: Data to Measure an Effective Instructional Context for Secondary Level Newcomers and English Learners, by Kristin Grayson, Ph.D., IDRA Newsletter, June-July 2017

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