Recommendations of the Task Force on Educating African-American Students
Following are the recommendations of the Task Force on Educating African-American Students regarding cultural linguistic literacy. The recommendations specify the outcome desired, and the recommended conditions to help meet that outcome. They were adopted on Jan. 21, 1997.
Outcome: OUSD [Oakland Unified School District] shall recognize that most African-American children speak a language other than English in the home.
Recommended Conditions To Be Met:The OUSD Board shall adopt a policy that recognizes that African-American children speak a language other than English in the home.
Outcome:All African-American students shall become proficient in reading, speaking, and writing standard English.
Recommended Conditions To Be Met: (a.) OUSD shall administer a language assessment test that measures English proficiency with a uniform instrument throughout the district. (b.) School site staff shall maintain a cadre of teachers who are qualified to administer the assessment instrument.
Outcome: African-American pupils who are assessed as limited English proficient shall be identified in all relevant district documents LEP.
Recommended Conditions To Be Met: African-American students identified as LEP in all relevant district documents and included in all grant applications as LEP shall receive all LEP entitlements.
Outcome: Language arts materials that teach reading shall represent proven approaches to teaching bilingual students.
Recommended Conditions To Be Met: (a.) OUSD shall adopt language arts materials for all students that represent a phonic-linguistic approach to reading which is inclusive of culturally diverse and historically accurate fiction and non-fiction literature written by and about African Americans.
(b.) School sites shall purchase an adequate number of materials to address the cultural-linguistic literacy needs of African-American students, especially those below the levels of benchmark performance standards.
(c.) OUSD shall provide library and media resources to include the literature and contributions which reflect the culture of African-American students and include materials developed and/or authored by African-American persons.
(d.) OUSD shall train a cadre of parents, family, and community members to review, evaluate, and monitor phonic-linguistic instructional materials as well as other literary genre.
Outcome:Teachers and administrators shall respect and acknowledge the history, culture, and language the African-American student brings to school.
Recommended Conditions To Be Met: (a.) OUSD shall provide staff development to teachers, counselors, and administrators that explores attitudes and develops a cultural knowledge base of African Americans.
(b.) Staff development shall prepare teachers and administrators to establish an environment that is conducive for teaching and learning.
(c.) Staff shall utilize effective instructional pedagogy that addresses the cultural-linguistic differences of African-American students.
(d.) Staff shall evaluate the effectiveness of instructional materials as measured by student achievement in all curriculum areas.
Outcome: African-American students shall receive core instruction in Standard English.
Recommended Conditions To Be Met: OUSD shall provide training to staff in teaching the African-American LEP student.
