By Isabel Lewis, contributor
Some of last year’s Standards of Learning test scores and graduation statistics show Harrisonburg public school students rising above the state average for some minority groups. The city schools’ equity strategic plan sought to help students among three demographics: Black students, Students with disabilities and English Learners.
In the past three academic years, the district has seen an upward trend in Black students’ performance in reading, math and science SOL scores. Additionally, the SOL scores from the past year show Black students performing better than the average of all students in reading and science.
Last year, 100% of Black students in Harrisonburg graduated on time. In Virginia, 8.3% fewer Black students graduated on time.
“As you can see, our African American students do better than the state,” Superintendent Michael G. Richards said.
Not only are Black students in Harrisonburg graduating on time at a higher rate, but they are also receiving a higher percentage of advanced diplomas than the state’s average. At HCPS, 56.6% of Black students received an advanced diploma, with the rest of them receiving standard diplomas.
The state’s average reveals that 38.9% of Black students are receiving advanced diplomas, 52.8% are receiving standard diplomas, and small percentages of students are dropping out or getting GEDs and certificates.
Richards said about 10% of Harrisonburg’s students are Black. In comparison with white students, who make up about 28% of students, they have similar post-grad outcomes. Hispanic students make up about 55% of the schools’ population.
About 74% of Black students and 75% of white students have post-secondary plans of attending higher education after graduating.
Laura Feichtinger McGrath, language instruction education programs and Title III director, said many students with disabilities are also English Learners, highlighting that students have many identities contributing to their education. It makes it hard for them to be defined as a single statistic, she said.
Last year, 96.6% of Harrisonburg’s students with disabilities graduated on time, which was 5.7% above the state’s average.
The district’s Special Education Advisory Committee is hoping to start a professional development plan, training teaching faculty about the 13 areas of disability to better equip them to meet more students’ needs. Additionally, Director of Special Education Tony Walker said the plan would include teaching faculty and parents about the IEP program.
“We’re going to take a home, school [and] community approach,” Walker said. “So that way we are building capacity with student learning, building capacity with staff understanding and techniques and skills, and also to partner with parents as well.”
School board members said that they “loved” the idea, but had some concerns.
Board member Emma Phillips said finding the staffing to complete this project would be a considerable challenge, with concerns about what incentives would have to be offered to staff willing to onboard the training.
With an uncertain budget for next year, Richards promised one thing: $5,000 would be set aside for case management. Additionally, there is a potential for working with JMU to create a grant for JMU students who want hands-on experience working with students with disabilities. It’s unclear, however, whether either of these funds will be enough to fully support the district’s professional development plan.
The third focus of the Equity Strategic Plan is on English Learners. Students who are learning English take an annual test, and the outcomes can depend on the students’ background, McGrath said. The testing process involves speaking into a microphone and having a conversation with the computer. McGrath said this process can be particularly fraught for students who have anxiety disorders, causing them to progress at a slower rate than their peers.
“Language development is a very individualized process, and it demands a lot of stars being lined up. So if you happen to be a student who has anxiety, it can take you a little bit longer. If you’re a student who can handle making mistakes in front of your peers, you’re going to move more quickly.” McGrath said.
According to McGrath, 65% of students are identified as English Learners, and approximately 65-70% of students speak another primary language at home. Despite a majority of English Learners being born in the United States, McGrath says that the public controversies may be another factor impacting their education.
“Scroll through any news at this point, you can see that a lot of our students are probably feeling a little unwelcome, and when one feels unwelcome, it does make it really hard to work hard at school,” McGrath said.
One thing that sets Harrisonburg apart from other school districts is its naturally diverse population.
“We talk about diversity and equity, and we want to talk about different groups, because we, we are the world right here in Harrisonburg, and it’s pretty phenomenal,” McGrath said.
Within Harrisonburg’s strategic plan for equity, they are using a framework called The Multi-Tiered System of Support. It focuses on the development and equity of “the whole child,” placing importance not only on education, but on food insecurity and social-emotional health.
“Equity is not an ‘add-on’ … it is the foundation,” the framework’s mission statement says.
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