1 Office of Diversity Management Data Report Otis R. Anthony Senior Director Polk County Public Schools 2010

2 Mission Statement The mission of Polk County Public Schools is to ensure rigorous, relevant learning experiences that result in high achievement for our students.

3 School District Overview 177 sites in total 92,309 students – 8 th largest in Florida 12,297 employees, 6,562 are teachers; 53% of employees are teachers

4 School District Overview Demography percent of students, over 2/3 are eligible for free and reduced price school meals, meaning they are at or below federal poverty levels Free and reduced is growing; percent in 2005, up 10 percentage points in four years, growing at a rate of more than 2 percentage points per year

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6 Defining Diversity: The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, recognizing our individual differences. These can include the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs or other ideologies.

7 District Diversity Council Outgrowth of desire to work in collaboration with stakeholders Actions include reviewing and giving input on practices that ensure equity, inclusion, and cultural diversity

8 Parent Engagement Program Mission: Strengthen home-to-school partnerships Impact student achievement Increase community and parent involvement Offered at eleven Title I schools

9 Polk County Schools Racial and Ethnic Percents through AllTotal YearWhiteBlackHispanic otherStudents %23.6% 23.4%3.4% 91, %23.9% 22.5%3.5% 92, %23.4%22.2%5.2%90, %23.1%21.5%3.0%90, %22.8%19.6%2.7%87, %22.5%18.3%2.3%86, %22.9%16.6%2.2%83,621

10 Specific Minority Recruiting Strategies Office of Recruiting Explore opportunities to increase diversity of instructional staff at schools whose percentages are below targeted 10% Ten $1000 scholarship opportunities for minority applicants Recruit from institutions that provide minority candidates Recruit at predominantly black colleges and universities

11 Total Teachers Assigned to Schools Black74412% White523183% Hispanic336 5% Asian/Pacific Islander39 1% US Indian12 0% Non-White17% Total6362

12 District Wide Teachers Black3811% White28582% Hispanic216% Asian/Pacific Islander31% US Indian00% Non-White18% Location Total347

13 Percent of Non-White Teachers at Schools Less than 10%=38% of schools 10-19%=45% of schools 20-29%=18% of schools 30-39%= 2% of schools 40-49%= 1% of schools 50% += 1% of schools

14 Teacher Retention During the school year, 100 African American teachers were hired, of which 79 are still employed.

15 Teacher Retention During the school year, 92 African American teachers were hired, of which 88 are still employed..

16 School Year 07-08, 08-09, and New Instructional Hires Black 12% 13% 14% White 78% 77% 76% Hispanic 10% 9% 8% Asian 1% 1% 2% Note: in school year 2004, total instructional staff: Black: 11% White: 89%

17 Parent Engagement Program Data Student conferences: 1,620 Parent conferences: 858 Initiative designed to impact student achievement and student discipline by surrounding students with caring adults Focuses on providing effective parenting skills training, extending parent and community involvement, and working directly with students toward specific academic and behavior goals In a 9 month period 180 Student conferences 95 Parent Conferences per month

18 Instructional Strategies to Eliminate the Achievement Gap Learning Focused Strategies 90 minute reading blocks, Teachers as Mentors Summer School for retained students Credit Recovery Programs 100 Mentors Spellread Fastforward SRA Reading Ruby Payne: Framework for Understanding Children of Poverty

19 Diversity Initiatives for Students 275 participants 7 locations This initiative is designed to help students talk openly and freely about the challenges facing them in school or in their neighborhoods including gang violence, peer pressure, and positive ways to resolve conflict.

20 Promoting Academic Success Boys of Color initiative funded by the Kellogg Foundation to improve the academic achievement of boys ages 3 to 8. Focus is on minority boys who are underperforming. Key Activities: Teacher Cultural Competence Mentoring of 42 college students Parent/Family Involvement

21 Positive Behavior Support Goal: set up more effective discipline assessments and create intervention systems that are based on rewarding appropriate behaviors. Number of schools involved: 50 elementary schools 8 middle schools 4 alternative centers

22 Diversity Training for Polk County Staff 450 participants/10 locations for specific groups Over 95% of all principals received training Focus is on harmful effects of cultural stereotypes, lowered academic expectations and systematic barriers that prevent students from their full academic potential Training is tailored to specific sites to address the diversity challenges at each site

23 Total School Administration Principals Assistant DistrictTotal Principals Administrators Black 22/21% 36/24% 8/16% 66/21% White 91/85% 109/74% 39/80% 239/76% Hispanic 4/4% 2/2% 2/4% 8/3% Location Total 313

24 Membership in AP and Principal Pools Assistant Principal Pool Black:20% White:75% Hispanic: 5% Principal Pool Black:20% White:76% Hispanic: 4%

25 All Other Employees Black236622% White698865% Hispanic127912% Asian/Pacific Islander1111% US Indian290% Non-White35% Location Total10773

26 Student Discipline Actions by Race ISS: White 37% Black 42% Hispanic 18% Other 5% OSS: White 37% Black 40% Hispanic 20% Other 3% AL7: White 36% Black 39% Hispanic 22% Other 4% ISS: In School Intervention OSS: Out of School Suspension AL7: Alternative Placement based on Level 7 Offense

27 Expulsions for Expulsions: White: 95 Students, 37% Black: 88 Students, 35% Hispanic: 63 Students, 25% Other: 9 Students, 3%

28 Sample FCAT Learning Gaps Achievement Gaps in 3 rd Grade Reading Polk = white 23 % points higher than black Hillsborough = white 32 % points higher than black Orange = white 31 % points higher than black Pinellas = white 35 % points higher than black Trend: Polk County’s gap is smaller than neighboring counties. See handouts for details in various grades and subjects.

29 Sample Changes in Learning Gaps Achievement Gap Changes in 3 rd Grade Reading Polk = reduced gap by 1% from 2007 to 2009 Hillsborough = reduced gap by 3% from 2007 to 2009 Orange = reduced gap by 1% from 2007 to 2009 Pinellas = reduced gap by 1% from 2007 to 2009 Trend: Polk County’s gap reduction is comparable to Orange and Pinellas, less than Hillsborough. See handouts for details in various grades and subjects.

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32 Graduation Rate: Statewide (2009) NGANCLBRegular White: 83.1%83.8%86.0% Black:64.9% 63.3% 66.7% Hispanic: 72.1% 71.6%73.5% American Indian: 76.8%77.4%79.7% Asian: 87.9%88.1%88.9% Multiracial:81.3%82.4%83.7% Total:76.3%76.2%78.6%

33 Graduation Rate: Polk (2009) NGANCLBRegular White:76.8% 76.3%80.4% Black:64.7% 60.7%66.7% Hispanic: 62.3% 59.8% 64.2% American Indian: 87.5% 87.5% 88.2% Asian: 87.3% 87.3% 89.2% Multiracial: % 73.6% Total: %74.7%

34 Dropout Data: Statewide White:1.6% Black:3.4% Hispanic: 2.5% American Indian: 2.3% Asian:0.8% Multiracial:1.6% Total:2.3%

35 Dropout Data: Polk County White:3.6% Black:4.5% Hispanic: 4.8% American Indian: 1.5% Asian:1.1% Multiracial:3.0%

36 Time Spent on Homework for 4 th Grade Students (In Percent) Black White Hispanic Asian American Indian Don’t Have HW Don’t Do HW Half Hour or Less One Hour More than One Hour