Why should you care about diversity?

2 There are significant disparities in the education, economic well- being, and health of children in the U.S. based on their race-ethnicity and whether or not their parents are immigrants (Hernandez & Napierala, 2013) Findings

In Georgia, 52% of young children live in poverty, defined as income below 100% of the federal poverty level. (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2013)

Before entering kindergarten, the average cognitive scores of preschool- age children in the highest socio- economic group are 60% above the average scores of children in the lowest socioeconomic group (Lee & Burkham, 2002) Disparities in child outcomes between poor, at-risk, and more advantaged children are evident in cognitive, social, behavioral, and health outcomes as early as 9 months and grow larger by 24 months of age (Halle et al, 2009)

Nationally 25% of black males repeated a grade in school, compared to 11% of white males. Note that this does not include those who dropped out. 50% of black males grades 6 to 12 have been suspended, compared to 21% of white males. 17% of black males have been expelled, compared to 1% of white males.

Nearly seven out of every 1,000 pre-kindergarteners are expelled each year—an estimated 5,117 preschoolers in all. The rate is 3.2 times higher than the national expulsion rate for children in grades K-12 (Gilliam, 2005). Boys are expelled 4.5 times more than girls; and African-Americans are twice as likely to be expelled as Latino and Caucasian kids and more than five times as likely as Asian-American kids (Gilliam, 2005).

Dual language learners are heavily overrepresented among low-achieving students (within the bottom 5% – 25% of the achievement distribution) and severely underrepresented among high achievers (within the top 5% - 25% of the achievement distribution) (Lee, Grigg, & Donahue, 2007)

In 2012 the graduation rate for black male students in Georgia was 60%. The graduation rate for Latinos was 58%, and for White, non-Latino males was 67%. Three states had a lower Latino graduation rate than Georgia and 7 states had a lower graduation rate for African-American students (Graduation rates lag for minorities in Georgia, 2012) Georgia Graduation Facts

Children form academic trajectories early in their school careers that tend to be stable and difficult to change over the course of their schooling (Alexander, Entwistle, and Dauber, 1993) Children’s negative perceptions of competence and attitudes become stronger and harder to reverse as children progress through school (Valeski & Stipek, 2001)

Research shows that both preservice and inservice approaches have failed to prepare educators who can effectively teach children for whom English is a new language or second dialect, children of color, children of diverse abilities, and children from economically marginalized communities (Ray, Bowman, & Robbins, 2006) )

An Early Learning Challenge: Meeting the Needs of All Children

The Real Early Learning Challenge: Meeting the Needs of Each & Every Child

All Each & Every

High-quality, culturally responsive early learning environments are critical to closing the achievement gap between children living in poverty, especially children of color, and their peers (Whitebrook et al, 2009) The Difference You Can Make

Quality inclusion can benefit children with and without disabilities, particularly in social competence with peers (National Professional Development Center on Inclusion, 2007)

Higher preschool performance and promotion to next grade More positive engagement with peers, adults, and learning Buffers negative impact of poverty on academic and behavioral outcomes The Difference You Can Make Through Family Engagement (Family engagement...)

Culturally responsive interactions between personnel and young children are more likely to support progress toward children’s mastery of language, literacy, science, and math skills (The difference you can make)

An effective teacher can have a stronger influence on student achievement than poverty, language background, class size, and minority status (An effective teacher...)