CESDP - Working Together: School, Family & Community Partnership Toolkit

Multimedia Professional Development Modules:

Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading in New Mexico

Building Positive School, Family and Community Partnerships in New Mexico

In response to the recommendations made during a series of achievement gap summits to engage communities in the process of addressing causes and solutions to the achievement gap, the Center for the Education and Study of Diverse Populations (CESDP) at New Mexico Highlands University partnered with the NM Public Education Department to create a series of online educational modules:

· Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading in NM

· Building Positive School, Family and Community Partnerships in NM

To inform the development of the professional development modules, IDEAL NM staff and a Multimedia Educational Resources Council made up of summit attendees was convened to provide input throughout the modules' development.

The learning modules are designed to provide educators, including school and district leaders with opportunities to examine current practices and explore new ideas for increasing culturally relevant teaching and leading as well as parental involvement. The modules are designed to engage participants in exploring research-based materials and resources, discussing key concepts, identifying relevant strategies to improve efforts that align with NM teacher and administrator competencies, and planning future actions linked to systemic improvement efforts.

Video clips, readings, and other tools support professional learning that is interactive and reflective. Participants are encouraged to engage in professional learning communities as well as share reflections on many of the resources and practices.

The modules engage educators in professional learning that provides them with strategies and resources for:

· building individual, school, and district capacity for prioritizing culturally responsive practices and shared responsibility for student success among schools, families, and communities

· creating school, family, and community partnership plans in alignment with federal and state program requirements including EPSS, Title I, Indian Education and other programs;

· meeting NM Teacher and Administrator Competencies related to culturally responsive practices and parental involvement;

· recognizing and addressing challenges in partnering with families;

· sharing decision-making power with families and community members; and

working to bridge cultural differences.

For access to the modules and additional information on facilitation services, please contact

Dr. Paul Martinez, CESDP Director, pmartinez@nmhu.edu, 505-747-7238