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This issue's focus: School Leadership
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"Principals who foster culturally-sustaining instruction and welcoming school climates show the community, through concrete action, that they believe all students and families are valuable.
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- Celina Moreno, J.D., IDRA President &CEO
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Superintendent Dr. Daniel King Describes How Strong Family Leadership Leads to School Innovation
by
Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed., featuring Superintendent Daniel King, Ph.D.
Dr. Daniel King, Superintendent of the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District (PSJA), recently reflected on the climate he cultivated among principals and other PSJA faculty. Though PSJA has an established, vibrant parent education program, he wanted more for his schools and his families.
His vision for engaged schools and families is rooted in the same ideology behind IDRA's Education CAFE model - the belief in each child's potential and that it is the school's job to provide the necessary supports, especially acknowledging the assets of the home.
Dr. King has been a strong supporter of the Education CAFE in his district.
He actively models his welcoming of family leadership for all his administrators and this mindset of partnership and cooperation with families is shared by his principals.
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Five Best Practices for Effective Principals and School Leadership Teams
School leaders have a challenging job. Some have benefited from having the support of a leadership coach as they build their own capacity and that of their leadership teams. Based on research and IDRA's experience with leadership coaching, we have developed a set of best practices.
The focus is on equipping principals to be visionary leaders, student advocates, instructional leaders, collaborators and risk-taking innovators in the name of improved student achievement. Five such best practices are outlined in this article.
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Mexican American Studies in All Grades - Administering an Innovation
by Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed.
The effort in Texas to establish the new Mexican American Studies (MAS) course generated a flurry of activity. Innovative educators are looking for ways to infuse MAS into all content areas and in multiple grade levels - both a challenge and opportunity for school administrators.
Research shows that MAS courses lead to improved standardized test scores, graduation rates, college attendance rates and academic mindsets, regardless of a student's ethnicity. A critical element for MAS success is administrator participation, modeling and support.
IDRA can help administrators connect to available MAS resources to seamlessly integrate these programs onto their campuses for the benefit of all students.
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English Learner Success Depends on Strong Principal Leadership
Due to demographic trends, many schools that once had few, if any, English learners, now have a sizeable English learner population. And other schools that had English learner students with a common home language now have a population speaking multiple languages.
Principals must take charge on this issue and play the role of change agents to prepare their school communities to welcome and embrace English learners. This means principals must innovate, inspire, empower and function as a servant leader to both the educational community and the neighborhoods served by their campuses.
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Mexican American Studies
- IDRA Services
IDRA provides training that supports educators in offering Mexican American Studies in public scho
ols. Our professional development covers a range of topics for all grades.
Topics can include the teaching of content-specific MAS courses and/or tools educators
can use to incorporate cultural sustainability into any curriculum.
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MAS Course
Locator Map
Visit the IDRA MAS Map to search MAS courses by teacher, topic, district or city.
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Online Community
of Practice
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IDRA's Community of Practice is a place where members can share lesson plans, resources, events, and ideas. Click the image to request access.
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IDRA provides training and customized technical assistance that supports educators in offering Mexican American Studies coursework.
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Infographics on Serving
Immgrant Students and Families
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