[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 105 (Thursday, July 28, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9286-S9289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. AKAKA:
  S. 1521. A bill to provide for teacher acculturation, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I am introducing the Teacher Acculturation 
Act of 2005 as a means to address an issue that impedes effective 
learning in our Nation's classrooms, and that is cultural incongruence. 
Such a lack of congruence exists in a wide range of situations, from 
rural and underserved communities in remote areas to well-populated 
urban centers, from my State of Hawaii to areas on the Eastern 
seaboard. The dynamic I am describing exists along lines of race and 
ethnicity, socioeconomic strata, age, and many other vectors, which can 
muddy the stuff of learning that needs to be transmitted between 
students aiming to learn and teachers seeking to teach.

[[Page S9287]]

  As many of my colleagues and I have said many times, our children are 
our future. Furthermore, our great Nation is dependent on the success 
of our educational system and what it is delivering to our children. An 
essential part of our educational system is a highly qualified teacher 
with knowledge of the subject area, and the ability to teach that 
subject to students. This is the most important factor in the academic 
success of the student. My bill will address one attribute of that 
success: the ability of the teacher to present the lesson in a way that 
students are ready to learn it.
  I started my professional life as a teacher, so improvement of the 
field of education is never far from my thoughts. Even after all of my 
teacher training, I remember walking into a classroom and thinking, 
``What do I do now?'' and, ``Will I be able to connect with my 
students?'' I have never forgotten those thoughts. Through my bill, I 
hope to work to help teachers answer these and similar questions, 
particularly for those teachers who are placed in States that are new 
to them, or in parts of their home States with which they have little 
or no familiarity. In my State of Hawaii, according to an article 
published Monday in the Honolulu Advertiser, Hawaii's 258 public 
schools need 1,400 to 1,600 new teachers every year to replace those 
who retire or leave the system, particularly in the areas of special 
education, speech pathology, autism, and hearing impairment. However, 
only about 500 Hawaii teachers are graduating and earning their 
licenses every year from both public and private colleges, and many of 
them are being drawn away from the State to schools on the mainland. 
Recruiting trips by the Hawaii Department of Education are seeking 
hires in cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San 
Francisco. I would like to help to ensure the success of these and 
other teachers in similar situations across the country, to help smooth 
their adjustment to their new homes, and thus, make a fluid transition 
to their new classrooms.
  The Teacher Acculturation Act seeks to address cultural incongruence 
between the teacher and the student population in the classroom. To be 
successful, the teacher must be prepared to teach in a way that 
students are ready to learn. And with a increasingly diverse student 
population, that becomes harder and harder as time goes by. To achieve 
these ends, the bill proposes programs in three parts.
  The first two parts recognize the success of ongoing and sustained 
professional development to affect positive change in teaching 
pedagogy. The bill authorizes demonstration programs that aim to assist 
teachers in learning, developing, and implementing pedagogies that help 
all students learn. I have modeled the programs on the Lesson Study 
theory of change, which is a model that uses a cohort of professionals 
for lesson development, presentation of the developed lesson by a 
member of the cohort to a class, observation of the presentation by 
other members of the cohort, and post-presentation analysis and 
reflection by the entire cohort, along with coaches, mentors, and 
supervising practitioners. A group of teachers working together to 
improve their pedagogy has been shown to be very effective, and this 
model is becoming more popular at every level in teacher education and 
professional development, from classroom work in colleges of education, 
to cohort work by candidates for National Board Certification--the 
highest performance achievement available to a teacher in the United 
States.
  The first demonstration program would take place during the time the 
prospective teacher is in a college or school of education, and 
introduces a multicultural awareness component into the pre-service 
teaching activities. In this program, prospective teachers would work 
with members of the community, trained academics, and practicing 
teachers to learn about cultural characteristics of the student 
population, to develop pedagogies and curriculum to fit those cultures, 
and to study how to deliver the new lessons in a culturally relevant 
style. Prospective teachers would then deliver these lessons to the 
students in a real classroom setting while student teaching. Post-
teaching analysis, reflection, and discussion would then allow the 
student teacher to analyze and reflect upon the performance.
  The second demonstration program is structured similarly to the first 
program, but conducts a professional development activity during the 
time the teacher is new to the profession--generally the first three 
years--recognizing that many teachers develop teaching styles in these 
initial years that they may use for the duration of their teaching 
careers. Through this program, a cohort of teachers would undertake a 
year-long program, which includes two summers, under the direction of a 
coach trained in multicultural education. Participating teachers would 
already be placed in teaching positions and have a defined learning 
community to work with. If done right, such a program has the potential 
to involve the whole school community and, eventually, contribute to 
whole school change.
  These two programs taken together have the potential to develop a 
cadre of teachers adept at teaching in ways that are culturally-
relevant, ways that address the needs of the students, and ways in 
which the students are ready to learn. I truly feel that such programs 
working with new and prospective teachers can make a difference in 
addressing the current achievement gap, particularly impacting the 
groups most at risk of being on the losing end of the achievement gap.
  The third section of the Teacher Acculturation Act of 2005 would set 
up Centers of Excellence in Multicultural Education. These centers 
would support the professional development activities from the first 
two parts of the bill by providing trained mentors, coaches, and 
academics, as well as undertaking research into the areas of 
multicultural education. The centers would also develop activities for 
use by schools and districts to provide ongoing professional 
development opportunities to all faculty or teachers.

  We must never forget that a solid education is the cornerstone of our 
future. And a highly qualified teacher is needed to provide that 
education. The teacher not only needs to be knowledgeable about the 
subject being taught, but needs to know how to teach the subject to the 
students. This bill would help address the question of how. It seeks to 
prepare the teacher to deal with groups of students with different 
learning styles, as well as to identify the needs of divergent groups 
of students and how to vary teaching to support the learning of these 
students. My bill seeks to improve learning among those groups who are 
underserved today. Although my bill alone would not eliminate the 
achievement gap, it seeks to provide a good start.
  This bill is supported by leading experts and organizations in the 
field of multicultural education, including Ms. Joyce Harris, Executive 
director of the National Academy for Multicultural Education, Dr. James 
Banks of the Center for Multicultural Education at the University of 
Washington, and Dr. Randy Hitz, Dean of the College of Education at the 
University of Hawaii. I ask unanimous consent that their letters of 
support be printed in the Record. I ask unanimous consent that the text 
of the bill be printed in the Record.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this important piece of 
legislation.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                          National Association for


                                      Multicultural Education,

                                    Washington, DC, June 28, 2005.
     Hon. Daniel K. Akaka,
     U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Akaka: It is my understanding that you will 
     soon present legislation dealing with teacher acculturation. 
     On behalf of the National Association for Multicultural 
     Education (NAME), I am extending our support for you and the 
     legislation. What you are proposing is not only admirable but 
     very necessary. Today's school populations are more diverse 
     than they've ever been, and this diversity will only 
     increase. Further, while the student body is becoming 
     ethnically and racially more diverse, the teaching force is 
     not.
       Some will argue that the 3 R's are all teachers need to 
     focus on, and students will be all right; but others of us 
     know that this is not the case for a growing number of 
     today's youth. What was fine decades ago will not necessarily 
     work in today's schools.
       NAME thanks you for your foresight and courage. I'm sure 
     that you know you may have a Herculean task before you, but 
     please keep the faith. This is so important to make

[[Page S9288]]

     sure that ALL of our children succeed. With the No Child Left 
     Behind Act and the cuts in some educational programs (for 
     example, The Dropout Prevention Program--who is more than 
     likely to drop out? The lower SES students and students of 
     color!), is it especially important that we have people of 
     your stature working to ensure that all of our children 
     receive an equitable education.
       I have seen your website. I've read about your many 
     accomplishments on behalf of your Hawaiian constituency and 
     for the American people at large. Again, please know that 
     NAME stands behind you. Please contact me if there is 
     anything that the organization or I may do for you as you go 
     forward with. this legislation.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Joyce E. Harris,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

                                             University of Hawai`i


                                                     at Manoa,

                                       Honolulu, HI, June 23, 2005
     Sen. Daniel Akaka,
     U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Akaka: I am writing to support the Teacher 
     Acculturation bill you are introducing in the Senate. I have 
     carefully reviewed the bill with faculty in the University of 
     Hawai`i, college of Education, and we think it has great 
     potential to improve education throughout the United States.
       The relationship between the teacher and the student is the 
     key to success in education. The Teacher Acculturation bill 
     seeks to improve student achievement by ameliorating the 
     cultural mismatch between teachers and the students they 
     teach, thus improving the teacher's ability to address 
     educational needs of individual students.
       The University of Hawai`i, College of Education is heavily 
     involved in indigenous education multicultural initiatives, 
     and other efforts to ensure that teachers are well prepared 
     to work with diverse populations of students. As one of the 
     nation's most diverse states, Hawai`i has significant 
     challenges in bridging cultural gaps between teachers and 
     students. But, nearly every school in every state in the 
     nation faces the challenge of bridging cultural differences 
     between teachers and students. Your bill will create models 
     for better preparing teachers to understand and address the 
     learning needs of the diverse student populations they serve, 
     thus improving their academic achievement.
       Thank you for your leadership in preparing this innovative 
     and important bill, and thank you for the opportunity to 
     comment on the bill.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Randy Hitz,
     Dean.
                                  ____


                                S. 1521

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. TEACHER ACCULTURATION.

       Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     1021 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

                    ``PART C--TEACHER ACCULTURATION

     ``SEC. 231. SHORT TITLE.

       ``This part may be cited as the `Teacher Acculturation Act 
     of 2005'.

     ``SEC. 232. FINDINGS.

       ``Congress makes the following findings:
       ``(1) Every person (child, adolescent, or adult) has her or 
     his own cluster of learning modalities.
       ``(2) These individual learning modalities are the result 
     of many factors, including the person's cultural heritage, 
     language, and socioeconomic background.
       ``(3) Research has shown that learning occurs best within a 
     learning environment that closely matches a person's 
     individual learning modalities.
       ``(4) There is a strong correlation between--
       ``(A) the lack of academic achievement of a student; and
       ``(B) a lack of congruence between--
       ``(i) the learning modalities of the student; and
       ``(ii) the teaching pedagogy of the teacher.
       ``(5) One of the factors that significantly impacts 
     learning modalities is a student's culture.
       ``(6) A congruence between the cultural norms embedded in 
     the teaching environment and the culture of a student has 
     been shown to significantly improve the academic achievement 
     of the student.
       ``(7) The teacher has the most control in setting the 
     cultural environment of the classroom.

     ``SEC. 233. PURPOSE.

       ``It is the purpose of this part to develop a core group of 
     teachers who are able to provide instruction in a way that is 
     culturally congruent with the learning modalities of the 
     students they are teaching, in order to--
       ``(1) ameliorate the lack of cultural congruence between 
     teachers and the students they teach; and
       ``(2) improve student achievement.

     ``SEC. 234. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this part:
       ``(1) Induction phase.--The term `induction phase' means 
     the period when a teacher is new to the profession, the 
     classroom, or a school.
       ``(2) In-service phase.--The term `in-service phase' means 
     the period during and throughout the professional life of a 
     teacher.
       ``(3) Practicum phase.--The term `practicum phase' means 
     the period beginning with the last year of a teacher 
     preparation program at an institution of higher education 
     when the student is spending time in a prekindergarten 
     through grade 12 classroom, and culminating at the end of the 
     student teaching portion of the student's teacher preparation 
     program.
       ``(4) Supervising academic.--The term `supervising 
     academic' means a member of the faculty of an institution of 
     higher education who--
       ``(A) is designated to oversee, coordinate, and participate 
     in the field placement or student teaching experience of a 
     preservice teacher; and
       ``(B) works in conjunction with a supervising practitioner.
       ``(5) Supervising practitioner.--The term `supervising 
     practitioner' means a prekindergarten through grade 12 
     teacher in a school who--
       ``(A) is designated to coach, observe, and evaluate a 
     preservice teacher at the school during the preservice 
     teacher's field placement or student teaching experience in 
     the classroom; and
       ``(B) works in conjunction with the supervising academic.

     ``SEC. 235. MEASURE OF CULTURAL MISMATCH.

       ``The Secretary, in consultation with relevant educational 
     and cultural governmental and nongovernmental entities and 
     not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the 
     Teacher Acculturation Act of 2005, shall develop a measure of 
     cultural mismatch for purposes of--
       ``(1) the demonstration program under section 236; and
       ``(2) the composition of partnerships described in sections 
     242 and 263.

     ``SEC. 236. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to carry out 
     a demonstration program to investigate, develop, and test 
     methods to attempt to ameliorate the cultural mismatch 
     between teachers and the students they teach.
       ``(b) Components.--The demonstration program shall consist 
     of--
       ``(1) professional development activities occurring during 
     3 different phases of a teacher's professional life, 
     including the practicum phase, induction phase, and in-
     service phase; and
       ``(2) the development of centers of excellence in 
     multicultural education.

                 ``Subpart 1--Induction Phase Component

     ``SEC. 241. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

       ``In carrying out the demonstration program under this 
     part, the Secretary is authorized to award grants to eligible 
     partnerships to enable the eligible partnerships to carry out 
     the induction phase component of the teacher preparation 
     assisted under this subpart.

     ``SEC. 242. ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.

       ``In this subpart, the term `eligible partnership' means a 
     partnership consisting of--
       ``(1) a local educational agency, with a high percentage of 
     students who have a cultural mismatch with the majority of 
     the teaching staff at the schools served by the local 
     educational agency, collaborating with--
       ``(A) a cohort of induction phase teachers from the local 
     educational agency; and
       ``(B) members of a school community who are--
       ``(i) from the cultural background of the students to be 
     taught by the teachers assisted under the grant; and
       ``(ii) knowledgeable about the cultural norms of the 
     community; and
       ``(2) an institution of higher education or organization 
     with expertise in multicultural education, collaborating with 
     a mentor, coach, or facilitator who will work with the cohort 
     described in paragraph (1)(A).

     ``SEC. 243. INDUCTION PHASE COMPONENT.

       ``An eligible partnership that receives a grant under this 
     subpart shall use the grant funds to carry an induction phase 
     component of the demonstration program that may include the 
     following:
       ``(1) A summer workshop held during the summer prior to a 
     program year (as described in paragraph (2)), in which 
     participant teachers study the basics of the following:
       ``(A) Multicultural education.
       ``(B) The cultural norms of the students served by the 
     local educational agency where the participant teachers will 
     be teaching.
       ``(C) The history of the municipality and the cultural 
     groups where the participant teachers will be teaching.
       ``(2) A program year during the school year designed to 
     include--
       ``(A) a series of classroom-based teaching activities and 
     observations, including pre- and post-activity discussion 
     under the coaching of a person experienced in leading such a 
     program and trained in the principles of multicultural 
     education;
       ``(B) individual one-on-one mentoring by a mentor, coach, 
     or facilitator participating in the eligible partnership;
       ``(C) classroom visits including possible videotaping of 
     the lessons; and
       ``(D) group meetings to reflect on--
       ``(i) a classroom visit described in subparagraph (C); or
       ``(ii) the progress of the program.
       ``(3) A workshop or institute during the summer immediately 
     after a program year (as described in paragraph (2)) that may 
     include the following:
       ``(A) Analysis of lessons developed and taught during the 
     program year.
       ``(B) Practice lessons presented to the cohort described in 
     section 242(1)(A).

[[Page S9289]]

       ``(C) Analysis of participant teacher growth over the 
     duration of the program.
       ``(D) Development of a reflective portfolio, for each 
     member of the cohort described in section 242(1)(A), of the 
     member's experience in the program.

     ``SEC. 244. USE OF FUNDS.

       ``Grant funds provided under this subpart may be used for--
       ``(1) stipends and release time for participant teachers;
       ``(2) compensation for mentors, coaches, facilitators, or 
     substitutes;
       ``(3) reimbursement for normal expenses incurred by the 
     eligible partnership during the grant period; and
       ``(4) equipment, supplies, and travel necessary for the 
     program.

     ``SEC. 245. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may 
     be necessary to carry out this subpart for fiscal year 2006 
     and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

                 ``Subpart 2--Practicum Phase Component

     ``SEC. 251. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

       ``In carrying out the demonstration program under this 
     part, the Secretary is authorized to award grants to eligible 
     partnerships to enable the eligible partnerships to carry out 
     the practicum phase component of the teacher preparation 
     assisted under this subpart.

     ``SEC. 252. ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.

       ``In this subpart, the term `eligible partnership' means a 
     partnership consisting of--
       ``(1) a teacher preparation program approved by a State 
     educational agency and accredited by the National Council for 
     Accreditation of Teacher Education, collaborating with--
       ``(A) a cohort of practicum phase students; and
       ``(B) a faculty member who serves as a supervising 
     practitioner;
       ``(2) a local educational agency--
       ``(A) serving a student population whose cultural norms--
       ``(i) are different from the cultural norms of the 
     participating teacher preparation program students; and
       ``(ii) are similar to the cultural norms of the students or 
     community served by a local educational agency where the 
     participating teacher preparation program students will be 
     looking for employment; and
       ``(B) collaborating with a group of supervising 
     practitioners; and
       ``(3) a support committee for the practicum program, that 
     provides cultural norms to the practicum participants, which 
     may include--
       ``(A) a center of excellence described in subpart 3;
       ``(B) faculty or staff of a school, local educational 
     agency, or State educational agency;
       ``(C) parents or family members of a student taught by the 
     student teachers assisted under the grant;
       ``(D) community stakeholders; or
       ``(E) organizations with expertise in multicultural 
     education.

     ``SEC. 253. PRACTICUM PHASE COMPONENT.

       ``An eligible partnership that receives a grant under this 
     subpart shall use the grant funds to carry out a practicum 
     phase component of the demonstration program that may include 
     the following:
       ``(1) A course for the practicum students covering 
     multicultural education, including specifics pertaining to 
     the cultural norms of the students served by the local 
     educational agency where the students will be participating 
     in the practicum.
       ``(2) A program running contemporaneous to the practicum 
     that includes--
       ``(A) a program under the coaching of a supervising 
     academic where the practicum students interact with each 
     other to discuss their experiences;
       ``(B) individual one-on-one coaching by a supervising 
     academic;
       ``(C) classroom visits to the locations of other student 
     teachers in the cohort described in section 252(1)(A), 
     including possible videotaping of the lessons; and
       ``(D) periodic cohort meetings during the practicum to 
     reflect on the progress of the program.
       ``(3) A followup program at the conclusion of the practicum 
     carried out by the teacher preparation program participating 
     in the eligible partnership.

     ``SEC. 254. USE OF FUNDS.

       ``Grant funds provided under this subpart may be used for--
       ``(1) compensation for a supervising academic or a 
     supervising practitioner;
       ``(2) scholarships for participants; and
       ``(3) equipment, supplies, travel, and other expenses 
     appropriate to the program.

     ``SEC. 255. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may 
     be necessary to carry out this subpart for fiscal year 2006 
     and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

     ``Subpart 3--Centers of Excellence in Multicultural Education

     ``SEC. 261. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE AUTHORIZED.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to establish 
     not more than 10 centers to support excellence in 
     multicultural education.
       ``(b) Duties.--Such centers shall--
       ``(1) support participants during the practicum phases and 
     induction phases of their teacher preparation;
       ``(2) develop and implement an in-service phase program;
       ``(3) develop or expand the theory and practice of 
     multicultural education; and
       ``(4) collect appropriate data to allow for the evaluation 
     of the activities implemented under this part.

     ``SEC. 262. LOCATION OF CENTERS.

       ``The centers shall--
       ``(1) be located within universities, colleges or schools 
     with teacher education programs approved by the appropriate 
     State educational agency and accredited by the National 
     Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education;
       ``(2) be located in geographically diverse areas of the 
     United States; and
       ``(3) be distributed among institutions of higher education 
     serving various cultural communities.

     ``SEC. 263. PARTNERSHIPS.

       ``The centers may form partnerships, for the purpose of 
     carrying out the duties described in section 261(b), with--
       ``(1) a college or school of teacher education;
       ``(2) at least 1 local educational agency with a high 
     degree of cultural mismatch between the local educational 
     agency's teachers and the students they teach;
       ``(3) an academic department, center, or program that 
     focuses on the study of cultural mismatches, such as cultural 
     mismatches related to gender, race, national origin, or other 
     similar areas; or
       ``(4) such additional entities as the centers determine 
     appropriate.

     ``SEC. 264. USE OF FUNDS.

       ``Funds made available under this subpart may be used for 
     the following:
       ``(1) Financial support for researchers, such as doctoral 
     and post-doctoral fellowships.
       ``(2) In-service multicultural education workshops for 
     teachers.
       ``(3) Supporting the programs assisted under subpart 1 or 
     2.
       ``(4) Supporting research into best practices in 
     multicultural education, performing evaluation of the best 
     practices, and carrying out a dissemination program for the 
     best practices that improve student academic achievement.
       ``(5) Evaluation of--
       ``(A) the activities of the centers; and
       ``(B) the impact of the activities of the centers on 
     teaching practices and student achievement.

     ``SEC. 265. ANNUAL MEETING OF THE CENTERS.

       ``The Secretary is authorized to convene an annual meeting 
     of all centers assisted under this subpart for the purpose of 
     enabling the centers to share information, research, and best 
     practices.

     ``SEC. 266. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may 
     be necessary to carry out this subpart for fiscal year 2006 
     and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

                    ``Subpart 4--General Provisions

     ``SEC. 271. ANNUAL REPORTS.

       (a) Report.--Each eligible partnership that receives a 
     grant, and each center that receives assistance, under this 
     part shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Health, 
     Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the 
     Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 
     Representatives, a report on the activities of the eligible 
     partnership or center, respectively, that are supported under 
     this part.
       (b) Date.--The report described in subsection (a) shall be 
     submitted 2 years after the date of enactment of the Teacher 
     Acculturation Act of 2005, and annually thereafter for the 
     duration of the grant or assistance, as the case may be.''.
                                 ______