[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.''.
______