Pacific Resources for Education and Learning

Enhancing community well-being through partnerships in education

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Equity Center: PREL/Education Northwest Collaborative

• Key Equity Issues
• Contact

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) and the Education Northwest partner to enhance equity-related training and technical assistance in the Pacific jurisdictions of American Samoa, the CNMI, the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap), Guam, Hawai'i, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau. Equity services and technical assistance are addressed through a Local Equity Team (LET) at each entity. This team is made of three representatives; the PREL service center coordinator, an SEA representative designated by the CSSO, and a third member who is either a classroom teacher, a school principal, or a school counselor. In total, there will be ten LETs which make up the Pacific Equity Cadre.

Equity Priority Areas for the Pacific Equity Cadre

The following priority areas are the focus of the Pacific Equity Cadre to disseminate information on, provide technical assistance as appropriate, or refer service requests on these issues to equity specialists at PREL or Education Northwest:

• Highly Qualified Teaching - "ensure equal access to highly qualified teachers and teachers of students particularly students who are disadvantaged or racial and ethnic minorities"
• English Learners - "incorporate research based strategies to provide students who are English learners with equitable access to high-quality education"
• Over/Underrepresentation of Minority Students - "address the overrepresentation of minorities in special educatioin and the underrepresentation of minorities in gifted and talented"
• Dropout Prevention and Reentry - "provide effective approaches to school dropout prevention that promote equity by addressing the specific needs of students who are at risk of dropping out, including students of color, students from low-income families, and students with limited English proficiency"

The Equity Center provides training and technical assistance on issues related to equity in education to ensure that all children, regardless of race, sex, or national origin, have equal access to quality education and the opportunity to develop high academic standards in reading, math, language arts, and other core subject areas.

The Equity Center helps public schools and communities incorporate educational equity into policies, procedures, and classroom practices to ensure that each student receives equally, fairly, and justifiably the same resources, opportunity, and treatment that he or she needs to succeed academically.

Key Equity Issues

Key equity issues addressed by the Center include the following:

• Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
• Disparities in achievement outcomes based on race, sex, or national origin
• Recruitment, training, and retention of highly qualified teachers
• Limited expectations for minority and female students
• Increasing violence and racial and sexual harassment in schools
• Renewed physical segregation among and within school buildings
• Ability grouping or tracking that isolates students based on race, sex, or national origin
• Persistence of stereotyping and bias
• Cultural bias in instructional methods and assessment tools
  Inadequate bilingual English language learner (ELL) programs and services
  Charter schools and magnet schools

Current Pacific Equity Cadre Team Members

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Contact

This work is funded by the U.S. Department of Education through a contract with the Education Northwest Equity Assistance Center. For additional information, contact Mr. Canisius T. Filibert, Equity Specialist, at filiberc@prel.org.

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