Windsor High Study Looks to Make Town Model for Nation

When Loyola University-Chicago professor Dr. Marlon James was introduced to the public in September 2012, he and his plan for educational reform in town were received by both open arms and hostility.

His talk of underperforming ethnic groups and proposal to take action founded in multicultural education had some in Windsor crying "hallelujah," while others cried "foul."

James' second introduction to the public, which took place April 6 in an L.P. Wilson meeting room, was decidedly different, however.

From the outset of his presentation — an event meant to provide community and school district members with clarity regarding a planned study to improve performance in the district — James was a different man.

Instead of an out-of-towner pitching an out-of-this-world idea to gain a contract to perform a controversial study, James spoke to community members Saturday as a father, a phd who once struggled academically, a man who said he saw Windsor as the best opportunity for the nation to improve.

"I believe Windsor has a social, moral opportunity. Being its our founding township, and its struggling with excellence for all kids, I just feel if we can't figure it out here, then morally, socially, we're going to struggle to figure it out anywhere," James said following his presentation. "This is why I'm here. Because of the potential for Windsor to be a national model."

For years, Windsor, alongside communities across the nation, have struggled with what is called an achievement gap — the difference in performance between various ethnic and socio-economic groups. The largest gap in that between African American male students and European American students.

While studies and initiatives have been put in place and competed in cities throughout the country aimed at closing this gap, James was explicit in Windsor's inability to succeed using the same techniques.

Windsor is a different town than any other place in which large achievement gaps have been identified and analyzed.

According to James, all information collected to inform gap-closing measures have been collected through research in urban areas. Moreover, the research has been conducted in areas where there is a large minority population; students and their families are immersed in poverty; and educational facilities are sub-par.

Windsor, James said Saturday, does not fit this description, and, therefore, information collected in such a school district cannot be applied here.

"Windsor is not an urban area," he said. Windsor, he continued, has families earning strong levels of income. Windsor, he said, has excellent facilities.

Accordingly, there is an opportunity to gather new data, develop new theories and take new action to improve education across the district, James said.

James' message still received criticism Saturday, although it mas markedly clear every individual in the meeting room was present because he or she was invested in seeing a Windsor with a different educational profile, a Windsor capable of boasting its present educational achievements as loudly as it's able to boast about its rich history.

James addressed much of the criticism of and controversy over his study, saying that no media outlet has covered the equity and excellence review in a balance manner. Moreover, no media outlet has effectively reported the complexities — complexities central to the study's potential for success — because they are concerned with the ability to sell papers.

James also addressed an October 2012 Hartford Courant article in which he was described as having the theory "that white teachers, who represent about 90 percent of educators, have an implicit bias that leads them to expect less from minority students."

'"First we have to make them aware that it's happening, and we're not talking about them being a bad person," said James, an assistant professor at Loyola, in Chicago."They perceive that minorities can't handle the same workload as white kids," he said, adding that research shows that black and Hispanic students tend to be placed in more remedial classes and receive less homework than white and Asian students,' the article continues.

The article also quoted Nilanjana Dasgupta, UMass-Amherst social psychologist, as having echoed James' statement, saying, "Even those of us who have egalitarian beliefs, we learn implicit stereotypes about who we think will be successful or not... That manifests itself in the classroom."

Dasgupta also told the Hartford Courant such learned stereotypes manifested in our daily lives are not about hostility toward that group.

James said Saturday his comments represented two sentences in three days of conversation with the Hartford Courant.

The article did its best at summarizing three days of conversation into a short article, but it was unsuccessful in its attempt. James said.

To help explain the complexities of his study and view on education, James said a number of community meetings and meetings with Windsor High staff (the first being held on Monday) are planned.

Saturday, James described that view as a belief in adapting teaching practices to the cultural practices of students.

Multicultural education, James said, is based in student collaboration rather than individual work or teacher-centered teaching.

"Some kids, in some cultures respond better to small groups and shared work versus individualistic work. That's where multicultural education comes in. And you can tell whether or not by going home and seeing how their families teach at home," said James.

"What we find when we go and study Latino families, Native American families and African American families is that the kids are taught at home within the context of family, within the context of groups. But in classrooms it's individual, and if you work together, you're accused of cheating," James continued.

The idea of taking action based on the underperformance of one or two groups  took a hit Saturday. Windsor school board member Leonard Lockhart (D) told those in attendance the community should put such talk to bed, and that the study looks to improve academic performance for students belonging to all ethnic groups. There is, in fact, an achievement gap between Europan American students and Asian students, Lockhart said, adding he hopes the study can help close that gap, as well.