College of Education Faculty Offer Training to New Teachers at Ann Richards School - June 18, 2007

Faculty members from the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction participated in a recent training session for teachers at the newly-formed Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. The school is located in Austin, Texas.

The day of training focused on increasing teachers’ education and awareness about cultural diversity as well as tips for building and maintaining a school culture that sustains optimum physical and emotional health.

Dr. Dolly Lambdin, Dr. Fred Peterson and Melanie Barnes from kinesiology and health education spoke to the teachers about risk behaviors in which teenagers engage as well as healthy behaviors that school cultures may or may not support. Teachers brainstormed in small groups about ways that the Ann Richards School could promote healthy behaviors among the faculty and students and also participated in a yoga session, led by Barnes, that demonstrated moves the teachers could use with their students in order to help them focus or become more energized.

“In addition to talking to teachers about healthy behaviors,” says Lambdin, “I also co-presented with Dr. Rebecca Bigler, a psychology professor, in a presentation about cultural stereotypes that teachers may bring to the classroom. We facilitated a discussion that encouraged teachers to think about biases they have and how those may affect their teaching. We also talked specifically about working with Latino families and about cultural norms – such as gender roles and language differences – that may inform the teachers’ interactions with Latino parents.”

In addition, Dr. Kevin Foster, an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction’s Cultural Studies in Education program, spoke to the teachers about making the most of parent involvement at the new school.

“When you’re starting a new school,” says Foster, “you have limitless possibilities as far as the structures and policies you put in place. Successful schools feature a shared sense of individual and community identity that all participants can enjoy – with a private school, you have a wonderful opportunity for proactive identity construction. People are choosing to come into that space, and parents realize that they can have more control.

“To optimize this powerful sense of community, teachers must be sensitive to their interactions with all parents and work to understand ‘where they’re coming from.’ Otherwise, there can be estrangement of families who are look different, talk differently and dress differently from the teacher and from families the teacher may have dealt with in the past. When we embrace crass generalizations about how you deal with black parents or brown parents or single-parent families, for example, we fail.”

The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders will open this fall with classes for girls in grades six and seven. A grade will be added each year until 12th grade. More than half of the students enrolled to begin classes this fall are Hispanic and about 13 percent are African American.

—Kay Randall, University Communications, 512-232-3910

Related Links:

• Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders