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Heritage Trails logoAACPS Heritage Trails

Interested in connecting with local African American history and culture?  Visit the AACPS Heritage Trails site to learn more and plan a visit.  Check back as more sites will be added in the future!

http://heritage-trails.org/sites/

Office of Equity Assurance & Human Relations
 

Mediated Agreement Between AACPS & the County NAACP, et al

The Anne Arundel County Public Schools Office of Equity Assurance & Human Relations is the liaison office between Anne Arundel County Public Schools and the community, ensuring the goals and terms of the Office for Civil Rights Memorandum of Agreement to address education disparities for African-American students are met.  In addition, the office is a resource for parents, schools and communities to provide information and best practices and to facilitate the development of partnerships to assist schools and communities to create and/or increasing support for the academic achievement, social development, and positive relationships for public school students.

Accelerating Academic Achievement for African American Students

Survey of Church and Community Services Programs

Our vision is to influence the school system and community to embrace all children in developing, encouraging, and ensuring high levels of academic achievement, social skills, and school success!

Objectives
  • Provide direction, information, training and resources and support to facilitate meeting the OCR goals, monitor the progress and report the status and results to all stakeholders.
  • Develop and assist a cadre of community stakeholders committed to develop student support initiatives designed to accelerate academic achievement and social skill development for school success.
  • Facilitate increasing school-based programs that help prepare children for school and school success.
  • Provide on-going professional development to staff on cultural proficiency and related topics.
  • Provide support and instruction to teachers to change or augment curriculum and instructional delivery techniques that are culturally responsive.
  • Act as a clearing house for research and effective school and community practices impacting the goals of the OCR agreement.

 

Building Capacity to Address Disparities in Education 

Areas Monitored Under the Office for Civil Rights Memorandum of Agreement (OCR MOA)

  • Academic Achievement

  • Maryland School Assessments

  • High School Assessments

  • Graduation Rates

  • Access and Success in Rigorous Instructional Opportunities

  • Special Education Identification and Placement

The following resource guide provides materials and suggested school-based interventions designed for school personnel to use in addressing factors linked with the disproportionate identification of African Americans, Hispanics, and speakers of other languages in special education.  The interventions contained in this resource guide may be generalized for use to all minority groups overrepresented in special education. 

  • Safe and Supportive Learning Environments

  • Referrals, Suspensions and Expulsions

  • Placement and Success in Alternative Programs

  • Biased Motivation Behaviors
     

  • Community Engagement

  • Soliciting Education Stakeholders to advocate for resources and programs

  • Engaging the Community in Supporting Student Achievement

Initiatives

  • Established an Office of Equity Assurance and Human Relations - October, 2006

  • Added Outreach Specialists to reach out to parents, schools and communities- January, 2008

  • Schools are aligned in K-12 vertical teams enabling strategies to be implemented for students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

  • Equity is infused in each goal of the 2007-2012 Strategic Plan 2007-2012 and requires parity for all student groups.

  • Academic Achievement Steering Committees have been established in schools that did not meet the “No Child Left Behind”  “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP)

  • Implementing a plan to become a Culturally Proficient school system.  Over 600 central office and school leaders, student services personnel, select teacher groups, and school secretaries have participated in one or two days of Cultural Proficiency professional development.

  • Equity Liaisons at each school will contribute to School Improvement Team planning and on-going school-based Cultural Proficiency.

  • Using Data to identify areas to target resources and support to individual students.

  • Implementing system-wide “Differentiated Instruction;” a method of planning and teaching and a philosophy that enables teachers to plan strategically in order to reach the needs of diverse learners in classrooms today.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ Role in Monitoring and Meeting the Terms of the Office of Civil Rights Memorandum of Agreement (OCR MOA) (ppt)