Instructional Leadership

The current school that I work in uses a method of breaking down historical test
scores and current MAP and MCA data to place students in strategic math and
reading classes. These class placements often cause incoming 6th graders to lose
electives in their tightly packed schedule. In some cases where there are students
who are significantly below grade level in both math and reading, the American
History class is also removed from the schedule. This causes students to be
clustered in ways that are detrimental to student learning.
The change in schedule causes students to be isolated and removed from
many of their peers in elective classes in order to have two math and two reading
classes a day. The classes that they are pulled from are classes that are often seen
as enjoyable. School no longer is a place that is fun. School is seen as a place
where they still arent good enough to be with their peers.
The racial make up of these classes often does not represent the racial
diversity of the school. Moving to a culturally responsive inclusive model of
differentiation would allow for individual growth without excluding or clustering
these students of color. As a principal, I would try to move away from this type of
exclusionary placement, and move to a model that includes all students of all levels.