FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dear MSAN Educators:

Welcome to a new school year and to the new on-line version of Network News - the newsletter written by and for educators in the Minority Student Achievement Network. You may not have seen the Network News for a while, or you may not be familiar with the Minority Student Achievement Network, so now is the time to do some catching up.

For the past 10 years, the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN) has published Network News as a way to communicate among MSAN districts and other educators. The newsletter highlights how the 25 districts in the Network are working collaboratively to conduct and publish research, analyze policies, and examine practices that affect the academic performance of students of color. Read more.

MSAN DISTRICT SPOTLIGHT
Evanston Township High School District 202

One of the goals MSAN has set for itself is to ensure all of our students successfully complete Algebra by the end of 9th grade. At a recent MSAN Mini-Conference, educators from Evanston Township High School District 202 (ETHS) facilitated an interactive workshop around their high school's successful use of a newly developed algebra intervention strategy - Academic Youth Development (AYD).

Laura Cooper, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, Eugenia Brelias, Math Department Chair, and Margaret Petrof, Math Teacher shared key insights from their district's experiences implementing AYD, the latest research in successful curricular and instructional supports for students, and the role of professional learning communities to initiate growth in algebra.

Learn more bout ETHS's work with AYD.

Get more information about Academic Youth Development

SHARING OUR PROMISING PRACTICES

A Promising Practice from... Columbia Public Schools
One of the main goals of our network is to share strategies that show promise in closing the achievement gaps that persist in our districts. What do we mean by "shows promise"? An MSAN Promising Practice is one which accelerates learning for students of color AND for which we have evidence the practice is effective over time and/or with multiple groups of students. Columbia Public School District, Columbia, MO, shares one of their district's promising practices aimed at increasing the number of students of color taking AP/Honors courses and enrolling in college.

IN THE NEWS

In 2007 MSAN moved from Evanston Township High School District 202 in Evanston, Illinois to the Wisconsin Center for Education Research located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As part of a larger consortium of educational research MSAN's capacity for engaging in intervention-focused evaluation projects has expanded exponentially.
Read more.

RECOMMENDED READING

Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real about Race in School
Edited by Mica Pollick (2008) / Published by The New Press

The Trouble with Black Boys... and Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the Future of Public Education
by Pedro A. Noguera (2008) / Published by Jossey-Bass Publishers

Toward Equity with Excellence: An Emerging Vision for Closing the Achievement Gap
by Ronald F. Ferguson (2007) / Published by Harvard Education Press

UPCOMING EVENTS

2009 Annual MSAN Student Conference

September 23-26, 2009 - Skokie, IL
Hosted by Evanston Township High School District 202 and Oak Parkand River Forest High School District 200

2009-2010 MSAN Mini-Conference Schedule

• Ensuring Cultural Competence through Professional Development/New Teacher Induction
  Hosted by Madison Metropolitan School District, Evanston Township High School District, and Columbia Public Schools
  March 4-5, 2010 - Columbia, MO

• Literacy Transitions: Grades 2-3 and 8-9
  Hosted by Cambridge Public Schools
  May 6-7, 2010 - Cambridge, MA

• Disproportionality in Special Education: Our Collective Next Steps
  November 4-5, 2010