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Learn How to Bridge the Culture and Poverty Gap in Education

February 22, 2021 written by PDC

Learn How to Bridge the Culture and Poverty Gap in Education

Throughout the United States, a staggeringly large population of students attended K-12 schools while living in extreme poverty or homelessness. According to the U.S. Department of Education, “the number of homeless students enrolled in public school districts, and reported by state educational agencies (SEAs), during the School Year 2016-2017 was 1,355,821.” While homelessness is not the only adverse childhood experience some children may face, it can negatively affect their education and lives if these students are not provided with basic needs, resources, compassion, and tools to succeed.

However, A brain that is susceptible to adverse environmental effects, such as poverty and adverse childhood experiences, is equally vulnerable to the positive impact of a rich, fully balanced learning environment and caring relationships. Therefore, it is crucial to learn how to identify and support the unique needs of students from backgrounds of homelessness, trauma, and diverse cultures.

 

Importance of the Course Bridging the Culture and Poverty Gap in Education

With the onset of distance learning and the subsequent changes in students’ school and personal lives, students living with adverse childhood experiences are more deeply impacted. Now more than ever, these students need to rely on a solid foundation from their school and teachers to help weather these uncertain times and changes. It is up to teachers to equip themselves with tools to help build students’ resilience, self-esteem, and character as schools improve the academic achievements and life readiness of students of poverty and other adverse childhood experiences.

The course Bridging the Culture and Poverty Gap in Education, offered by Professional Development Courses at the University of La Verne, will help pave the way for K-12 teachers and administrators by providing evidence-based resources and strategies to help them successfully teach all students.

 

Benefits of the Course Bridging the Culture and Poverty Gap in Education

Whether you are a teacher, administrator, counselor, or educational consultant, you will benefit from the highly-respected education experts' outstanding research and experience. Through their extensive backgrounds in brain research, education, curriculum alignment, transformational leadership, and school improvement, teachers and administrators will learn how to implement a comprehensive set of instructional strategies and motivational tools to significantly impact student learning when adverse childhood experiences and poverty come into play.

Topics include:

• Understand and appreciate the role of culture and poverty in the classroom, and learn how to translate this knowledge into specific activities and effective strategies to ensure higher student achievement.
• Absorb information about the brain’s desire to learn with particular attention to students of diverse populations and poverty.
• Benefit from current research and information regarding working effectively with different student populations to ensure higher student achievement in today’s diverse classroom.
• Learn techniques so that we no longer talk about change while maintaining a philosophy of excuses.
• Understand what poverty is and how it affects students in school, including information about the importance of these students’ resiliency.
• Learn how schools can support their staff to create a trauma-informed learning environment.
• Educators will learn how to care for themselves in order to effectively care for their students.
• Gain insight on how teachers can build on students’ prior knowledge and help forge new connections, particularly those from poverty and diverse cultures.
• Learn how to effectively teach procedural and declarative knowledge and to prepare students for high-stakes tests.
• Gain an appreciation for the effective methods of how to engage the resources necessary to make change happen within today’s diverse classrooms.
• Benefit from the knowledge that shines a spotlight on how to enrich the minds and lives of all students, no matter their economic status or cultural backgrounds.

 

Bridging the Culture and Poverty Gap in Education Course Contents

Bridging the Culture and Poverty Gap in Education provides a comprehensive framework that is conveyed in a concise, reader-friendly format that walks educators through the philosophies, research, and strategies behind this approach.  Focus is also placed on a whole-staff approach to wellness to meet the needs of students with adverse childhood experiences.

Course contents include:

• Culture and Poverty
• Motivation from Within
• Resiliency – Why It Matters
• Teaching Declarative Knowledge
• Teaching Procedural Knowledge (or Process)
• The Role of Leadership in the Poverty School
• Closing the Achievement Gaps
• ACEs and the New Normal
• The Effects of Trauma on the Brain
• Teaching Behaviors, Differentiating, Interventions, Changing Pedagogy
• Transformationist Actions

The curriculum was designed for busy working K-12 teachers who want the flexibility and convenience of a distance learning course that will earn graduate credit from an accredited university. All content is self-paced, written in user-friendly language, and can be completed in an online or via emailed PDF format.

Successful completion of Bridging the Culture and Poverty Gap in Education, offered by Professional Development Courses at the University of La Verne, can help teachers make noticeable impacts on the lives of their students. The new skills and credits received may also boost your professional career, qualifying you for potential promotions, pay increases, or license renewal/recertification.

This three-semester credit course counts towards the University of La Verne’s 15-credit certificate in Instructing and Supporting English Language Learners. Other popular course options for this certificate include:

• The Multicultural Classroom
• English Language Learners’ Struggles: Signs of Difficulty—or Disability?
• Hispanic Culture: Present and Future
• Teaching the Latino Student
• How the ELL Brain Learns
• Achieving Success for English Language Learners

 Note, the University of La Verne is accreditedby the Western Association of Schools. Since requirements may vary, students should check with their school district or state department of education before enrolling in any course.

 

How to Register

Bridging the Culture and Poverty Gap in Education is completed in an online or via emailed PDF format. It is open for anyone to register at any time during each semester. After completion, students receive graduate, non-degree semester credit reflected on an official transcript from the university. 

Registration is fast and straightforward and can be done online or over the phone. Courses are offered on a rolling basis during three standard semesters, and you can begin whenever you are ready! Students may enroll in up to 15 credits each semester. The registration dates are:

• Fall: September 1 - January 31
• Spring: February 1 - May 31
• Summer: June 1 - August 31

The vital information and proven techniques will help you close the poverty and culture gap to ensure that you are reaching every student in today’s diverse classrooms, thereby benefiting the student, his or her family, the school, and more.