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  • Essay / Texas Schools and Diversity - 1648

    In 2007-2008, Texas schools had a wide ethnic distribution of students. Specifically, African American students made up 14.3% of the overall student population; the Hispanic student population was 47.2%; and 34.8% of the student population was white. The smallest groups represented included Native Americans and Asian Pacific Islanders, with Native American students and teachers making up only 0.3% of students (Texas Education Agency, 2009). According to demographic projections, minority populations are expected to increase significantly over the next 20 years (NCES, 2007). The most academically at-risk students represented the African American and Hispanic populations. Due to their at-risk status, they were insufficiently prepared and lacked the skills necessary to achieve a higher level of education (Carter, 2009). Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), schools are responsible for ensuring that all students, including students from culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse backgrounds, have the opportunity to obtain a high quality education. quality and master the state's demanding academic standards and assessments. The goal of NCLB is not only to provide students with a quality education, but also to close the achievement gap that exists between African American and Hispanic students and their white counterparts, a gap that has remained significant throughout the over the last 10 years (Chartock, 2010). ). Concern over the low achievement of African Americans and other students of color has led researchers to advocate for teachers to be more culturally sensitive in their teaching (Au, 1993; Blair & Jones, 1998; Delpit, 1995; Gay, 2000; Demographic change poses new challenges to the cultural diversity of schools. Culturally responsive educators must create culturally responsive classrooms, schools, and eventually school districts. Schools must transform into a culturally responsive education system (Brown, 2007). Statement of the Problem Brown (1998) stated that the United States is no longer a European, Anglo-Saxon America. Instead, it is a group made up of different people from various places who contribute to the betterment of the nation. Diversity permeates our government, our communities and our schools. “This change in the racial, cultural and linguistic diversity of the student body is not the problem. The problem lies in how educators have responded to this change” (Brown, 2007, p. 57). Current changes in diversity are inevitable. “Diversity is not a choice, but our responses certainly are” (Howard,