Resource Center

The IDRA Newsletter is published 10 times a year. Each edition focuses on issues in education, striving to provide many different perspectives on the topics covered and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. The IDRA Newsletter can only be mailed to U.S.addresses, but pdf and web copies are available online.

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November-December 2014 Issue ~ Articles

Students’ Civil rights is a Matter of Good Governance
School boards of education must protect and guarantee the civil rights of all learners. In this article, Bradley Scott, Ph.D., recounts the recent efforts of the South Central Collaborative for Equity with five school districts to create or revise critical policy concerns to ensure the protection of students’ civil rights in several areas.

Tracking the Learning and Tracking the Dollar – A School Board Member’s Priorities
Among the many responsibilities of school boards, monitoring student achievement and allocating funds responsibly are critical. In this article, taken from an interview conducted by Aurelio Montemayor, M.Ed., Velma Vela Ybarra, a school board member for Harlandale ISD, relates her motivation and experiences in this key post.

See interview below.

November – December 2014 Issue ~ Newsletter Plus  

Six Generations of Civil Rights in Education – Episode 132

Sixth Generation of Civil Rights and Educational Equity – Episode 113

Tool for Building Quality Schools – Episode 81

Fundamentals for School Change – Episode 52

Framing Systems Change for Student Success – Episode 8

Video: IDRA Highlights of Community Engagement and the PTA Comunitario Innovation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation 2013 Convening – The W.K Kellogg Foundation convened national leaders to highlight innovative approaches to family engagement in education. They visited IDRA to see how family engagement set up as a shared responsibility among families, schools and communities can transform schools for all children. Leaders of the first PTA Comunitario described their exciting and pioneering work for education among families living in South Texas colonias. [8:45 min]

“The Challenge of Seeing – Shaping the Sixth Generation of Civil Rights and Educational Equity” (Part 1)

Full Written Testimony: Texas Endorsement System Threatens to Track Poor and Minority Students http://www.idra.org/images/stories/SBOE_written_testimony_2013.pdf

“Tracking, Endorsements and Differentiated Diplomas – When ‘Different’ Really is Less”
http://www.idra.org/images/stories/Updated_IDRA_Policy_Note_Oct2013.pdf

IDRA OurSchool portal – designed to help you – educators and community members – find out how well your high school campus is preparing and graduating students, what factors may be weakening school holding power, and what you can do together to address them.

Six Goals of Educational Equity bilingual flier

IDRA PTA Comunitario Model – The Power of Family Leadership in Education… with a Powerful Twist

IDRA Family Leadership in Education Center website

IDRA’s Family Leadership Principles

Math Smart! & Science Smart! – A Systemic Leadership Model for Student Success in Math and Science
In closing achievement gaps in mathematics and science, the nation has made minimal gains since 2005, while the diversity of our nation’s students has grown dramatically. Math Smart! and Science Smart!, developed by the Intercultural Development Research Association and tested in partnership with diverse school districts, are designed to address these gaps. 

IDRA’s Quality Schools Action Framework™

Courage to Connect: A Quality Schools Action Framework
At a time when public education makes a world of difference to our students, communities and economic success, many are looking for strategies that will work for them and that will last. Courage to Connect: A Quality Schools Action Framework shows how communities and schools can work together to strengthen their capacity to be successful with all of their students.