Help others when they need it, not when you want to give it.

Advocating for children, families, and caregivers expresses a school leader’s desire to promote the success of every student.  An important lesson I learned this during my studies at New York University is to look for evidences of help that is needed when it is needed.  In other words, see the need on the ground even when others don’t.

I believe in dedicating time and space within schools for social workers and giving space and time to community coordinators and community programs.

In this way, the community and student’s families and caregivers enrich the school community.  This type of pastoral care and interest in building school-community relations should lead to student academic and social success. 

By unifying the school with its community, education is brought to the forefront of a child’s environment.  Uniting the efforts of home, school, and community strengthens the “educational community” that supports students’ learning, development, and success.  I believe that it is the responsibility of the school leader to ensure that every child’s educational environment is united and accounted for, supporting and strengthening it dynamically throughout the child’s education.

I devoted one of my elective classes in New York University’s educational leadership program to taking a graduate course in social work entitled “Culturally Competent Practice with Urban Youth and Families” in order to increase my awareness of community-based concerns.  This class provided the link that I needed to help me to understand the importance of community collaboration within schools.  Particularly, advocating for and understanding community-based causes and performing culturally responsive leadership is of importance to me. 

Attached you will find an example of how I learned to become culturally competent, with a modeled assessment of a fictional, troubled urban youth.  The paper proposes that in order to be a culturally competent practitioner with urban youth and families, two objectives must be met:

1. Assessment based on multiple perspectives to highlight the interrelatedness of the impact of negative factors.

2. An understanding of the diversity of ethnic groups and an ability to engage in antiracist communication and practices.

Looking at the impacts the fictional student has had developmentally, ecologically, and culturally and utilizing these three perspectives at each of the five domains of functioning, created an understanding of how the various impacts interrelate.  Finally, a guide is provided for those working with urban youth and families to assist them in understanding antiracism and becoming more self-aware and antiracist, thus leading to more culturally competent practices and assisting in increasing one’s ability to advocate for children, families, and caregivers.