1. Culturally Responsive - Positive
Behavioral Interventions and
Supports:
A commitment to equity in school
cultures
January 16, 2014
8:30AM – 10:00AM
2014 ACSA Every Child Counts Symposium
Monterey, CA
Presented by:
Nancy Dome, Ed.D and
Dora J. Dome, Esq.

3. Dora J. Dome Biography
Dora J. Dome has practiced Education Law for over 17 years, primarily in the areas of
student issues and special education. She currently provides legal representation to school
districts on student issues, and has renewed her emphasis on developing and conducting
professional development trainings for district staff that focus on Bullying, Equity and Legal
Compliance in a proactive effort to build staff capacity to address the changing needs of their
students.
Ms. Dome’s work with Bullying focuses on helping school districts create the necessary
infrastructure to identify and address bullying in schools and to provide staff with effective
strategies to respond to various forms of bullying and harassment. Her Equity trainings examine
diversity and equity issues facing school districts such as examining stereotypes that impact
attitudes and behavior of staff and students, identifying the harmful effects of stereotypes within
the school setting, and coaching staff to develop skills to identify, interrupt and prevent
discriminatory behavior. Ms. Dome’s legal compliance trainings provide up-to-date information
and guidance on how to ’stay legal’ in the areas of special education, student discipline and
Section 504.
Admitted to the Hawaii State Bar in 1996, Ms. Dome served as a special education consultant
and trainer for the Hawaii State Department of Education and Hawaii State Department of Health
for five years. Ms. Dome was admitted to the California Bar in 2003. She worked with the
education law firm of Dannis Woliver Kelley, (fka Miller Brown and Dannis) for eight years.
Ms. Dome has studied in the areas of Race and Ethnicity, Critical Legal Studies and Critical
Race Theory and has been certified as a Cultural Diversity Trainer by the National Coalition
Building Institute (aka NCBI). She has developed and conducted trainings for numerous school
districts and school boards in the areas of student diversity and equity, student and special
education discipline, harassment/discrimination, bullying, special education, No Child Left
Behind, alternative assessments for African American students, Section 504, and student records.
Ms. Dome also regularly presents at association conferences such as ACSA, CSBA and
CASCWA. She also participated on the Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundations (aka GLAF)
Keynote Panel on “Race and Racism in LGBT Athletics” and presented at the NCAA Black
Coaches Association Annual Conference on “Homophobia in Sports.” She graduated from
University of Hawaii, Richardson School of Law (J.D.) and from University of California, Los
Angeles (B.A.).
Ms. Dome is an Adjunct Professor at Mills College and a Lecturer at the University of California
at Berkeley, teaching Education Law and Policy in the administrative credential programs for
soon to be administrators.

4. 1/8/14
Culturally Responsive - Positive
Behavioral Interventions and
Supports:
A commitment to equity in school cultures
January 16, 2014
8:30AM – 10:00AM
2014 ACSA Every Child Counts Symposium
Presented
by:
Nancy
A.
Dome,
Ed.D.
Dora
J.
Dome,
Esq
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 1
What is School-wide Positive
Behavior Support (PBIS)?
A systems approach for establishing
the social culture and behavioral
supports needed for a school to be
an effective learning environment for
all students.
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 2
What Does Culturally Responsive
(CR) Add to the definition of PBIS?
A systems approach to address
enduring educational equity issues,
such as the racialization of discipline
and outcome disparities, and
establishing the social culture and
behavioral supports needed for a
school to be safe, inclusive, and an
effective learning environment for all
students.
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 3
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW
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5. 1/8/14
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 4
What Do you Make of the Data?
Why are African American Students
disciplined at a disproportionate
rate?
What beliefs do we hold about
African American children that allow
this disproportionality to continue?
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 5
Why CR?
One
cannot
assume
that
interven0ons
intended
to
improve
behavior
will
be
effec0ve
to
the
same
degree
for
all
groups.
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 6
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW
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6. 1/8/14
Asking the Right
Questions
Thinking Historically,
Acting Systemically
What are the long-lasting cultural
assumptions in the US education
system that systematically shape
school climate, rituals, and routines?
How do we re-frame questions
to understand the impact of
school culture on
disproportionality in discipline?
What practices are needed to
acknowledge cultural differences
among people, histories, groups,
and how they facilitate learning?
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 7
Understanding School Culture
Core
Values
Heroes
and
Leaders
These
are
the
values
arDculated
and
understood
by
staff,
students,
and
parents
These
are
the
individuals
showcased
throughout
the
school
Rewards
&
Reinforcements
These
are
the
ways
behaviors
(good
&
bad)
are
reinforced.
Culture
Network
These
are
the
stories
told
around
the
school
ArDfacts
Rituals
&
Ceremonies
These
are
the
objects,
arDfacts,
costumes
and
other
physical
evidence
of
the
school
culture
These
are
the
daily
events
taking
place
in
the
school
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 8
Asking the Right
Questions
Thinking Systemically,
Acting Personally
What are my school’s
cultural practices related to
student behavior and
discipline?
How does my school’s
culture impact the
disproportionality in our
discipline data?
What practices can our school
undertake to effectively
address disproportionality in
discipline?
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 9
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW
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7. 1/8/14
Elements
of
CR
-­‐
PBIS
Social
Competence
&
Academic
Achievement
Cultural Equity
OUTCOMES
SupporDng
Staff
Behavior
Cultural
Knowledge
and SelfAwareness
SYSTEMS
DATA
Cultural
Validity
SupporDng
Decision-­‐
Making
PRACTICES
Cultural
Relevance
and
ValidaDon
SupporDng
Student
Behavior
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 10
How do we integrate CR into our
practice?
• Collaborate
with
families
and
community
members
in
teaching
and
reinforcing
school-­‐wide
behavioral
expectaDons.
• Monitor
disproporDonality
between
dominant
and
non-­‐dominant
groups
by
collecDng
and
reviewing
disaggregated
student
disciplinary
data.
• Provide
professional
development
aimed
at
increasing
awareness
of
differences
between
a
teacher’s
own
and
a
non-­‐dominant
student’s
cultural
paWerns
of
communicaDon
styles,
roles
of
authority,
etc.
that
improve
interpretaDon
of
problem
behaviors.
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 11
PBIS Component
CR-PBIS
DATA
• Understand the cultural practices of
your school.
• Disaggregate data to highlight
disproportionality in practice.
SYSTEMS (Define and teach positive
social expectations)
• Understand the cultural norms
held by teachers, students, and
parents.
• Involve the community in
establishing social expectations.
PRACTICES (supporting student
behavior)
• Culturally responsive intervention,
teaching & learning
• Inclusive and equitable learning
community
OUTCOMES (supporting social
competence, academic achievement)
• Communication with students,
parents, and community to connect
positive outcomes in schools to
overall well-being throughout
society.
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 12
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW
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8. 1/8/14
How do we know when we’re
making progress?
• ShiX
from
teaching
desired
behaviors
to
creaDng
opportuniDes
to
learn.
• ShiX
from
understanding
culture
as
a
variable
to
exploring
the
cultures
in
schools
as
contextual
mediators.
• Expansion
of
viewing
PBIS
desired
outcomes
from
reducDons
in
referrals
to
encompassing
societal
interacDons
resulDng
in
greater
well-­‐being
for
all
students.
• ShiX
from
cultural
assimilaDon
to
student,
family,
and
community
empowerment.
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 13
Action Plan
Recognize It.
• Develop clear definitions of disproportionality.
• Disaggregate data to highlight disproportionality in practice.
• Conduct a School Climate Survey to understand the cultural
perceptions regarding discipline that exist among staff,
students, and parents.
Interrupt It.
• Analyze disciplinary practices that result in predictable
disproportionality.
• Involve the community in establishing social expectations.
• Balance zero tolerance policies and consideration of students’
intentions for misbehavior.
• Establish protocols for ongoing self-reflection to unmask
unconscious racial and cultural bias.
Repair It.
• Establish PBIS team that reflects district diversity (race,
ethnicity, teachers, admins, special ed., families).
• Develop culturally responsive instructional and classroom
management strategies and train teachers to use them.
• Seek alternative disciplinary approaches and procedures.
• Establish a learning community to connect positive outcomes
in schools to overall well-being throughout society.
• Apprise the extent intervention works for all groups.
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 14
The Shift
from this…
Educators
most
o;en
assume
that
schools
work
and
that
students,
parents
and
community
need
to
change
to
conform
to
this
already
effec0ve
and
equitable
system.
—
Tara
J.
Yosso
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 15
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW
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9. 1/8/14
…to this
The
moral
purpose
of
the
systemic
change
effort
via
CRPBIS
is
for
forming
safe,
posi0ve,
suppor0ve,
inclusive
school
cultures
for
ALL.
—
Equity
Alliance
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 16
THANK YOU!
Dr.
Nancy
Dome
Pacific
EducaDonal
Group
nancy@pacificeducaDonalgroup.com
858.334.5260
Website:
hWp://pacificeducaDonalgroup.com
Dora
Dome
Law
610
16th
Street,
Suite
305
Oakland,
California
94612
510.464.DOME
(3663)
office
510.301.6667
cellular
510.291.9599
fax
ddome@doradomelaw.com
e-­‐mail
www.doradomelaw.com
web
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW p. 17
© 2014 DORA DOME LAW
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