Cultural Competency Action Plan for Urban Charter Schools
This paper develops a cultural competency action plan for an urban charter school in Chicago, Illinois. It begins by examining two major trends — globalization and the growing call for social justice — that have heightened the need for cultural competence in educational settings. The paper then analyzes how these trends have affected the school's diverse student body, which is predominantly African American and largely composed of low-income, disabled, and homeless students. Drawing on scholarly literature and Scripture, the paper proposes concrete policy changes, a staff and faculty training program focused on passion, accountability, leadership, and teamwork, and a three-week summer implementation timeline to prepare educators for culturally responsive community engagement.
- Introduction: Defines cultural competence and previews paper scope
- Trends Increasing the Need for Cultural Competence in Schools: Globalization and social justice as key drivers
- How These Trends Have Impacted Schools: Diversity demographics and school-level implications
- Action Plan: Policies to Add or Change: Community service mandates and home-visit policy
- Training for Faculty and Staff: Leadership, teamwork, and accountability training content
- Timeframe for Implementation: Three-week summer crash course structure
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper moves logically from macro-level trends (globalization, social justice) down to school-level demographics and then to a concrete, actionable plan — giving the argument a clear, layered structure.
- It integrates both scholarly citations and Scriptural references consistently throughout, reinforcing its values-based rationale alongside academic evidence.
- The action plan section is unusually specific, naming a three-week training window, morning session hours, and lunch provisions — lending the proposal practical credibility rather than remaining purely theoretical.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates how to build a policy proposal on a contextual foundation: it establishes the "why" (trends and their impact) before moving to the "what" (policy changes and training content) and the "when" (implementation timeline). This cause-to-solution structure is a standard technique in education policy writing and keeps the reader oriented at each stage of the argument.
Structure breakdown
The paper comprises six sections. The introduction defines cultural competence and previews the paper's scope. Two sections analyze globalization and social justice as driving trends and trace their effects on the specific school's demographics. Three sections then constitute the action plan: proposed policy additions, a faculty and staff training program, and a realistic summer implementation timeline. The conclusion is embedded within the timeframe section rather than appearing as a standalone section.
Introduction
Cultural competence is the process of continually learning about, appreciating, and accepting other cultures so as to be able to incorporate various world views into the problem-solving process (Kumagai & Lypson, 2009). One way to do this in the field of education is to bring diverse families into the forum of educational discourse, thereby unlocking the hidden potential that teachers, parents, and community leaders can achieve through collaboration (Thiers, 2017). This paper examines two trends that have increased the need for cultural competence in schools — globalization and the call for social justice — and considers how these trends have affected schools. It then provides an action plan for a charter school in Chicago, Illinois, discussing policies to change, training to be provided for staff and faculty, and a timeframe for initiation.
Trends Increasing the Need for Cultural Competence in Schools
Globalization is "the process whereby polities, economies, institutions and actors at all levels of society become increasingly connected across national borders" (Robertson, 2015, p. 4). One reason for this interconnectedness is the integration of trade around the world. Another is the growing policy of open borders, as is the case in the EU; open borders facilitate immigration and the diversification of communities (Burridge, 2010). While the United States does not have an open-borders policy per se, it does have a porous border. Communities have become more diverse over the decades, which means schools need educators and staff who are culturally competent so that they can respond to the various issues and needs of a diverse student body and community. Schools that fail to account for this diversity and focus only on the majority population marginalize the rest, and fail to consider the biblical principle found in James 2:1: "My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory."
There is also an increasing call for social justice, which holds that underserved populations should be respected and appreciated more than they currently are. Social justice necessitates cultural competency because disparities exist in education, jobs, living standards, and socioeconomic development (Kumagai & Lypson, 2009). By neglecting these underserved populations, schools do a disservice to them. From a Christian perspective, this approach falls short of the biblical call found in Romans 12:16: "Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight." In other words, everyone should be treated as equals, as brothers and sisters.
How These Trends Have Impacted Schools
These trends have affected schools in two ways: on one hand, they have increased the need for cultural competency among faculty and staff as schools themselves are now more diverse than before; on the other hand, because schools have not fully addressed these trends, there is a growing call for social justice. Scripture offers clear guidance for how schools should proceed. First Corinthians 14:26 states, "What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up." This means that schools should represent their communities inclusively and welcome everyone into one body, for "there are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning" (1 Cor. 14:10). Additionally, "just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ" (1 Cor. 12:12–30). In short, schools have a duty to respect diversity, yet this is easier said than done.
Data distributed by the Illinois Network of Charter Schools shows that the school's student body consists of 96% African Americans, 3% Hispanic, and 1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or other races (School Performance, 2017). These students also come from varied backgrounds with respect to language, family status, physical and mental ability, and socioeconomic status: 95% are from low-income families, 12% have disabilities, 20% are listed as homeless, and 2% lack English proficiency (School Performance, 2017). Clearly, there is a need to address the diversity issues arising from these demographics. Isaiah 56:1 reminds us: "Thus says the Lord: 'Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.'"
References
Burridge, A. (2010). Youth on the line and the No Borders movement. Children's Geographies, 8(4), 401–411.
Kumagai, A. K., & Lypson, M. L. (2009). Beyond cultural competence: Critical consciousness, social justice, and multicultural education. Academic Medicine, 84(6), 782–787.
Miller, T. (2011). Dream of a nation: Inspiring ideas for a better America (4th ed.). SEE Innovation.
Noble Efforts Change Lives. (2018). [School name]. Retrieved from http://butlercollegeprep.noblenetwork.org/
Robertson, A. (2015). Media and politics in a globalizing world. John Wiley & Sons.
School Performance. (2017). Illinois Network of Charter Schools. Retrieved from
Thiers, N. (2017). Unlocking families' potential: A conversation with Karen L. Mapp. Educational Leadership, 75(1), 40–44.
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