Meeting the Needs of Disadvantaged Students by Ikhlas Ahmad

Running Head: DISADVANTAGES STUDENTS 1
Meeting the Needs of Disadvantaged Students
Ikhlas Akram Ahmad
The University of Texas at Tyler
3900 University Blvd.
Tyler, Texas 75799
Ikhlas.ahmad@risd.org

Meeting the Needs of Disadvantaged Students
“In the United States, if you are poor, your odds of graduating are lower than of those of
a middle-income student” (Jensen 2013). There are about seventy percent of students who do not
graduate from high school due to living at least a year in poverty (Hernandez, 2012). These
findings also agree that it is not a lack of intelligence or ability that make create this reality, but
the circumstances of poverty distract students and their families must focus on survival rather
than school performance. When I look at all the information about these students, I can only be
faced with guilt. How effective are we in helping our low-income students? What if we raised
our expectations in the classroom? What if our expectations were to reach out to more students
and engage them in a more attentive way? As a teacher, how am I impacting the lives of my
students beyond the classroom?
First, I would like to start by sharing an experience I recently had at school. I was told
about one student specifically, the teachers told me that he was a difficult student and that I
would not get anything out of him. That information came in one ear and out the other! As a
teacher, I believe that if we have negative ideas toward a child then that is how he will always be
perceived and it will also reflect in his behavior and work. I decided that I was not going to listen
to anything negative about any child and that I was going to be positive and bring that
hopefulness out of my students. I am an ESL teacher and so on the first day of class, I went to his
classroom to pull him out. He was very grumpy and upset. You could tell he was not pleased
about coming with me, not because he hated me or did not want to be in my class, he just didn’t
want the other students to look at him and judge him for going to ESL. He came to me with very
little English. He could not even form a sentence properly or express himself. I greeted him in
the most exciting way. He probably did not understand everything I said but he could tell from

my expression how excited and happy I was to have in my class. Since the first day of class until
now, he has shown lots of growth in learning English and now every time I go to pick him up
from class you can see that small tiny smile appear when he sees me. That smile is what brings
me joy and makes me realize why I decided to become an educator.
The purpose of this professional investigation is to make sure that we are reaching every
student and providing them with hope so that when they leave our classroom they are able to
hold onto that hope and be able to achieve great things in life beyond their own expectations. It is
our duty as educators to ensure that we build positive relationships with our students. So our
campus needs to be able to answer the questions: What do teachers and administrators know and
believe about reaching every disadvantaged student? How do teachers and administrators reach
out to disadvantaged children in our school? As a teacher, we hope we impact the lives of our
students in the classroom and beyond (Gorski, P.C.).

Review of Related Literature
Background on Disadvantaged Students
What does it mean to be a disadvantaged student? Disadvantaged students come from a
low-income family. Due to their families social and economic circumstances it may delay their
ability to learn in school. Unfortunately, the odds of a low-income student graduating high
school are lower than a middle-income student. Half of all poor students who are Hispanic or
black drop out of school (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2008). “In 2009, the dropout rate of
students living in low-income families was about five times greater than the rate of students from
high-income families” (Jensen 2013 p. 1). Jensen (2013) explains in his book, Engaging
Students with Poverty in Mind, that the issue of so many dropouts is the fault of the schools and
educators not the students. As educators, we have to fight for our disadvantaged students and
work hard in motivating and engaging them in school.
Economically disadvantaged student find it very hard to succeed in school (Hernandez
2012). Some student’s dropout to find a low paying job so they can help out with their families.
That is why as educators we must make school fun and engaging for them. Disadvantaged
students are not exposed to a lot of experiences like vacations, trips to the zoo, visiting the
museum, or even going out to eat at a restaurant. They need to be able to connect with these
experiences to their school learning. Disadvantaged students need a boost of self-esteem and be
provided with access to books, newspapers, and computers. Above everything else,
disadvantaged students need to feel loved and valued for who they are. Their school is their
stable home. We must create a family school environment for them (Hurjui, E.).

Building Relationships
Building relationships with our disadvantaged students is very essential to their learning
process. How do we build these relationships with our students to keep them engaged? Jensen
(2013) suggests that because students who come from a low-income family are considerably
diverse, no one knows your students better then you know them. As their teachers, we must
advocate for them and build those relationships.
High expectations should be required for all students and especially disadvantaged
students. Just because they come from low-income families does not mean we must lower out
standards for them. Also, disadvantaged students need to be granted many opportunities for
family involvement in the school (Isenberg, E.). In addition to family involvement, they also
need to be exposed to various styles of art. They need to be exposed to art, theater, and music.
They need to have access to more physical education. Due to lack of recreational facilities and
costs of sports the only time for them to have any form of movement is at recess or P.E. time.
Lee (2014) points out that there is a huge gap between low-income students and high-income
students use of computers. When we keep in mind what they lack and how we can substitute it
during school, we start building strong relationship with our disadvantaged students.
Best Practices
As Jensen (2013) mentions in his book there are several practices to keep poverty
students engaged and successful. First, we have to be able to recognize the signs. When I started
teaching as an ESL teacher and was puling out my student I mentioned in my introduction, I
could tell by the way he dressed and a few signs that just spoke to me that he was a student
coming from a low-income and disadvantaged family. I immediately looked up his records and I
wanted to learn more about him. I wanted to know how long he has been in the USA and where

he came from. I wanted to know how many brothers and sisters her had. I wanted to know what
his mother and father did for a living. I researched him and asked around to other teachers until I
got all the information I needed to be able to precede in my goal/plan for him as my student. This
is a very important practice that we take the time to really know and study our students.
Another best practice is providing students with a warm and loving environment. The
school environment plays an important role in student learning (Koyama, J.P.). Some of these
disadvantaged students come from a background that lacks family relationships and structure.
When they come to school they are looking for stability and comfort.
Lastly, we must “empower students” (Jensen, 2013). As educators, we have to set the
expectation high for our disadvantaged students. Students must establish goals and work to
achieve them and it is our duty to scaffold their goal setting and provide them with the tools to be
able to do so. We are their role models and they look up to us solving real world problems. We
must teach them social skills and social interactions. I have researched many best practices but
found these to be the most important in truly engaging your students who come from a
disadvantaged family (Slavin, E. R.).
Reaching Disadvantaged Students
“If we as a nation can expand opportunity and reach out to those young people and help
them not just go to college but graduate from college or university, it could have a transformative
effect,” President Obama said during a speech at the White House in January 2014. President
Obama is stressing on how important it is that we create programs that can mentor students as
well as provide waivers for test fees. He also mentions that he wants to improve grant aid to
those who can’t afford to pay for school.
If we as educators, make it our goal to reach out to each of our students, so that they have

the drive to keep going and continue to go and attend college then we have just changed the
future. They will grow up and they will teach their kids and the cycle will keep going. Jensen
(2013) provides us with five actions on how to increase motivation and effort so that we are able
to reach out to our students. First, he says that we need to make our students feel like it was their
idea and they were the brains behind what they choose. We provide them with choices so they
can be independent in their own learning. Secondly, he mentions that we have to provide
students with a low risk-learning environment. Students should never feel embarrassed or
humiliated for not getting something correct. Creating a low risk environment allows students to
academically take risks and engage in their own learning process. The third thing Jensen (2013)
discusses is building their way of thinking or influencing a positive mind-set. As educators we
must reinforce students belief in their way of thinking so that they want to keep learning new
ideas. The fourth thing he points out is to always provide feedback. “Kids growing up in poverty
typically get less positive feedback at home (Jensen 2013). We need to provide ongoing
feedback because it plays a great deal in motivating our students. Lastly, he reinforces setting
that low risk environment to ease them into something new or difficult. Encourage your students
so they feel comfortable to participate and interact in the classroom.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we must educate and train our teachers to fully commit to doing all they
can to influence their students in the classroom. Every student no matter where they are from
deserves to be taught by teachers who are passionate and caring. These disadvantaged students
need role models. They need loving teachers that care about their future. They need to feel
motivated and challenged by their teachers (Razza, R. A,Martin). In my methodology I will be

interviewing and surveying schools that have low-income students on how we are reaching out to
our disadvantaged students? I will be answering these questions: How do we build these
relationships to keep students engaged? What are the best practices to keep students with poverty
engaged and successful in school?

Methodology
This study will examine how disadvantaged students at Forestridge Elementary at the
Richardson Independent School District to determine effective practices that keep students with
poverty engaged and successful in school and identify adjustments that need to be made. The
research questions leading my research include (1) What do teachers and administrators at
Forestridge Elementary know and believe about reaching every disadvantaged student? (2) How
do teachers and administrators at Forestridge reach out to disadvantaged children in our school?
Setting
Forestridge Elementary within RISD is a small Title I school in a small neighborhood
located between Whispering Hills and Bunchberry Drive in Dallas, Texas. For the 2013-2014
school year, the school was rated “recognized” by TEA. For the 2014-2015 school year, the total
school enrollment is 666 students. During this school year of 2014-2015, the demographics
consists of 11.14% White, 36.75% African American, 30.48% Hispanic, 17.57% Asian, and
3.7% are identified as two or more race. Forestridge Elementary consists of 342 girls and 324
boys. Forestridge Elementary contains 42 teachers and the demographics of classroom teachers
for 2014-2015 are: 4% African American, 2% Hispanic, 2% Asian, and 92% White.
Participants
Participants in this research project are the teachers, administrators, and students at
Forestridge Elementary. Teachers and administrators will be given surveys that are anonymous.
There will be 30 teachers and administrators participating in the survey. The teachers and

administrators will be given the opportunity to respond privately using a survey from Google
Documents.
The other group to participate in this research is the sixth grade students at Forestridge
Elementary. There are 66 sixth graders at Forestridge Elementary, and they will also be given
questionnaires that will be administrated using Google Documents.
Process
The research process will consist of surveys and questionnaires. The surveys will ask
participants to rate their responses from 1 “strongly disagree” to 4 “strongly agree”. Throughout
this process confidentiality will be maintained. Consent for participation will be obtained from
parents before any minors participate in the questionnaires. There will also be a letter for
teachers and administrators to read before completing the survey. The data will be collected and
analyzed to determine best practices for disadvantaged students.

References
Alliance for Excellent Education. (2008). Students of color and the achievement gap.
Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.all4ed.org/about_the_crisis/
students/students_of_color
Gorski, P. C. (2013). Building a pedagogy of engagement for students in poverty. Phi Delta
Kappan, 95(1), 48.
Hernandez, D. (2012) Double jeopardy: How third-grade reading skills and poverty influence
high school graduation. Baltimore: Annie E. Foundation. Retrieved from:
http://www.aecf.org/~/media/Pubs/Topics/Education/Other/Double
JeopardyHowThirdGradeReadingSkillsandPoverty/DoubleJeopardyREport040511Final
Hurjui, E. (2014) Counseling of children coming from disadvantaged environments to prevent
failure and avoid school abandonment. Proceedings of the Scientific Conference
AFASES, Vol. 2. P 561-566.
Isenberg, E., Max, J., Gleason, P., Potamites, L., Santillano, R., Hock, H., & ... National Center
for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (2013). Access to effective teaching
for disadvantaged students. NCEE 2014-4001. Institute Of Education Sciences
Jensen, E. (2013). Engaging students with poverty in mind: practical strategies for raising
achievement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
Koyama, J. P. (2010). Making failure pay : for-profit tutoring, high-stakes testing, and public
schools. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010

Lee, K., & Slate, J. (2014). Differences in advanced achievement outcomes for Texas students as
a function of economics disadvantage. Journal Of Education Research, 8(3), 137-149.
Razza, R.A.,Martin, A., & Brooks-Gunn,J. (2012). The implications early attentional regulation
for school success among low-income children. Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology, 33(6), 311-319.
Slavin, E. R. (1993). Preventing Early School Failure: What Works? Retrieved from
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec92/vol50/num04/Preventing-
Early-School-Failure@-What-Works¢.aspx.
Ticusan, M. (2014). School dropout in current society. Proceedings Of The Scientific Conference
AFASES, 2667-671

Appendix A
Student Questionnaires
Sixth graders at FRE were surveyed using Google Docs online for ease of use and data
collection purposes. The original survey can be found at http://goo.gl/forms/sJ305cFBvc.
Students, thank you for participating in answering these questions. Your feedback is
important in the evaluation of the success of engaging students at Forestridge Elementary. Your
name is not being recorded, so please be honest in your responses.
1. What is you proudest moment?
2. What do you want to learn about?
3. Who are your heroes and role models?
4. What do teachers sometimes misunderstand about you?
5. What motivates you to do your best in school?
In the next set of questions, please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each
statement by checking your response.
Questions Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
Agree
I enjoy my classes.
I learn best through motivation.
I am successful in my classroom.
I am excited about going to school.
I enjoy using technology in my classroom.
I enjoy reading in class.
I enjoy reading at home.
I am engaged in the classroom.
I respect my teachers.

Appendix B
Letter to Parents
Dear Parents,
I am currently pursuing my Masters in Educational Leadership at the University of Texas
at Tyler. Part of this program requires me to conduct an original educational research study. My
research is focused on effective ways for engaging our students in the classroom at Forestridge
Elementary. My hope is that this research will lead to implementing best practices in serving the
needs of our students.
This study will be conducted by having sixth grade students complete a short
questionnaire that will be accessible on Google Doc at http://goo.gl/forms/sJ305cFBvc.
They will complete the survey during their computer lab time during school. This questionnaire
is completely confidential.
Attached you will find a consent form for your student to participate in this questionnaire.
Please indicate your response. Students without consent forms on file will not participate in the
questionnaire.
Thank you for your support in this process. If you have any questions or concerns, please
feel free to email me at ikhlas.ahmad@risd.org .
Sincerely,
Ikhlas Ahmad

Appendix C
Student-Parent Consent Form
Student Name:_________________________________________ Grade:__________
Please check whether or not your give permission for your child to participate in the
questionnaire and sign below.
I give my child permission to participate in the questionnaire.
___YES ___NO
Parent Name:__________________________________
Parent Signature:_______________________________
Date:__________________________

Appendix D
Letter to 6th
grade teacher
Dear Colleague,
Elementary. My hope is that this research will lead to implementing best practices in serving the
needs of our students.
Your students will be administered a questionnaire, but there names will not be collected.
They will complete the survey during their computer lab time during school. This questionnaire
is completely confidential. This study will be conducted by having sixth grade students complete
a short questionnaire that will be accessible on Google Doc at http://goo.gl/forms/sJ305cFBvc.
Attached you will find a parent letter and consent form for your student to be able to
participate in this questionnaire. I would greatly appreciate your help in collecting these letters
back.
Sincerely,
Ikhlas Ahmad

Appendix E
Letter to Colleagues
Dear Colleagues,
Elementary. This study will evaluate the disadvantaged students at Forestridge Elementary to
determine effective practices that keep students with poverty engaged and successful in school
and identify adjustments that need to be made. The research questions leading my research
include (1) How do we build relationships to keep students engaged? (2) What are the best
practices to keep students with poverty engaged and successful in school? (3) What do teachers
and administrators know and believe about reaching every disadvantaged student? (4) How do
teachers and administrators reach out to disadvantaged children in our school? My hope is that
this research will lead to implementing best practices in serving the needs of our students.
This study will be conducted completing a short survey that will be accessible on Google
Doc at http://goo.gl/forms/sJ305cFBvc.
The survey personal information and response will be strictly confidential.
Sincerely,
Ikhlas Ahmad

Appendix F
Teacher Questionnaires
Teachers and administrators at FRE were surveyed using Google Docs online for ease of
use and data collection purposes. The original survey can be found at
http://goo.gl/forms/sJ305cFBvc.
Teachers, thank you for participating in answering these questions. Your feedback is
important in the evaluation of the success of engaging students at Forestridge Elementary. Your
name is not being recorded, so please be honest in your responses.
Background Information
1. Gender ____ Male ____ Female
2. Highest Education Level Attained ____Diploma ____Bachelor’s ____Master’s
_____Doctorate
3. Total Years Teaching _______
4. How many years have been working at this school? ________
Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each statement by checking your
response.
Questions Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
Agree
I like working at this school.
I enjoy teaching my students.
I motivate myself to be the best.
I have great relationship with my students.
I have great relationship with my parents.
I respect my students.
My lesson plans are very engaging.
I meet each students needs individually.
Students at this school trust the teacher.
Students at this school are capable of high
achievement on standardized exams.
Teachers at this school care whether or not the
students are successful.

Meeting the Needs of Disadvantaged Students by Ikhlas Ahmad

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Mais procurados

Mais procurados (20)

Destaque

Destaque (20)

Semelhante a Meeting the Needs of Disadvantaged Students by Ikhlas Ahmad

Semelhante a Meeting the Needs of Disadvantaged Students by Ikhlas Ahmad (6)

Meeting the Needs of Disadvantaged Students by Ikhlas Ahmad