By Ismael D. Fortunato

In my interview with Lindsa McIntyre, the headmaster of the Burke High School in Dorchester, we discussed a few techniques that could be applied to prevent disengagement brought on by living in impoverished communities infested with gang violence and other things that can affect community learning in the classroom.

Ismael: So how do you think student-teacher relationships influence academic success?

Lindsa: I think that teacher-student relationships are not just the instructional core around how people learn, but…the heart of the learning experience. And so one of the biggest things that a school can do is create and foster the opportunity for students and teachers to develop meaningful relationships built on mutual trust and respect of each other’s’ diverse needs.

Ismael: That was beautiful. Second question: What does it take for teachers who are not from the same background [as their students]—let’s say, from a student from Dorchester, a teacher from Brooklyn or whatever—to understand where students are coming from? What do you think—what would it take?

Lindsa: So there’s this term called culturally-proficient leadership, or culturally-proficient teaching and learning. And what the term means is that, if I am to be effective as a teacher, then I must understand the manner in which race, ethnicity, linguistics and poverty interact with learning. And if I am the teacher, then I need to be cognizant of how to build opportunities for students to learn hinged upon those qualities, right? And so culturally-proficient teaching and learning is the key to effective schools, especially schools that are in urban areas, schools that are poor, schools that are diverse. You have to have people who are culturally-proficient at the helm, cause here’s what happens: number one, if I understand and respect your traditions, your culture, and your relationships, then I have nothing to do but to engage and love you. And you’ve nothing to do but want to return, reciprocate, that same opportunity.

Ismael: What you’ve received, right?

Lindsa: Right. And it opens you up to learn, right?

Ismael: Right.

Lindsa: Now then if I differentiate the instruction, because I understand that you learn better this way, because I know you, I want to know you, and I understand your individuality, and I may understand that this person learns that way— as a teacher, I can navigate and facilitate and mediate all of these learning opportunities for multifaceted learners.

Ismael: Right…there’s a lot of stuff that happens when a student goes home that could intrude in his learning and it’s like, get[ting] into the core of how we can get teachers to understand these problems? Because as you walk into the classroom, that’s a community within itself, you know? And I think that’s one of the problems that I’m trying to answer.

Lindsa: Okay, let me say this to you, and I think leaders have to maintain personal attention around their community. So I know that the learners who come here, what they deal with in their lived experiences. And I know that because I’ve visited their homes. I know that because I’ve experienced life in their community. I know that because I’m open to learn about how we are alike but how we are different, right? And so I can cultivate a climate in a community that accounts for who they are. Let me give you a good example. There is a large degree of poverty in our community. Almost 85% of the students here are impoverished. They live below the poverty line. And because they live within two miles of the school, they don’t get a Boston Public School bus pass, which would mean that they have no access to UMass Boston or the Museum of Science or their best friends’ houses, or after-school jobs.

Part of my responsibility is to create and enhance their achievement opportunities and so I have to provision for them. And what I do is I write grants, I create partnerships with people, and I say hey, I’ve got 20 kids, they need to get to UMass Boston, and I need to buy them a bus pass. And I need this much money to do it. Or I figure out a way to make sure everybody has access to opportunities after school.

Ismael: Looking toward the future, does having teachers who are from Boston affect student learning?

Lindsa: So, I think it’s advantageous, on some level, to have teachers that, you know, know the neighborhood and area, but I don’t think it has to be the only place we have teachers come from. I think the more important thing to do, nationally speaking, is, as we raise teachers to go into the workforce, to provide them with pre-Service learning opportunities where they can explore and learn the vast diversities that rest amongst us.

Ismael: Right.

Lindsa: So they’ll have an understanding when they get into the job of the implications of poverty, or understandings around race. Some people think that, oh, I’m colorblind, all kids are the same and I love everybody equally. Well, if you are colorblind then you don’t see me. And if you don’t see me, you can’t validate my identity. And if you can’t validate my identity, you can’t teach me, and I can’t learn from you. And so we really have to think more broadly. It’s nice to have them come from the local community, but you know we have a global economy now, and the world is vast and great, and so no matter where the teacher comes from, they need to come with a set of competencies and skills and understandings that serve our diverse students.

Ismael: How would you incorporate knowing the students, how would you use that in order to improve the lecture, or the material that you’re going to teach, or the curriculum?

Lindsa: So I think that’s what’s at the heart of teaching and learning: knowing the students. When you know that, people are going to learn differently, and you differentiate the learning. So like with my teachers, they all plan lessons, right? And so they have to submit the lesson plan, but part of the lesson planning process is to go ahead and think in advance around those students who might have some misconceptions when you teach this material. Like, just you know who they are. Like, if I’m planning the lesson, I’m like, “Okay, Maritza might have a problem with this because it’s really heavy on the content, heavy in the reading.” So if I know that in advance, then I have to plan to address that before I go to teach, so that Maritza doesn’t miss out. So differentiating the instruction, I think, is really key to accessing different learners.