enhancing the educational environment for minority students. Another is providing cross-cultural training for staff, preparing teachers to teach minority and culturally diverse students.
Table 1. Statewide Staffing. 1996.1997
		African				Other ( American	
		American		White		Indian,	
						Asian/Pacific Islander.	
						Hispanic)	
Staff	Total	Male	Femaie	Male	Female	Male	Female
Central Office	1.270	6.7	15.5	40.4	35.7	0.9	0.9
Principals/Vice	2.548	8.9	22.6	33.3	34.0	0.3	0.7
Teachers	48,725	4.1	15.7	19.1	59.0	0.4	1.6
Other	14.404	3.6	20.3	8.1	65.2	0.3	2.5
Total	66.947	4.2	17.0	17.7	59.0	0.4	1.8
N'OTE   Percentages ma> not toul 100 0 due to rounomg
Cultural comprehension plays a pan in setting teacher expectations and establishing positive learning environments. Teachers who have extended knowledge of their students, including their backgrounds and cultures, are equipped to better to help these students make learning connections with the formal curriculum (Darling-Hammond, 1996). A survey of four year colleges and universities throughout Man-land, conducted by the Maryland State Education That Is Multicultural Advisory Council, shows that very few of the teaching institutions require preservice training in diversity. In instances where coursework is required, it usually consists or" one course. At best, this can only be considered a superficial approach.
Ii can not be assumed that teachers prepared in relative cultural isolation are optimally prepared to address the multiplicity of issues within diverse student populations. This conclusion supports the concept of enhanced pre- and post-service teacher training on working with students from diverse cultures. Hrabowski. Maton, & Grief (1998) elaborate on the issue.
Teachers, administrators, and school staff, through their words, actions, and body language, have an enormous impact on the behavior and achievement of students.... A student's academic performance is influenced by teachers' and administrators' perceptions of that student's ability and the expectations they convey.... Expectations and attitudes of teachers and administrators toward children, in general, seem to be based on a number of interdependent factors: race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, initial test performance, achievement, and even physical appearance. With regard to race or ethnicity, African Americans receive less attention in integrated classrooms. In addition, students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to be perceived more negatively than students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. Such perceptions can contribute to negative performance by students (pp. 11-12).
G. Pritchy Smith (1998) summarizes the problem. "Some of the studies tell us that a majority of our preservice teachers believe that the home background of minority public school students is so bad that it just can't be overcome" (p. 9).   Smith continues that he, however, is far less worried