Designing Programs to meet the needs of Long Term English

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Designing Programs to meet the needs of Long
Term English Learners
Laurie Olsen, Ph.D. Californians Together
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Review LTEL characteristics

• Weak language in both L1 and L2
• Accumulated academic gaps
• Non-engagement, passivity in classes and school
  learning
• Years of struggling academically
• Often unsure of how they are doing and
  implications for their future

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Basic Principles!

• Focus upon distinct needs
• Language development is more than literacy
  development LTELs need both
• Language development Academic gaps
• Crucial role of home language
• Invite, support, insist that LTELs become active
  participants in their own education

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• Maximum integration without sacrificing access
• Rigor, relevance, active engagement and
  empowering pedagogy
• Relationships matter
• An affirming, inclusive environment
• Urgency!

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A secondary school recommendation

• Specialized ELD separate from other ELs
• Clustered in heterogeneous classes for content
• Explicit language/literacy development across the
  curriculum and SDAIE strategies for access
• Focus on study skills, critical thinking
• Data chats, preparation, accommodations
• Programs, activities, student leadership to
  create an affirming school climate
• Native speakers classes (through AP)

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Comparison between EL groups over time
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Seems to be power in SNS that is both Spanish
literacy AND enhances English skills

• Explicitly links transferability of cognitive
  skills, cognitive and vocabulary development,
  academic language, writing structures, rigorous
  writing assessment
• Is aligned to state English language arts
  standards
• Solid preparation for AP language and AP
  literature
• Focused on high level of oral, reading and
  writing skills - while enhancing English skills
• Includes cultural focus and empowering pedagogy

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Instruction matters..

• Differentiation
• Checks for understanding
• Accountability/engagement
• Standards-based
• Maximum language development structures and
  practices

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Two Secondary School Case Examples

• Ventura Unified School District
• Modesto City Schools

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Ventura Unified School District

• Serves 17,331 students, K-12
• Close to 20 English Learners
• 90 of English Learners speak Spanish at home
• 87 of secondary ELs are LTEL 79 been enrolled
  since K/1

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Fact finding..Focus groups and behavioral survey

• Start early to be sure on track for graduation
• Very low frequency of reading outside of school
• Not sure what means to be an EL or to exit
• Insufficient ELD curriculum
• Problems with student placement
• Teachers lacked resources and training

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VUSD Key elements of the action plan

• English Learner courses revised based on student
  needs
• ELD course sequence rewritten
• ELD 4 and SDAIE courses are UC/CSU accepted
• Specific placement criteria for all courses based
  on multiple criteria
• Two period block of instruction for ELD courses
• Appropriate curriculum (Hampton Browns Edge for
  ELD) and technology
• Pacing guides and assessment routines

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Professional Development

• Teambuilding and ongoing support for EL teachers
  from all content areas using Teaching English
  Language Learners A Differentiated Approach by
  Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey 2007
• Stipends, catered by culinary arts program
• Technology as hook and support
• Fishbowl approach
• Coaching support for teachers and Asst.
  Principals the secret weapon
• Year Two WRITE training for ELD and English
  teachers
• WRITE support for content area teachers
• SB472 Training for Edge

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Multilingual Recognition Seal on VUSD High School
Diplomas beginning in June, 2009

• awarded over 150 seals

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Student Pep Talks

• This action step brings students into the
  conversation regarding their progress as English
  Learners.

About the ELD program About new courses
and materials UC approval for courses
Reclassification criteria Multilingual SEAL
criteria CELDT, CST and CAHSEE target scores
and strategies for success
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Working Across Campus to Build Students Assets

• Bilingual Opportunities Pathway Program
• Two New Courses
• Spanish for Careers in the Community and Spanish
  for International Careers

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Title III Improvement Plan Addendum Operation
Prevent LTELs

• Middle School Articulation, program revision,
  Inside curriculum, PLC meetings, coaching,
  observations, technology, Pep Talks
• 4th and 5th Grade - Pep Talks and book clubs
• PIQE series for families at Program Improvement
  schools
• VUSD K-12 assessment plan RtI model
• Common Sequence of Language Functions for K-5
  ELD

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Results so far.

• Substantial increase in reclassification rates at
  pilot high schools (from 14 to 20.9 - compared
  to district average 9.1 - 9.5)
• Improved growth on CELDT (from 44.9 moving 1
  level to 60.9 from 22.2 achieving proficiency
  to 26.8)

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Increase in LTEL scoring Proficient
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Routines and Structures Support Success

• Monthly Updates at K-12 Principals Meetings
• Monthly VUSD English Learner Coordinating Council
  Meetings lead by Superintendent
• Principals Checklists
• Compliance Readiness Review Cycle
• Catch-Up Plans

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More to do.

• VUSD grading committee to revise policy and
  promote best practices
• Master Schedule Issues - Consideration of
  7-period day
• Expansion of Two-Way Immersion Program
• Focus on AYP proficiency for 10th grade English
  Learners and RFEP students

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Case ExampleModesto
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MCS Title I and Title III STATUS 2008 -
2009

• K-8 and 9-12 Districts
• Title I Program Improvement Status Year 3
• K-8 District
• Title III Year 5 of not meeting all AMAO goals
• 9-12 District
• Title III Year 4 of not meeting all AMAO goals

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Who are our English Learners?
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Language Institute Tier I - IV

• High School hosted at one site
• Jr. High hosted at one site
• As determined by an Individual Learning Plan may
  need
• a. 5th year option (for HS graduation)
• b. longer day
• c. summer school
• Grade levels would be mixed

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Course Terminology

• ELD
• Strategic English Language Development to
  increase the students English proficiency
• ALD
• Academic Language Development
• strategically focused on developing
• academic language through intensive writing
  instruction

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Terminology cont.

• Spanish for Spanish Speakers
• Correlated with the Spanish Language Arts
• Standards and English Language Arts
• Standards in order to promote literacy in
• both primary language and English through
• explicit transference
• If student is not Spanish speaking, then elective
  that is
• language based, such as, drama, speech, choir,
• computer based primary language program, or
• other foreign language.

National Literacy Panel www.cal.org/natl-panel/re
ports/executive_summary.pdf
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5 Program (LTEL)7th 8th Grade
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5 Program9th Grade
NOTE World Religions/Health classes in summer
school or senior year. Computers in any
four years, summer school, or test out
OR
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Differentiated placement in 9th gr.

• 2 period block of Read 180, using L book by Kate
  Kinsella (accepted as ELD) with a bilingual
  paraprofessional (for students who are really
  intensive and struggling at all levels
  academically) for Freshman year only
• High end of Below Basic/low Basic ?
• ELA ALD
• Advanced or Proficient on ELA-CST ?
• opt out of ALD and are monitored

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Other Districts journeys..

• Escondido Union High School District (ELD
  Monitoring, Spanish for Native Speakers, Bridging
  Multiple Worlds, Saturday school, WRITE Institute
  units)
• San Francisco Unified School District (New Lau
  Action Plan)

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Action Steps ?

• District EL Master Plan describes research-based
  program models for different typologies of EL
  students (or site)
• Specify a LTEL program and appropriate placements
• Support development of new courses where
  necessary
• Provide materials and professional development
  as high priority for use of resources
• System of monitoring placements

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Reflection/Dialogue

• How does this compare to what LTELs are getting
  in your school(s)?
• What seems most interesting/promising to you
  about what you have heard?
• Which of these ideas seem do-able to you?
• Which of these ideas seem promising but you feel
  would be very difficult to make happen in your
  school(s)? Why?

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Programs toPrevent the creation of LTELs
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Quick review

• Need for program consistency in placement
• Need for well-articulated programs
• Need for English Learner services (incl. ELD)
• Importance of developing L1 along with English
• Need to assure access to academic content while
  learning English so no gaps develop
• Need a full curriculum
• Need to monitor and identify students lagging
  behind triggering support

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Children who start behind, stay behind.

• Skills in kindergarten predict academic
  achievement in later years
• Initial gaps in readiness skills between EL and
  English proficient children do not narrow by 3rd
  grade - and often grow
• Initial readiness gaps between ethnic groups
  widen by 3rd grade

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• High quality preK contributes to meaningfully
  higher levels of school achievement among low SES
  children, including low SES Hispanics -- However,
  there is limited impact in the area of language
  development!
• Substantial short-term positive outcomes. But a
  Fade out effect of PreK and Full day Kinder
  (60-80 of cognitive gains dissipate by Spring of
  first grade - by 3rd grade mostly gone)
• For English Learners, the gap narrows but does
  not close as a result of preschool
• What is missing????

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From the research

• Learning to speak and use language is a major
  task of the early years - development of language
  is wired into the human brain
• There is a developmental continuum of
  language/literacy development in young children
  (birth to 8)
• Young children engaged in two language worlds
  have unique needs

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Attention to PreK - K school transition and
beyond

• Two different systems - little connection
• Preparation for academic success - kindergarten
  readiness is too low for academic success
• The transition itself is a vulnerable time - need
  strategies and policies to support transition
• Period from ages 3 to eight is critical for
  language development

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The PreK-3 movement

• Public schools nationwide are increasingly
  serving more 4 year olds and even 3 year olds
• Instead of how to prepare children in ECE for K-
  view it as an articulated and connected schooling
  experience
• Systems based integrated approach
• Move away from separate notions of ECE and K-12 -
  focus on alignment (horizontal, vertical,
  temporal)

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• Start with an early foundation of rich language
  development (PreK-3) in both English and the home
  language (where possible)
• Attention to the alignment, articulation and
  transition between preschool and elementary
  grades
• Make room for and provide professional
  development related to building a powerful ORAL
  language foundation for literacy
• Full curriculum with language development
  across all content areas

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A PreK-3 Case ExampleThe SEAL ModelA solid
foundation of early academic literacy for English
Learner success

• Redwood City
• San Jose

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Six foundational components of SEAL

• Academic language and literacy in English and
  Spanish
• Rich oral language development
• Text-rich environment and curriculum
• Language developed through enriched curriculum
• Affirming learning environment
• Teachers and Parents working together
• Preschool through third grade!

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TWBI-ABE-SEI Basic educational principles
apply across early education settings.

• Language development should occur in context
• Developmental/play based preschool
• Emphasis on rich and academic oral language
• L1 developed to extent can be done - and always
  honored
• Resources for enriched environment and books/text
• Parent/home/school connection
• More TIME - full day programs, multi-year summer
  bridge programs
• Small ratios
• Home visits (Parents as Teachers)

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Use and work with local resources but have to
develop their understanding of language
development

• Schmahl Science Workshops
• Bilingual Authors
• Early Childhood Language Development Institute
  (SMCOE) for preschool providers and parents
• Young Audiences of Northern California
• Triton Art Museum

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Build connections across the PreK and K-3 systems

• Articulation meetings and visits PreK-K
• Support families and children in transitioning
  between and across the systems
• Summer Bridge programs engage both grade-levels
  working together in the NEW setting
• Seek professional development, assessments and
  strategies that can build similar learning
  conditions across the grades
• Through data, research dialogue, build a SHARED
  VISION PreK - 3

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The Evaluation/Research

• Dr. Kathryn Lindholm-Leary
• Longitudinal design following cohorts of students
  from entering preschool through third grade
• Data points/analysis - PreK entry, K entry, First
  grade entry, end of third grade

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Data

• Pre LAS (language assessment scale) in both
  English and Spanish at start and end of preschool
• Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP-R)
  CDE accountability measure for CDCs in Fall 09
  and Spring 10
• Initial CELDT at kindergarten enrollment
• Evaluation focuses on Spanish speakers

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The Population

• Schools are more heavily Hispanic, English
  Learner and Free/Reduced lunch than district,
  county and state
• SEAL Cohort has far lower level of parent
  education than average student in the state and
  Cohort 0 (baseline)
• SEAL students come from homes with very low
  income (27,384/family of 4)

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Major questions

• To what degree did the performance of SEAL
  preschool students improve during the 09/10 year?
• How do the SEAL Cohort I students compare to
  other students who are demographically similar to
  them?
• Is there a difference between students receiving
  English/SEI vs. bilingual instruction?

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CONCLUSIONS

• Began with very low levels of development and
  language proficiency
• Variation across SEAL sites.
• Regardless of starting point, all children made
  significant gains at each school in all areas of
  development
• Excellent progress in Spanish language
  development, while continuing to make significant
  gains in English language development

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• SEAL children far outscored Head Start comparison
  group in spring DRDP-R post-test
• SEAL children scored comparable or higher than
  all comparison groups including a first grade
  dual language comparison group in both English
  and Spanish language development
• Children in both SEI/English and Bilingual
  programs made significant growth overall.
• Children in bilingual programs made greater
  growth, and scored equal to or higher than peers
  instructed through English (including on measures
  of reading and writing in English)

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Now working in Kinder.

• Infusing intensive language-rich strategies into
  the core program
• Creating coherence core program, direct
  instruction, GLAD, Anti-bias, SEAL strategies
• Introducing the arts (music, theater, art) as
  context for language development
• The huge problem of TIME in the day
• The huge problem of TIME with teachers

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Reflection/Dialogue

• How does this compare to what English Learners
  are getting in your school(s)?
• What seems most interesting/promising to you
  about what you have heard?
• Which of these ideas seem do-able to you?
• Which of these ideas seem promising but you feel
  would be very difficult to make happen in your
  school(s)? Why?

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For all of these..

• Professional development
• Appropriate materials
• Clarity about placement criteria
• Clarity about program model
• Adapting of daily schedule and master schedule
• Monitoring

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We are all learning..

• Collect data, conduct evaluations
• Document what you are doing that works
• Share what you are learning at conferences,
  through Californians Together

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Thank you!

• For more information, contact
• Laurie Olsen, Director
• Sobrato Early Academic Literacy Program
• Lolsen_at_sobrato.org