District Program Design to Meet the Needs of Lesser Spoken Languages

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District Program Design to Meet the Needs of
Lesser Spoken Languages
Council of the Great City Schools Bilingual,
Immigrant, and Refugee Education 2009 Directors
Meeting
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Demographics

• Saint Paul Public Schools
• Diverse urban school district, second largest in
  state
• 39,550 students
• 15,701 English Language Learners (39.7)
• 43 come from homes where a language other than
  English is spoken
• More than 100 languages and dialects
• Hmong, Spanish, Somali largest groups
• 70 eligible for free and reduced-price meals

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Demographic Trends

• Since 1990, the ELL population in SPPS has
  increased by 340
• 1990-91 4,633 students
• 2007-08 15,701 students
• St. Pauls ELL population currently represents
  about 25 of Minnesotas total ELL population

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Top Ten Languages in SPPS
English 23,023 Hmong 9,823 Spanish
4,369 Somali 920 Karen
562 Vietnamese 356
Oromo 271 Khmer/Cambodian
267 Amharic 229 Tigrina
110
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Academic Programs

• Hmong Enrichment Programs
• Hmong Literacy and Culture
• Hmong CLAnD
• Hmong Dual Language Program - Jackson
• Hmong Culture Magnet School - Phalen Lake
• Somali Programs
• Somali Academic Language and Teaching (SALT) -
  afterschool program
• Karen Programs
• Karen Literacy - afterschool program

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Language Resources

• Bilingual Staff
• Teachers
• Paraprofessionals
• Clerks
• District Support Staff
• TOSAs
• Cultural Specialists
• Translations Services
• In-house Translators/Interpreters
• Hmong, Spanish, Somali, Karen
• On-call Interpreters
• 131 people/16 languages

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Material Resources

• Materials for Academic Programs
• Hmong leveled books
• Benchmark books/scoring sheets
• Hmong alphabet/phonics charts, cards
• Hmong Language Assessment
• Hmong folktales
• Hmong magnetic poetry
• Capstone Interactive books
• Hmong, Somali

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Material Resources

• Handbooks for Teachers
• Hmong, Somali
• Embedding Culture in K-6 Social Studies
  Curriculum Kits
• Hmong, Somali,Spanish
• Bilingual Picture Dictionaries
• Hmong, Somali, Spanish
• Karen, Oromo in process
• Bilingual Glossaries for School Staff
• 7 languages
• Bilingal Dictionary
• Hmong

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Parent Involvement/Education

• Districtwide Parent Advisory Committees (PACs)
• Hmong, Somali, Spanish
• Monthly meetings
• Executive Committees
• Educational topics
• Community and school district presentations
• Transportation, childcare, dinner provided
• Parent Information Nights
• Once or twice a year
• Karen, Oromo, Amharic
• Parents as Educational Partners (PEP) Classes
• Hmong, Somali

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Support for Staff

• Cultural Presentations
• Hmong, Somali, Karen, Vietnamese, Latino
• Language Classes
• Hmong for Non-Hmong speakers
• Hmong Literacy for Hmong speakers
• Minnesota Immigration Law Center Presentations
• No Second Chance program
• Legal information

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Partnerships

• Critical to work with community partners
• Local colleges/universities
• Community organizations and non-profits
• Cultural organizations
• Resettlement agencies (Volags)
• Other school districts
• State Department of Education

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Contact Information
Heidi Bernal, Director heidi.bernal_at_spps.org 651-7
67-8320 Pangjua Xiong, Cultural Programs
Manager pangjua.xiong_at_spps.org 651-767-8313