District Approaches to High School Reform

1
District Approaches to High School Reform

• Council for Chief School Officers
• Integrating English Learners into High School
  Reform
• Miami October 21, 2003

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Sacramento City USD Education for the 21st
Century e21

• Enrollment approximately 49,000
• Diversity Equally dispersed population White,
  Latino, African-American, combined Asian
• English Learners district -15,000 high school
  -3,000
• Major Languages spoken Spanish, Hmong,
  Vietnamese, Russian, Mien, Cantonese

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Current Secondary Configurations

• Comprehensive high schools 4 large schools with
  2000-2500 students 1 charter school with 1500
  students
• Small high schools 4 charter schools with 50-250
  students
• Continuation high schools 1 with XXX students

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E21 Reforms

• Comprehensive high schools re-organized into
  Small Learning Communities
• Block schedules at some schools
• Advisement/Advocacy period for all students
• Site facilitators
• Individual Learning Plans

5
Integrating English Learners

• English Learners acknowledged as an important
  group in the process
• English Learner Task Force created during the
  planning process
• Efforts made to reach out to parents and students
  while planning

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District-level Decisions

• To develop recommendations through the Task Force
• To provide assistance to each school to implement
  its plan
• To provide definitions around those elements that
  had to be addressed

7
EL Task Force Recommendations

• Create Smaller Learning Communities for English
  Learners
• Provide more time for students to learn English
  and meet graduation requirements
• Drive instruction through Individual Learning
  Plans with multiple supports
• Use the primary language for instruction

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EL Learning Communities

• Decisions to adopt the EL Task Force
  Recommendations at each site varied.
• One school has established a SLC for English
  Learners at the beginning and intermediate levels
  of English proficiency
• One school has opened SLCs selectively, ensuring
  that highly qualified teachers are on staff

9
More Time Elements

• Use multiple approaches to provide ELs more time
  
• - Time in day block schedule, flexible
  schedules
• - Five and Six-year programs
• - Night classes, weekends, formal tutorials
• - Summer school for acceleration (NOT
  remedial)
• Establish, planned, formal connections with Adult
  Education and Community Colleges

10
Individual Learning Plans

• To be developed based on prior schooling, English
  proficiency level, post-secondary goals
• To cover multiple years, with options to revise
  each semester
• To be developed with parental participation
• To establish mutual commitments

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Primary Language Instructional Approaches

• Utilize the primary languages of students to
  accelerate completion of graduation requirements
• Instruct the primary languages to maximize
  employability in the global economy
• Institute Certificates of Mastery in multiple
  languages to acknowledge proficiency and build
  credits

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Support Strategies

• Institute targeted tutoring in all subject areas
• Provide advisement that addresses issues of
  acculturation, achievement in the American school
  system, and planning for the future
• Build parent participation through ESL classes,
  parent education in the American school system,
  empowerment training

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Hind-sight Reflections

• Establish non-negotiables and support full
  understanding of these
• Structure more professional development related
  to English Learners during the planning process
  for various groups
• Establish benchmarks for inclusion and monitor

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Acknowledgements

• Two consultants who have collaborated with the
  Multilingual Education Department in the
  formulation of design and strategies
• Dr. Thomas Bye
• Dr. Norm Gold
• Additional resources provided.