Designing Programs to meet the needs of
Long Term English Learners
Laurie Olsen, Ph.D.Californians Together
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
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
• Maximum integration without sacrificing access
• Rigor, relevance, active engagement and empowering pedagogy
• Relationships matter• An affirming, inclusive environment• Urgency!
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)
Comparison between EL groups over time
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
Instruction matters…..
• Differentiation• Checks for understanding• Accountability/engagement• Standards-based• Maximum language development structures
and practices
Two Secondary School Case Examples
Ventura Unified School DistrictModesto City Schools
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
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
VUSD: Key elements of the action plan…
English Learner courses revised based on student needsELD course sequence rewritten ELD 4 and SDAIE courses are “UC/CSU accepted”Specific placement criteria for all courses based on
multiple criteriaTwo period block of instruction for ELD coursesAppropriate curriculum (Hampton Brown’s Edge for
ELD) and technologyPacing guides and assessment routines
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
Multilingual Recognition Seal on VUSD High School Diplomas
beginning in June, 2009
awarded over 150 seals
Student “Pep” TalksThis 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
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
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
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%)
Increase in LTEL scoring “Proficient” 2007 - 2008 2008 - 2009
Language Arts Math Language Arts Math
Pilot School A
8.7% 17.4% 25% 32.7%
Pilot School B
11.3% 33.3% 17.5% 33.3%
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
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
Case Example:Modesto
• K-8 and 9-12 DistrictsTitle I Program Improvement Status Year 3
• K-8 District Title III Year 5 of not meeting all AMAO goals
• 9-12 DistrictTitle III Year 4 of not meeting all AMAO goals
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MCS Title I and Title III STATUS2008 - 2009
Who are our English Learners?
# Years in
US School2008 - 2009 Grades 7-12
Language Institute
Tier I
Tier II
1
2
(92) 3%
Tier III
Tier IV
3
4(178) 7%
5+ Program 5
Or more(2,344) 90%
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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 dayc. summer school
• Grade levels would be mixed
Course Terminology
• ELD Strategic English Language Development to increase the student’s English proficiency
• ALDAcademic Language Developmentstrategically focused on developingacademic language through intensive writing instruction
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Terminology cont.
Spanish for Spanish Speakers
Correlated with the Spanish Language ArtsStandards and English Language ArtsStandards in order to promote literacy in both primary language and English throughexplicit transference
If student is not Spanish speaking, then elective that islanguage based, such as, drama, speech, choir,computer based primary language program, orother foreign language.
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National Literacy Panel
www.cal.org/natl-panel/reports/executive_summary.pdf
5+ Program (LTEL)7th & 8th Grade
Period Course
1 ELA READ 180
2 ALD READ 180
3 Spanish for Spanish Speakers
4 Math
5 Science
6 SS
7 PE28
5+ Program9th Grade
Period Course
1 ELA READ 180
2 ALD READ 180
3 Spanish for Spanish Speakers
4 Math
5 Earth Science
6 PE
7 Elective (A-G) : Visual Performing Arts, Support, or AVID 29
NOTE:World Religions/Health classes in summer school or senior year.
Computers in any fouryears, summer school, or test out
OR
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
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)
• 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
Action Steps
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?
Programs toPrevent the creation of LTELs
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
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
• 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????
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
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
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)
• 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
A PreK-3 Case ExampleThe SEAL Model:
A solid foundation of early academic literacy for English
Learner successRedwood City
San Jose
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!
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)
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
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
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
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
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)
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?
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
• 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)
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
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?
For all of these…..
• Professional development• Appropriate materials• Clarity about placement criteria• Clarity about program model• Adapting of daily schedule and master
schedule• Monitoring
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
Thank you!
For more information, contact:Laurie Olsen, Director
Sobrato Early Academic Literacy [email protected]