Building a data driven and instructionally sound

foundation

for English Language Learners in the BPS

Office of English Language Learners

May 2013

Agenda

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Goal: To present and discuss the foundational structures that support the education of English Language Learners in the BPS.

• A legal foundation

• A data driven approach

• An instructional vision & strategy

• Building a bilingual foundation

A legal foundation

Successor Agreement

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The Successor Agreement replaces and supersedes the Settlement Agreement entered into by the United States and the District on October 1, 2010.

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The agreement demonstrates that BPS leaders and the federal government believe the district has made great progress in servicing students learning English and that a plan is in place that enables students to learn English to access academic content and meet and exceed the targets of the district's five-year strategic plan, the Acceleration Agenda.

BPS Press Release

Fundamental Rights

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Notable Constants

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Differing ESL instructional times contingent upon ELD

Classrooms enrolling ELLs must be staffed by teachers who are trained in Categories 1, 2, and 4.

ESL teachers must possess an ESL license.

Reasonable assurances are not offered to newly hired content instructors without Category training or ESL license.

ELD Levels 1 and 2 2.5 hours per day

ELD Level 3 1 hour per day

ELD levels 4 and 5 2.5 hours per week

Programming

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For K2-5, ELLs with ELD levels 1-3 are allowed to be grouped together for ESL instruction:

•Implement different grouping models derived from data based results and best instructional practices.

•Aligned with Common Core Standards and WIDA.

•Concurrently allows more flexible and fiscally efficient scheduling options for schools.

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Curriculum and Instruction

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Develop instructional models and classroom observation tools for ESL and SEI instruction and offer training on these models.

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District shall update its ESL curriculum to be aligned with WIDA and provide training on new standards.

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Ensure that employees who evaluate staff are trained in cultural awareness and best practices and an abridged version of Categories 1, 2, and 4.

-Aligned with MADESE’s RETELL training.Paragraph 60

Promoting Academic Language

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The District is charged to provide supplemental SEI training.

-SIOP training will be implemented to satisfy this requirement.

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SEI teachers will emphasize building academic language aligned with Complex Text training.

-Blend academic language with relative content instruction.

-Explicitly teach academic language relative to the subject matter.-Deconstruct complex sentences.

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Special Education

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The Successor Agreement clearly states that SPED ELLs are entitled to both SPED and ELL services in a manner appropriate to each individual student’s needs:

No ELL shall be denied ELL services solely due to the nature or severity of the student’s disability, and no ELL shall be denied SPED services due to his or her ELL status.

SPED services do not trump ELL services and vice versa.

Schools are required to factor in the needs of SPED ELL students in building school capacity, including those in substantially separate placements.

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Modifications to ELL Services for ELLsWD

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All SPED ELL students are entitled to appropriate ESL services contingent upon their ELD level:

No modifications or deviations to ESL can be implemented unless determined necessary by the IEP team that includes a staff member who is knowledgeable about ELL needs and services.

Under no circumstances can ESL be denied entirely, unless, in rare cases, the student’s disability is so severe that it would be unreasonable to expect that the student will ever be capable of using or understanding language, i.e. Carter School or Horace Mann School for the Deaf.

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Any accommodation for or modification to ESL must be included in the IEP along with the basis for such modification determined necessary.

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Compensatory Services

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All ELL students within the compensation group are provided access to one or more compensatory services programs.

ELLSEA Summer Program OELL After School Program

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Reporting requirement regarding the number of applicants, acceptances, rejections, and participants in compensatory service programs.

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Tracking the Performance of ELLs

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Academic progress of FLEPs will be monitored by OELL and the LAT Facilitator for 2 years to determine whether additional services are necessary.

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Students who Opt Out of ELL services are flagged on the teacher’s roster and monitored by OELL for at least two reviews per semester.

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The District is charged with conducting a longitudinal study:-Measure program effectiveness,-Evaluate the achievement of ELLs v non-ELLs,-Analyze a cohort of students by school and

program, and-Results of study will inform future program

decisions

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Tested Process for addressing capacity challenges

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Finalizing a Settlement Agreement that could be implemented successfully in the BPS

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“Our collaboration with the Boston Public Schools is a great example. When administrators from the Boston Public Schools joined forces with attorneys at the Civil Rights Division and in the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education…we were able to ensure that nearly all 8,500 students who were not getting any ELL services were receiving some services – all in less than a year. Had we not worked collaboratively, many of these students would likely remain without services, and funds spent best on students would have been tied up in litigation. Instead, Boston reached an interim agreement with us in October 2010, and are executing a comprehensive successor agreement today. This model agreement ensures meaningful remedies for ELLs and their parents in almost every aspect of the District’s ELL program, including identification, instruction, teacher qualifications, special education, advanced learning opportunities, and parent communications.”

Thomas E. Perez Assistant Attorney General, April 2012

A data driven approach

ELE programmat

ic data

Assessment data

Are students developing knowledge and skills?

Are ELLs receiving ESL and SEI instruction from qualified teachers?Are ELL/FLEP students developing content knowledge, language and literacy skills?

Theory of action for using data to improve ELL outcomes

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What research shows

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The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy (2011) found that: “the command of English required to pass standardized tests designed for English proficient students, such as the MCAS, far exceeds the levels of English proficiency represented by MEPA Levels 1–3, and to some extent 4.”

English Proficiency is the strongest predictor of academic achievement for ELLs in BPS. (Uriarte et al., 2011)

What have we learned about interpreting academic performance for ELLs in the BPS?

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MCAS testing relies strongly on academic English as demonstrated by reading comprehension and academic writing.

The mastery of English necessary to pass MCAS, exceeds the level of academic English mastered by ELLs performing at MEPA levels 1, 2, and 3.

Conclusion: As ELLs achieve mastery of academic English demonstrated by reaching MEPA Levels 4 & 5, they are able to demonstrate:

• Mastery of the academic discourse of a discipline: mathematics, science, literature and social studies

• Engage in the learning context—reading and writing—of the discipline from the beginning differentiated by ELD level

• Demonstrate proficiency in MCAS assessments

Making Progress in learning English, as measured by Spring 2012 MEPA

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MCAS ELA by MEPA levels

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MCAS Math by MEPA levels

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FLEPs MCAS performance

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ELL and BPS Graduation Rate

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What can we expect for ELLs in the BPS?

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• All ELLs scoring at MEPA level 1-3 should be able to demonstrate progress acquiring academic English.

indicator: MEPA progress attainment for students who scored L1-3 in prior year

• All ELLs scoring at MEPA level 4 should have acquired some academic English and can demonstrate enough content knowledge to be expected to score Needs Improvement on MCAS.

indicator: % NI+P+A on MCAS

• All ELLs scoring MEPA level 5 should have mastered the academic English necessary to demonstrate content knowledge and can be expected to score Proficient or Advanced on MCAS.

indicator: % P+A on MCAS

Research Agenda

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After a period of gains on MCAS ELA, BPS FLEP performance in elementary grades has started to plateau. Why? What can we learn from these students academic trajectory?

How do we evaluate the impact of PD and integrate SIOP, 3Ls and curriculum maps to produce a district wide PD path?

An instructional vision & strategy

Guiding principles to accelerate instruction for ELLs

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In order to accelerate the instruction of ELLs, students must be taught content, language and literacy simultaneously, independent of the student’s ELD level.

Integrating the teaching and learning of both subject matter and language is a way to accelerate

Integration is consistent with the notion that language is learned through meaningful context.

The decontextualized and sequential approach is insufficient for ELLs to succeed in the general education classroom without support.

Building school capacity and transforming practice at the school level

PD Learning Objectives: 1. Learn how to choose and deconstruct complex text,

incorporate academic language, and map curriculum. 2. Support teaching of complex texts and tasks with a focus on

thematic units aligned to the CCSS and differentiated with WIDA standards

3. Explore text selection, integration of content into lessons and framing “Big Ideas” and questions that inform as well as assess student progress.

BPS OELL Literacy Initiatives for SY2012-2013

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Key initiatives:• SIOP- Sheltered Instruction Observational Protocol

• 3 “Ls” ELLs Need- Language, Literacy and Learning

• K2-5 ESL Curriculum Maps using Reach and National Geographic Materials

Aligning instruction to:

• Common Core State Standards and Instructional Shifts

• WIDA English Language Development Standards

K2-5 Implementation of ESL Curriculum Maps SY

2012-2013

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Building a bilingual foundation

Bilingual Agenda

Develop (at least) 3 additional dual-language programs over three years.

•There are 4 dual-language programs currently,

•The goal is to implement 3 additional programs that may include:

Two-way bilingual programs One way world language immersion programsHeritage language programs

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Bilingual Agenda

Develop (at least) 3 additional dual-language programs over three years.

•There are 4 dual-language programs currently,

•The goal is to implement 3 additional programs that may include:

Two-way bilingual programs One way world language immersion programsHeritage language programs

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Dual Language ProgramsTwo-way (bilingual) programs enroll

a balance of native English speakers and native speakers of the partner language.

World language immersion, language immersion or one-way immersion enroll native English speakers.

Developmental or maintenance bilingual programs enroll primarily students who are native speakers of the partner language.

Heritage language programs enroll students who are dominant in English but whose parents, grandparents, or other ancestors spoke the partner language.

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PRE-Texts develops avid and creative readers by using classic literature as a prompt for making

art.

The arts become vehicles for academic learning to promote passionate engagement for teachers and

students in all grade levels and socio-economic environments.

Through art-making workshops, we train teachers to be facilitators for students’ close reading and ownership of challenging texts

Using texts as prompts for making art develops…•reading & interpretative skills•confidence in speaking & thinking in a target language•motivation to read & write•critical thinking skills•creativity•mutual admiration

An effective approach to Common Core Standards through

Complex Texts

After School Programming

Summer and Heritage Program

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A more diverse and equitable summer experience for ELL students entering 2nd through 8th grades. All ELD levels (1,2,3,4,5).

5-week ESL, Math and enrichment program to prepare students for the upcoming school year.

ELL Summer Program Summer Heritage Academies Continue the existing Spanish

Heritage Academy for BPS students grades 3rd through 5th during a 5-week program.

Pilot for an additional language Heritage Academy (Haitian Creole or Vietnamese) in one selected site (YOFES or VIET-AID).

Enrichment specialties will be offered daily and field trips every Friday.

Family engagement through a collaboration with the Children’s Museum to offer family workshops around school readiness

Enrichment specialties will be offered daily and field trips every Friday.

Family engagement through a collaboration with the Children’s Museum to offer family workshops around school readiness

Summer Programming & Heritage Academies

ELL Summer ProgramTest new curricular methodologies as the frontier for core curriculumProvide compensatory services to all ELL students (Settlement Agreement, 2012, para. 77 – 81). Enrich summer learning through a variety of enrichment activities

Summer Heritage AcademiesProvide Spanish / other language instruction and improve native language ability through the study of classic literature.Support and celebrate cultural identity through music, dance and a range of artistic activities with an intellectual focus.Affirm cultural backgrounds by introducing students to classic literature. 40