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Texas Middle School Program

for AP* Spanish

*AP, Advanced Placement Program, and Pre-AP are registered trademarks of the College Board, which does not endorse nor was it involved in the production of this product.

© 2004 Texas Education Agency

Training of Trainers

Welcome!

<INSERT YOUR NAME HERE.>

<INSERT YOUR TITLE HERE.>

Protocol

• Breaks

• Restroom locations

• Signals to reconvene groups

• Cell phones and pagers

Agenda

• Welcome & introduction

• Overview of Texas Middle School Program for AP Spanish

• Rationale for offering advanced courses to middle school students

• Implementation

• Closing & evaluation

Outcomes

• Become more familiar with the Texas Middle School Program for AP Spanish

• Understand the steps for program implementation

• Know about program resources

Table introductions

• Introduce yourself to the person next to you—share your name and position, where you work, how long you’ve been there.

• Introduce your partner to the people at your table or to the group until everyone has been introduced.

What is the Texas Middle School Program for AP* Spanish?

DVD

INTRODUCTION

Purpose

The purpose of the Texas Middle School Program for AP Spanish is to raise the academic expectations of native Spanish-speaking students and engage them in early preparation for college courses.

To do this, the program…

• Provides the AP Spanish Language course to native Spanish speakers in the 8th grade.

Common reactions

• A college-level course for 8th graders?

• They can’t do it.

• Only in the Valley.

• Credits that are over 5 years old?

History

• 2000—TEA initiates pilot with 7 districts.

• 2002—TEA receives grant to scale up program.

• 2003—13 scale-up districts receive grants to create programs.

• 2004—Statewide training of trainers promotes growth of program.

Pilot and scale-up districts

Current programs

• 19 districts

• 42 campuses

• 1,000 students annually

Results

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

AP 5Score

AP 4Score

AP 3Score

AP 2Score

AP 1Score

2001

2002

2003

2004

Additional reported benefits

• Enhanced self-confidence

• Improved performance in other classes

• Increased enrollment in honors/AP classes

• Fewer disciplinary problems and absences

• Enhanced perception of college as a realistic goal

• Improved skills that transfer to other courses and test-taking experiences

Additional reported benefits

• Parents of participating students became more involved in their children’s schools.

• Teachers involved in the pilot project felt rejuvenated and more motivated in the classroom.

Program benefits

DVD

PROGRAM BENEFITS/

HELPS IN OTHER COURSES

Why offer advanced courses to native Spanish-speaking

8th graders?

• Research on college access and success

• At-risk population

• RHSP and DAP

• NCLB & LOTE

• Hispanic college-going rates

• Future growth of NSS population

What the research says

• Students who take advanced courses are much more likely to attend and COMPLETE college.– Adelman (1999)– Horn & Carroll (2001)

• 55% of first-generation college students who take a core curriculum complete college.

• 81% who take rigorous coursework complete college.– Camara (2003)

At risk

• LEP students are generally considered “at risk” of dropping out of school.

NCLB & LOTE

• Foreign language is defined as a core academic subject area under NCLB.

• Texas’ performance goal 2 focuses on LEP students.

• 40% or fewer LEP students “met standard” on 2003 TAKS.

Recommended High School & Distinguished Achievement plans

• Allows students to acquire all foreign language required for RHSP/DAP

• Frees up high school schedule

College-going rates & future growth

• Closing the Gap 2015

• Targets for Hispanic enrollment not met in 2004

• Needs to increase as population grows

Raises student aspirations

DVD

PROGRAM BENEFITS/

RAISES ASPIRATIONS

Activity

Native Spanish-speaking students• Characteristics• Services• Programs

How to start a middle school program for AP Spanish

• Implementation models

• Key components

• Implementation strategies

• Resources

• Common challenges

• Roles and responsibilities

Program models

Extracurricular Model• Met 2x a week in 2-hour blocks after school• Benefits:

– No change to existing program

• Problems:– Poor attendance and attitude towards course– Too many demands in addition to regular schedule– Credit issues

Program models

Itinerant-teacher Model

HS Spanish teacher taught MS course

• Benefits:– Qualified teacher– Vertical alignment/transition to HS

• Problems:– Travel time, scheduling conflicts– Teacher accessibility

Program models

Expanded-classroom Model

• Taught by MS teacher

• Benefits:– Accessibility of teacher– Familiarity with MS students

• Problems:– Transition to HS

Key components

• Program leadership team

• Pre-AP course (vertical alignment)

• Summer institute

• AP Spanish Literature by 10th grade (vertical alignment)

Implementation steps

• Build a program leadership team

• Plan for program development

• Select students

• Provide orientation

• Implement and evaluate

Building a team

• Composition

• Key players– Principal, teachers, counselors, Advanced

Academics, LOTE, and languages staff

Building a team

• Other players– Superintendents and other administrators,

PEIMS and textbook coordinators

• Buy-in

Program team

MIDDLE SCHOOL

HIGH SCHOOL

Administrators, teachers, counselors

Building a team

DVD

KEYS TO SUCCESS/

SUPPORT FROM ADMINISTRATORS

Assess language programs

• Middle schools AND high schools

• MS options for native Spanish speakers?

• HS options?

• Changes to MS curriculum? HS curriculum?

Planning—Year 1

• Importance of careful planning

• Planning beyond middle school

Define program objectives

• Examples of MEASURABLE program objectives– Number of students served– Exam scores– High-school achievement– College-going rates

Define expectations

• Sample expectations:– All participants take exams.– Students, teachers, parents sign participation

agreements.

Identify teacher

• The right teacher is key to success.

• Course requires a great deal of time and commitment from the teacher.

Provide teacher training

• College Board

• Other

Evaluate materials

• State- and district-adopted textbooks

• Español para el hispanohablante– Background information on teaching Spanish

speakers– TEKS for LOTE

Create informational documents

• Program brochures

• Letters

• Individualized local programs (E.P.A.L.E., Adelante)

Activity

What questions would they have?• Teachers• Administrators• Students• Parents• Counselors

Develop program budget

• Teaching unit

• Textbook purchase if not state-adopted textbook

• AP instructional materials

• Other instructional materials & classroom incidentals

• Tape recorders or language lab

Develop program budget

• Summer institute

• Staff development

• Guest speakers/program evaluators (honorariums)

• Field trips

• Travel to conferences

Investigate program funding

• Local

• State

• Federal

Spread the word

• Informational documents

• Presentations

• Press releases, newspaper articles

• School displays

Break

Determine grading policy issues• Districts develop own policies for course

grades.– Based on class performance– Based on AP scores

Establish credit policy issues

• Districts develop own policies for course credit.– May require students to obtain credit by

examination for each level skipped– May establish validation policies to award

automatic credit for courses skipped– Number of credits varies– TEKS for Spanish IV cover the TEKS for

Spanish I, II, III

Credit by exam

• Texas Education Code 28.023 allows districts to develop their own credit by examination tests with approval from local school boards.

• Districts may also use the Texas Tech or UT Austin CbE.

• Texas Administrative Code 74.24

Other policy issues

• GPA, honors, AP weighted averages– District policy determines if honors and/or AP

weighted averages are added to the course grade.

– Calculation of GPA is a local matter.• Grades for courses verified under a district

validation policy or credit by examination may be used to calculate GPA.

• District must enter grade given for a CbE on the student transcript.

Plan for exam administration

• Start investigating early.

• Obtain exam school number and site code.

• Obtain and review exam administration guidebook.

• Receive campus awards for passing scores.

Student selection

• Selection criteria

• ESL class rosters

• Student survey

• Target proficiency level

• Placement test (Prueba de ubicación) or credit by exam

• Other

Contact parents

• Communications in Spanish and English

• Parent comfort level in school environment

• Updates

• Information on applying to college

• Volunteer opportunities

• Refreshments, transportation, childcare

Parent involvement

DVD

KEYS TO SUCCESS/

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Write curriculum

• Follow the AP guidelines and objectives

• Use the TEKS for LOTE for level IV and high school Spanish IV/AP curriculum

• Integrate age-appropriate activities for MS students

• Articulate MS and HS programs

Order textbooks, audio equipment

• Textbooks– Abriendo paso (Pearson Education, Inc.)– De Paseo (Thomson Learning/Heinle)– Abriendo paso (Heinle & Heinle)– Tesoro literario (Glencoe McGraw-Hill)– Galeria de arte y vida (Glencoe McGraw-Hill)

• Tape recorders

Orientation meeting

• For students and parents

• Benefits, challenges, requirements

• Spanish and English

Summer institute

• 1 day to 4 weeks

• Introduction to format, expectations, and rigor of course

• Opportunity for diagnostic assessment

• Review of key grammar

• Exposure to literature

• Build class identity

Public relations

• Conduct initial awareness campaign

• Regularly inform stakeholders and broader community of progress

• Share results and accomplishments

Collect baseline data

• Student performance data

• Attendance and discipline

• Course-taking patterns

• College-going rates

Lunch

• On your own.• Enjoy!

Program implementation—Year 2

• Monitor class

• Provide tutoring

Curriculum alignment

• Vertical teams

Curriculum alignment

DVD

KEYS TO SUCCESS/

VERTICAL ALIGNMENT

Parent updates

• Progress

• College information

Order AP exams

• Report expected number of students who will take the exam

• Check out exam schedule

• AP Central http://apcentral.collegeboard.com

Practice exams

• Released AP exams– practice– benchmarking

Redesign course offerings

• Pre-AP

• 2-year AP Spanish Literature sequence

• Additional advanced Spanish courses

Program refinement—Year 3

• Refine selection processes

• Expand opportunities for participation in the course

Common challenges

• Awarding grades or credit for students

• Finding teachers qualified and willing to teach the middle school course

• Addressing skepticism from counselors and other school staff

• Dissolving resistance from high school Spanish teachers

Common challenges

• Communicating with parents and others

• Providing the next level of advanced high school AP Spanish to participating students

• Administering the AP exams

Concerns and challenges

DVD

CONCERNS AND CHALLENGES

Implementation resources

• Implementation Guide and CD– Implementation strategies– Sample resources

• DVD

• Website

Implementation Guide

• Program history• Policy implications• Models• Strategies• Key issues,

challenges, benefits

• Timeline for implementation

CD

• Downloadable version of Implementation Guide

• Sample resources

Sample resources• Brochures• Letters to parents• Policy statements• Sample syllabi• Lesson plans

DVD

• Introduction• Program overview• Benefits and

challenges• Staff and student

perceptions

Website

• www.teamiddleschoolspanish.org

Additional resources

• GEAR UP Toolkit

http://www.teagearup.com/default.asp

Activity

• Roles & responsibilities– Teachers– Counselors– Administrators

Questions

Key websites

• Program websitewww.teamiddleschoolspanish.org• TEA Advanced Academic Serviceshttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/gted/• TEA LOTEhttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/lote.html/• AP Centralhttp://apcentral.collegeboard.com/• Texas Languages Other Than English Center for

Educator Developmenthttp://www.sedl.org/loteced/

For more information

<INSERT YOUR NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION HERE.>

Texas Education Agency

Division of Curriculum

Texas Education Agency

Phone: 512-463-9581

Fax: 512-463-8057

curric@tea.state.tx.us

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/

Closing

• Thank you for attending.

• Good luck!