Closing the Gap for

1

• Closing the Gap for
• English Language Learners
• Why Student-Centered
• School-Parent-Community
• Partnerships Matter
• Lisa Bushey
• lbushey_at_ceee.gwu.edu
• The George Washington University
• Center for Equity and Excellence in Education
• OELA Summit
• December, 2003

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GW/CEEE Mission

• The Center for Equity and Excellence in
  Education promotes high student achievement
  through research, evaluation, technical
  assistance, and professional development. The
  work of the Center is particularly focused on
  high poverty, low-performing schools.

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About GW/CEEE

• Who We Serve
• Community Leaders
• Educators (Principals, Teachers, and
• Pupil Services Personnel)
• Parents
• State and District Administrators
• Others committed to the education
• of K-12 students

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4 Key Messages

• Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
• Parent involvement is central to student
  achievement (Who,Why)
• Parents who know and understand the federal
  education law are empowered to support their
  childs academic growth (Why, How)
• Parents support student achievement when they are
  active and informed consumers of education
  (Whennow!)
• Key organizations of use to parents in building
  their childs achievement (Where, How)

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Research Links Academic Achievement Gains to
Parental Involvement at School

• Education matters to ELL parents, according to a
  2002 synthesis of 51 evidence-based studies
• All parents regardless of income,
  education,or cultural background are involved
  in their childrens learning and want their
  children to do well (p.8).
• (Source Henderson, A.T. Mapp, K.L. (2002). A
  new wave of evidence The impact of school,
  family, and community connections on student
  achievement. Austin, TX National Center for
  Family Community Connection with Schools,
  Southwest Educational Development Laboratories)

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Research Links Academic Achievement Gains to
Parental Involvement at School

• Key question How and in what ways can schools
  and communities actively support the
  participation of ELL parents?
• Yet white middle-class families tend to be
  more involved at school. Supporting more
  involvement at school from all parents may be an
  important strategy for addressing the achievement
  gap (p.7).
• (Source Henderson, A.T. Mapp, K.L. (2002). A
  new wave of evidence The impact of school,
  family, and community connections on student
  achievement. Austin, TX National Center for
  Family Community Connection with Schools,
  Southwest Educational Development Laboratories)

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Traditional Communications Hierarchy
School Board
Superintendent of Schools
PIRCs CBOs
Assistant Superintendent
School-parent-community communications often
non-inclusive and fragmented for the parents of
ELLs
Principal
Teacher
Parents of ELLs
ELLs
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NCLB Communications HierarchyA Better Paradigm
Parents
ELLs
Communities
Schools
Equal Partners in Improving Student Academic
Achievement
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About the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

• NCLB topics
• Title I Improving the Academic Achievement of
  the Disadvantaged
• Title III Language Instruction for Limited
  English Proficient and Immigrant Students

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Key Aspects of Title I

• Title IImproving the Academic Achievement of the
  Disadvantaged
• Section 1118. Parental Involvement
• meaningful consultation with parents of
  participating children
• notifications in a format and language the
  parents can understand

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Key Aspects of Title I

• Under NCLB, Title I law strives to make clear to
  parents
• what is being taught,
• the measures used to assess progress, and
• expected student performance results

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Key Aspects of Title I

• NCLB advances the right of the parent to be
  involved in his/her childs education. Schools
  are required to
• include parents in parent-focused policy
  development
• establish a school-parent compact

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Key Aspects of Title III

• Equity and equality
• achievement of content and performance standards
  by ELLs and non-ELLs alike
• Literacy and knowledge-building
• upgrade the reading and other academic skills of
  ELLs and
• implement family education programs and parent
  outreach and training activities

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Key Aspects of Title III

• Section 3302. Parental Notification.
• In 30 days or less after the school year has
  begun, parents must be notified regarding
• a childs identification as an ELL
• why a language instructional program is
  advisable
• the childs level of English language
  proficiency, how that proficiency level was
  assessed, and the childs current academic
  achievement
• instructional program methods utilized
• how the program addresses the childs educational
  strengths and needs
• (continued)

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Key Aspects of Title III

• Title III, continued
• how English will be learned and how age- and
  grade-appropriate standards for promotion and
  graduation will be met
• program exit requirements, expected transition
  rates into mainstream classrooms, and expected
  graduation rates from secondary school
• whether, for a disabled child, the program meets
  his/her Individualized Education Program and
• parental determination of whether to enroll the
  child in the program selected, or selection of
  another program or method of instruction

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Key Aspects of Title III

• Title III, continued
• notification is to be made in a format and
  language that the parent can understand and
• parents will be notified separately if the local
  school district fails to make progress on its
  annual measurable achievement objectives

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State Report Card

• Sample

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What Every ELL Parent Must Know and Be Able to Do

• How can I better understand my states
  educational system?
• To represent your child well, become an active
  and informed consumer of education.

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Key Questions Informed Parents Should Ask

• States
• Districts/Schools
• Teachers

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About Parent Information Resource Centers (PIRCs)

• PIRCs offer communications access to states and
  districts
• Created by the U.S. Department of Education in
  1995, PIRCs offer training, information, and
  technical assistance to parents, schools, and
  others to understand how children develop and
  what they need to succeed in school.
• Today, more than 70 PIRCs operate in almost all
  of the states across the nation. To find the PIRC
  in your state, visit http//www.pirc-info.net/pirc
  s.asp

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Understanding how States, Districts, and Schools
Identify ELLs

• Did you realize that ELLs are defined
  differently across states? Ask how ELLs are
  identified
• At a state level How are English language
  learners defined in state policy? To what degree
  does the state definition match or model the
  federal definition?
• At a district/school level What test(s) were
  used to determine my childs level of English
  language proficiency? What can you tell me
  regarding the rigor and validity of these
  test(s)? What other districts, if any, use these
  test(s)? Are states other than this one that use
  these test(s) considered low- or high-performing?

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State StandardsKey Questions

• Questions for states
• What are the state standards for each content
  area? Are translated copies of the standards
  available?
• How do the states education standards compare
  with those of high-performing states?
• Question for districts/schools
• To what degree is the ESL curriculum responsive
  to state standards?

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State AssessmentsKey Questions

• Questions for states
• How well do the state assessments measure the
  knowledge and skills identified in the standards?
• Are state assessments closely aligned with state
  standards? Does the assessment measure the
  content and skills identified in the standards?
• Questions for districts/schools
• Are testing accommodations offered for English
  language learners? Are those selected
  linguistically and culturally responsive? Were
  ESL teachers part of that decision making process?

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State AccountabilityKey Questions

• Questions for states
• How and in what ways are districts and schools
  held accountable for student achievement?
• When is this states state report card
  distributed (under NCLB, some states may receive
  a 1-year extension)? Will explanatory information
  be available in a bilingual format? If I
  experience trouble interpreting the report, is
  assistance available?
• Questions for districts/schools
• Do principals and teachers receive professional
  development and technical assistance services
  targeted toward improving teaching and learning
  for ELLs? If so, with what degree of
  regularity/frequency?
• Is multicultural awareness training made
  available to mainstream teachers?
• Are teachers in this school highly qualified and
  directly trained in the subjects they are
  teaching?

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Building Teacher-Parent Partnerships What Every
ELL Parent Should Ask

• How can I improve my childs achievement?

Actively partner with your childs teachers
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Key Questions for Teachers

• Assistance
• What types of parental assistance does this
  school offer or recommend?
• Is there a parent liaison?
• Are there specific outside organizations that you
  recommend for me to obtain resources or
  additional help?
• Environment
• In what ways do you feel the curriculum/school
  environment are culturally and linguistically
  responsive? Are there ways I can help?
• Performance
• What are your performance expectations for my
  child?
• What advice can you offer on how I can work with
  my child to help her to fulfill these
  expectations?
• (continued)

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Key Questions for Teachers

• Feedback
• I want to attend parent-teacher conferences, but
  I work during the day and it is difficult to
  attend. Does this school offer conferences at
  alternate hours (e.g., early morning, late
  evening, other)? Are translators available?
• I would like to know when my child first begins
  to have difficulties in a particular subject or
  is showing signs of frustrationhow can I keep
  current regarding my childs progress?
• What is the best way to reach you?

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Key Questions for Teachers

• Content area instruction
• How are literacy skills integrated into content
  area instruction in my childs classes?
• Is my child separated for content area
  instruction or does s/he receive that in the
  regular education class? If separate, how many
  minutes per day? How does the instruction differ?
• How is it determined when it is time for my child
  to move from a specialized program into the
  regular education program? Is it based on my
  childs English language ability, or is it done
  at a particular grade level, etc?
• (Source Muirhead, M.S. Golden, L. (2002,
  March 22). Parents and school choice Creating
  the right fit for English language learners.
  Workshop presented at the NABE Parent Institute.)

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Key Questions for Teachers

• Language skills instruction
• How does my childs instructional program teach
  English language literacy skills?
• If my child is in a regular education class, how
  are the language needs met? What adaptations does
  the teacher make?
• Is my child encouraged to use the native language
  at home? At school?
• What opportunities does my child have for
  academic interaction with native English-speaking
  peers? With native language speaking peers?
• (Source Muirhead, M.S. Golden, L. (2002,
  March 22). Parents and school choice Creating
  the right fit for English language learners.
  Workshop presented at the NABE Parent Institute.)

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School-Parent-Community Sources17 Selected
Online Resources

• U.S. Department of Education http//www.ed.gov
• Parent Information and Resource Centers
  http//www.pirc-info.net
• National Clearinghouse for English Language
  Acquisition http//www.ncela.gwu.edu
• National Center for Family and Community
  Connections with Schools http//www.sedl.org/con
  nections/resources/list-schoolfamily.html
• National Council of La Raza http//www.nclr.org
• National Parent Teacher Association www.pta.org
• The George Washington University Center for
  Equity and Excellence in Education
  http//ceee.gwu.edu
• National Association for Bilingual Education
  www.nabe.org
• (continued)

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School-Parent-Community Resources17 Selected
Online Resources

• Public Education Network http//www.publiceducat
  ion.org
• Center on Education Policy http//www.ctredpol.o
  rg
• The Council for Exceptional Children
  www.ced.sped.org
• National Center for Family Literacy
  www.famlit.org
• Center on School, Family, and Community
  Partnerships scov.csos.jhu/p2000/center.htm
• General Homework Tips for Parents
  www.ed.gov/parents/academic/involve/homework/
• part_pg2.html2
• Parent Leadership Associates www.plassociates.or
  g
• National Coalition for Parent Involvement in
  Education http//www.ncpie.org
• Parent Institute for Quality Education
  www.piqe.org