This presentation is dedicated to

1
This presentation is dedicated to----

• All of the wonderful educators across Colorado
  who are members of ELL / Special Education teams.

2

• It was a long time ago.
• I have almost forgotten my dream.
• But it was there then,
• In front of me,
• Bright as a sun ----
• My dream.
• And then the wall rose,Rose slowly,
• Slowly,
• Between me and my dream----
• Langston Hughes

3
Walls are built when we operate with different
assumptions

• This presentation is based on the
• premise that our assumptions are
• formed by our language and culture.
• In order to meet the needs of all
• students we must understand
• and appreciate our basic
• assumptions and those of others.

4
Assumption

• The act of taking for granted
  to suppose something is a fact

5
When assumptions clash---
Magic doesnt work in this new place. Native
poetry has lost rhythm and rhyme, Familiar food
is labeled a curiosity, And hostile stares
replace familial love. To be an immigrant Is to
be solitary in the midst of millions. Deng
Ming-Dao, Tao, 1992
6
Interview with Hmong parents of a child with
epilepsy(Recreated by author in The Spirit
Catches You)

• Why do you think it started when it did?
• Lias sister slammed the door and Lias soul was
  frightened out of her body.
• What are the chief problems the sickness has
  caused?
• It has made us sad to see Lia hurt, and it has
  made us angry at her sister.

• What do you call the problem?
• Qaug dab peg. That means the spirit catches you
  and you fall down.
• What do you think has caused the problem?
• Soul loss.

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And when she grows up---

• What are the most important results you hope she
  receives from this treatment?
• We hope Lia will be healthy, but we are not sure
  we want her to stop shaking forever because it
  makes her noble in our culture and when she grows
  up she might become a shaman.

8
Lias Doctors Response

• After many years of treating Lia her doctors had
  no idea about the different assumptions that had
  been at play throughout.
• Mr. And Mrs. Lee thought
  what?

9
Your New Life in the United StatesA handbook for
Hmong refugees, published by the Language and
Orientation Resource Center, Washington, D.C.

• To send mail, you must use stamps.
• The door of the refrigerator must be shut.
• Never put your hand in the garbage disposal.
• Do not stand or squat on the toilet seat since it
  might break.

• Picking your nose or your ears in public is
  frowned upon in the United States.
• In colder areas you must wear shoes, socks, and
  appropriate outerwear. Otherwise you may become
  ill.
• Always ask before picking your neighbors
  flowers, fruit or vegetables.

10
Your life in a Hmong Village A Handbook for
Americans Trying to Understand Hmong Assumptions.
Adopted The Spirit Catches You

• Address the oldest/senior member of the family
  group, no matter what the purpose of the
  communication.
• Bury the placenta of a girl baby under the
  parents bed, of a boy baby near the center of
  the household.

• Sweep the floor daily to keep the dirt clean and
  evenly distributed.
• Use a shaman to respond to the spirits that cause
  illness.
• Dont compliment parents on the appearance of
  their children, it will make the spirits jealous.

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I used to be a real man like any other man, but
not now---

• Ive been trying very hard to learn English and
  at the same time looking for a job. No matter
  what kind of job,even to clean peoples toilets
  but people dont even trust you or offer you such
  work. Im looking at me that Im not even worth
  as much as a dogs stool. I want to die right
  here so I wont see my future.
• Interview with a Hmong Refugee, The Spirit
  Catches You and You Fall Down

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Assumptions

• What assumptions do you think a Hmong parent
  might have about
• What supplies a child should bring to school?
• How to help his child in school?
• What it is like to go to an American school?
• What is good behavior?

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Borders and Bridges Meeting the Needs of
English Language Learners

• Lois Adams - Colorado Dept of Education
• Janet Beatty - Project Act

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Purpose of Presentation

• To provide information, rationale and strategies
  to create bridges and span borders in order to
  meet the needs of English Language Learners.

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So, Why Do We Need this?

• Knowledge?
• Sensitivity?
• New Knowledge and skills?

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Because----Legal and Policy Reasons

• Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964
• May 25th Memo
• Title II of ADA
• Section 504 of Rehab Act of 1973
• Lau v. Nichols
• Castaneda v. Pickard

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Summary of legal requirements

• Schools must provide programs that include
• Identification
• Language proficiency assessment
• Instructional placement (content and English
  Language Acquisition)
• Performance assessments
• Exit criteria
• Adequate yearly progress
• Program evaluation to determine effectiveness
• Appropriate referral and access to special
  education services.

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In other words, a sink or swim approach
just like it was for my grandparents is
NOT acceptable!!!
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Prohibits Discrimination
Special Education Law

• Each State that receives assistance under this
  part. . .shall provide for the collection and
  examination of data to determine if significant
  disproportionality based on race is occurring in
  the state in respect to identification and
  placement of children.
• from IDEA, 1997

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IDEA - 97 614(b)(3)(A)

• Tests and other evaluation materials used to
  assess a child must be
• Selected and administered so as not to be
  discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis
• provided and administered in the childs native
  language or other mode of communication, unless
  it is clearly not feasible to do so.

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How does Colorado measure up?
22
Number of Administrative Units
Disproportionately Identifying Minorities for
Special Education
Over Identifying Under IdentifyingTotal
Minority 2 0Black 3 2American
Indian 0 4Asian 3 1Hispanic 2 2Not
e Disproportional identification is determined
by a statistical significance level of plt.05,
statistically controlling for the percentage of
each minority in the AUs student population and
the rate of special education identification
relative to the state average.
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Disproportionality

• What are the ethnic ratios in my district?
• How do special education ratios measure up to the
  general population?
• Are we over or under represented in any area?
• If so, why might that be?
• Why might we be
  under-identifying Asian students?

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Because--- Demographic Reasons

• 5 year growth in of students who speak
  languages other than English
• 114 languages spoken in
• Colorado
• 80 speak
• Spanish

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Colorados School population

• From 1980 to 2000
• Hispanic population has doubled 81,567 to
  159,000
• Asian population has tripled 8,799 to 20,932

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Population growth not focused in one area

• Its actually increasing in areas that havent
  been traditionally Latin. Jefferson County,
  Douglas County and the mountain counties. . . I
  think the numbers are exploding all through the
  state.
• Rufina Hernandez, Executive Director , Latin
  American Research and Service Agency.

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Because of--- Pragmatic Reasons

• Currently 1 of every 5 school-aged children in
  America comes from a home where a language other
  that English is spoken
• 1 of every 3 teachers has an English Language
  Learner in his/her classroom.

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In the Average Classroom of 30 Students

• 10 students are ethnic or racial minorities
• 6 speak a language other than English
• 4 speak Spanish
• 1 speaks an Asian language
• 1 speaks 1 of more that 100 other languages
• 6 live in poverty

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Immigrant Student Studyby Judy Smith-Davis,
Alliance Project

• Children who immigrate from other countries pose
  interesting challenges
• Wide variations in quality of education in
  countries of origin
• Some who have never attended school
• Psychological and physical trauma from violence
  and war
• Difficulties in socialization
• Difficult to involve parents

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And to Make Things Even More Interesting -------

• Educators lack knowledge of cultural /language
  factors.
• There is a shortage of educators who are fluent
  in languages other than English.
• Typical reading instruction doesnt reflect
  understanding of ESL needs.

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Because ----Political Reasons

• CLOSING
• THE
• GAP!

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English Language Learnersand CSAP
Source CDE Assessment Unit, 11/98 1998 CSAP
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District Report Cards

• Analysis shows strong ties between the school
  ratings and student poverty and race The
  states lowest schools are overwhelmingly poor
  and minority.
• Unsatisfactory schools are about 20 Black, 68
  Hispanic, 1 Asian and 9 White.
• Excellent schools are about 1 Black, 4
  Hispanic, 3 Asian, and 90 White.
• (Rocky Mountain News)

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And becauseHuman Reasons

• Communication does not begin by being understood
  but by understanding others
• Stephen Brown
• We cannot truly understand the walls immigrants
  and minorities face. But we can attend to some
  of the voices, some of the stories.
• Of Borders and Dreams

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Administrator

• We want our school to be rated superior! We
  work hard to help all children learn to read.
  But some need so much more time and resources. .
  . Its a daunting task!

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Teacher

• I have 28 kids in my class. Everyone of them
  is special! But trying to teach a student who
  doesnt understand English is my biggest
  challenge!

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Special Education Teacher

• I know I have to use SPED assessments that are
  not biased - they have to be language and culture
  neutral. I dont have any idea how to do that!

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Speech Language Pathologist

• I need time to work with others, especially
  our team and his teacher and family, to meet the
  needs of this child who is learning English as a
  second language after just coming here from
  Mexico

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Parent

• When I went to enroll my children in school,
  they wanted so much information. Now, my child
  has a disability and they are asking even more
  questions. Why do they need all that
  information? I dont trust the government in my
  country and it makes me really nervous to give
  people here so much information.

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Another Parent

• I am teaching my children to be quiet in
  school, to be respectful of the teacher. I get
  them ready by teaching them this and to not get
  in trouble. But they tell me if they dont talk
  the teacher thinks they are dumb.

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No me escriba - Dont write to me about my child!

• Notes from school about my child are
  impossible, in English or Spanish. Only Ricardo,
  our 6-year-old son, in first grade, can read
  either language.
• From Of Borders and Dreams

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Another Parent

• As I see my child having difficulties in
  school, I know it is because of me. . . I cant
  help any of our children with homework, I cant
  help them with school.

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What if.

• Ive thought of asking you for a while now.
  Maybe I could learn some English and to read a
  little. Maybe then I could help them more. I
  might not be able to do it, but I just wonder. .
  .
• From Of Borders and Dreams

45
Student

• In my country, if there is a problem we go to
  the teacher to tell her. I did that and the
  other kids really got on my case. I am scared to
  go to school.

46
Student

• I was taught to listen in school, not to talk.
  Here we have to speak out to get attention.
  Thats hard to do when you dont understand or
  speak English well. I think the kids and
  teachers think Im dumb.

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And another student

• I never saw a locker before. We have to keep
  our stuff in there and so Im always late for
  class because I cant remember how to use it.

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Overall Picture

• Educators feeling frustrated
• Professionals working in isolation
• Parents feeling uninformed and isolated
• Increasing inappropriate referrals and
  pressure to place students in special education
• Confusion about assessment for SPED
  eligibility
• Numerous OCR visits
• Students caught in the middle

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• Opening the Pandoras Box

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Systems Thinking
Community District/BOCES Building Classroom Studen
t
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Systems Response Colorados 8-Step Process

• Parent checklist
• English proficiency checklist
• Student placement
• Concern about learning/ behavior

• Classroom interventions
• SPED referral
• SPED ID process
• Specialized instruction support

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Community Responses

• Collaborate across the community
• To identify resources
• Train interpreters
• Hire and use cultural mediators
• Establish supports for
  new comers

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Three concrete suggestions.

• 1. Get rid of the word Compliance. Its a lousy
  term. It implies moral hegemony. You dont want
  a command from a general, you want a colloquy.

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A second suggestion ---

• Instead of looking for a model of coercion, look
  at a model of mediation. Go find a member of the
  community who can help you negotiate.
• Remember that a stance of mediation requires
  compromise on both sides.
• Decide whats critical and be willing to
  compromise on everything else.

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And finally--

• You need to understand that as powerful an
  influence as the culture of the student and her
  family is, the culture of American education is
  equally powerful. If you cant see that your own
  culture has its own set of interests, emotions,
  and biases, how can you expect to deal
  successfully with someone elses culture?
• All three recommendations are adapted from The
  Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, p. 261

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An Ounce of Prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Suggestions to avoid unnecessary SPED referrals

• Share successful instructional strategies
• Use a cultural mediator
• Support use of native language
• Learn about the cultural /linguistic
• Background of the child and family

• Observe in the classroom, lunchroom, playground
• Support parents as language models
• Enlist parental support
• Work as a team

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Attitudes that ensure success

• Language and culture enrich our lives
• Language and culture form life views/assumptions.
• We respect and honor language, culture, and
  different assumptions
• We are lifelong learners

• We are knowledgeable advocates.
• We collaborate to make decisions and provide
  services.
• We focus on the whole child- academic success,
  emotional security, culture, and language.

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District Strategies

• Select Personnel
• Hire folks who have knowledge of second language
  acquisition and culture (cultural mediators) to
  work with families and educators.
• Review your ELL policies and procedures to ensure
  they are effective and legal
• Provide training
• Knowledge of second language acquisition
• Legal requirements
• Effective instructional strategies
• Include ALL ELL students in the accountability
  process.

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School Strategies

• Establish effective child study teams
• Include those knowledgeable of second language
  acquisition and culture
• Provide research based instructional strategies
• Develop coordinated and collaborative services
  and supports
• Invite and encourage families to participate in
  class and building activities
• Develop buddy systems for new and/or reluctant
  students
• Encourage families to support other families

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Classroom Strategies From Tidunoff et al., 1991

• Facilitate comprehension
• use appropriate wait time
• believe students are capable of learning
• provide structured time to use English
• give immediate feedback
• adjust own English for comprehension

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Capitalize on the Commonalities of SPED and ESL
Instructional Strategies

• Use of visual and verbal prompts
• Repetition
• Modeling
• Use of language that is comprehensible to the
  learner
• Activities with high functional value
• Use of environmental cues
• From Elba Rohena-Diaz, Ed.D.

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Cultural Mediators/Brokers/Representatives

• Someone who merely converts words into English,
  however accurately is of no help whatsoever.
• I dont call my staff interpreters, I call them
  cultural brokers. They teach me. When I dont
  know what to do, I ask them. Go find yourself a
  cultural broker!
• The Spirit Catches you and You Fall Down

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Use students native language.

• Allow students to use their native language to
  respond to questions asked in English.
• Use students native languages for concept
  development/clarification.
• Use students native language in order to develop
  competence in English.

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Structure activities to promote students
active use of language

• Allow students to interact with others for class
  activities, tasks.
• Dont correct ungrammatical utterances of
  students.
• Assign students to cooperate on instructional
  tasks.
• Ensure that student talk dominates the lesson.

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Frequently Observed Miscellaneous Factors

• Focus on English language development as integral
  part of lesson.
• Emphasize meaning rather than grammatical
  structure of students responses.
• Make use of visuals or manipulatives to
  teach content.
• Show sensitivity to students language and
  culture.

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Special Education Strategies

• Include ELL staff in SPED process
• Monitor SPED ethnic ratios compared to district
  ratios
• Provide information to parents in the language
  they understand
• Document language skills at every opportunity
• Be cautious in accepting referrals without
  documentation of pre referral interventions.
• Ensure that assessment for eligibility is not
  discriminatory because of language or culture.

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Key Decisions Points

• Prereferral/referral meeting
• Is this referral appropriate? Have there been
  effective interventions with sufficient intensity
  for an appropriate length of time?
• 2. Assessment
• What are the language skills and culture of this
  child?
• What do we need to know?
• Which tools and strategies are appropriate?
• Eligibility
• Can diversity issues, language factors be ruled
  out as a Primary cause of the students school
  difficulties?
• Does the student meet eligibility criteria?
• Is the student in need of special ed. services?

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Key Components of a Quality Assessment

• Comprehensive information is gathered regarding
  the familys cultural and linguistic background.
• Interpreters and cultural mediators are essential
  members of the assessment team.
• Standardized instruments are supplemented by
  non-standardized measures, and observations in
  multiple settings.
• Results of the assessment are interpreted within
  the context of linguistic and cultural variables

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Differentiating a language difference from a
language disorderTwo critical questions must be
asked

• Is the child able to be an effective, fluent and
  appropriate communicator using authentic
  communication behaviors in typical contexts?

• If not, is this due to factors intrinsic to the
  child, extrinsic (I.e. environmental) factors, or
  a combination?

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To answer the 2 critical questions

• Use specific questions to guide discussions
• See 9 questions from Project ACT
• Reflect on environmental influences and language
  development
• See Roseberry-McKibbin handout

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How do we measure up?

• Do SPED and ELL folks know share strategies
  with classroom teachers?
• Do we use trained interpreters / CMs?
• Do we support use of the childs native language
• Are we sensitive to students culture and language?

• Do we observe children in their natural
  environments?
• Do we support parents to be language models?
• Do we involve parents?
• Do we conduct quality assessments?
• We we work as a team?

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Strategies

• What strategies have you used in your
  district/BOCES?
• Which ones might you try?

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few people will leave the familiarity of what is
for the sake of what could be.
It is not enough to have a vision and a value.
Without a plausible bridge, a strategy to get
there,
75
Personal StrategiesUse Available Resources

• JOIN the ELL / SPED LIST SERVE
• Heres How
• Send A Command To LYRIS_at_WEB.CDE.STATE.CO.US
• Send the Following Message Subscribe CLD (Plus
  Your Name)
• To Contribute Something to the List Serve, Use
  CLD_at_WEB.CDE.STATE.CO.US

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Use available information

• Special Education for Culturally and
  Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Students Meeting
  the Challenges, Realizing the Opportunities.
  Colorado Department of Education, January 1999
• Available in hard copy or at
• www.cde.state.co.us

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Read a book

• The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down A
  Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the
  Collision of Two Cultures, Anne Fadiman,Farrar,
  Straus, Giroux, New York, 1997
• Con Respecto Bridging the Distance Between
  Culturally Diverse Families and Schools,
  Guadalupe Valdes, Teachers college Press, New
  York, 1996
• Of Borders and Dreams A Mexican-American
  Experience of Urban Education, Chris Liska
  Carger, Teachers College Press, 1996

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Make a new friend

• Community members from various cultures
• District ELL professionals
• International students at local colleges
• Folks who have participated in the CDE ELL/SPED
  team training
• CDE staff and outside consultants
• SPED contact - Lois Adams at Adams_l_at_cde.state.co.
  us
• ELA Unit contact- Flo Lenhart at
  Lenhart_f_at_cde.state.co.us
• ELL /SPED training team

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Take a peer from another district out for lunch

• To learn about
• An enthusiastic team thats made a difference -
  Cherry Creek
• On going ELL staff development - Centennial BOCES
• A persuasive team that got their cultural
  mediator - Grand Junction
• A team wrote a Sliver grant for MONEY to train -
  East Central BOCES
• How a director can support a team - Montrose
• Developing a collaborative district plan - North
  Glenn

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What is one personal strategy you can use on
Monday?
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Borders, bridges, dreams---

• Hay tantísimas fronteras
• Que dividen a la gente,
• Pero por cada frontera
• Existe también un puente
• Gina Valdes, 1982

• There are so many borders
• That divide people,
• But for each border
• There also exists a bridge.
• Translated by Chris Carger, 1994

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May the work we do together

• Smooth the borders,
• Build the bridges,
• Create the dreams -
• And give us the courage to do so!

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Smooth the borders, Build the bridges, Create the
dreams
84
Post script

• Chaos theory explains the fact that complex and
  unpredictable results can and will occur in
  systems that are sensitive to their initial
  conditions. A common example of this is known as
  the Butterfly Effect.

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The Butterfly Effect states that

• In theory the flapping of a butterflys wings
  in China could actually cause weather patterns to
  change in Denver, thousands of miles away.
• In other words, it is possible that a very
  small occurrence can produce unpredictable and
  sometimes major results by triggering a series of
  increasingly significant events.

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The moral of this story?

• Keep on Flapping!!!