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English Language Leaners and New Immigrant Students: Solutions #2 |
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND
NEW IMMIGRANT STUDENTS: SOLUTIONS #2
National and Local Initiatives
New in June 2009
Titles are presented in alphabetical order.
CentroNía: Education in a Bilingual, Multicultural Environment
District of Columbia
CentroNía is a nationally recognized, award-winning educational organization providing affordable, high quality education, professional development and family-support services in a bilingual, multicultural environment to more than 1,500 children, youth, and families in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The mission is educate children, youth and families in a bilingual and multicultural environment. . . . CentroNía's program services are offered under the four following educational departments: (a) the Learning Center includes a full day infant/toddler and preschool program and a comprehensive out-of-school-time development program for school age children and youth; (b) Family/Community Development provides parent workshops, resources and referrals, evening and weekend tutoring and literacy training for school age children and adults as well as other adult education courses. This program includes the SPARK initiative which aims at supporting school readiness for three year old children; (c) the Professional Development Academy provides parents and community members with training opportunities such as the Child Development Associate credential; and (d) the DC Bilingual Public Charter School. . . . CentroNía has received recognition from local and national organizations and funders, including the Mac Foundation, the National Council of La Raza, the Kellogg Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Trust, and Venture Philanthropy Partners.”
Home page
Early Care and Education Programs
National Council of La Raza, Washington DC.
“The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) will focus on increasing the percentage of Latino five-year-olds who are ‘school ready’ at entry into kindergarten from 50% to 66% during the next ten years. Research demonstrates that 80% of the achievement gap between Latino and White students at grade four is present before they even begin attending school. . . . Sixty of NCLR’s Affiliates offer some form of early childhood education. Working in 16 States and the District of Columbia collectively serving more than 38,000 preschool-age children and their families, NCLR proposes to support their efforts with technical assistance through identification of best practices, professional development, resource identification, and advocacy.” The major projects are (a) Lee y serás - Early Literacy Development Initiative; (b) Pre-Kindergarten Parents as Partners; and (c) Sembrando Semillas (which documents best practices that support Latino family values and language in center-based early childhood programs serving Latino children).
Home page
English Language Learners: A Variety of Research-Based Innovative Programs
Saint Paul Public Schools, Minnesota.
“The Saint Paul Public Schools district has the largest enrollment of English language learners (ELLs) in the state of Minnesota (and the largest populations of both Somalis and Hmong in the U.S.). . . . Students speak more than 100 languages and dialects. . . . A variety of ESL programs are employed in schools, all with the same basic goal — to help beginning English language learners achieve rapid English proficiency. The Kindergarten Language Development Model is for beginning ELLs, who spend most of the day in the mainstream classroom and a portion of the day with a language development teacher where they focus on intensive English language development. . . . Language Academies are for newcomer students in grades 1-6 who speak very little English. Each Academy is comprised of both English language learners and native English speakers. ELLs work on the same academic material as their classmates, with adaptations and assistance from ELL teachers and bilingual education assistants. The Latino Consent Decree Program is for Spanish-speaking students who need additional support. They are taught in English and Spanish, and coursework is aligned to district standards; students also learn about their Latino culture and history. English Language Centers provide intensive social and academic language support for newly-arrived ELLs in grades 7-12. Students spend approximately 75% of the day in intensive language classes while they study content material such as geography, science, health, and math. International Academy-LEAP is an optional alternative program for recently arrived ELLS aged 13 to 21. Students take English language and content-area classes to improve their English skills and content knowledge and earn a high school diploma. Bilingual Programs: The ELL Department works closely with Spanish-English bilingual programs at six elementary schools and a Hmong bilingual program at an additional school.”
Saint Paul Public Schools -- Home page
English Language Learners
Article on Saint Paul ELL programs in The Christian Science Monitor, 2006
Parent School Partnership (PSP) Program (With a Focus on Latino Parents)
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF),
Los Angeles, California
MALDEF has “implemented a program specifically designed to train Latino parents on how they can effectively participate in their children’s academic endeavors. MALDEF’s Parent School Partnership Program recognizes that parents are children’s best advocates. The participants, many of whom are recent immigrants, overcome many language and cultural barriers, gain an in-depth understanding of their rights, their children’s rights and what their responsibilities are as parents. Most importantly, the participants learn how to effectively identify the steps they must take to ensure their children receive a just and equitable education and that they are prepared for a college education. . . . In order to increase the Parent School Partnership program's national impact, MALDEF designed a ‘training of trainers’ model that facilitates the program to have a nationwide impact. This is an intensive program that parents, teachers, administrators. and community leaders who demonstrate a vested interest in serving their communities can use as a tool to serve their local educational needs.”
Home page
Project LEARN: Literacy Education and Readiness Now
A partnership between Community Services for Children (CSC), Allentown, Pennsylvania; Lehigh Valley Head Start; and the Center for Promoting Research to Practice at Lehigh University.
“Community Services for Children (CSC) has transformed seven Head Start classrooms, located in three centers, into full-day, full-year Early Reading First centers. The classrooms serve 137 three and four year old children, 100% of whom come from low-income families. The goal of the program at CSC is to prepare all children for entry into formal schooling with the necessary skills for future learning success. Moreover, because more than 25% of the children in this setting speak Spanish as their first language, a primary focus will be to improve the early literacy skills of English Language Learners. This population has been shown to be at increased risk for reading disabilities both in the literature and in local experience.” CSC has partnered with Lehigh University's Center for Promoting Research to Practice to complete the evaluation of the program.” Results from the first year are available.
Project LEARN home page
En Español
First-year results
WIDA Consortium:
High Standards and Equitable Education for English Language Learners
Departments of Education of Alabama, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin
“WIDA is a consortium of States dedicated to the design and implementation of high standards and equitable educational opportunities for English language learners. Wisconsin, Delaware, and Arkansas (WIDA) were the initial partners. . . . Originally established through a federal grant, the WIDA Consortium now consists of twelve partner States (which) account for nearly 380,000 English language learners in kindergarten through grade 12 in approximately 2500 school districts. . . . The WIDA Consortium has developed English language proficiency standards and an English language proficiency test (ACCESS for ELLs™). In addition, WIDA has developed Spanish language arts standards and is planning a system of alternate academic assessments for beginning English language learners (SUCCESS™).” Products developed by WIDA are available at the website.
Home page
YouthCares
International Institute of the Bay Area, San Francisco, California
The International Institute offers bilingual youth aged 14 to 18 after-school opportunity to earn money or community service hours. “At YouthCares Partners in Learning, students work at Newcomer High School, a school in the Inner Sunset for students who have just immigrated to this country. They help students with their homework and teach them lessons about life in this country: how to get around San Francisco, how to go to the hospital, college in the US, voting, housing, and other important topics. . . . At YouthCares Intergenerational, students work with senior citizens in different classes around the city. Students act as Teaching Assistants with professional instructors in programs such as ESL, art, and exercise. All youth who work for YouthCares Intergenerational are also required to work at the Institute’s Thursday food bank in the Richmond district.”
Institute’s home page
YouthCares -- Details
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The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position of policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and no endorsement of the U.S. Department of Education should be inferred. Information from sources funded by the U.S. Department of Education is likely to have been vetted by the Department; information from other sources is unlikely to have been vetted.
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