DOCUMENT RESUME
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AUTHOR Sosa, Alicia, Ed. TITLE NABE News, 2000-2001. INSTITUTION National Association for Bilingual Education, Washington, DC PUB DATE 2001-00-00 NOTE 275p. AVAILABLE FROM National Association for Bilingual Education, 1030 15th Street, NW, Suite 470, Washington, DC 20005-4018. Tel: 202-898-1829; Fax: 202-789-2866; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.nabe.org. PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) JOURNAL CIT NABE News; v24 n1-6 Sep/Oct 2000-July/Aug 2001 EDRS PRICE MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Asian Americans; *Bilingual Education; Bilingual Education Programs; Elementary Secondary Education; English (Second Language); *Federal Legislation; Hispanic Americans; Language Minorities; *Limited English Speaking; *Politics of Education; School Community Relationship; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Spanish Speaking; *State Legislation IDENTIFIERS Arizona; Colorado; Proposition 227 (California 1998); Two Way Bilingual Education
ABSTRACT This document contains the 2000-2001 issues of the "NABE News," a magazine about bilingual education. The theme of each issue is:(1) "Back to School: Anti-Bilingual Ballot Initiatives To Affect Thousands of LEP Students"; (2) "Serving Emerging Populations: School Districts Re-Tool To Respond to New Students' Needs"; (3) "NABE Celebrates 25 Years of Service to Bilingual Education"; (4) "Promoting Biliteracy: Recent Research Supports the Benefits of Biliteracy"; (5) "Meeting Standards and Serving LEP Students: Implementation of Reforms Requires Adaptation"; and (6)"Standards-Based Assessment: A Call for Accuracy, Appropriateness, Alignment, and Accomodation." (AA) NABE News, 2000-2001
Alicia Sosa, Editor
Volume 24, Numbers 1-6 September/October 2000July/August 2001
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY U This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. N. Zelasko U Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. 1
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a 00 ®ff tIig gd mrItA5 MG1cDgt @MC Ex og 3 The needs ofourstudentsare constantly changing, andsois the field of bilingual education.
National Association for Bilingual Education
Only dynamic organizations that are on the cutting-edge of educational theory, policy, and practice can keep pace and ensure progress. The National Association for Bilingual Education is such an organization, and it belongs to YOU!
You have probably noticed that NABE's logo has been redesigned. It is a reaffirmation of our strengthened sense of purpose. NABE has always been about embracing diversity as an asset and about giving all children an opportunity to learn and achieve to world-class standards. This new symbol is in keeping with that spirit of equality and excellence.
NABE believes in giving children the world, and providing them with the tools they need to attain their full potential. We are confident that our new logo conveys that message clearly. MESSAGE FROM THE NABE NEWS Table of Contents EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Delia Pompa Message from the President 3
Theory Into Practice 6 Dear NABE Members: What Can We Learn About the As you can see, the layout of NABE's magazine has been updated topro- Impact of Proposition 227 vide you with even more useful information in a contemporary format. from SAT-9 Scores? 8 This change is indicative of several that the Association is implementingto improve the quality and expand the range of products and services thatwe Eastin Releases Proposition provide our membership. 227 Task Force Report
The NABE staff works hard to meet your expectations, and we constantly Bilingual Education in Arizona: strive to exceed them. So, expect this and all of NABE's publications and What the Research Says forums to continue to improve.
In keeping with that commitment, over the coming year, this publication Issues in Indigeneous will feature a wide range of themes that are of central interest to educators Bilingual Education of LEP students. This year's themes will include:assessment, standards, emerging populations, educational reform, and literacy. We look forward Colorado Supreme Court to your input during the preparation of these future issues, and we encour- Unanimously Rejects English age you to submit material for publication. for the Children Ballot Initiative 17
This first issue is devoted to an extremely important, albeit challenging, The Next Step: Implementing topic anti-bilingual state ballot initiatives. These initiatives haveproven Two-Way Immersion Programs a dangerous threat to the future of our children and communities. With in Secondary Schools 18 the passage of California's Proposition 227, and the financialsupport of its chief proponent, Arizona's children now face a similar attack Arizona's NABE Legislative Update for Proposition 203. The vote on Proposition 203, which would curtail the the 106th Congress 19 use of languages other than English to instruct LEP students, is scheduled to take place during the November 2000 election. Report on a Study of Normalistas' Ethnic Identity and Teaching To provide additional perspective in considering this topic, and as'ameans of underscoring the efforts of NABE affiliates, we have encloseda compli- Efficacy 20 mentary copy of an analysis of Proposition 227's aftermath by the Califor- nia Association for Bilingual Education (CABE). We thinkyou will find NABE 2000 Parent Institute the content of this piece extremely insightful. Mobilizes Parents 23
Arizona's bilingual education advocates have been hard at work inform- School/Community Partnerships ing fellow voters on the specifics of Proposition 203 and thetrue nature Supporting Language Minority of this harmful initiative. The analyses in the pages of this NABEmaga- Student Success 26 zine and the accompanying CABE piece will give concerned individuals like you an even broader and better-informed perspective. We hope that NABE News Book Reviews 28 they will prove helpful as you advocate for sound educational policy for LEP students. Asian/Pacific American Education Concerns 30 Sincerely, Resources for Bilingual Educators 36 Ovuel)-oc-- Student Writing Contest Delia Pompa Entry Form 37 Executive Director Guidelines for Article Submission 39
NABE Membership Form 40
NABE NEWS 1 NABE EXECUTIVE BOARD 2000-2001
NAB E NEWS President Josefina Villamil Tinajero Published by the National Association for Bilingual Education University of TexasEi Paso Editor: Alicia Sosa, Ph.D. College of Education Design & Layout: Kieran DalyKDaddy Design 500 W. University Avenue El Paso, TX 79968 p: (915) 747-5552 f: (915) 747-5755 Volume 24 of NABE NEWS will be published in 6 issues; publication dates are:
Secretary Joel Gomez NABE NEWS ADVERTISING George Washington University Display Advertising Rates (Black & White, Camera-Ready art) Institute for Education Policy Studies $850 1/3-Page (4.75" x 4.75") $425 1709 North Roosevelt Street Full Page (7.5" x 10") Arlington, VA 22205 2/3-Page (4.75" x 10") $700 1/3-Page (2.25" x 10) $425 p: (202) 467-0867/(202) 994-3306f: (202) 467-4283 1/2-Page (7.5" x 4.5") $550 1/4-Page (3.5" x 4.75") $325
Treasurer For details regarding color advertising that appears on the inside front, Paul E. Martinez inside back, and back covers, please call the publications department. New Mexico Highlands University Southwest Comprehensive Center 1700 Grande Court, Suite 101 Advertising Discounts (for multiple insertions) Rio Rancho, NM 87124 2-3 insertions: 10% off total; 4-5 insertions: 15% off total; 6 Msertions: 20% off total p: (505) 891-6111 f: (505) 891-5744
NABE reserves the right to reject any advertisements which it deems inappropriate and/or inconsistent Member-at-Large with the goals of the Association. For additional information, contact NABE at (202) 898-1829. Joe J. Bernal University of TexasSan Antonio 6410 Laurelhill San Antonio, TX 78229 p: (210) 458-4426 f: (210) 342-2182 NABE NEWS REPRINT AND EDITORIAL POLICY
2 S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 MESSAGE FROM THE 11-R-ESIDENT Dr. Josefina Villamll Tinajero Our Challenge: Continue Working Smarter AND Harder!
Time and again, I have shared with yOu NABE's vision, mis=We Must Be Ever Vigilant sion and blueprint for success set forth by the organization's As we remain focused on our achievements and successes, we ,Executive Board in collaboration with its Washington, DC- must also keep in mind that this inaugural issue of the NABE _based staff. As you all know, the past two yearsin particu- News occurs at a time of tremendous change in educational larhave been filled with exciting changes. The sudcess of policy and political thought in school districts across thena- . our conference in San Antonio was just one positive example don. The struggle to protect our children's future continues. of this.Like many of you, we were approached by, a 'great Just as we were making great strides in research On bilingual- number of attendees at NABE 2000, and at forums since then, ism, on literacy and biliteracy and on recognizing exemplary who have told us hoW excited they are about what lies ahead bilingual programs for their contributions to education, in June for NABE. 1998 California voters approved an initiative that attempts to \ Our Association continues to be held in high regard by, destroy 30 years of work on behalf of our children in that state. our members -and by the public as a whole. This was quite And although it was clear that the debate over PrOposition clear in the comments ,of respondents to the nationwide'sur- 227 was never about selecting the best way to teach childien yey that we conducted at the beginning of this year. What we '1,English, at least one other state is considering a similar initia- also found through our survey's respondents:however, Wasa/ tive. Thus, this inaugural issue serves as a reminder that \I've :need for theAssociation to: 1) strategicAy solidify its image in cannot let our guard down, that we must be ever vigilant, the eyes of the general public while expanding its visibility, hyper-vigilant, in fact, lest the moral right to learn, in one's and 2) increase the services we provide to our membersyou! ;,. own native language as well as in English be shorn from school children across the nation. It serves as a reminder oethe chal- Restructuring our Publications lenges ahead of us:that we must work both smafter AND 'and Reshaping Our Image harder to defeat 227-like initiatives and ensure that We can, in In this vein, our staff; in concert with the Executive Board, fact, "give children the world." has been working diligently on restructuringour publications (both in form and content), on improving our services (ensur- Advocating for Children ing quicker response times to inquiries and better/more timely Thus, this issue sets the stage for the work that is ahead ofus. dissemination of information), and on taking deliberate steps It propels us forward by keeping us focused on those whoare to re-shape 'Diu image. On a couple of these points, this inau- most important to usour children. And it reminds us that gural issue of the NABE News, together with our new Logo, we must be advocates for our children. Our advocacy for them 'are further testimony of the Work that has been done. demands the best of what we know, but it,alsoidemands that The new logo strives to integrate all of the elements that we remain aware of the issues and skilled, and compassionate NABE has made a part of its work over the years:student in our efforts to provide the best possible,education for all chil- diversity, professionalism, and dynamic advocacy. It,conveysa dren.I trust that this inaugural issue of the NABE News will sense of an established organization, and expands the theme provide you with valuable information yi tackle obstacles, to of our currentJogo to a more global approach to learning. The continue fighting the fight, to advOcate for our children, in intent is to give NABE the sort of presence that it'requires so short, to "give children the world!" / that we may better represent the interests of chilaren 'from various linguistic backgrounds, and the educators who serve , them. In short, it is about "Giving Children the World" by promoting equity and excellence in education. We holie that you are as excited about these changes as the NABE Executive Board and staff are.
NABE NEWS 3 NABE Affiliates MMMOMM 781-932-1144 NMEN1MMIIIwww.epsi-usa.com Gather in NM Washington PINI Educationar ciformanceSystems, Inc.TM On June 13th and 14th, NABE convened / a Summer Leadership Institute for state affiliate leaders. LINKS
NABE Executive Board members meet with top ,si\TE0 OBEMLA officials at NABE's Affiliate Reception in Washington, DC.
Florida affiliate President, Sandra Gutierrez (right) C4Across the Curriculum "Cr with Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) after conferring on Congressional actions regarding bilingual education.
Instructional strategy tools for... Improving reading & writing Enhancing standards based planning Colorado affiliate president, Silvana Carlos, shares details regarding her organization's successful legal Generating open-response questions challenge to a ballot initiative that would have eliminated bilingual education in the state. Coupled with staff development that is... Immediate & effective Motivational & inspirational Entertaining & enlightening
Visit us @ www.epsi-usa.com or call 781-932-1144 Some of NABE's Affiliate Summit attendees pose for a photograph on the final day of the forum.
4 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2000 8 10NMek' jO,UND BOOKS Tif STRONGEST BOOjcs YOU CAN 131.1ff
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.41! THEORY INTO PRACTICE Column editor: Lucy Tse, Ph.D., Arizona State University
Proposition 227: Two Failed Public Policies in One BY JILL Kzzaz.lIcaa In June 2000, California observed the fective language policy. California's ex- welfare services to undocumented im- second anniversary of passage of Propo- perience with Proposition 227 is actu- migrants. Although Proposition 187 sition 227, the ballot initiative that se- ally the first foray into this uncharted never ultimately became law, the ideol- verely curtailed bilingual education in arena of public policy. California's de- ogy behind denying educational services the public schools. Two years of imple- mographics have changed dramatically to a category of language minority stu- mentation of the new law that was voted since 1968, when then governor Ronald dents gained a degree of legitimacy into law on June 3, 1998 by a 61% ma- Reagan signed into law the legislation through the popular vote. Petronicolos jority, provided time and data to assess that allowed implementation ofbilingual and New (2000) identified a mentality its initial impact as an education reform programs. At the time, Latino students toward non-English speaking immi- policy. The campaign for Proposition accounted for 12% of the state's popu- grants where they are considered "do- 227 had generated rancorous political lation, while 3% were Asian. Today, mestic foreigners." Some populations, debate, with many confusing claims and 30% of the population is Latino and 9% such as migrant workers and low-wage counterclaims about technical research Asian. The proportions of ethnic groups laborers, are not viewed as part of the studies and confusing statistics about lan- in the school aged population is even larger society. Out of this perspective guage learning and academic achieve- more striking, with 42% ment of limited English proficient Latinos who outnumber students. The ballot initiative process re- Whites at 37% and quired common citizens to decide be- Asians at 11% (California "These characteristics of the school tween competing educational theories Department of Finance, and programs for educating 38% of the 2000). Thirty-two per- population call into question the equity student population made up of immi- cent, or one out of three, and justice of a policy that restricts the use grant and American-born students who public school students in of these students' bilingualism as a come to school speaking a language California is Spanish/En- other than English (California Depart- glish bilingual while 38% resource in their learning process." ment of Education, 1999). of all students speak a na- In retrospect, policy makers and edu- tive language other than cators are coming to grips with the fact English. that a major shift in educational and so- These characteristics cial policy had occurred without a full of the school population call into ques- grew the philosophy that coercive poli- appraisal of its possible long-term conse- tion the equity and justice of a policy cies are necessary to isolate and remove quences. Proposition 227 is actually two that restricts the use of these students' them, or to assimilate them into the different policies embedded into one law. bilingualism as a resource in their learn- dominant Anglo-American culture. First, Proposition 227 is an attempt to set ing process. The demographics also chal- Consequently, the English-only ideol- language policy for a state with growing lenge the feasibility of having a largely ogy of Proposition 227 was a logical se- challenges from high levels of immigra- monolingual and monocultural teaching quel to Proposition 187. The population tion and the accompanying linguistic and force that can effectively promote learn- that sees cultural and linguistic diversity cultural diversification ofsociety. Second, ing opportunities for the large portion as a threat sought another channel to as- Proposition 227 sets education policy of students who are bilingual and bicul- suage the fears caused by the growing governing the means of delivery of in- tural. Prior to passage ofProposition 227, presence and power of other languages, structional services and resources to a bilingual teachers comprised 13% of especially Spanish. The proponents of large minority student population. Let us California's teaching force. Two years Proposition 227 tapped into sentiments examine the goals of each of these poli- later, the proportion ofbilingual creden- of racism and prejudice to gain support cies and the effectiveness of the law in tial-holders dropped to 8% (Rumberger for a state policy ofEnglish-only instruc- accomplishing these goals. & Gindara, 2000). tion in the public schools to promote Proposition 227 was motivated by, "fast-track assimilation" of non-English Proposition 227 and also rekindled, assimilationist fervor speaking minority students. as Language Policy among California voters. The stage had McGroarty (1997) points out that W e must first examine monolingual in- been set by the passage of Proposition the United States does not have an offi- struction in our public schools as an e f 187 that denied health, education and cial language policy. Rather, there are
6 S E P T E M B E R/ O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 multiple informal language policies ar- and lack of appropriate services for lan- ing in the arena of public policy, where ticulated to meet local needs and cir- guage minority students. As of January minority perspectives are respected and cumstances through a loose coupling of 2000, 34 California school districts have valued. To do anything less is to shirk different levels ofgovernance. Language unresolved civil rights Complaints re- our responsibility to our language mi- policy analysts observe that in the po- garding language minority students filed nority population and to the democratic litical sphere, there is seldom a discus- with the Department of Education principles upon which this Nation was sion of alternative courses of action School and District Accountability Di- founded. regarding language education and its role vision (Escobedo, 2000). The dramatic in society. Language educators have been reduction in the number of credentialed Dr. Mora is Associate Professor of Teacher thrust into the untenable position of bilingual teachers by 32% may also be Education at San Diego State University. debating broad and far-reaching social attributable to the stress from working Her teaching and research focus on effective and governmental policies on issues of under threats oflegal sanctions. Section schooling and instructional practices in second- immigration and acculturation while si- 320 of Proposition 227 allows parents language and biliteracy development. Her ar- multaneously defending their particular to file personal liability lawsuits against ticle,"Policy Shifts in Language Minority educational programs. bilingual educators and school officials Education: A Mismatch Between Politics and As language policy, Proposition 227 .Tor non-compliance with the law's En- Pedagogy" appeared in The Educational Fo- is doomed to failure. The law does not glish-only provisions. Other imple- rum, Spring 2000. recognize the realities of either the pub- mentation problems aggravated by lic schools or the growing numbers and Proposition 227 included: 1) inadequate competitive status of bilingual individu- materials and training for implementing References als in a state with expanding global trade. the structured English immersion pro- California Department ofEducation. (1999). Lan- guage census report. [On-line] Available: For instance, California's number one gram and reading to English learners; www.cde.ca.gov/demographics/reports/ trading partner is Mexico, with $15 bil- and 2) lost instruCtional time during the #swlep. lion in exports each year (Collier, 2000, mandated 30 darEnglish immersion re- California Department of Finance Demographic June 5). This high level of international quirement beforévaiver programs can Research Unit (2000). [On-line] Available: commerce is accompanied by lingui4i be implemented\(Rumberger & www.dof.ca.gov/html/Demograp/ and cultural exchanges that constantly\ Gindara, 2000). druhpar.htm. refresh the use of Spanish, decreasing Collier, R. (2000, June 5). Border governors more talk than action: Tough issues neglected in incentives to abandon the language once Upholding Democratic U.S.-Mexico meeting. San Francisco Chronicle, new immigrants become "American- Principles p. A-1. ized." Nor does Proposition 227 ac- Proposition 227 is full of high-sound- Escobedo, D. (2000, May 10). In defense of the knowledgetheimportanceof ing(declarations about the importance rights of LEP students. Paper presented at the bilingualism in promoting academic ofEnglish for successful participation in "Educating Bilingual Students: Research and achievement. Portes (1995) observed a the Ahierican Dream and the Califor- Strategies for the New Millennium" Confer- ence. University of California at Riverside, positive association between school per- nia public\school's moral obligation to CA, formance and a resilient affirmation of provide children with the skills to be- Guinier, L. (1994). The tyranny of the majority. New students' collective ethnic identity. come produCtive members of society. York, NY: The Free Press. Yet, the law creates obstacles and barri- McGroarty, IV1997). Language policy in the Proposition 227 ers to the attainmehfof these goals and USA: National values, local loyalties, prag- as Education Policy fulfillment of this oblik-ation. In fact, matic presstu4s. In W. Eggington & H. Wren (Eds.), Lanluage Policy: Dominant English, Plu- Sound public policy supports the imple- Proposition 227 has created'an-inflex- ralist Cliallinges (pp. 67-90). Canberra, Aus- mentation of the most effective and ef- ible and chaotic system that is less.ble tralia: JoFin Benjamins Publishing. ficient programs of instruction to than before to respond to the challenges Petronicolos, & New, W.S. (2000). Anti-im- achieve academic progress for the larg- of linguistic and cultural diversity migrantlegislation, social justice, and the right est number of students. Policies must through suitable programs designed to to equal educational opportunity. American also serve to garner the necessary re- meet specific local needs and conditions. Educational Research Journal, 36 (3), 373-408. sources to support and enhance these Through a political process that in- Portes, A. (1995). Segmented assimilation among new immigrant youth: A conceptual frame- programs. Provisions in the education evitably places ethnic minorities at a dis- work. In R. G. Rumbaut & W.A. Cornelius code must also monitor compliance with advantage, the majority of the California (Eds.), California's Immigrant Children: Theory, federal, state and local laws designed to electorate has reversed policies stem- Research, and Implications for Educational Policy protect parents' and students' rights to ming from the Civil Rights Movement (pp. 71-76). San Diego, CA: University of California Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. equal educational opportunity because that had advanced the cause of social Rumberger, R.W., & Gindara, P. (2000). The such compliance is for the common justice and equal educational opportu- schooling ofEnglish learners. In E. Burr, G.C. good of society. nity for language minorities (Guinier, Hayward, B. Fuller, & M.W. Kirst (Eds.), Cru- As education policy, Proposition 1994). The long-term negative conse- cial issues in California education 2000: Are the 227 is also a failure. Because it is based quences of unsound policies for educat- reform pieces fitting together (pp. 23-44). Berke- ley, CA: Policy Analysis for California Edu- on unsound pedagogical theory and sup- ing language minority students are cation PACE. ports ineffective instructional practices, profound for students, their families, our Proposition 227 has aggravated problems communities and our society. We must ofinconsistent program implementation continue to seek inclusive decision-mak-
NABE Niws 7 WHAT CAN WE LEARN ABOUTTHE IMPACTOF PROPOSITION 227 FROMSAT 9 Scolus? An Analysis of Test Results from 2000
YUKO GOTO BUTLER, JENNIFER EVELYN ORR, MICHELE BOUSQUET AND KENJI HAKUTA STANFORD UNIVERSITY
On August 15th, the State of California declared early victory through his Our analysis argued that the pattern of released the scores obtained by LEP Web site. Meanwhile, a quick analysis scores did not provide a basis for a re- students on the Stanford 9 (SAT-9) test of these earlier results which was per- sounding claim to victory for Proposi- for the year 2000. The results are of formed by Hakuta and his colleagues tion 227. Scores rose for all students, particular interest to those who have at Stanford (see November 1, 1999 is- and in no clear pattern that could be followed the impact ofProposition 227, sue of NABE News) revealed the fol- attributable to Proposition 227. a ballot initiative spearheaded by Ron lowing problems with the conclusion Unz and passed by California voters in that Proposition 227 led to increases in Extension to the Scores 1998. Last year's SAT-9 results enabled SAT-9 scores: Obtained in 2000 us to compare the results obtained in 1 SAT-9 scores increased just as Table 1 shows data for reading scores 1998 with those of 1999 in order to as- much in some school districts that specific to LEP students as well as the sess the results of Proposition 227. We retained bilingual education. scores for all students taken as a whole. continue to assess the results of this II SAT-9 scores increased in school The table shows data from 1998, 1999 change in California's educational sys- districts that never had bilingual and 2000. The numbers in parenthe- tem, examining in this article the year education, and therefore were not ses indicate changes in percentile rank, 2000 SAT-9 results.' impacted by Proposition 227. and the last column shows the change SAT-9 scores rose for both LEP from 1998 to 2000. There are virtu- Background: Results of the students and native English speak- ally identical patterns of increases for 1999 Analysis ers. In fact, the rise for native En- both LEP students and for all students, Some of the increases in LEP scores glishspeakersfrompoor with the increases being most promi- seen during the 1998-1999 period were performing schools was dramatic nent in the earlier grades (particularly touted by proponents of 227 as valida- and larger than that for LEP stu- Grades 2 and 3). The same pattern tion of the English-only approach. Unz dents. holds for the scores obtained in both
8 SE P T E M B E R / OC T O B E R2 0 0 0 Table 1: Statewide SAT9 scores (reading) for LEP students and for all students
LEP students All students
Grade 1998 1999 2000 Change 98-00 1998 1999 2000 Change 98-00
2 19 23(+4) 28(+5) +9 39 43(+4) 48 (+5) +9 3 14 18(+4) 21(+3) +7 36 40(+4) 44 (+4) +8 4 15 17(+2) 20(+3) +5 40 42(+3) 45 (+3) +5 5 14 16(+2) 17(+1) +3 40 41(+3) 44 (+3) +4 6 16 18(+2) 19(+1) +3 43 45(+2) 47 (+2) +4 7 12 14(+2) 15(+1) +3 41 43(+2) 45 (+2) +4 8 15 17(+2) 18(+1) +3 44 46(+1) 47 (+1) +3 math and language. scores for these schools in 1999; in this for both LEP and non-LEP native En- One of the analyses that we per- study, we extend this analysis into 2000. glish speakers in schools with low read- formed was a reexamination of the re- For the LEP students, we randomly ing scores. The same increase was sults obtained for the same random sampled 26 schools that had high pro- observed in math and language data as sample of schools that was used for our portions of LEP students (>80%), and well. Again, as in the statewide statis- analysis of the 1999 results.In 1999, who had low reading scores on the tics, the increased performance on the we looked at the performance of 3rd SAT-9 test for 1998 (<10th percentile). SAT-9 test seems to be across the board. grade students who were low-achiev- We also traced the changes in these Statistically-minded readers will be in- ing LEP and non-LEP students.In schools for 1999 and extend this analy- terested in noting the clear regression order to make this comparison, we se- sis herein to 2000. Tracking student effects in those figures: a statistical phe- lected schools that had a low overall performance in these schools is argu- nomena known as "regression to the performance in reading scores (i.e., for ably the cleanest comparison of LEP mean" where the scores at the extreme both LEP and non-LEP students). and non-LEP students in low-reading ends of the statistical distribution tend Specifically, for non-LEP students, we schools allowable by the data that we to move towards the population aver- identified schools in which fewer than currently have. age (mean). In other words, low scores 3% of the students were LEP students, The results in reading are shown move higher and high scores move but in which the average National Per- graphically in figures 1 and 2. As the lower. One can see such clear effects centile Rank score was low (<27th per- blue lines (indicating the median per- of regression to the mean in the SAT-9 centile) in Reading for 1998. We then centile rank) show, there are clear in- data, since the schools were all selected tracked the changes that occurred in the creases in reading across the three years for their low reading scores.
Figure 1: SAT-9 reading percentile scores from Figure 2: SAT-9 reading percentile scores from sample schools with mostly LEP students, 1998, sample schools with mostly native English-speaking 1999, and 2000. students (<3% LEP), 1998, 1999, and 2000.
60 60
50 50
40 40 AgENa*-
30 30
20 20
10
0 1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000
Year Year
N=26.Data are for LEP students only. N=26.
NABE NEWS 9 Finally, we revisited the school dis- tricts that we highlighted in our analy- Table 2: 211 and 3n/ grade LEP students' percentile scores in reading for selected sis last year. Our analysis for 1998-1999 districts that did not have bilingual education prior to Proposition 227. showed across-the-board increases 2° grade 3"' grade across different districts that were re- ported to be: District 1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000 Schools that never had bilingual Evergreen 50 54 54 30 42 44 programs and therefore were not Magnolia 18 21 21 12 16 17 impacted by Proposition 227 Westminster 25 33 38 17 20 27 15 16 17 (schools in the Evergreen, Magno- Orange Unified 16 23 26 lia, Westminster, and Orange Uni- fied districts) II Schools that had bilingual pro- Table 3: 2nd and 3'd grade LEP students' percentile scores in reading for grams, but which dropped such Oceanside school district and selected districts maintaining bilingual education programs as a result of Proposition 227 (Oceanside), and 2° grade 3rd grade I Schools that retained bilingual pro- District 1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000 grams to varying degrees (Santa 12 9 22 Ana, Vista, Ocean View) Oceanside City Unified 26 32 15 Santa Ana 17 23 22 14 17 17 If we examine the data above in Tables Vista 18 21 25 13 16 18 2 and 3, we find a continuation of the Ocean View 17 27 27 29 17 20 trend noted earlier, with . overall in- creases.It is noteworthy that the in- creases are just as visible in math as they Figures 1 and 2. The reason for language development, precipitated by are in reading and language. the relatively poorer measurements various school reform initiatives in- What, then is responsible for these is because the tests are designed to cluding Proposition 227, might be one patterns of increasing SAT-9 scores for make fine discriminations between explanation. Indeed, this could explain LEP students? Proponents of Propo- students whose scores fall into the the apparent improvements in both the sition 227 highlight the increase in middle part of the bell-shaped dis- English-only and the bilingual educa- scores at Oceanside City Unified tribution where most students per- tion programs (which, contrary to School District. However, we believe form, and far less to distinguish popular opinion, do devote substantial that we need to be cautious before we between the extremes of high and efforts to teaching English as a second attribute too much meaning. The rea- low performance. language). But there could be any sons for such caution are two-fold: number ofother potential explanations. I First, the SAT-9 was developed to Further, we do know that the We certainly should be happy that distinguish academic achievement SAT-9 is being taken more seriously the educational system and the public among native speakers ofEnglish across school districts, especially with are paying more attention to the aca- it is not a measure of English lan- its use in the statewide school account- demic progress of immigrant students, guage development for LEP students ability index called the API, and we but this should only be considered a per se.Incidentally, such a measure know from the experience of testing warm-up act in accountability and is at last being developed by the state policies in other states that the first sev- school reform if we wish to seriously ofCalifornia to measure the progress eral years of a testing program show address their many needs. of LEP students in learning En- increases as the system becomes famil- glish as a second language. iar with the new test. Yuko Goto Butlet, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral I Second, even for native speakers of In addition to the inadequacy of Research Fellow; Jennifer Evelyn Orr is a English, the low end of the score the information from the SAT-9 test Graduate Research Assisatant; IVIichele distribution is more poorly mea- for LEP students, we really don't have Bousquet, M.A., is a Research Assistant; sured by the test. The result of this very much information about what ac- and Kenji Hakuta, Ph.D., is a Professor, is that the scores themselves are tual changes have come about as a re- School of Education, Stanford. subject to imperfect measurements sult of Proposition 227. During the and apparent fluctuations in scores past few years, there has been an enor- Notes witness, for example, the wild mous focus on school reform in Cali- 1. For a more complete analysis, see fluctuations in scores as seen in fornia. An increased focus on English www.stanford.edu/ hakuta/SAT9
10 S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 1 Eastin Releases The Deadline is approaching Proposition 227 Task quickly!
Force Report It's time to submit State Superintendent ofPublic Instruc- English learners. To support quality in- applications tion Delaine Eastin recently released struction in the classroom, the task force the report, Educating English Learners for developed 11 guiding principles and 38 for NABE's.... the 21st Century, stating, "More than recommendations relating to issues of one in three California students speaks instruction, curriculum, assessment, ac- a language other than English at home. countability, materials, training, and par- Although teaching all of our children ent and community involvement. to speak English has always been a high Eastin said, "Educating English 2001 priority for California's educators, the Learners for the 21st Century will help O 00000000000000 000 1998 passage of Proposition 227 guide school districts on this critical issue, brought this issue to the very top of the and I urge the education community to state's political and education agendas," embrace the report's recommendations. TEACHER said Eastin. I also intend to work with our state's O 00000000000000000 "As a result, I convened the Propo- leaders to ensure that sufficient resources sition 227 Task Force to find ways to are provided to English learners so that OF THE provide the highest quality education they learn English and succeed in main- O 00000000 '000000,0 to English learners, and I am now stream classrooms." pleased to release the group's recom- She emphasized, "All students in YEAR mendations." this state will need to meet the demands 000000000000000 Proposition 227 specifies that all of our global economy. There are sim- children in California public schools ply no jobs or opportunities for students must learn English by being taught in who are unable to achieve high academic AWARD English, unless their parents request a standards." waiver. Currently, California has ap- The 35-member task force was proximately 1.4 million English learn- comprised of educators, parents, school ers who speak more than 80 different board members, university professors, Application forms and languages. and business and community leaders. It portfolios for the Annual The task force affirmed that it is an was chaired by Vera Vignes, Superinten- immense challenge for a student to start dent, Pasadena Unified School District, Teacher of the Year school with little or no English at any and Roberto Moreno, Superintendent, Competition are due in the grade and achieve at levels comparable Calexico Unified School District. NABE office by to those of native English speakers. The Copies of the report may be pur- November 1, 2000. members noted that learning a foreign chased for $10.50 per copy plus tax, ship- language is difficult in itself. It is even ping and handling through the more challenging to be learning this for- California Department of Education Nominations must be eign language while using it at the same Press, Sales Unit, P. 0. Box 271, Sacra- submitted through the state time to read and learn. mento, CA 95812-0271. For ordering The report provides an overview of information, call 1-800-995-4099, or affiliate presidents and the complexities involved in educating FAX (916) 323-0823. include a letter of support from the state affiliate president. NABE News is now accepting submissions for its November/December For more information, contact the NABE issue on Emerging Populations. office at (202) 898-1829 For full details, see page 39.
NABE NEWS 11 BILINGUAL EDUCATIONIN ARIZONA What the Research Says
BY STEPHEN KRASHEN, PH.D., GRACE K. PARK, M.A., AND DAN SELDIN, PH.D.
In the fall of 2000, Arizona voters will vote on Proposi- percent of the bilingual education children were classified as tion 203, a measure more severe than California's Propo- limited English proficient, but 94% of the comparisons were sition 227. If passed, it will dismantle bilingual education English-dominant. In addition, the socio-economic class of in Arizona (Crawford, 2000a). Proposi- the English-speaking children may have tion 203 claims that Arizona's public been higher (37% free lunches, versus 76%). schools are doing an "inadequate job" of The first language was used 75% of the educating immigrant children, that bilin- "When children time in grade 1, 70% in grade 2, and 50% gual education has been a failure, and that are tested during in grade 3. Reading instruction in the bi- the solution is "heavy" exposure to En- bilingual programs or lingual classes was done in Spanish, and lan- glish. Is this claim correct? guage was alternated weekly or monthly in In this paper, we provide a very brief immediately after they subject matter classes, with the instructional review of research on bilingual education in are exited, bilingual language "contingent upon the L2 profi- Arizona. We restrict our survey to con- education shows a ciency of the LEP student" (p. 251). Chil- trolled scientific studies in which the clear advantage." dren in the bilingual program scored slightly progress of a group who experienced bilin- higher than the English-dominant compari- gual education is compared to a control son students in every grade tested, although group, focusing specifically on English lan- differences were not statistically significant. guage acquisition. We present a fairly complete description The small sample size for the bilingual group is of concern, of each study as well as the actual test scores, as this data may but the results are spectacular. Children in bilingual educa- not be easily available to all readers. tion did as well, and perhaps slightly better than, a group of children who were dominant in English and performed at Research on Bilingual Education In Arizona national norms. The first two studies examine the immediate impact of bi- Saldate, Mishra and Medina (1985) was conducted lingual education on limited English proficient children. de in Douglas, Arizona, a city on the Mexican border in which la Garza and Medina (1985) compared children in a bilin- a great amount of Spanish is spoken. Bilingual education stu- gual program to English-dominant children in an all-En- dents were all from one school whose enrollment was nearly glish program. This is a very stringent test; most studies entirely Mexican-American. Comparison subjects were from compare limited English proficient children in bilingual pro- other schools, "whose enrollment ranged from 60 to 90 per- grams with equally limited English proficient children in all- cent" Mexican-American (p. 26). While bilingual education English programs. The study was done in Tucson. Eighty students were described as "low socio-economic" there was
12 S E P T E M B E R/ O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 Vt ofbilingual education. Medina, Saldate and Mishra(1985) Table 1: Bilingual Ed versus English Dominant Children is a follow-up of Saldate et al. (1985). Subjects were gradu- ates of the bilingual program described in Saldate et al., (but Program Bilingual Educ. English were not the same children examined in that study), and 25 117 had received bilingual education up to grade six. After grade
Grade mean sd mean sd six, instruction was all in English. All subjects in both the experimental and control group had graduated from high Grade 1 50.3 7.3 49.6 7.3 school on schedule. In both the experimental and compari- Grade 2 52.9 8.1 51.3 8.5 son groups, all who remained to graduate on schedule were Grade 3 51.9 8.2 50.4 7.3 tested: in the bilingual group, 19 out ofan original 136 (14%), and in the comparison group, 24 out ofan original 136 (18%), Source: de la Garza and Medina, 1985 nearly identical percentages. The results of tests administered no description of comparisons, but Saldate et al. note that in Table 3: Results from Medina, Saldate and Mishra (1985) the study, pairs of students from each group were matched . on the basis of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The description of the bilingual program was provided Program Bilingual Comparison in Medina, Saldate and Mishra (1985), a follow up study Grade n mean sd n mean sd discussed below. For subject matter, the "preview-review" method was used in which material is presented in one lan- Grade 6 (MAT) 19 44.78 8.20 24 46.23 5.51 guage and then reviewed in the other, followed by another Grade 8 (MAT) 19 46.82 8.69 24 47.83 6.95 review in the first language. Spanish reading and ESL was Grade 12 (CAT) 19 49.57 7.95 25 52.82 5.18 also included. According to the Medina et al. study, the first MAT: Metropolitan Achievement Test language was used 90% of the time in grade 1, 80% in grade CAT: California Achievement Test 2, and 50% in grade 3. Also, by grade 3, alternate days in- struction was introduced for subject matter teaching. Children were tested at the end of grade 2 using the in grades 6, 8, and 12 are presented in Table 3.There were Metropolitan Achievement Tests and at the end of grade 3 no significant differences between the groups at any of the with the Wide Range Achievement Tests (WRAT). Scores levels, although the comparisons did slightly better. Note for English reading are presented here for the WRAT, a test that at grade 12, both groups were near national norms. Once again, sample sizes were quite small. Powers (1978) studied the progress of graduates of bi- Table 2: Results from Saldate, Mishra and Medina (1985) lingual education in Nogales. Students were tested at grade 5 on the Stanford Reading Test and at grade 7 on the Gates- Program Bilingual Comparison MacGinitie Reading Test. We have little description of the bilingual program; we know only that bilingual education sd Grade n mean sd n mean students in the study had been in bilingual education for three to five years, and that, in grade 1, 85% of instruction was in Grade 2 (MAT) 31 119.7030.21 31 128.1929.04 Grade 3 (WRAT) 19 62.47 15.71 19 51.26 7.63 Spanish, and in grades 4 and 5, 30% was in Spanish. Com- parisons were Mexican-American students who had not been enrolled in any bilingual education programs. that emphasizes word recognition and decoding. Results are Table 4 presents mean scores for bilingual education presented in Table 2. The comparison group scored slightly graduates and comparisons, adjusted for socio-economic fac- better than the bilingual education students in grade 2, but tors. Students in the comparison studies did better than stu- differences were small and not statistically significant. In grade dents in bilingual education in grade 5, but this difference 3, the bilingual education students outperformed the com- was reduced by grade 7, and was not statistically significant. parisons. The difference was statistically significant and quite Powers also presented evidence that students who reported large. These results should be interpreted cautiously, because of the small sample size and the fact that the grade 3 sample was reduced from grade 2, but they are impressive. Table 4: Adjusted Means for Tests Results of these two studies are fully consistent with the of Reading Comprehension results of studies conducted elsewhere. Greene (1997), for example, concluded that the use of the native language in . Grade n bilingual n comparisons instructing limited English proficient children has "moder- ate beneficial effects" and that "efforts to eliminate the use Grade 5 40 4.60 41 5.09 of the native language in instruction ... harm children by Grade 7 44 21.36 43 23.82 denying them access to beneficial approaches." Source: Powers, 1978 The next two studies examine the progress of graduates
NABE NEWS 13 more English use at home on entry to school and at grade Postscript seven had higher reading scores. Of crucial importance is the In recent years, students in bilingual education in Arizona fact that comparison students reported more English use. This have also consistently outperformed limited English profi- factor, however, was not controlled in the analysis. The re- cient children in English-only programs on SAT9 tests of sults of this study are only suggestive: An important control, reading (Crawford, 2000b). As Crawford notes, these com- English use outside of school, was not included, and we have parisons are very crude, as there is no control for any pos- no description of the bilingual program. These factors could sible confounding variables, including pretest levels of English .act to underestimate the effect of bilingual education. literacy, socioeconomic class, the type of program, or the In studies conducted outside of Arizona, graduates of duration of the treatment. We present here the 1999 SAT9 bilingual education have been shown to do very well, some- results, reported in January, 2000. Note that bilingual edu- times outperforming native speakers of English in their dis- cation students scored higher at every grade level. Bilingual tricts (Burnham-Massey and Pifia, 1985; San Francisco USD, education students did better than English-only students for 1998). In the two Arizona studies involving graduates re- the previous two administrations of the SAT9 as well. viewed here, bilingual education graduates also did well, achieving close to national norms in one case, and perform- ing only slightly worse than comparisons in another case, Table 5: 1999 SAT Results-Reading Scores despite using less English outside of school. Grade Bilingual education English-only Summary mean n mean
When children are tested during bilingual programs or im- 2 1029 37.2 3594 37 mediately after they are exited, bilingual education shows a 3 1213 35.9 4150 32.3 clear advantage. Results for the highest grade for Saldate et 4 1247 38.4 4021 33.8 al. (1985), are quite positive, and de la Garza and Medina 5 2026 32.4 4775 31.6 (1985) show that bilingual education students do as well as 6 1506 34.7 4327 34.3 English-dominant students. The results of studies done with 7 1257 33.4 3891 31.8 graduates of bilingual education are also encouraging, with 8 1016 35.4 3798 32.6 graduates performing at national norms in one case. 9 768 33.4 2613 27.7 10 708 33.6 2196 25.5 These results do not support the view that bilingual edu- 11 564 33.4 1681 26.9 cation in Arizona is a failure. In fact, Arizona studies strongly suggest that bilingual education is beneficial, a conclusion Note: Mean scores are NCEs (normal curve equivalents). that is consistent with the results of studies done in other states. What is clear is that calls for the elimination of bilin- gual education are completely unjustified. Stephen Krashen, Ph.D. is a Professor of Education at the Univer- The.results presented here probably underestimate the sity of Southern California and the author of Condemned With- positive effects of bilingual education. We have little infor- out a Trial: Bogus Arguments Against bilingual Education mation about the details of the bilingual education programs, (Heinemann). Daniel R. Seldin, Ph.D., is a Research Associate and what details are provided suggest that the programs were in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, not set up in an optimal way (Krashen, 1996). One would Riverside and is a Senior Program Evaluator with the Riverside expect that bilingual programs that are better implemented Unified School District. Grace Park is a lecturer on Asian American would produce even stronger results. We have learned a great education at California State University, Northride and a Ph.D. deal since the 1970's and 1980's. candidate at the University of Southern Caliknia.
Authors' Acknowledgment Medina, M., Saldate, M., and Mishra, S. 1985.The sustaining effects of bi- We thank David McField for his encouragement and lingual education: A follow-up study.journal of Instructional Psychology assistance. 12(3): 132-139. Powers, S. 1978.The iufluence of bilingual instruction on academic achievement References and self-esteem of selected Mexican-American junior high school students.PhD Burnham-Massey, L. and Pliia, M. 1990. Effects of bilingual instruction on Dissertation, University of Arizona. English academic achievement of LEP students.ReadingImprovement 27(2): 129-132. Rosenthal, R. 1984.Meta-Analytic Procedures for Social Research.Beverly Hills: Sage. Crawford, J.2000a. English-only vs. English-only: A tale of two Initiatives.http:/ /ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/203- Saldate, M., Mishra, S., and Medina, M. 1985. Bilingual instruction and 227.htm academic achievement: A longitudinal study. journalof Instructional Psy- chology12(1): 24-30. Crawford, J. 20006.Stagford 9 scores show a consistent edge for bilingual education. http://alec2000.org/crawl b. htm San Francisco UMficd School District. 1998.The Lau Report, 1997-98.Lan- guage Academy & Other Bilingual Programs, San Francisco Unified de la Garza, j. and Medina, M. 1985. Academic achievement as influenced School District. http://sfbilingual.net/publications/index.html by bilingual instruction for Spanish-dominant Mexican-American chil- dren.HispanicJournal of Behavioral Sciences.7(3): 247-259. Additional Information Greene, J. 1997. A meta-analysis ot the Rosseil and Baker review of bilin- The entire text of Proposition 203 can be found at gual education research.Bilingual Research Journal.21(2,3): 103-122. http://www.alec2000.org/prop203.htm
14 S E P T E M B E R/ O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 141 ISSUES IN INDIGENEOUS BILINGUAL EDUCATION Column editor: Dr. Jon Reyhner, Northern Arizona University, AZ
EngliskfoLthethildrenArizona Signatures are currently being gathered methodologies have now become so seriously behind their non-Indian age- in Arizona to place an initiative similar much better that things will be different mates. This achievement deficit contin- to California's Proposition 227 on the if we go back to English Only instruc- ues today. If one looks at the Arizona November 2000 ballot. While the ini- tion. But again, Indian schools at the end . test scores, American Indians have, on tiative is mainly a misguided effort di- of the nineteenth century schools were average, some of the lowest scores in the rected at Arizona's Hispanic population, using sand tables and Pestalozzi's object . state. However, most of these students I would like to discuss its potential im- method to provide Indian students with have received little or no bilingual edu- pact on Arizona's American Indian . comprehensible input in English. . cation, so one cannot blame the low test population. The use of sand tables and ESL scores on bilingual education. As in California, Arizona's version . teaching techniques continued into the . Cultural assimilation is the lurking of 227 would bring back English Only ofEnglish Only instruction, but re- instruction, eliminate parental and lo- . em Navajo School in Crownpoint, New . search conducted by University of Utah cal choice, dismantle successful bilingual Mexico, wrote in a 1932 issue of Pro- priofessor Donna Deyhle and others have programs, and aggravate the current loss . gressive Education that the school lunch . fOund that students who maintain a tra- ,i of American Indian languages. If thee6Vwas a place to start teaching English, datonal Indian orientation do relatively were a potential for increased student . with students learning names for uten- . wei 11 in school. Assimilation today can achievement as a result of English Only, sils and different kinds of food. She also mean pickingup the popular culture I one might be able to argue for it despre reconmiended games to teach vocabu- . transmitted by the mass media and get- the negative effects it will have on It.- lary and noted how: Ong involved ina host of antisocial ac- dian communities struggling to main7 . The sand table provides another center . tivities such as youth gangs, a new tain their languages and cultures\ of never-failing interest, an opportunity prIoblem in many Indian communities. for vocabulary building. Here are con- However, there is over a century of ex22 . I When Wayne Holm, who now perience with English Only Indian edu- structed houses such as we live in, barns, works for the Navajo Tribe's Division schoolhouse, sidewalks, windmill, . of Education, started examining how cation that indicates there is little stores, chicken houses, pens, fences, likelihood that it will raise achievement troughs, trees, tanks, church, garages, to improve student achievement at scores on the long term. trucks, carsall illustrative of thc school . Rock Point Community School, he The United States Commissioner of and agency or the home community. first tried improving ESL instruction. . But in the 1960s he found that when Indian Affairs demanded English Onl) Usually, the first sand-table scene con- late-of-the-art instruction for all Indian students in the sists of the school village. st ESL instruction was 1880s under penalty of law. But you . made a part of bilingual education, the don't have to go back that many years to In the same journal Helen Lawhead, stUdents learned more. see what in all likelihood will be the re- a first grade teacher at the Theodore . The Navajo Tribal Council unani- sults of Arizona passing a version of Roosevelt Boarding School at Fort : mously passed a resolution on July 20, Proposition 227. Apache, Arizona, noted-that-her students_.-1-999: I can remember back to 1973 when should not be expected to learn to read Strongly opposing the proposed Ari- my wife was reprimanded on her English without first developing some zona Initiative "English Language Edu- teacher's evaluation for violating a then oral English vocabulary. Students would cation for Children in Public Schools" current Arizona English Only law for often read aloud wellyet not compre- and directing the Education Commit- hendwhat they were reading. She de- tee and the Division of Dine [Navajo] using Navajo words with her kindergar- Education to inform and educate Na- ten students, some ofwho came into her clared that, "The child's own experiences vajo schools, parents, and voters of the Chinle Public Schook:classromp as should form the basis of his reading ma- content and consequences of this initia- , trionohnguM;Navajo sPO.ers. I and a terials.P. She ".wanted reading material tive. few Othei:te4chers Were then proposing with, simple sentences and plenty of action. the novel idea of bilingual education Her students would make original draw- The text of their whole resolution can because our students were on average ing for theirfayorite stories and drama- be found at www.alec2000.org/ not succeeding in: our ,English gnly tize .scenes from them. She also used a navajo2.htm. classrooms cOmpared to their non-In- sand table to' Make the story. Most voters have little knowledge dian age-mates. Despite years of English Only in- about bilingual education beyond hearing One might contend that English as struction, sometimes using model ESL a Second Language (ESL) teaching instruction, Indian students remained (continued on page 35) 19 NABE NEWS 15 Colorado Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects English for the Children Ballot Initiative Anti-Bilingual Initiative Won't beon November Ballot
The Colorado Supreme Court on July 10, 2000 unanimously people signed petitions that contained the faulty ballot title rejected the wording of the English Immersion Initiative spon- language. Proponents of the measure would have to address sored by Congressman Tom Tancredo and columnist Linda the objections raised by the Court and then start to collect Chavez. In a 7 - 0 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court re- new signatures. This entire process would have to be com- jected the ballot wording as "unclear and misleading." The pleted by August 7, 2000 to be considered in the November Court also said that the ballot title and description of the ballot 2000 general election. issue approved by state officials included improper sloganeering Proponents of the initiative said they do not have enough that might cause "confusion." The Court ruling noted the time to start over and still meet the August 7th deadline for measure could not go on the ballot in its present form. submitting petition signatures. A spokeswoman for the Colo- Justice Hobbs wrote the opinion for a unanimous Court, rado English for the Children stated the initiative would be and two justices wrote separately to say that they would have re-filed for a 2002 election. also ruled that the proposal violated the Colorado Opponents of the initiative formed Common Sense Colo- Constitution's single subject requirement for ballot initiatives. rado, a broadly based coalition of parents, educators, political "Our appeal maintained that the ballot title was deceptive, . leaders and community activists formed specifically to oppose and the Colorado Supreme Court agreed," said attorney the Tancredo-Chavez English Immersion initiative. The coa- Lorenzo Trujillo, co-counsel for the petitioners in the chal- lition vowed to fight any 2002 initiative. lenge. For further information regarding the Colorado Initia- For more than a month, supporters of the initiative had tive, please contact Common Sense Colorado, P.O. Box been collecting petition signatures, and organizers said they 480562, Denver, CO 80248-0562 or phone (303) 380-5146. had collected about two-thirds of the 62,000 minimum needed Opinions of the Colorado Supreme Court are available to the to make the November 2000 ballot.All of those signatures public and can be accessed through the Court's homepage at were invalidated, however, by the Court's ruling since the http://www.courts.state.co.us/supct/supct.htm.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Bilingual Teacher Position
Teacher (Bilingual), Delta Junction, AK. $31, 714 to $56, 832 per year DOE, 37.5 hrs/wk. 8:15 a.m. 3:45 p.m. Requires BA in education, fluency in Russian & English, ability to obtain AK type A teaching cert. with ESL endorsement, and Ver.Ref. Teaches Language Arts and Math to non-English speaking students whose native language is Russian in grades K-3. Teaches ESL classes to non-English speaking students whose native language is Russian in grades 9-12. Teaches Russian as Second Language classes to English speaking and bilingual students in grades K-12. Instructs using various teaching methods and uses AV aids and other materials to supplement. Prepares lesson plans and course objectives following curriculum guidelines & requirements of State of AK and Delta Greely REAA #15. Assigns lessons and corrects homework. Administers tests, records results, and reports to parents on students' progress. Keeps attendance records. Maintains discipline in classroom. Meets with English and Russian speaking parents to discuss students' progress and problems. Participates in school profes- sional meetings, education conferences, and teacher training workshops. Related duties include sponsoring student activities and counseling students. Resume and/or cover letter should reflect all requirements.
Interested applicants send two resumes to: FLC # 1595, c/o AK Dept. of Labor and Workfoce Development P.O. Box 25509, JuneauAK 99802-5509
or fax to: (907) 465-5558.
oft 16 S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 44.0 The Next Step Implementing Two-Way Immersion Programs in Secondary Schools BY...MARGARET...CRANDALL PE .D MICHAEL." FB,...P.H .a.,__CENIER_EOR_A22LIED_IANGUISILC S
Two-way immersion education, where language minority and or high school programs around the country. It presents the language majority students receive instruction in both English challenges of operating a two-way program at the middle or and the native language of the language minority students, is high school level as well as how schools have tried, success- an increasingly popular educational program alternative. In fully and unsuccessfully to meet those challenges. Each chal- 1987 only 30 schools in the United States offered two-way lenge is discussed individually, followed by advice and immersion programs. Today there are more than 260, and that suggestions from responding programs. Detailed descriptions number is steadily increasing. of each program are also provided, showing how the general advice was put into practice in particular local contexts. CREDE Research Efforts The researchers have found that the traditional goals of an Funded by the National Center for Research on Education, elementary TWI program continue to apply at the secondary Diversity & Excellence (CREDE), researchers at the Center level: the development ofbilingualism and biculturalism, posi- for Applied Linguistics have been conducting an ongoing study tive cross-cultural attitudes, and academic achievement. In of two-way immersion. Their research has several components. middle and high schools, students can continue to develop In addition to collecting data on two-way immersion programs these highly marketable language and cultural skills while across the U.S. for the Directory of Two-Way Bilingual Pro- studying more advanced content area material. Moreover, these grams in the United States, they are also skills can be used to attain tangible ben- investigating the language development efits such as International Baccalaureate and academic achievement of students in diplomas and college credit through Ad- grades 3-5, the academic performance of vanced Placement exams. Despite the high school students once they exit two- "How doWe expend benefits, however, many parents are hesi- way programs, and the professional devel- a s essful tant to place their children in secondary opment of two-way immersion teachers. elementary T WI TWI programs even parents who have This article focuses on a fourth area of their been strong supporters of TWI at the el- m int() research, the articulation ofprograms from progra ementary level. Due to this reluctance, the elementary to the secondary level. middle and nearly all of the educators interviewed Most of the two-way immersion high school?" stressed that careful planning is essential (TWI) programs currently operating in the to any articulation design and that such United States began in the second half of planning should include as many stake- the 1980s and in the early 1990s. Nearly holders as possible: parents, students, all of these programs started at the elemen- counselors, TWI teachers, administrators, tary level. Currently, 36 of the 261 schools profiled in the Di- and non-TWI teachers. Conducting a parent survey, consult- rectory of Two-Way Bilingual Immersion Programs in the United States ing experts from other programs who have already made the offer secondary TWI programs (www.cal.org/db/2way/). As transition to secondary school programs, and explicitly dis- the other 225 programs reach maturity and as new programs cussing the goals and objectives for the program are recom- continue to be established, the issues of whether and how to mendations from the field. continue at the secondary level become increasingly pressing. Questions such as, "How do we extend a successful elemen- Challenges and Suggestions tary TWI program into middle and high school?" "Should When moving to the secondary level, there are many more we extend our program?" and "What difficulties are we likely challenges in addition to the overarching issue of planning. to confront in attempting this articulation process?" are fre- These include language distribution and allocation; student quently heard in the TWI community. Implementing Two-Way participation and motivation; attrition and late entries; cur- Immersion Programs in Middle and High Schools, a new CREDE riculum and materials; student scheduling; teams, clusters, and educational practice report by Montone and Loeb (2000), ad- homes; staffing; transportation; and parent involvement. dresses these questions. Coordinators of two-way immersion programs offer sug- gestions for addressing practical concerns, like how much of CREDE Report the curriculum and which subjects will be taught through the The report describes and analyzes data from interviews with school and district personnel in seven two-way middle school (continued on page 35)
NABE NEws 17 NABE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FOR THE 106TH CONGRESS: House and Senate Conferees Report Out the FY2001 Education Funding Bill President's Request for Bilingual Education Not Fully Funded
P
The House and Senate conferees com- The proposed freeze for Title I will not Floor Debate on the Elementary pleted their conference for the FY 2001 help schools provide a high quality edu- and Secondary Education Act Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations cation to all disadvantaged students, in- (ESEA) Postponed Bill, (HR 4577/S2553) on July 26, 2000. cluding the approximately 350,000 S.2 The Educational Opportunities Act was Although the Conference report will not children who would otherwise benefit reported out of Committee, and the full be filed until early September, the Con- under the modest funding levels. NABE Senate started debate on the bill May 3, ferees did vote on the funding levels. urges an even greater investment in Title 2000. S.2 reauthorizes the ESEA, which Overall, NABE is concerned that the bill I than provided by either the Senate or includes the federal Bilingual Education insufficiently funds several important the President's budget. Act. NABE supports the bipartisan pro- programs that serve our nation's students. Once the conference report is filed, posal for the Federal Bilingual Education NABE is particularly concerned both the House and the Senate must Act as reported by the Health, Education, that the conferees did not fund bilingual vote to accept the conference report. If Labor and Pensions Committee. education grants at the President's re- the conference report passes both cham- During floor consideration of S.2, quested level of $296 million. The bers, it will then be forwarded to the Senator Kyl (R-AZ) filed an amend- House and Senate Conferees funded the President. The President must sign into ment which would require parental no- program at $279 million dollars as out- law the appropriations/spending bill be- tification and consent before LEP lined in Table 1 below. fore September 30, 1999 to avoid a fed- students could be served by any Title Given the dramatic increase in the eral government shutdown. VII funded program (Also know as par- number of limited English proficient NABE encourages its members to ent opt-in). NABE strongly opposes (LEP) children needing services, it is im- contact their Congressional representa- this amendment, which would reverse perative that the programs serving these tives and urge them to Go the Distance efforts made in the 1994 ESEA reau- students receive adequate funding. for Education Funding by increasing thorization to enhance access to Title NABE is also very concerned that funding for Bilingual Education by $17 VII services for limited English profi- Title I is severely underfunded. The million and education funding overall by cient (LEP) students. LEP students House level funded Title I, and even the 15% to begin meeting the pressing edu- would be denied equal educational op- Senate's modest increase of $394 mil- cational needs of America's children, portunities while waiting for parents to lion is below the President's requested youth, and adults. HR 4577/S2553 fails submit consent forms. Instead, NABE increase of $416 million. The Congres- to meet the challenges of record enroll- supports opt-out provisions allowing sional Research Service estimates it ments at all levels, more students with parents to remove their child from a would cost $24 billion to assure all eli- special needs, teacher and principal short- program if they feel it does not meet gible students receive Title I services. ages and professional development. their child's needs. On May 9, 2000, S.2 was pulled from floor consideration due to dis- Table 1: FY 2001 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education agreements between Republicans and Appropriations Bill (HR4577/S 2553) Democrats on the order of amendments. Specifically, the Republican leadership FY2001 ED Conferees Request Appropriated Difference objected to the Democrats including any type of gun control/reform amend- Instructional $180 million $180 million 0 ments. Although there has been some discussion about bringing the bill back Support $ 16 million $ 14 million -$ 2 million on the floor for debate, it is highly un- Professional likely that the ESEA reauthorization will Development $100 million $ 85 million -$15 million be completed this year.Since the S.2 Totals $296 million $279 million -$17 million was pulled, no action has been taken on the Kyl amendment.
18 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER2000 Aside from the Kyl Amendment, S.2 also contained at least two other major objectionable provisions NABE opposes: How to Contact Your IVouchers/Portability: S.2 allows states and local educational agencies Representatives (LEAs) to turn Title I into a "por- table" program allowing students Call or write them. during Congressional recesses, as well as who qualify for Title I services to If you wish to be connected via telephone Friday-Monday most weekends. Members receive a voucher instead. The with your Congressional representatives in want to meet with constituents. Simply call funds would move with the students Washington, DC, you may reach the House the district office to either make an appoint- if they transferred to another pub- Operator at (202) 225-3121 or the Senate ment or to learn the schedule of town hall lic school and could be used to pur- Operator at (202) 224-3121, and ask to be meetings. chase services from a private school. connected. NABE opposes using Title I money Invite your Member of Congress If you wish to write your Congressional to create a limited program of school to tour a school or college. representatives, the address is: vouchers. Let Members see for themselves the positive Honorable IBlock Grants: The base bill in- contributions federal dollars make to your U.S. House of Representatives cludes a proposal known as Straight school. Simply send a short letter of Washington, DC 20515 A's which allows Governors to roll invitation and follow up with the district Title I and most other federal pro- -Or- office scheduler. grams like Migrant Education, Honorable Homeless Assistance, Even Start, Share your feedback with NABE. U.S. Senate and Immigrant Education grants Because of our regular contact with Congres- Washington, DC 20510 into block grants if the Governor of sional offices in Washington, DC, it is a state enters into a 5-year perfor- If you wish to contact your Congressional important for the NABE staff to hear about mance agreement. NABE opposes representatives electronically, you may do so your visits, especially if your member makes block granting important programs, on the Internet at: http://www.house.gov/ a commitment to support a particular piece which target the most economically writerep/ or http://www.senate.gov/ of legislation or if the member raises specific disadvantaged students and schools. senator/membmail.html concerns about an issue of importance to our children. Feel free to contact NABE's Meet with your Members of Congress. Legislative Director, Patricia Loera at NABE urges Congress to Your Member of Congress is in the district [email protected]. pass H.R. 4333/S.2348, The Fairness and Accuracy in Student Testing. Across the country in California, NABE Urges the U.S. Senate to nent and legal, defined groups of im- Texas, Massachusetts and many other Pass The Latino and Immigrant migrants who are already here and al- states LEP students are being retained, Fairness Act ready working. This legislation would denied a high school diploma and The U.S. Senate has been stalemated for keep workers working, families together, tracked into remedial classes solely on months over the issue of passing legisla- and our economy strong. the basis of one test score. NABE sup- tion that would increase the number of The Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act ports H.R. 4333/S.2348 because the bill H-1B visas for foreign skilled workers includes: would prohibit schools from making without addressing other pressing im- IRestoration of Section 245(i). important education decisions about migration related issues. Latino leaders The provision to restore Section students, like graduation and grade pro- from across the country and an impres- 245(i) would restore a long-standing motion, based on one test score.This sive broad coalition of labor unions, and sensible policy that was unfor- legislation calls for multiple measures of business groups, human rights groups; tunately allowed to lapse in 1997. student achievement, including grades religious organizations, conservative and Section 245(i) of the Immigration and evaluations by teachers so that one progressive think tanks have called on Act had allowed individuals that score from a standardized test is never Congress to pass S. 2912, The Latino and qualified for a green card to obtain the only source of information. Immigrant Fairness Act. their visa in the U.S. if they were al- This bill has been referred to the ap- The Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act ready in the country. Without this propriate committees of jurisdiction. will help immigrants who have been left common-sense provision, immi- Given the short time period before Con- in limbo for far too long under punitive grants on the verge of gaining their gress adjourns, we do not expect the bill and insensitive immigration laws en- green card must return to their home will be considered this year. NABE will acted with the passage of the 1996 Illegal country to obtain their visa. This has continue working to make sure LEP Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act. led to the forced separation of children are not being harmed by the The bill would also help sustain our inappropriate use of high-stakes testing. nation's prosperity, by making perma- (continued on page 35) 23 NABE NEWS 19 IntrodUCtiOn ing foreign-trained teachers. If this is the Ih addressing the bilingual teacher short- case, then we must examine who are Reporton age, it is imperative that the issue be ex- these potential teachers who have re- amined from a multidimensional ceived their training elsewhere, and what perspective. For example, efforts to in- is their sense of classroom efficacy? a Study of crease minority prospective teachers may have a direct link to augment the num- Rationile ber of bilingual educators. In addition, Pedagogical disparities along with the Normalistas' increasing the number of prospective bi- increasing school failure among language lingual teachers by tapping into the minority children, as evidenced by high population of immigrants who are dropout rates and underachievement, Ethnic trained teachers may be a viable plan. further support the need for minority The rationale for including these teachers to have a positive sense of self teachers trained elsewhere is that there which includes a strong ethnic identity. Identity and is a definite need to increase the num- In order to better understand the ber of competent bilingual educators. relationship between teacher-efficacy Since few studies focus on incorporat- (i.e., effectiveness of teacher perception Teaching ing foreign-trained teachers into the ex- of their pedagogical style) and self-con- isting pool, it is also important to look cept, we must first examine the rela- at them in an in-depth manner. This tionship of self-concept and ethic Efficacy report will summarize a study that is part identity. Phinney, Chavira, and Tate of a bilingual teacher preparation pro- (1993) and Bernal, Knight, Garza, BY ELLEN RIOJAS CLARK, PH.D. AND gram designed to certifynonnalistas, Ocampo and Cota (1990) have indi- BELINDA BUSTOS FLORES, PH.D. teachers trained in Mexico. Project cated that a positive correlation exists Alianza' addresses the bilingual educa- between self-esteem and ethnic iden- tor shortage by recruiting foreign- tity. We posit that variables such as self- trained teachers who are legal residents, Data on the current population of concept and ethnic identity play an evaluating their course work from important part in the efficacy of suc- Mexico, developing a certification pro- cessful teachers. In essence, teachers the United States indicates that gram for them, and helping them com- with a strong sense of ethnic identity plete the university program. have an enhanced self-concept, which, the field of teacher training must This research study is located at one in turn, provides empowerment, i.e., a of four universities that form the project sense of internal power, self-efficacy. change to meet the needs of the alliance. Among the expected results at the children in the public school end of the five-year grant period of the "A pressing matter for universities is to increase project are: 1) to in- system. In order to meet a crease the pool of cer- the pool of teachers entering the field of bilingual tified or endorsed education by retooling foreign-trained teachers." pressing need, teacher training bilingual teachers by 2000; 2) : to create programs must concentrate on models for the en- hancement of teacher preparation pro- This development of selfleads to a bet- increasing the number of grams and outreach strategies; 3) to tap ter understanding of others and en- unuSed resources that improve the quan- hances communication and social teachers entering the field and tity and quality of teachers of bilingual relationships with their students. If this and bicultural students (Supik, 1999). is the role of a good teacher in a Because of demographics, it is im- multicultural setting, then it is neces- developing competencies for all portant to prepare teachers who are able sary to ascertain the importance of the to relate to the educational and psycho- findings, as presented in the review, to- teachers that will prepare them to logical neecls.of language minority chil- ward the training of pre-service bilin- dren. Msumedly, teachers receiving gual teachers. That is, the training develop with the changing training in bilingual education are pro- should include ethnic identity and self- vided specialized skills in dealing with is- concept building. Our study examines realities of the classroom of today sues concerning language minority the interaction of three key attribu- children. This brings us to a complex is- tions: self-concept, ethnic identity, and and tomorrow. sue: A pressing matter for universities is teacher self-efficacy. The questions, to increase the pool of teachers entering then, are: "Do Mexican trained teach- the field ofbilingual education by retool- ers have an enhanced self-image and a
20 S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 ;24 strong ethnic identity? Does this, in plied to the Project Alianza bilingual affected by external factors such as turn, affect their sense of teaching effi- education teacher-training program at home-life, culture, community, institu- cacy? a local university. tional regulations, etc., they are more Instruments. Participants were asked likely to have a deficit view of their stu- Review Of the Literature to complete a Spanish version of the dents' ability. Therefore, these findings At present, a great disparity exists in the Teacher Self-Efficacy Quiz (TSQ-S) shed light on what is needed in design- number of LEP students and the cur- (DiBella-McCarthy, H., McDaniel, E. ing teacher preparation programs for rent number of teachers trained to work A., & Miller, R. (1995). The research- foreign-trained teachers. with language minority students. One ers back translated the instrument. Us- is confronted with a sense of urgency ing the Who am I? (Hurstfield, 1978) Conclusion when examining the current trends in format in Spanish (WAI-S ), which was U.S. teacher preparation programs must the number of prospective teachers as also adapted by the researchers, the par- broaden their view of foreign-trained compared to the number oflimited En- ticipants were asked to complete the teachers. An important consideration in glish Proficient (LEP) students, (Reyna, open-ended ques- 1993). These types ofdisparities further tion using 20 de- support the need for recruiting prospec- scriptors and to list tive minority/bilingual teachers and re- their ethnicity. "When teachers believe their efficacy is affected by taining them. Data Analysis. external factors such as (students') home life, However, the results of recruit- Triangulation and ment efforts have not always been suc- peerdebriefing culture, commuity... they are more likely to have a cessful. Schnailberg (1994) reported were employed to deficit view of their students' ability." that in the Houston Independent validate the themes School District [HISD], in an attempt identified through to meet the bilingual teacher shortage, the WAI-S. De- there was a rush to recruit "bilingual" scriptive statistics were used to provide the integration of normalistas into U.S. candidates from other countries into a portrait of the normalistas' view of self. teacher-training programs is to critically the district's alternative certification MANOVA procedures were used to examine their potential as bilingual edu- program. Apparently, several central of- conduct an analysis of the survey data cation teachers. fice personnel were placed on leave af- and the coded themes. In addition, these types of research ter it was revealed that many of the will vivify and identify successfiil recruit- bilingual teachers hired under .the al- Findings and Discussion ment, retention, and retooling programs. ternative certification program were in The uniqueness of our research lies in Furthermore, this can provide guidance fact not eligible for the program. Al- several areas. It is the first or only study in implementing effective programs. legedly, central office personnel had using the WAI and the TSQ in Spanish Therefore, we suggest it is imperative that assisted many of these alternative cer- with a Spanish-speaking population. teacher-training programs focus on the tification bilingual teachers in cheating Our findings go against stereotypes development and enhancement of eth- on teacher exams, falsifying documents, commonly held about Latinos, and in nic identity in teachers in order to insure and obtaining illegal work permits. particular about Mexican populations, in school success for language minority stu- It is vital that the schools provide regards to individualism vs. collectivism. dents. As well, teacher-training programs students with teachers whose cultural The collective competitive nature of the should provide teachers with the skills frameworks are similar to the students. normalistas was an aspect noted not only necessary to enhance the ethnic identity Snow (1990) cites research studies that by the research findings but also by uni- oftheir future students, in this way build- show that when children are provided versity faculty and administrators. Al- ing internal power. with teachers from their own language though some of our findings were not That successful teaching in cross- and cultural groups, their academic different from research on generalized cultural classrooms is dependent on a achievement improves. Since we view or bilingually prepared teachers, the re- positive self-esteem is a factor that has the teaching-learning process as sults indicated that: been well established by several stud- complementary, our perspective fol- Normalistas exhibited a strong na- iesincluding the present. The way the lows that of Portes (1996), Jackson tional ethnic identity; school responds to cultural differences (1986), Valencia and Aburto (1991) Normalistas revealed a lack of affects the degree of school success for that the cultural compatibility of the sociopolitical awareness and school- students. The link between self-image process is important both for teaching ing experience in the United States; for both teacher and student and school and learning. We, therefore, strongly Normalistas had a strong healthy self success must be further explored to en- believe there is a pressing need to aug- profile; and sure success for language minority stu- ment the pool of ethnic minority teach- I Normalistas' view of self can affect dents. Insights gained from this study ers in the United States. their teacher efficacy. should assist in creating appropriate in- An implication drawn from the novations and enhancements in current Study Design/Methodology findings indicates the importance of bilingual teacher education programs. Participants. The participants were le- having an internal locus of control. These research findings should provide gally residing normalistas who had ap- When teachers believe their efficacy is a basis for the restructuring of teacher
NABE NEWS 21 preparation program in order to increase the numbers of teachers prepared to teach in multicultural and bilingual classrooms.
Note: A more extensive article has been sub- mitted for publication in other publications.
Ellen Riojas Clark, Ph.D. is Associate Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio with Sometimes reading the Bicultural Bilingual Studies Department. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Belinda Bustos Flores, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio in the Col- foreign la'guage. lege of Education.She can be reached at [email protected].
Teaching Notes Reading in 1. Project Alianza is funded by the W. R. Kellogg Foundation and is a collaboration of Intercultural Multilingual Development Research Association and the Mexi- Classrooms Teaching Reading in can and American Solidarity Foundation. The views presented here are those of the authors and not of Multilingual Classrooms these organizations. Darnd E. Freeman
rionne S. Freeman Reading is the hottest issue in education References today. Newspapers trumpet reading test Bernal, M. E., Knight, G. P., Ocampo, K. A., Garza, C. A., & Cota, M. K. (1990). Development of scores, politicians campaign on reading Mexican-American identity. In Ethnic Identity: For- reforms, and educators are scrambling to mation and Transmission among Hispanic and Other Mi- keep pace with new teacher-training norities. (pp. 31-46). Albany: State University of New York Press. policies. In this context it is critical to DiBella-McCarthy, H., McDaniel, E. A., & Miller, R. clarify the goals of reading instruction and (1995). How Efficacious are You? Teaching Excep- to provide teachers with principles for tional Children, 27(3), 68-73. working effectively with diverse student Jackson, P. W. (1986). The practice of teaching. New York: David E. Freeman and populations. Teachers College Press. Yvonne S. Freeman David and Yvonne Freeman come to Hurstfield, J. (1978). Internal colonialism: White, Black, and Chicano self-conceptions. Ethnic and Racial teachers' assistance with Teaching Reading Studies, 1. 6-79. in Multilingual Classrooms, in which they introduce core principles of Phinney, J. S., Chavira, V., & Tate, J. D. (1993). The effective reading practice. Presented as a definitive checklist, these effect of ethnic threat on ethnic self-concept and principles form the basis of much of the book and help teachers plan own-group rating. The Journal of Social Psychology, their reading curriculum and assess their teaching of reading easily 133(4), 469-479. and confidently. Portes, P. R. (1996). Ethnicity and Culture in Educa- tional Psychology. In Berliner, D. & Calfee, R. C. First, the Freemans introduce the checklist, then they present (Eds). Handbook of educational psychology. New York, the theory of reading behind it. As the chapters progress, each item NY. Prentice Hall International. 331.357. on the checklist is explained and illustrated in detail with examples Reyna, M. (1993). Summary of focus seminar: The criti- of eight exemplary teachers who work effectively with mainstream, cal shortage of teachers and other school personnel prepared to work with language minority students. ESL, and bilingual students. Daily schedules, sample strategy Texas Education Agency. lessons, and lists of literature at different grade levelsboth Schnailberg, L. (1994a, April 6). Bilingual Certification elementary and secondaryhelp readers put the principles into Under Inquiry in Houston. Education Week, 13(28), practice. In the final chapter, the Freemans address some of the hard 1, 10. questions teachers, administrators, and parents raise about reading, Snow, C. E. (1990). Rationales for native language in- including questions about phonics and phonemic awareness. struction: Evidence from research. In A. Padilla, A., Fairchild, H. H., & C. M. Valadez (Eds.), Bilingual 0-325-00248-7 / 2000 / 144pp / Paper / $15.00 Education: Issues and Strategies (pp. 60-74). Newbury Park: SAGE Publications. Supik, J. D. (1999). Project Alianza: A Model Teacher SAVE 10%, Preparation and Leadership Development Initiative: Heinemannwhen you order online: First Year Findings. IDRA Newsletter,26(7), 3-6. www.heinemann.com Valencia, R. R. & Aburto, S. (1991). Competency test- ing and Latino student access to the teaching pro- fession: An overview of issues. In G. D. Keller, J. To order your copies, call800-793-2154,fax800-847-0938,or write: R. Deneen, R. J. Magallin, (Eds.), Assessment and Heinemann,88Post Road West, P.O. Box 5007, Westport,CT 06881 access: Hispanics in higher education (pp.167-193). Al- bany: State University of New York Press. 22 SEP TEMBER/ OCTOBER 2000 26 PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION Column Editor: Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.A., IDRA
NABE 2000 Parent Institute Mobilizes Parents AJ In analyzing the U.S. system of public quality bilingual programs, these edu- from Arizona, California, Colorado, Il- education and the role of equity, Dr. cation conferences have also led to the linois, Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, Jose A. Cardenas, founder of the Inter- creation of a network of parent leaders. Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin. Each par- cultural Development Research Asso- The basic tenet throughout our work ticipant received a packet of bilingual ciation (IDRA), referred to the public with children and families is that all are (Spanish/English) information that con- school system as being incompatible valuablenone is expendable. tained the agenda for the two days, use- with the minority students it serves: The seed for a national network of ful articles on bilingual education, "The dismal failure of American parents to advocate for quality bilingual information on dual language programs schools in the education of minority programs was planted at the annual con- and parent leadership in education, and groups can be attributed to the incom- ference of the National Association for information on the formation of the Par- patibilities that exist between the char- ent Coalition for Bilingual Education, a acteristics of the target minority parent advocacy group. population and the characteristics of an The three objectives for the insti- instructional program developed for a tute were: 1) to model parent leadership White, Anglo-Saxon, English-speak- in education; 2) to learn more about ing, middle-class oriented population. "The Parent Institute leadership and bilingual education; and Incompatibilities exist in economic created a forum where 3) to dialogue with parents and commu- level, mobility, and societal perceptions, families could unite, nity members seeking solutions to:edu- but perhaps the most glaring incompat- cational and social problems. The ibilities exist in the areas of culture, in- become informed, and framework for the conference included cluding language (Cardenas 1995)." strategize." having brief presentations followed by A similar incompatibility can be small group dialogues that were facili- observed between schools and the need tated by parents. Participants were ran- for minority parents to have a voice in domly assigned to their discussion their children's education. These per- groups. Each small group had its own ilous times for the advancement of eq- recorder and an appointed reporter who uity in our schools, however, require Bilingual Education (NABE) in 1999 would share a summary of the discus- the collaboration of schools, families (Montemayor, 1999). We moved for- sion with the larger audience. and community. The best way for us ward in strengthening the concept J3f a The general presentations included to arrive at constructive solutions parent coalition for bilingual education topics, such as: where all children will benefitis at the NABE 2000 conference. 0 the importance of quality dual lan- through collective action. guage and bilingual programs and Mobilizing an informed parent net- The NABE Parent Institute validating the home language; work to advocate for excellent bilingual The NABE 2000 conference held in San parents describing the role of par- programs in our public schools will be Antonio, Texas involved close to 7,000 ents in identifying quality bilingual key to ensuring that equity in our schools bilingual educators, researchers, and ad- programs, becoming part .of the is championed and preserved. During vocates. The parent institute ran con- classroom and becoming advocates the past five years 1DRA has focused at- currently with the general conference. and community organizers for qual- tention to nurturing parent leadership, Parents from the San Antonio area rep- ity bilingual programs; especially with language-minority fami- resenting six different school districts 0 the economic impact of a bilingual lies and those who are economically dis- helped organize the event. From begin- woikforce; advantaged. The model ofworking with ning to end, parents had a hand in the a panel 'of four teehagers talking parents to plan parent conferences has preparation and execution of the bilin- about the benefits df bilingual edu- served as a laboratory for leadership and gual institute. cation; and has given us the opportunity to connect More than150 parents and educators the need for parents as advocates for with parents from around Texas. Often attended the institute that was translated bilingual education. addressing equity issues such as access to into Spanish and English. They came
NABE NEWS 23 Each group focused on the following ent leadership. One panelist spoke about lingual education and leadership to their broad questions: parents being a resource to the school peers and educators. The discussion also and how to identify effective bilingual allowed educators to listen to parents' What points made by the speaker were programs. Another panelist spoke about points of view and parents to listen to most interesting or important to you? the rights ofparents to participate in the educa tors. Cuales puntos hechos por la conferencista public school system. The final panelist The culmination of each day was a fueron los mas interesantes o importantes para described her participation in her child's plan of action that came from the dif- usted? education as an advocate for quality dual language What did you learn? programs in her child's s advocates and educators, we must be Que aprendie? elementary school. She described her collabora- unwavering in our stance for quality language What action should we take as a result tive work with the school response programs." of these ideas? district and other parents eQue acciA se debe de tomar corno resultado in her district to extend de estas ideas? the dual language pro- gram to the middle school level. ferent small groups. To make the tran- Modeling Parent Leadership Facilitators modeled an impor- sition to taking action for quality bilin- Participants observed parents assuming tant leadership skill: listening. They gual programs, participants were asked various leadership roles, such as being were trained to ask key questions and to: 1) reflect on their connections at the masters of ceremonies, facilitators, pre- move the discussion along without community, state and national levels; 2) senters and organizers. Family stake- making judgements on the opinions determine how they were going to mo- holders in education, who were also being expressed and treating the bilize people for excellent bilingual pro- involved in the overall planning of the group with respect. grams; and 3) to set a goal date for these conference, facilitated the sessions. On actions to occur. the first day, two mothers from San Seeking Solutions Through The NABE 2000 parent institute Antonio facilitated the majority of the Dialogue provided a forum where parents could activities, and the final portion of the The NABE parent institute allowed par- speak to one another about their con- day was facilitated by two IDRA parent ents to come together in a profound cerns with bilingual programs and their liaisons who have children in public waynot just talking about their chil- vision of children's future with bilingual schools. A grandmother of children in dren but also discussing issues that sur- programs. It was a chance for educators public schools and a father of school-age round their children and how they as to listen to the experiences of parents children facilitated the second day. parents can take action. The institute who have been defending their A clear example of parents model- provided an inclusive, safe arena for par- children's right to have access to and re- ing leadership was the panel of parents ents, students, and "experts" to be heard ceive a quality bilingual or dual language who spoke on the various forms of par- and to listen to one another. It was a program. As peers in a setting where all place where people set points ofview are valued, educators were aside their fears to talk able to listen to parents' concerns about about the highly sensi- education; their expectations for their tive subjects of culture, children's learning; and how that learn- "It was a place where people set aside fears to language, identity and ing will impact their children's future. talk about the highly sensitive subjects of our children's place in It created a forum where families could culture, language, identity, and our children's the future. Parents, espe- unite, become informed and strategize. cially the quiet ones, had place in the future." a chance to speak out. An Organizer Reflects "It was a place where Through this exchange, parents learned people set aside fears to more about how the sense of urgency talk about the highly for education reform and the haste to sensitive subjects of cul- see rapid results have led to reactionary ture, language, identity, ideas that, in the long run, will only ex- and our children's place acerbate inequities in our public schools. in the future." For example, California's Proposition The dialogue among 227, also known as the Unz Initiative, is participants was very im- one such idea. Based on anecdotal sto- portant because it al- ries and an anti-immigrant agenda and lowed them to process fueled by the corporate dollars of a few theinformationre- people (especially from people living in ceived, and it gave par- other states), the proposition fed on that ents a safe forum to voice impatience. This proposition effectively their opinion about bi- eliminated bilingual education and re-
24 S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 lies) and the threat of attack our children's rights. Together, other Unz-like ini- key stakeholders can form a powerful tiatives in the states of mobilized force. Arizona and Colo- A mobilized community acts to rado, is a highly or- fulfill its mission. It does not waiver; it ganized an d seeks truth and it keeps pressuring for calculated attempt to the good of everyone in the commu- dismantle the rights nity. We must mobilize to reclaim our children saw vali- schools and make them work for all dated under Lau. children. We must show those who Parents agreed that would deny children their language and the initiatives that are their dignity that organized people can cropping up in other defeat organized money. It is possible. states would deny eq- It is crucialnow! uitable treatment, ac- quired all children to learn English in cess and inclusion to language-minority Anna Alicia Romero is a Research Assistant their first year of school. It was passed children. These students will be placed with the Intercultural Development Research in June of 1998, largely based on misin- in English-only classrooms that blatantly Association and serves as Co-Chair of the formation about the effectiveness and devalue their language, their culture and NABE Special Interest Group (SIG)Par- appropriateness of quality bilingual pro- their identity. Bottom line, they will be ent and Community Involvement. She can grams and the students they serve. placed in environments that hinder be reached at (210) 444-1710. The policies that exist for bilingual learning. Having heard presentations education today in 49 states did not and discussions on the anti-bilingual ef- emerge spontaneously. It was not the forts, it was clear to parents that they Resources educators who raised the red flag on the must act. Cirdenas, J.A. Multicultural Education: A Genera- tion of Advocacy (Needham Heights, Mass: inequalities for students whose native Simon & Schuster Publishing Custom Pub- language was other than English. In- A Call for Institutional lishing, 1995). stead, it was a group of Chinese families Support of Parent Action Montemayor, A.M. Parents Organizing to Advocate who brought forth the Lau vs. Nichols If those who are culturally and politi- for Bilingual Education (NA BE News, March 15, case (in California in 1973) arguing that cally disenfranchised are to make head- 1999) their children did not have equitable op- way in the emerging economy, they portunity to learn when taught in a lan- must hold fast to their cultural and lin- guage that they did not understand guistic identity. Without a doubt, chal- (English). The language exclusion was lenges exist for any group of parents denying them an opportunity to achieve organizing to ensure that schools are be- at high levels. The U.S. Supreme Court ing inclusive of all children and families agreed, stating that schools nwst provide and to holding schools accountable for appropriate language services to their the learning of all children. Much resis- students. tance will come from the institution Twenty-seven years later, the being pressured to change and from struggle for equity in the education of other parents. Political support for eq- language-minority students remains and uity for language minority children is has taken a new twist. The passage of waning as a wave of anti-bilingual poli- Proposition 227 in the state where the cies is being introduced and passed in Lau case originated (and with the sup- state legislatures and in port of some language minority fami- Congress. As advocates and educators, we must be unwavering in our stance for quality language re- sponse programs. We must also actively sup- 0 port the nurture and ac- tualization of parent leadership. Recognizing 4',1` families as valuable part- SQ ners in education and in our future as a society will keep us from being vulnerable to those who
NABENEWS 25 School/Community Partnerships Supporting Language Minority Student Success
BY CAIWLYNJEMRLE Ar/G,E1., GENIM.FQLUNP-P-LIEU-1,LNELUISTiCS
On their own, schools and families may schools to support language minority partnership as funding runs out. Each not be able to support the academic suc- students: partnership studied had a history of cess of every student (Kirst, 1991). In II Ethnic organizations. For example, changing partners and/or programs. The particular, language minority students, the Filipino Community of Seattle dynamic nature of these partnerships al- including immigrants and the U.S.-born partners with the Seattle Public lows them to take on new functions as children of immigrants, may not receive Schools to operate the Filipino needs and opportunities appear. appropriate educational services due to Youth Empowerment Project. Relationships among partners vary a mismatch between the languages and CBOs whose only function is a (Crowson & Boyd, n.d.). Sometimes cultures of the schools and those of their school partnership. The Vaughn one organization hires program staff, communities. To enhance support for Family Center in Pacoima, CA was and another provides funds and special- these students, many schools have established to partner with one el- ized resources. In 32% of the cases stud- partnered with community-based orga- ementary school. ied, the school led the partnership, and nizations (CB0s)groups committed IP Multi-purpose service organiza- in 25%, a partner outside the school to helping people obtain health, educa- tions. The Chinatown Service Cen- took the lead. In other partnerships, fre- tion, and other basic human services ter operates the Castelar Healthy quent contactin regular meetings and (Dryfoos, 1998). The programs they Start program at a Los Angeles el- informal interactionallowed shared operate promise to assist students in ways ementary school with tutoring for decision-making. that lie beyond the schools' traditional students as well as health and other Partners bring a range of resources methods (Dryfoos, 1998; Heath & family services. to the programs. Often schools refer stu- McLaughlin, 1991; Melaville, 1998). Most of these CBOs are nonprofit or- dents, and CBOs bring tutoring, health, This research brief will provide some ganizations. and social services, community out- findings of a national study of school/ reach, and mentoring. Other contribu- CBO partnerships. Inside School/CBO Partnerships tions come from both the schools and Researchers from the Center for School/CBO partnerships are highly partners: staff, space, funding, political Research on Education, Diversity & variable in terms ofwho the partners are, support, volunteers, program direction, Excellence (CREDE) collected de- how they relate to scriptive data on partnerships that pro- each other, and what mote the academici;achievenient of contributions ,. each lang*e minority Stuctents. After a brings. They may in- "Partnerships support academic achievement nomination process, 62 of 100 identi- clude one or more not by 'mimmicking schools' but by filling in fied partnerships were selected to study. sch6ols and one or and reinforcing the supports that schools often more CBOs. Many Thirty-one completed a survey, and 17 assume students already have." of these partnerships were visited. Sur- partnerships respond- vey and site visit data indicate that the ing to the survey also majority serve clients who are all or included colleges or nearly all English language learners. universities (58%) and businesses (29%). evaluation, skills training for students,
One'third of the 31 serve only Spanish Sometimes federal, state, and local gov- . access to the workplace, and transpor- speakers. The others serve multilingual ernment agencies provide funds or ser- tation. populations in which speakers of Span- viceshealth, social, and otherat the ish are most numerous, followed by program site. California's Healthy Start . Functions of School/CBO initiative funds programs that integrate Partnerships Vietnamese , Haitian Creole, Chinese , languages, Lao,and Tongan. Typically, the f.aucation, health, ancbocial Service Theschool/CBU partnership,Imove4 students are referrecf to the programs systgnis for the benefit of:children and thent is far-reaching. Itouches students ! based on teaehers' concerns, grade famIlies. . Ofevery age .and fulfills:a broad ong of point;average, -testing results, limited ;chool/CBP partnerThips tCnd to fUnctiOns At the presebbol anci elem6ni tary levels, pmgrams offer a range ofser= EngliSh proficiency, a'ttendance;' or per- be fltiid. Often,. a single project brings, sonal 'and family problemsbut stu- organizations, together, but over time, vices to parents and families so that dents also enroll voluntarily. new partners offer new services and pro- children are prepared for and supported Three types of CBOs join with grams evolve. Groups may leave the through school. At the secondary level,
26 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2 000 3 0 programs often provide academic tutor- helping connect parents with teachers, cess, a construct composed of behaviors ing in the students' first language. The these women serve as role models for cli- such as understanding instruction, at- programs promote leadership skills and ents with few contacts outside the im- tending school regularly, taking leader- higher education goals, but they also migrant community. Because they share ship in the school and community, and address social factors that may interfere clients' backgrounds and understand their more. Supporting school success may with student achievement (e.g., preg- experiences in and out of schools, staff require tutoring in the student's first lan- nancy, gang involvement). develop trusting relationships with clients guage or services that have traditionally School/CB0 partnerships adapt to that promote program effectiveness. been viewed as secondary to academic the schools' academic programs. Some These relationships are more personal achievement, such as health care and partnerships lead full service schools than typical teacher-student-family rela- advice on pregnancy prevention so that with educational programs for students tionships, but they are similar in that pro- students can come to school, and parent and families as well as comprehensive gram staff take an authoritative stance education programs so that parents can health and social services. Some oper- toward the client based on experience, help children with school work. The ate alternative academic programs. Dade cultural knowledge, and training. partnerships understand that these ser- County (FL) Public Schools contracts vices are not secondary at all. Schools with ASPIRA, an organization serving Flexibility that act on this view can move toward Latino youth, and with the Cuban- Another defining attribute of successful more successfully retaining and educat- American National Council to run school/CBO partnerships is structural ing language minority students who are small, preventative middle schools for at- and programmatic flexibility. The free- at-risk. risk students. Other school/CEO pro- dom to take on new partners and new grams augment the school's academic programs enhances partnerships' re- CREDE Research Brief #5 was reprinted program. At the South Bronx High sponsiveness to clients. with permission from the Center for Research School in New York City, the South on Education Diversity & Excellence. Uni- Bronx Overall Economic Development Responsive Program Design versity of California. This brief was supported Corporation runs a program for students Successful partnerships offer appropri-' under the Educational Research and Develop- having trouble with the academic de- ate programs that build on clients' needs ment Center Program administered by OERI, mands of high school. (NCAS, 1994). Program designs respect U.S. Department of Education.Visit clients' linguistic and cultural identity. CR_EDE's Web site, www.crede.usc.edu. Program Success Successful programs are also accessible School/CB0 partnerships and programs both physically and psychologically. In that effectively help language minority other words, they operatc where and References students achieve school success are dis- when the clients need them and in ways Adger, C. T., & Locke, J. (In press). Broadening the tinguished by adequate resources, part- that seem familiar. All of the programs base: School/community partnerships to support lan- nership and program flexibility, studied show clients that school success guage minority student success. responsiveness to the clients, and provi- is possibleclients can achieve. Santa Cruz, CA and Washington, DC: Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excel- sions for evaluation. . Evaluation lence. . Collier, C. (1998, November). Personal commu- Resources Effective partnerships monitor their pro- nication. grams and use what they learn to improve Although funding is a required resource Crowson, R.. L., & Boyd, W. L. (n.d.). Structures for all programs, a central, defining ele- their services. High quality programs and strategies: Tbward an mulerstanding of alterna- ment of successful programs is high have clear goals for their work and they tive models for coordinated children's services. Phila- quality staff. In each site visit, CREDE record their progress in reaching them. delphia: Temple University Center for Re- researchers met skilled and committed search in Human Development and Education. staff members who were very knowl- Conclusion Davis, D. (1991). Adult literacy programs: Toward equality or maintaining the status quo?Jour- edgeable about their programs and the In their traditional configuration, nal of Reading, 35, 34-37. clients. Often their professional exper- schools can not take on all of the work Dryfoos, J. (1998). Safe passage: Making it through ado- tise was amplified by an affiliation with that is essential to supporting academic lescence in a risky society. New York: Oxford. the client population, such as shared lan- achievement. School partnerships with Heath, S., & McLaughlin, M. W. (1991). Com- guage and culture and similar immigra- CBOs and other organizations help to munity organizations as family. Phi Delta tion experiences. broaden the base of support for language Kappan, 72, 623-627. One program in San Jose, CA em- minority students. Partnerships support Kirst, M. (1991). Improving children's services. Phi ploys immigrant women who have over- academic achievement not by "mimick- Delta Kappan, 72, 615-618. come many of the same social and ing schools," (C. Collier, 1998) but by Melaville, A. (1998). Learning together: The develop- educational challenges as the pcAents and filling in and rf.rcing the supports ingfield of s ol-connnunity initiatives. Flint, Charles ex Mott Foundation. children with whom they work. In addi- that schoolsten a ume students al- National alitionf Advocates fo t ents tion to demonstrating how itariits ca read have roadly w d 1994)eliveriion promise ositive e- support tIgir.childreris.s6bool succe and on helping students ac schoolaj suc- wes migran S fl ow-Author. 7F--1 CD 0El
0 g NABE NEWS 27 )31 NABE NEWS BOOK REVIEWS Column Editor: Dr. Beti Leone, Fresno Unified School District, Fresno, CA
English _At Your Command
Often, a teacher of English Language Learners (ELLs) finds In addition to the twenty-four communication projects, herself in a situation where she is provided with English lan- which come at the beginning of the book, the Student Hand- guage arts books and materials that are aimed at native speak- : book, Teacher's Edition contains teacher annotations, designed ers of English. Furthermore, expectations for the way the to assist teachers as they teach areas covered in the handbook language arts curriculum is to be taught and assessed imply (vocabulary, content reading, writing, grammar, and research many unspoken directivesincluding teaching methodsthat work). These annotated pages can be found throughout the show a lack of understanding that a language arts curriculum entire book and cover aspects ofEnglish language arts instruc- designed for native speakers cannot be taught the same way as tion that every teacher of English Language Learners (ELLs) is language arts for ELLs, given their diverse backgrounds and expected to teach but which she can rarely find presented in a special needs for acquiring a new language, English. way adapted to the special needs and backgrounds of ELLs. Now, from the publishers of Into English, a multi-level core ESL series that builds content-based language proficiency, VocabularyChapter 1: Just the Right Word. comes the new language arts handbook plus practice book, Chapter 1 contains teaching and practice ideas for word lists English At Your Command, available in both student and teacher of general and academic vocabulary. The types of vocabulary editions. According to the publishers, this book "is specially covered are describing words, multiple-meaning words, simi- designed for English learners and at-risk students" and can be les, homonyms, synonyms, antonyms, word building, suffixes, used across several grade levels. It can be used by the teacher prefixes, idioms, two-word verbs. for instruction and by the student as a user-friendly, indepen- Graphic OrganizersChapter 2: Picture It! dent tool. The key features of the handbook include: The authors show how to introduce and help students prac- five chapters to build vocabulary, promote the use of tice making more than two-dozen graphic organizers. Types graphic organizers, develop skills in writing, grammar, me- of graphic organizers presented with classroom examples are chanics, and research; webs (a word web, a character map, an event cluster, a main Dateline USA (a resource appendix) to build familiarity idea cluster), diagrams (a floor plan, a parts diagram, a scien- with U.S. history and culture; tific diagram, a Venn diagram, a main idea diagram), graphs contextualized explanations of skills with lots of examples, (bar graph, line graph, pie graph), outlines, maps (story maps, models, and visual support; problem-solution maps, goal-outcome maps, rising-falling multicultural, student-centered topics with content con- action map), tables and charts, and time lines. nections; and grammar practice exercises (in an appendix). Writing FormsChapter 3: Put It in Writing. This chapter suggests ways to acquaint students with models Source: Overview, Student Handbook Teacher's Edition, page 5T of more than fifty real-world writing forms as well as the Writ- A Variety of Genres ing Process and Good Writer Guide. This guide covers The Teacher's Edition of the Student Handbook includes prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing, teaching strategies, including strategies for different levels of with many useful lists and examples of the how-to or process involved in each step of writing. The various genres that are English learners and a set of activities called Communication exemplified here are those mentioned above in the genre list. Projects, designed to promote language and writing communi- catively. Among the twenty-four genres of writing listed as GrammarChapter 4: Grammar Made Graphic communication projects are the following: Chapter 4 offers teaching and practice ideas for sentences, parts advice letter P descriptive poem of speech, mechanics, and spelling. Grammar points included book review P realistic fiction story in this section are sentences, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, advertisements P character sketch adverbs, prepositions, interjections, conjunctions, capital let- poem recitation I tall tale ters, punctuation, and spelling. play writing P business letter story retelling I class newspaper Research PaperChapter 5: Look It Up! directions II report This chapter explains how to present the research process and 11) personal narrative I description of a place offers teaching and practice ideas for many print and on-line friendly letter P biography references. Describes the research process and all it's seven steps, persuasive paragraph P historical fiction story including use of the library, maps, dictionaries, and the II persuasive business letter P interview report Internet. r
28 S E P T E M B E R/ O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 U. S. Culture & HistoryDateline U. S . A . wide variety of formats. Some ex- This section provides a resource for facts amples include note-taking and out- and interesting details about U.S. cul- lining practice, sentence completion, Add valuable ture and history. The Grammar Practice proofreading, rewriting to change to section gives answers to these indepen- verb forms, describing pictures, mak- resources to your dent practice exercises. ing story maps, fill-in the blank with idioms and other vocabulary, and library with back In summary, these five chapters and many others. two added sections provide useful issues of the teacher information, helpful resources, Critique and clear student exercises focused on The only critique I have at this time, Bilingual English language learners' special needs. now that I have used it as a reference for my own upper elementary class and Research Appearance, Layoui, and shared it with other teachers, is that my Organization school cannot order it for part of our Journal The physical appearance of the Student curriculum because it is not on the state- Handbook and the Practice Book is very adopted list of books we are supposed Back issues of the Bilingual Research appealing and well balanced. Each sec- to use. The other language arts book tion of the book is color-coded, to indi- available in schools is not geared toward Journal (BRJ) are available for cate what the particular section is about ELLs and so it contains much less, if any, (grammar, etc.). The layout is an excel- of the language arts content that ELLs purchase at considerable savings. lent example of the popular advice, need and would benefit from, for both "practice what you preach," because the spoken and written production in En- Save $5.00 when you order as a authors and publishers have taken great glish. A final question, then, is this: In a Volume set Volume 21 (Number 1- care to make the information between state as diverse as California, why can't the two covers as reader-friendly as pos- the State Board of Education consider Winter of 1997; number 2&3 sible. Some of the book's highlights are recommending a language arts book that its appearance, layout, and organization, takes into account the special require- Spring and Summer of 1997; and 4 including: ments of ELLs? After all, if we sincerely IIndex: an easy-to-use large-print want to raise those SAT-9 standardized Fall of 1997) or Volume 22 index to the entire book. test scores, the English at Your Command (Number 1 Winter of 1998; and I Examples: lots of examples (e.g., let- text would be an ideal starting place for ters, charts, tables, sample student students at the speech emergence and in- Numbers 2. 3 & 4 Spring, Summer essays, etc.), graphics, well-ex- termediate levels, as they hone their aca- plained grammar lessons related to demic language skills and learn to apply and Fall of 1998). Current members writing, and colorful photographs them to everyday school tasks. and illustrations to support the chal- I would strongly recommend the (individualmembership) pay lenging content presented. English at Your Command book to el- $20.00; non-members pay $32.00 I Clear Directions: for teaching certain ementary, junior and senior high school processes (e.g., how to look up a teachers, but I would especially do so to per set. word, or how to improve your sen- upper elementary and junior high school tences), the layout makes it all easier teachers. Both teachers and students will . tounderstand, because there are appreciate the book, but especially bi- easy to read headings, with steps or lingual students who have not had the Other volume sets are also available tips in a clear sequential order, and necessary English language instruction for sale, please inquire with the comparisons and contrasts in a well- that can assist them in the development labeled visual format. of metalinguistic awareness and higher publications department.Send I Practice Book: to support the learn- level inquiry into English, both needed ing of vocabulary, grammar, graphic for continuous acquisition of academic $20.00 or $32.00 per volume set organizers, writing, and research, the English, all subject matter, and general Practice Book is available for students language development. ordered to: NABE, Attn: Publications to use and write in, and there is a Department, 1030 15th Street, N.W., Teacher's Edition to accompany it. Beti Leone is a teacher, researcher, and writer At the back of the Practice Book are working with bilingual/ESL students in Suite 470, Washington, DC 20005- a Student Progress Test and a Stu- Fresno, California. As the Book Review dent Assessment Form for assessing Column Editor for NABE News, she wel- 4018. Price includes shipping and the contents of a writing portfolio. comes reviews of both print and non-print ma- Throughout the Practice Book are teriaLs and is always lookingfor persons to write handling. useful exercises, parallel to the con- reviews. tents of the Handbook, following a
23 NABE NEWS 29 ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN EDUCATION CONCERNS Column editors: Dr. Ji-Mei Chang and Dr. Ward Shimizu San Jose State UniversitySan Jose, CA Cultural Influence on Asian and Pacific American Learners' Speech, Language and Communication MARCHELLA T. MING, EIVIERSON COLLEGE LI-ROUIG LILLY CHENG, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
Battle (1998a) informed us that the de- largely due to an influx ofmigrants, im- Family Structure & Dynamics velopment of speech, language, and migrants, and refugees, particularly over Several API cultures, including Chinese, communication is all embedded in one's the last two decades. The most numer- Vietnamese, and Hmong, stress the culture. To fully understand an ous APAs have origins in China (both strength of the family as a unit rather individual's communication pattern or Taiwan and the People's Republic of than independent needs (Huang, 1993, that of a group, one must be aware of China), the Philippines, Japan, India, Tseng, 1997). The immediate family is the cultural factors that may have influ- Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia a patriarchal system consisting of highly enced that particular individual or (Kampuchea), Thailand, Hawaii, and interdependent roles with emphasis on group. Working in today's schools, we Samoa (U.S. Census Bureau, 1999). respect for elders (Chan, 1998b; Char, are faced with linguistically and cultur- These Asian and Pacific Islander (API) 1981; Matsuda, 1989; Sodetani-Shibata, ally diverse groups of students and fami- groups have been affected by the unique 1981; Sue & Sue, 1993). In general, the lies. In this paper, we focus our cultural, linguistic, historical, mother serves as the primary caregiver discussion on issues related to students sociopolitical, religious, and economic throughout infancy and the toddler pe- from Asian Pacific American (APA) conditions of their native countries. riod, during which time parents, older groups. siblings, grandparents, and extended Although the Asian languages vary Myth and Reality family members, if available, nurture the greatly, APAs have many cultural com- Asian Pacific Americans are generally child. Children are, therefore, condi- monalities that provide a shared context depicted as a successful "model minor- tioned to respond to several caregivers for their use of language and communi- ity" due to their apparently high levels of and authority figures, which establishes cation. However, it is also imperative not educational achievements and income. the development of strong family attach- to overgeneralize these cultural com- However, this misleading stereotype does ments (Chan, 1998a, 1998b). monalities. There are notable inter- and not consider the number of wage earn- In contrast, the Indian, Khmer, Lao, intra-ethnic differences among the vari- ers within the family or the size of the and Filipino cultures may have a looser ous Asian Pacific Islander (API) groups. family (Sue & Sue, 1990). In reality, family structure in which both parents For instance, degrees of acculturation there is a higher percentage ofmore than may have equal authority over family and assimilation are significant factors to one wage earner in APA families than matters (Cheng, 1990, 1998). In many consider. In this paper, we provide back- in White families (Locke, 1992). More- API cultures, mother-child interaction ground information related to environ- over, it is not unusual for APA families places an emphasis on close physical con- mental influences and their speech to have three to five generations resid- tact rather than vocal interaction. In fact, product to highlight such commonalties ing under the same roof (Cheng, 1998; contrary to many industrialized West- and differences. Hamilton & Sangsida, 1997; Han, 1997; ern societies where the infant's most in- The acronym APA includes over 60 Howard, 1997; Le, 1993; Ly, 1997; tense relationship is with the individual different ethnic groups that originate Tseng, 1997). With limited economic who nurses him or her, many API moth- from Asia, the Pacific Rim, and the Pa- resources and proficiency in English, ers do not talk or play with the baby cific Islands or are descendants of Asian some API immigrants and refugees while feeding (Aquino, 1981; as cited in or Pacific Islander immigrants. Num- naturally identify with ethnic enclaves Battle & Anderson). bering over 10 million in the United such as Chinatowns, Japantowns, Furthermore, in comparison to States, APAs are the fastest growing eth- Manilatowns, or Little Saigons. These American mothers, Asian and Pacific nic group in the nation (Cheng & communities may be characterized by Islander mothers do more lulling, car- Chang, 1995; Uba & Sue, 1991; U.S. unemployment, poverty, and population rying, and rocking of their babies, Census Bureau, 1999; 2000). By the year density. Sue & Sue (1990) report that San which results in more passive infants (as 2020, the APA population is expected Francisco's Chinatown has the second cited in Battle & Anderson; Chan, to nearly double (U.S. Census Bureau, largest population density for its size in 1998b; Locke, 1992). Such differences 1999; 2000). The significant increase is the country. in early child rearing contribute to cul-
11_,N
30 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2000 turally distinctive behaviors by the time a unit. For example, a child is expected may determine the language style and infants are 3-4 months old. In a study to fiilfill his or her family responsibility who will initiate communication, shift
by Minami and McCabe (as cited in by performing well in school and main- : topics, speak more softly (or not at all), Cheng, 1998), Japanese mothers request taining the family harmony. look away when eyes meet, and be most
less description from their children, give Since the family makes the neces- : accommodating (Chan, 1998a; Huang, less evaluation, and pay more verbal at- sary sacrifices in order to provide an en- 1993). Indirect communication styles
tention to sons than to daughters com- vironment conducive to academic : which are considerably more intuitive pared to American mothers. achievement, the child, in turn, must than low-context, direct communica- In general, American infants learn invest the time and energy to achieve tion stylesalso enhance the mainte-
to interact vocally while API infants de- high grades (Chan, 1998a; Char, 1981). ! nance of family harmony (Chan,
velop a "pattern of silent togetherness If a child does unsatisfactorily in school : 1998a). APAs may use an indirect style with their mothers" (Battle & Ander- or requires special attention, the parents ofresponding in:order.to say what they son, p228). Silence is regarded as a sign often feel ashamed, for they consider believ e. the spe.aker vants t6 hear, of respect and reflects the subordinate their child's academic difficulties, as a rather than proviaing an honest answer relationship between children and sign of personal failure (Cheng, 1987, that might be interpreted as offensive adults. Chan (1998a) reports that in 1989; Chan, 1998a). Similarly, nii.sbe- (Chan, 1998a; Matsuda, 1989). These more traditional Asian and Pacific Is- havior may result in personal ridicule practices also extend to the formal lander families, the parent speaks as the and/or family shame. educational setting. Many APA chil- child listens. Accordingly, APAs may dren are taught that they must obey judge a calmer, quiet child to be an ideal Communication Styles and and respect their teachers. Students,
child (Cheng, 1989). Challenges : therefore, may sit quietly in class and Children are regarded as extensions avoid direct and/or sustained eye con- of their parents in many API cultures High Context tact (Dresser, 1996; Te; 1995). ASking (Battle & Anderson, 1998; Chan, Preservation ofharmony and face is also questions in' class anciparticipating in 1998b). They carry on the family lin- significant in high-context Asian,lan- discussions may be seen as challenging eage, bring status to the family name via guages, wherein silence is particalarly the teachers' authority and eye con-
their accomplishments, and literally give valued. Most of the meaningful infor- : tact may be considered disrespectful, meaning to their parents' lives. Thus, mation is either in the physical context thereby shameful (Cheng, 1987, 1998;
any individual achievement or disobe- or internalized in the listener (Cheng, : Lynch, 1998; Samover & Porter, 1991) dience reflects upon the entire family as 1997). The nature of the relationship (see sidebar below).
Asian Attitudes Toward Education
Asian Cultural Themes Educational Implications
Education is a formal process. Students are to engage in serious academic work.
Teachers are to be highly respected. Teachers are to behave formally and are expected to lecture anct:provide information.
Humility is an important virtue. Teachers are not to be interrupted. Consequently, students are reluctant to ask questions.
It is important for students to be orderly and obedient. Students are not to "show off" or volunteer information.
Children must respect adults. Students are expected tesit quietly and listen attentively.
Children must respect authority. Children are expected to listen to adults.
Teachers have authority and control. Teachers are not to be challenged or questioned.
Rote learning is preferred over discovery learning. The class is run in an orderly manner and is highly controlled.
Teachers are carriers of knowledge and are transmitters Students do well in sheltered and structured activity less peer interaction of information. and group projects, more lectures and instruction.
Schooling is a serious process. Students are expected to work in a quiet environment and are not to roam freely around the classroom.
Harmony is an important virtue. Students should avoid confrontation.
S urceAdapted from L. L. Cheng (1987)
5 N,:oBE News 31 Differences in Pragmatics
Pragmatic features that may create confusion for Asian Pacific Islanders' interpersonal communications in a mainstream American cultural context
Turn taking In some Asian cultures, students generally refrain from asking questions or interrupting during class. They may thus appear passive or non-participatory.
Social distance Culture mitigates and judges proper social distance according to such attributes as age, status, gender, place of origin, and marital status.
Questions In some Asian cultures, the following questions are common and appropriate: What is your honorable age? You have gained a lot of weight, haven't you? Haven't you eaten?
Kinship terms In some languages, kinship terms schematically depict human relationships. Chinese speakers learning English may have trouble translating English terms such as "brother-in-law." Chinese speakers may be confused as to whether this refers to a sister's husband or a husband's brother.
Physical contact In some cultures, hugging, kissing, or expressing emotion in public is frowned upon while other cultures accept and even invite such displays. Such differences may create communication problems in interpersonal relationships.
Paralinguistic rules Facial expression is minimized in some cultures while in others it plays a critical role in communication.
Gazing and staring Although young children often stare at strangers, acceptable duration and intensity of gazing and staring may vary among cultures. _ Eye contact In general, American educators consider sustained eye contact as appropriate classroom behavior. American teachers may perceive aborted eye contact unfavorably, while many cultures perceive this to be a sign of respect.
Response patterns In some cultures, a giggle is a sign of embarrassment. In others, it is an appropriate response to some situations.
Gestures Common gestures can mean radically different things in different cultures.
Politeness What is considered polite in one culture may be considered rude in another. Assimilation into a new culture requires a shift from one standard of politeness to another. For example, in America, we ask someone at the table to pass the pepper, while in China; we reach for it without "bothering" others for it.
Source: Adapted from L. L. Cheng (1995a)
Discourse interacted with peers in a social setting changes (Chan, 1998a, 1998b; Cheng, Pragmatically, APAs also differ in their due to their parents' work schedule, 1998; Lewis, Vang, & Cheng, 1989; Te, discourse style. They may incorporate many of whom worked two jobs. Ac- 1995). Although the Pilipino language many different thoughts or opinions in cording to Chan (1998a), social interac- is inflected, verbs are not inflected for a written narrative, but omit a topic sen- tion may also be restricted to selected number (Cheng, 1987). Difficulty with tence, central theme, and conclusion role models, (e.g., family, close friends) word order may also be apparent in the (Cheng, 1997).Moreover, Cheng because of the parents' distrust of out- APA population. In Pilipino languages, (1997) states that omission ofa conclud- siders or to the traditional protective and the verb occurs at the beginning of the ing statement may be due to the belief controlling nature ofchild rearing in sev- sentence, whereai Korean, Japanese, and that it is condescending for the author eral Asian and Pacific Islander cultures. Kannada (Indian dialect) are verb-final to tell the reader what conclusions As a result, API children are less likely languages (Chan, 1998a, 1998b; Cheng, should be drawn. Hence, Asian and Pa- to learn the necessary pragmatic rules to 1987; Shekar & Hedge, 1995). cific Islanders' circular, lengthy discus- interact socially with peers in a social sions which may not focus on the topic environment in American societies (see Phonology of discussion may not meet the expec- sidebar above). Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants tations of the American mainstream and refugees also demonstrate significant educational system, which values mini- Syntax phonologic difficulties when learning to mal context orientation, and a linear, In addition to semantic differences, speak English. In general, there are fewer straightforward communication style APAs may also exhibit a variety of diffi- consonants and vowels in the Asian and (Cheng, 1995b, 1997). culties with syntax when learning the Pacific Islander languages (Cheng, English language due to their diverse lin- 1987). This results in APAs mispro- Social Skills guistic backgrounds. Since Chinese, nouncing certain English phonemes by In addition, APA children may lack the Khmer, Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese substituting a similar phoneme in their social pragmatic skills that American are uninflected languages, grammatical language. For instance, there are 9 con- culture deems appropriate. A study by markers or the context itself are used to sonants in English that do not exist in Chang and Lai (as cited in Cheng, 1996) indicate gender, number, tense, case, or Pilipino languages (Chan, 1998b). reported that Cantonese children rarely voice, versus suffixes and internal vowel Pilipinos, therefore, might substitute p, 32 S E P T E M B E R/ O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 *. 36 b, s, t for f, v, z (e.g., pour/four). Also, entiate important meanings, (e.g., state- (Wide Smiles, 1999). native speakers of Chinese, Japanese, ments versus questions). In addition, there is evidence of ex- Khmer, Korean, Lao, Vietnamese, ceedingly high prevalence rates for sen- White Hmong, and Blue/Green Hmong Impact of Culture on Response sorineural hearing loss, otitis media, and may delete final consonants in English to Illness and Birth Defects chronic middle ear disease among Asian because of the differences between the Asian and Pacific Islander cultures clearly and Pacific Islander children (Huang, languages (Cheng, 1987; Lewis, Vang, impact speech, language, and communi- 1993; Naeem & Newton, 1996; Pang- & Cheng, 1989). cation. Culture also defines norms of Ching, Robb, Heath, & Takumi, 1995; In Japanese, /n/ is the only conso- parenting, sex roles, behavior, tradition, Stewart, 1986; Stewart, Anae, & Gipe, nant that can occur in the final position and values. It is the "lens through which 1989). In fact, the prevalence for chronic of words, so Japanese ESL speakers may one perceives and interprets the world" middle ear disease in Pacific Islanders is find it easier to omit all other final con- (as cited in Battle, 1998a, p3). In a study comparable to the extensively studied sonants. Speakers of Chinese, Hawaiian, conducted by Bebout and Arthur (1992, Alaskan Eskimo and American Indian Hmong, Korean, Lao, Samoan, and 1997), it was ftirther concluded that cul- populations (Pang-Ching et al.; Stewart Vietnamese may find English consonant ture affected how people respond to ill- et al.). In the only three studies that blends difficult to produce, usually be- nesses, birth defects, intervention, or noted prevalence rates for hearing loss cause few, if any, such clusters exist in handicapped persons. Accordingly, salient based on ethnicity (as cited in Naeem these languages (Cheng, 1987, 1998). physical or structural differences, such as and Newton), it was agreed that a higher Thus, Asian ESL speakers often employ prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss epenthesis, (i.e., unstressed vowel inser- exists among Asian children. tion between consonants), which trans- In sum, as the dramatic growth of the forms these blends to the most basic Asian Pacific American population con- syllable structure of consonant-vowel, "APAs may use an tinues into the new millennium, speech- (e.g., /buh-lu/ for blue). Further, the ad- indirect style of language pathologists are faced with the dition of a vowel to the end of a word is challenge of understanding how API or characteristic of Japanese, Samoan, and responding in order to APA cukural values, attitudes, perceptions, Hawaiian ESL speakers, since all words say what they believe the and histories affect their speech and lan- end with a vowel in these languages speaker wants to guage. Recognizing this association will (with the exception of /n/ in Japanese) hear... " facilitate cross-cultural communication (Cheng, 1987). Additionally, Cheng and enable us to provide quality service to (1987; as cited in Battle, 1998b) notes our multicultural society. that assimilation nasality may be present in Korean speakers since final stops that Marchella T Ming is a graduate student in occur before nasal sounds are commonly clefting, are often viewed as a curse that the Department of Communication Sciences nasalized. For example, a Korean speaker will most likely bring shame upon the and Disorders at Emerson College in Bos- might say banman for Batman. family (Cheng, 1990). ton, Massachusetts. Li-Rong Lilly Cheng is Cleft lip and cleft palate, the fourth a Professor in the Department of Communi- Prosody most common birth defect in the na- cative Disorders and Director of Asia Pacific One of the more apparent differences tion, is reported to occur in 1 out of 650- program, Global Program Development at in an Asian ESL's speech product is with 700 newborns worldwide, and 1 out of San Diego State University. prosody. Languages such as Chinese, 500 in children of Asian descent, al- Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese, which though this term also included Ameri- References consist of monosyllabic words, create can Indian and Hispanic, according to American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. particular difficulty in learning the rules the Wide Smiles data (American Cleft (1999, October 2). About cleft lip and cleft palate for syllabification and syllabic stress in [On-line] Available: http://www/cleft/com/ Palate-Craniofacial Association, 1999; cleft.htm. English. According to Chan (1998a) and Peterson-Falzone, 2000; Wide Smiles, Aquino, C. J. (1981). The Filipino in America. In Cheng (1998), Pilipinos and Hawaiians 1999). Currently, research has not de- A.L. Clark (Ed.), Culture and child-rearing usually stress the next-to-last syllable in termined the causal factors for the higher (pp.166-190). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co. words, which may not be appropriate for incidence in the API population, al- Battle, D. E. (1998a). Communication disorders all English words. In languages with no though a few theories are believed to in a multicultural society. In C. M. Seymour stress, such as Japanese, Korean, and hold some degree of validity. First, the (Series Ed.) & D .E. Battle (Vol. Ed.), Com- Laotian, speakers may sound monoto- munication Disorders in Multicultural Populations genes related to the child's ethnicity are (2nd ed., pp.3-29). Boston: Butterworth- nous when they speak English. Many thought to be associated with clefting Heinemann. ESL speakers, such as Asian Indians, also (Wide Smiles, 1999). Secondly, because Battle, D. E. (1998b). Differential diagnosis of experience difficulty with distinguish- of a flatter facial plane, which is presum- communication disorders in multicultural ing and producing intonation patterns ably race-specific, Asians are more vul- populations. In B. J. Philips & D. M. Ruscello (Cheng, 1987, 1998). In English, it is nerable to clefting (Wide Smiles, 1999). (Eds.), Differential Diagnosis in Speech-Language Pathology (pp.5-44). Boston: Butterworth- imperative for both the listener and The final theory implicates socioeco- Heinemann. speaker to discriminate among the vari- nomic factors, such as fewer resources, Battle, D. E. & Anderson, N. (1998). Culturally ous intonation styles since they differ- poor prenatal care, and malnutrition diverse families and the development of Ian-
NABE NEWS 33 PC a7 guage. In C. M. Seymour (Series Ed.) & D. Dresser, N. (1996). Multicultural Manners: New H.L. Morris, & D. C. Spriestersbach (Vol. E. Battle (Vol. Ed.), Communication Disorders Rules ofetiquettefor a changing society. New York: Eds.), Diagnosis in speech-language pathology: Sin- in Multicultural Populations (2"d ed., pp.213- John Wiley & Sons, Inc. gular textbook series (2'd ed., pp.377-401). San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group, Inc. 245). Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann. Hamilton, K. & Sangsida, N. (1997). Parenting val- Bebout, L. & Arthur, B. (1992). Cross-cultural at- ues and practices: Laotian families In S. J. Samover, LA., & Porter, P... E. (1991). Communi- titudes toward speech disorders. Journal of Bavolek (Series Ed.) & 0. Campbell, G. cationbetweencultures Belmont, CA: Speech and Hearing Research, 35(1), 45-52. Barfield, Jr., & M. Jackson (Vol. Eds.), Wadsworth Publishing Company. Bebout, L. & Arthur, B. (1997). Attitudes toward Multicultural parenting educational guide: Vol.1 Shekar, C., & Hedge, M. N. (1995). India: Its speech disorders: sampling the views of Nurturing parenting programs (pp. 163-173) Park people, culture, and languages In 0. L. Tay- Cantonese-speaking Americans. Journal of City, UT: Family Development Resources, Inc. lor (Series Ed.) & L. L. Cheng (Vol. Ed.), Inte- Communication Disorders, 30(3), 205-229. Han, S. L. (1997) Parenting values and practices: Ko- grating language and learning for inclusion: An rean families In S. J. Bavolek (Series Ed.) & 0. Asian Pacific focus: Culture, rehabilitation, and Chan, S. (1998a). Families with Asian roots. In E. Campbell, G. Barfield, Jr., & M. Jackson (Vol. education series (pp.125-148). San Diego, CA: W. Lynch & M. J. Hanson (Eds.), Developing Eds.), Multicultural parenting educationalguide: Vol] Singular Publishing Group, Inc. cross cultural competence: A guide for working with Nurturing parenting programs (pp.99-112) Park children and their families (2"d ed., pp.251-354). Sodetani-Shibata, A. E. (1981). The Japanese Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. City, UT: Family Development Resources, Inc. American In A. L. Clark (Ed.), Culture and child-rearing (pp.96-138) Philadelphia: F. A. Chan, S. (1998b). Families with Pilipino roots. In Howard, K. (1997).Parenting values and prac- tices: Japanese families In S. J. Bavolek (Series Davis Co. E.W. Lynch & M. J. Hanson (Eds.), Develop- Ed.) & 0. Campbell, G. Barfield, Jr., & M. ing cross cultural competence: A guide for working Stewart, J. L. (1986). Hearing disorders among the Jackson (Vol. Eds.), Multicultural parenting edu- with children and their families (2"d ed., pp.355- indigenous people of North America and the 408). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing cational guide: Voll Nurturing parenting programs Pacific Basin In 0. L. Taylor (Ed.), Nature of (pp.113-129). Park City, UT: Family Devel- Co. communication disorders in culturally and linguisti- opment Resources, Inc. cally diverse populations (pp.237-276). San Di- Char, E. L. (1981). The Chinese American. In A. Huang, G. (1993). Beyond culture: Communicating ego, CA: College-Hill Press. L. Clark (Ed.), Culture and child-rearing (pp.140- with Asian American children and families (Digest 164).. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co. Stewart, J. L., Anae, A. P., & Gipe, P. N. (1989). 94). East Lansing, MI: National Center for Pacific Islander children: Prevalence of hear- Cheng, L. L. (1987):Assessing Asian language per- Research on Teacher Learning (ERIC Docu- ing loss and middle ear disease Topics in Lan- formance: Guidelines for evaluating linnted- ment Reproduction Service No. ED 366673). English-proficient students. In K. G. Butler guage Disorders, 9(3), 76-83. (Series Ed.), Excellence in Practice Series. Le, N. (1993). Thc case of the Southeast Asian Sue, D., & Sue, D. W. (1993). Ethnic identity: Cul- refugees: Policy for a community "at-risk." Rockville, MD: Aspen Publications. tural factors in the psychological development In LEAP Asian Pacific American Public Policy of Asians in America In D. R. Atkinson, G. Cheng, L. L. (1989). Service delivery to Asian/Pa- Institute & UCLA Asian American Studies Morten, & D. W. Sue (Eds.), Counseling cific LEP children: A cross-cultural frame- Center (Eds.), The State of Asian Pacific America: American minorities: A cross-cultural per- work. Topics in Language Disorders, 9(3), 1-14. A Public Policy Report (pp.167-188). Los An- spective, (2"1 ed., pp.199-238). Madison, WI: Cheng, L. L. (1990). Asian-American cultural per- geles: Editors. Brown and Benchmark. spectives on birth defects: Focus on cleft pal- Lewis, J., Vang, L., & Cheng, L. L. (1989). Iden- Sue, D.W. & Sue, D. (1990). Counseling the cultur- ate. Cleft Palate Journal, 27(3), 294-300. tification of the language learning disabili- ally different (2"d ed.). New York: John Wiley Cheng, L. L. (1995a). Assessing Asian students for ties of Hmong, Topics in Language Disorders, & Sons, Inc. special services: A pre-assessment consideration 9(3), 21-37. Te, H. D. (1995). Understanding Southeast Asian In 0. L. Taylor (Series Ed.) & L. L. Cheng (Vol. Locke, D. C.(Ed.).(1992).Increasing students In 0. L. Taylor (Series Ed.) & L. L. Ed.), Integrating language and learningfor inclusion: multicultural understanding In P. Pedersen Cheng (Vol. Ed.), Integrating language and learn- An Asian Pacific focus: Culture, rehabilitation, and (Series Ed.), Multicultural Aspects of Counseling ing for inclusion: An Asian Pacific focus: Culture, education series (pp.213-264). San Diego, CA: Series: Vol. 1. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Pub- rehabilitation, and education series (pp.107-123) San Singular Publishing Group, Inc. lications. 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(1998). Developing cross-cultural U.S. Census Bureau. (1999). Statistical abstract of the ToWard optimal language learning for limited competence In E. W. Lynch & M. J. Hanson United States, 1999 (119'h ed.). Washington, English proficient students. Language, Speech, (Eds.), Developing cross-cultural competence: A DC: U.S. Department of Commerce. aridRearing SerVices in Schools, 27(4), 347-354. guide for working with children and their families U.S. Census Bureau. (2000, July 29). Projections of Cheng, L. L (1997). Diversity: Challenges and im- (2" ed., pp.47-89). Baltimore: Paul H. the total resident population by 5-year age groups, plications for assessment Journal of Children's Brookes Publishing Co. race, and Hispanic origin with special age categories: Communication Development, 19(1), 55-62. Matsuda, M. (1989). Working with Asian parents: Middle Series, 20162020 [On-Line]. Avail- Cheng, L. L. (1998). Asian- and Pacific-Ameri- Some communication strategies, Topics in Lan- able: http://www.census.gov/population/pro- can cultures In C. M. Seymour (Series Ed.) & guage Disorders, 9(3), 45-53. jections/nation/ summary/np-t4-e.txt. D. E. Battle (Vol. Ed.), Communication Disor- Naeem, Z., & Newton, V. (1996). Prevalence of Uba, L. & Sue, S. (1991). Nature and scope of ser- ders in Multicultural Populations (2"d ed., pp.73- sensorineural hearing loss in Asian children, vices for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans 116). Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann. British Journal of Audiology, 30(5), 332-339. In N. Mokuau (Ed.), Handbook of social services Cheng, L. L. & Chang, J. M. (1995). Asian/Pa- Pang-Ching, G., Robb, M., Heath, R., & for Asian and Pacyic Islanders (pp.3-19). New cific Islander students in need of effective ser- Takumi, M. (1995) Middle ear disorders and York: Greenwood Press. vices In 0. L. Taylor (Series Ed.) & L. L. learning loss in native Hawaiian preschoolers, Wide Smiles. (1999, October 3). Incidents of clefts Cheng (Vol. Ed.), Integrating language and learn- Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in among races [On-line. Available: http:// ing for inclusion: An Asian Pacific focus: Culture, Schools, 26(1), 33-38 www.widesmiles.org/WS-104.htm1. rehabilitation, and education series (pp. 3-29) San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group, Inc. Peterson-Falzone, S. J. (2000). Cleft Palate In M.N. Hedge (Series Ed.) & J. B. Tomblin,
/11 4'.; 34 S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 38 TFIE NEXT STEP Silver, J. (Producer). Meeting the challenge of teaching linguistically diverse students. . (Video Series). Santa Cruz, CA: University of California, Model Teach- (continued from Page 17) ing Documentary Project/Bilingual Resource Center.
non-English language. Many program coordinators recom- mend having at least two mandatory classes in the non-En- glish language each year. (In the programs profiled in the new CREDE report, these were commonly social studies and lan- ENGLISH FOR THE guage arts.) They also suggest maintaining some degree of eon- tinuity in language allocation from one year to the next, for CHILDREN ARIZONA example, teaching math in Spanish for several consecutive years. (continued from Page 15) They caution that if math is offered in Spanish in Grades 5 and 9, but not Grades 6- 8, students may not sign up for math a few anecdotal horror stories. It is imperative that an educa- in Spanish in Grade 9. tion campaign be started to explain bilingual education to the The report incorporates a series of program portraits public, and it is also imperative that we all continue to work to that show how the ideas were actually enacted. Represen- improve the quality of bilingual programs so that, in the words tatives from two high schools and six middle schools share of Stephen Krashen, they are all "well designed." Otherwise, the specifics of their programs. Teachers, parents, and ad- the educational progress made in the last three decades will be ministrators embarking on the articulation process may ben- lost, and bilingual education will be again pioneered some time efit from the experience of others who have already been in the future after English Only again has failed. through it. CAL's research on two-way immersion has resulted in a database of over 260 programs in 23 states in the U.S. and a number of books, reports, and ERIC Digests. For those interested in pursuing further study on these programs, the NABE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE following resources may be helpful. Profiles in Two-Way Im- FOR THE 106TH CONGRESS mersion Education (Christian, Montone, Lindholm, & Carranza, 1997) describes the different ways in which two- (continued from Page 19) way immersion programs are implemented in three elemen- tary schools. A 1999 CREDE report, Program Alternatives married couples because one spouse must leave the coun- for Linguistically Diverse Students (Genesee), contextualizes try to obtain a visa, uncertain as to when they can be re- two-way immersion among the range of programs that can united. Restoring the Section 245(i) mechanism to obtain support English language learners. Becoming Bilingual in the visas here in the U.S. is a good policy that will help keep Amigos Two-Way Immersion Program (Cazabon, Nicoladis, & families together and keep willing workers in the U.S. Lambert, 1998) shows how students in a Massachusetts two- labor force. way immersion program are performing on standardized 1 Updating a provision of immigration law known as achievement tests, and how these students feel about be- "registry date." Our government has a long history of coming bilingual. The' video series, Meeting the Challenge of recognizing that it makes more sense to allow long-time Teaching Linguistically Diverse Students, documents TWI in resident, deeply rooted immigrants who are contributing several elementary classrooms. For a complete listing of two- to our economy to remain here permanently. The amend- way resources, including an online database of programs ment would change the registry cutoff date so that un- across the country, and links to free materials online, see documented immigrants who have been residing in the www.ca1.org/pubIic/topics/twoway.htin. country since before 1986 would qualify to remain here permanently. Michael Loeb and Margaret Crandall are research assistants at the Cen- IParity for Central Americans and Haitians. This ter for Applied Linguistics. For more information on CAL's two-way provision would correct past unequal treatment among immersion research, contact Liz Howard at CAL (202-362-0700). different groups of similarly situated Central American and Caribbean refugees. Some refugees have been of- References fered an opportunity to adjust to permanent status. Oth- Cazalx5n, M., Nicoladis, E., & Lambert, W. (1998). Becoming bilingual in the ersequally rooted in our country with jobs and Anngos two-way immersion program. Research Report No. 3. Santa Cruz, familyface the prospect of deportation. CA & Washington, DC: Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence. Correcting the inequities in current immigration policies is not Christian, D., Montone, C., Lindholm, K., & Carranza, I. (1997). Profiles in only a matter offundamental fairness, it is good, pragmatic public two-way immersion education. McHenry, IL: Delta Systems Co., Inc. policy. This legislation advances justice, keeps families together, Genesee, F. (Ed.) (1999). Program alternativesfor linguistically diverse students. Edu- and strengthens the national and international economy. It de- cational Practice Report No. 1. Santa Cruz, CA & Washington, DC: Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence. serves unqualified support and rapid passage. Montone, C. L., & Loeb, M. I. (2000). Implementing two-way immersion pro- grams in secondary schools. Educational Practice Report No. 5. Santa Cruz, CA Patricia Loera, Esquire, is NABE's Legislative Director. This legisla- & Washington, DC: Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Ex- tive update, as all NABE non-copyrighted articles, may be reproduced cellence. with the condition that credit is given to the author and to NABE News.
NABE NEWS 35 Resources for Bilingual Educators
Website Resources pedagogy, guidelines for modifying instructional materials, theory and insights from educators who have experience with Portraits of Success these programs. (www.lab.brown.edu/public/NABE/portraits.taf) "Bilingual Education: Portraits of Success is a joint project of Help! They Don't Speak English Starter Kitfor Primary Teach- the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory ers by Eastern Stream Center on Resources and Training (ES- at Brown University, the National Association for Bilingual CORT), Region IV Comprehensive Center at AEL and the Education (NABE), and Boston College. They promote qual- Region XIV Comprehensive Center/Center for Applied Lin- ity bilingual education by collecting data, analyzing programs, guistics.This manual is a resource for mainstream teachers and sharing information about successful bilingual education who are seeking ideas for recommended teaching strategies, les- programs of schools in the nation. This network of bilingual son plans, and materials to instruct and nurture all students educators provides information and feedback to teachers, ad- particularly limited English proficient (LEP) students. It provides rninistrators and researchers. By identifying the characteristics strategies for the improvement of reading, writing, math, and and outcomes of successful bilingual education programs, they social studies for LEP students and offers suggestions for how to provide incentive for fledgling programs." encourage language minority parents to participate in their children's education. It also provides resources, references and Arizona Language Education Council proposals to alternative methods to evaluate and monitor the (www.Alec2000.org) progress of LEP students. Copies can be obtained by contact- "The Arizona Language Education Council (ALEC) is a non- ing the ESCORT at 1-800-451-8058. profit association dedicated to educating the public about the historical and present context of the education of language mi- Lifting Every Voice: Pedagogy and Politics of Bilingualism (2000), nority children in Arizona. ALEC seeks to increase public aware- edited by Zeynep F. Beykont, is a collection of essays on the ness about language education issues, dispel myths and education of language minority children in the U.S. This misconceptions about bilingual education and provide a clear- book's twelve chapters are organized into three sections: Power inghouse ofinformation for Arizonans, policy-makers, and news of Bilingualism, Practice of Bilingualism and Transforming media." This website provides updated information on Propo- Bilingualism. For more information, contact: Harvard Edu- sition 203, a measure to end bilingual education in Arizona. cation Publishing Group 349 Gutman Library, 6 Appian Way, Recent articles posted on the ALEC 2000 web-site include: Cambridge, MA 02138 or call toll-free (800) 513-0763.
1 Bilingual Education in Arizona: What the Research Says by Stephen Krashen and Grace K. Park, University of Center for Research on Education, Diversity South California and Dan Seldin, University of Califor- & Excellence (CREDE) Reports nia, Riverside. This article provides a brief review of re- It presents a search on bilingual education in Arizona. The following reports are available for $5.00 (plus 10% shipping) descriptive study (plus test scores) where a group who ex- from CAL/Crede, 4646 406 Street NW, Washington, DC 20016. perienced bilingual education is compared to a control For more information contact [email protected] or call 202-362-0700. group. The focus is on English language acquisition. Telephone, e-mail, or credit card orders are not accepted.
II Bilingual Education: Ninety Questions, Ninety Answers by Stephen Krashen. The questions and answers highlighted Broadening the Base: School/Community Partnerships Serv- focus on many aspects of bilingual education including: ing Language Minority Students At Risk, written by C.T. fundamentals, research, public opinion, drop-out rates, bi- Adger & J. Locke, Center for Applied Linguistics. Outlined lingual education in other countries; and much more. in this report are findings from a study of school/CBO 'part- nerships that promote the academic achievement of language minority students. The types of CBOs that partner with Books schools, the ways partners work together, challenges that part- nerships may face, the work partners do and the elements cru- Dual Language Instruction a Handbook for Enriched Education cial to program success are discussed.(EPR 6) (Heinle & Heinle: ISBN: 0-8384-8801-3; $33.95) by Nancy Cloud, Fred Genesee and Else Hamayan. This is a book for Personalizing Culture Through Anthropological and Educa- K-12 teachers, policy makers and other educational profes- tional Perspectives , written by Rosemary C. Henze and Mary sionals who teach students in two (or more) languages. The E. Hauser. "This report shows teachers and teacher educators book is a resource for educators planning to implement for- how to gain specific knowledge about the cultures of their eign/second language immersion programs for language ma- individual students and their families. Through this personal- jority students, two-way immersion programs, and ization of culture, teachers can use students' prior knowledge developmental bilingual programs. It provides practical ques- and skills as rich resources for teaching and learning, and help tions and answers, knowledge gained from academic research, create culturally responsive schools." (EPR 4)
36 S E P T E M B E R/ O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 4 0 Nationwide Writing Contest for Bilingual Students "PROUD TO BE BILINGUAL" Essay Contest
The National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) is proud to announce the 2001 Nationwide Writing Contest for Bilingual Students. This is the 20th Anniversary of NABE's highly successful and popular student essay program. Again, this year, eligible bilingual students throughout the country have an opportunity to submit essays on the topic "Proud To Be Bilingual." The deadline for submission is November 1, 2000.
Topic Subject All essays must address the theme, "Proud to Be Bilin- gual," to be eligible. "Proud To Be Bilingual"
Categories Length The number of words MUST be recorded at the end of each essay. The length of the essay MUST be: Elementary: Grades 3-5 Grades 3-5: 150-200 words Middle/Junior High: Grades 6-8 Grades 6-8: 250-350 words High School: Grades 9-11 Grades 9-11: 350-500 words Prizes/Awards Application An application form, containing the name of the con- National First Place High School Winner: $5000 educational schol- testant, his/her native language, home address with ZIP code, tele- arship payable to a college of their choice phone number with area code, grade, name and address of school, National First Place Middle School Winner: $1000 certificate for name of bilingual teacher and school principal, and name of the school purchase of a technology learning aid district must be stapled to the essay. Names should not appear on the I National First Place Elementary School Winner: $1000 certificate essay. Essays become the property of NABE and will not be returned. for purchase of a technology learning aid NABE reserves the right to publish all essays. Eligibility Please note: Application form requires a teacher's signature verifying Participation is limited to students who learned or are learning that the student meets eligibility criteria. English as a new language through an instructional program where content instruction is provided in both English and the student's Format The essay must be written IN INK or typed DOUBLE SPACE. native language. Students must have a "B" average or better in academic grades. Submissions A maximum of three essays per grade category will Students must have a 90% school attendance rate or better. be accepted from the same school. A cover letter on school stationery Previous winners are not eligible to participate. signed by the principal should accompany the submissions. Criteria Judging Each Essay will be judged on: (1) development of theme, (2) original- A panel of judges selected by the Houston Independent School Dis- ity, (3) content and clarity of expression, and (4) grammar and me- trict will determine the national winners in each grade category. chanics.
Rules Send essays to: NABE 2001 Nationwide Writing Contest Only entries that comply with the following rules will be considered: Houston Independent School District Office of School Administration Language All essays must be written in English; however, all se- 3830 Richmond Avenue, lected winners must be prepared to present their essays in English and Houston TX 77027 their native language at an awards ceremony during the NABE 2001 (713) 892-6800 Conference. See reverse for application
NABE NEWS 37
, NABE 2001 Nationwide Writing Contest for Bilingual Students "PROUD TO BE BILINGUAL" APPLICATION FORM
1. Attach a copy of this form to each essay. 2. Names should not appear on the essay. 3. A maximum of three essays per grade category will be accepted from the same school. 4. A cover letter on school stationery, signed by the principal, should accompany the submissions.
Name ofContestant:
Grade:
Home Address:
City: State: Zip:
Home Phone:
Name of School:
Name of Bilingual Teacher:
Name of Principal:
School Address:
City: State: Zip:
School Phone: School Fax Number:
Name of School District:
I certifythat this student meets all eligibility criteria. Teacher Signature
Deadline for submission is November 1, 2000. See reverse for rules and regulations
38 S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R2 0 0 0 Guidelines for Article Submission to NABE NEWS
General Editorial Policies Language Equity Issues, 202 E. Gowen Ave, Fresno, CA, [email protected]. The NABE News is published six times a Philadelphia, PA19119. year on a bi-rnonthly basis. We seek previ- Submission Guidelines ously unpublished articles. Articles should Dr. Ji-Mei Chang, Editor-Asian/Pacific All articles must conform to the publication focus on the theory, research and/or prac- Americans Column, Associate Professor, San guidelines of the Publication Manual of the tice of implementing quality bilingual edu- Jose State University, College of Education, American Psychological Association (4th cation programs, including dual language Sweeney Hall, Room 204, 689 Erie Circle, edition). programs. NABE invites manuscripts on a Milpitas, CA [email protected] Print materials and electronic versions wide-range of topics related to support struc-. should include a title page, with contact in- tures for these programsfrom funding is- Dr. Ward Shimizu, Co-Editor-Asian/Pacific formationincluding mailing address and sues, parentalinvolvement, staff Americans Column, San Jose State Univer- telephone number.If available, authors development, curriculum and instruction to sity, 689 Erie Circle, San Jose, CA 95192. should provide fax numbers, and e-mail ad- legislative agendas, state initiatives, staff hir- dress. ing/retention and personal reflectionsthat Dr. Jon Allan Reyhner, Editor-Indigenous Bi- Include a two to three sentence bio- advance the knowledge and practice in the lingual Education Programs, Northern Ari- graphical reference that may include job title field. zona State University, Associate Professor, or highest degree earned, work affiliation NABE News prefers a reader-friendly Division of Bilingual Education, CEE, P.O. and/or research interest (not to exceed 50 style ofwriting that resonates well with com- box 5774, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5774. words). munity groups, parents, legislators, and es- [email protected] Manuscripts and diskettes will not be pecially classroom teachers.Contributors returned. Keep copies ofyour article or other should include reference to a theoretical base Dr. Lucy Tse, Editor-Theory Into Practice materials submitted. and cite related research, but the article Column, Assistant Professor, Arizona State The editor of NABE News reserves the should contain practical ideas or implications University, Division of Curriculum and In- right to make editorial changes needed to for practice. struction, College ofEducation, Tempe, AZ enhance the clarity of writing. The author 85287-0208. [email protected] will be consulted only in cases where the change(s) is/are substantial. Types of Articles Mr. Aurelio Montemayor, Editor-Parent/ Feature Articles: A feature article should Community Involvement, Interculltural De- address the issue's theme (if identified), be velopment Research Association, 5835 Themes of Future NABE News issues: no longer than 2,000-4,000 words, includ- Callaghan Rd., Suite 350, San Antonio, TX ing references and sidebars. Type/save your 78228. [email protected] January/February manuscript as a Word document (6.0 or be- NABE: 25 Years of Service Trends low) and attach it to an e-mail sent to General/Other Articles: Other articles, in Bilingual Education [email protected] or mail a diskette to not addressing the announced NABE News the NABE address. Please do not use run- themes, are also sought and welcomed. They March/April ning heads or bold. Include contact infor- should be relevant to current interests or is- Literacy (Elementary and Secondary) mation and a briefbio indicating name, title, sues. They must be no longer than 1500 affiliation, and research interest. 1750 words. May/June Responding to Standards and Articles for Regular Columns: NABE Reviews: Reviews should describe and to LEP Student Needs news publishes four regular columns evaluate recently published bilingual educa- Administration of Bilingual Education tion materials, such as professional books, July/August Column, Asian/Pacific Americans Col- curriculum guides, textbooks, computer pro- Assessment Issues and Implementation Ideas umn, Indigenous Bilingual Education grams, or videos. Reviews should be no Column, and Theory Into Practice Col- longer than 500-750 words. Include in your September/October umn. Each column has a column editor. review: Access to Technology: These articles are shorter in length, usu- 1. a brief summary of the major compo- Promising Programs and Practice ally focus on one issue, elaborate on two nents or features of the material, with to three major points, and provide specif- no evaluative comments November/December ics for practice.Manuscripts should re- 2.an evaluation of the features, indicating Curriculum and Instruction in the latetothespecialfocus and be how they are useful/helpful or not Bilingual Early Childhood Classroom approximately 1500-2200 words in 3. if appropriate, a discussion of how the length. They can be mailed to the NABE material ties in or responds to broader office, to the attention of the NABE News issues in the field or to specific meth- Copy is due two months in advance of the editor or mailed directly to the column odologies first month listed for the issue (for example, editors as follows: 4. an assessment as to whether the teacher/ The deadline for the March/April issue is due reader would want to use the material January 1", for May/June it would be due On Ms. Mary Ramirez, Editor-Administration and why (or why not) March 1"). Advertisements should be sub- of Bilingual Education Programs, Philadel- Send a copy of your revieW, preferably as a mitted at least two months in advance of the phia Public Schools, Director-Office of Word 'file in an e-mail, to: Dr. Beti Leoni, first month listed for the issue.
NABE NEWS 39 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION CI Tell us about MEMBERSHIP APPLICA TION yourself. I am involved with bilingual Membership Type (check one only) education as (check one): 0 Administrator If renewing a current membership, please enter membership# here: 0 College Instructor Individual Membership $48 0 Consultant 0 Full-Time Student Li Discounted Individual Membership $30 0 Paraprofessional O Parent: MUST NOT be a professional educator and MUST have a child currently enrolled in a bilingual 0 Parent/Community Member education/ESL program. A letter written on school stationery from either the teacher or a school CI Publisher Staff administrator must accompany this membership application. 0 School Board Member O College/University Student: MUST NOT be professional educator and MUST be enrolled on FULL-TIME 0 Teacher basis. A copy of an official college or university document showing current enrollment status must CI Other accompany the NABE membership application. O Paraprofessional: MUST be working as an instructional aide in a public school system. A letter on I work in this type of school stationery from the supervising teacher or a school administrator must accompany the NABE organization (check one): membership application. 0 Commercial Organization Ei Discounted Membership for State Affiliate members $43 0 College/University Name of State Affiliate: 0 Local School District 0 State Education Agency pInstitutional Membership $125 0 Other ['Lifetime Membership $1000 I usuallikMeWidi'ihis. '16/el'bf Memberships are valid for one year from the date of processing, and include a one-year subscription to NABE student (check one): publications (except Lifetime: valid for life of member and includes lifetime subscription). Organizational member- 0 Early Childhood ship is non-voting; all other memberships are voting. Memberships are non-transferrable and may not be 0 Elementary refunded. Membership dues are non-refundable. 0 Secondary 0 Higher Education O Name and Address Information 0 Adult D Mr. U Mrs. I want to participate in the following Special Interest ms. CI Dr. First Middle Last Group (check one): Preferred Mailing Address: U Business0 Home 0 Adult/Vocational Education CI Asian & Pacific Islanders Business Address: Cl Critical Pedagogy Position. 0 Early Childhood Education 0 Elementary Education Division. 0 ESL in Bilingual Education Organization. 0 Gifted Education CI Higher Education Parent Organization/School District: D Indigenous Bilingual Education Street Address: 0 Instructional Technology CI Language Policy City: State: Zip. 0 Making Connections: Teachers Phone: ( Ext. to Schools to Communities 0 Para-Educator Fax: ( E-Mail: 0 Parent & Community Home Address: 0 Policy Makers LI Profegsiiinal Devél6Pineit Street Address: 0 Research & Evaluation City: State: Zip. 0 Secondary Education 0 Special Education Phone:( 0 World Languages & Cultures
Payment Information El Check/money order # 0 Institutional purchase order #
Membership dues 0 MasterCard 0 VISA CI Discover Expiration Date:
Contribution to help NABE Card Number: promote quality bilingual LI Check this box to make Renewal Easy! If you are paying by credit card and you want NABE to education programs automatically renew your membership annually, check this box and we will charge your credit card the standard renewal amount annually. This permission will remain in effect until you cancel it in writing. TOTAL DUE SIGNATURE: DATE:_/ /
O Mail to: NABE, 1030 15TH STREET NW, SUITE 470, WASHINGTON, DC 20005-1503 NABE News Sep/Oct 2000
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EC32,CHOLASTHC MESSAGE FROM THE NABE NEWS Table of Contents EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Delia Pompa NABE Executive Board Appoints New Officers 5
Meeting The Challenge: Dear NABE Members: Schooling Immigrant Youth 6
This exciting issue of the NABE News Magazine looks at one of the great- Educating English Language est challenges facing the American educational systemthat of addressing Learners in Rural Areas 10 the changing needs of emerging populations. Administration of Bilingual Education Programs 14 The dramatic demographic changes that are taking place in our nation are Teach Them All: Embracing the ESL forcing school districts to re-evaluate their level of readiness in helping lan- Child in a Successful School Model 16 guage minority studentsespecially English language learners (ELLs) achieve to high academic standards. Beyond The Classroom Community 17
A New American Tale: While it was once the case that non-English language background pupils One Small Georgia Town Looks at Academic Success in the 21st Century....18 were primarily in large urban areas, they are now as common throughout states like Georgia, Iowa, and Idaho as they are in New York City and Los Preview, View, Review: An Important Angeles. And, while Latinos continue to make up the largest portion of Strategy in Multilingual Classrooms 20 this important school-age population, students from Asian, Native Ameri- Issues in Indigeneous can, and a myriad of other language groups are increasing rapidly as a per- Bilingual Education 23 centage of the total student body. Nominations for NABE Board of Directors 24 Whatever the native tongue of these .children, the fact remains that thcy NABE News Book Reviews 25 face specific challenges and must be given full access to academic success.
NABE is committed to making this a reality, and we are proud to count on Asian/Pacific American you as a partner in that effort. Education Concerns 27
Majority of U.S. Asians and We hope you will enjoy this issue of the NABE News and that you will Pacific Islanders Are Foreign Born 30 continue to provide us with feedback on all of NABE's activities.I look Immigrant Students' Right forward to seeing you in Phoenix in February for the NABE 2001 Confer- to Attend Public Schools 31 ence, andas alwaysI ask that you not hesitate to contact us with any Resources for Bilingual Educators 32 questions and/or suggestions.
News from NABE's SIGs 33
Sincerely, Call for Papers: Bilingual Research Journal 36 -14L/ Resolutions Requested 37 Delia Pompa Executive Director Guidelines for Article Submission 39
NABE Membership Form 40 NABE NEWS NABE EXECUTIVE NABE NEWS BOARD 2000-2001 Published by the National Association for Bilingual Education President Joel GOmez Editor: Alicia Sosa, Ph.D. George Washington University Design & Layout: Kieran DalyKDaddy Design Institute for Education Policy Studies 1709 North Roosevelt Street Arlington, VA 22205 Volume 24 of NABE NEWS will be published in 6 issues; publication dates are: p: (202) 467-0867/(202) 994-3306 f: (202) 467-4283 Issue 1 09/15/00 Issue 3 01/15/01 Issue 5 05/15/01
Secretary NABENEWS ADVERTISING Josefina Villamil Tinajero Display Advertising Rates (Black & White, Camera-Ready art) University of TexasEl Paso College of Education Full Page (7.5" x 10") $850 1/3-Page (4.75" x 4.75") $425 500 W. University Avenue 2/3-Page (4.75" x 10") $700 1/3-Page (2.25" x 10") $425 El Paso, D( 79968 p: (915) 747-5552 f: (915) 747-5755 1/2-Page (7.5" x 4.5") $550 1/4-Page (3.5" x 4.75") $325
Member-at-Large NABE reserves the right to reject any advertisements which it deems inappropriate and/or inconsistent Joe J. Bernal with the goals of the Association. For additional information, contact NABE at (202) 898-1829. University of Texas San Antonio 6410 Laurelhill San Antonio, TX 78229 p: (210) 342-8026 f: (210)342-2182
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o And coming this summer...the TESOL 2001 Academies! 0 0 0 0 0 TESOL academies are an interactive forum for professionals like you who are committed to lifelong learn- ing. Each workshop focuses on the challenges and solutions that will increase your effectiveness as a language educator. 0 0 The TESOL 2001 academies will be held in four cities this summer Southwest Academy Northeast Academy Midwest Academy Pacific Academy Boulder, Colorado Boston, Massachusetts Chicago, Illinois San Diego, California June 15-17, 2001 June 29-July 1, 2001 July 13-15, 2001 July 27-29, 2001 0 TESOL Find out more on TESOL's Web Site at http://www.tesol.org/
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95.4? NABE_Executive Board Appointsibuqlfficers /ueorge WaTsrungton University's fir j(el&omezto Serve as President / --J------\ -\x ,___-----
he NABE Executive Board of Directors recently se- President \ \\ \ lected its new officers for the 20002001 term. The\ Joel GOmez \ \ , \\ . \ members of the Board tapped Dr.\\Joel_Gomez, Direc- George Washi\ngton University \ I ---:---- tor of George Washington-University's-(GWIj) Instiuite for Edii- , \
1 cation Polie-ijSuldiectc---;;erve his third year on the Board as President I
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1 Dr. Gómez, who joined the University's faculty M the fall of1998 and has served on the NABE Board for two ;I consecutive years, Vice President has a doctorate in Higner Education Administration froni// GWU./ Mary F. Jew \ 1 .1 L His,areas\ \ of expertise include-bilingualandibicultural_ J echaation,1 / Cupertino Union SD /, higher education-rweb-basedinformation Servicesanidfede//ral ------.-- // funding-of\ \ education research\ \ and development./ i While a gradu-/ ) ,./ \ ate-student-at GWU, Dr. aomez founded and directed the Cen- 1 // // ,///,//, ,z,/,.--,terfor the Study of LanguageEducation./Thisenter,competed for, and won,fiindingfrom the U.S. Department of Education N-----funding tryoperate ti.e"National Clearinghouseon 13ilingual Secretary \cationql\ICBE). NICBE's horne,page- on the N,Vorld/Wide Web1 i Josefina Villamil Tinajero receives more than three million hits a year. University of Texas - El Paso // College of Education /
1 / i .i, , Dr. Gomez is joincl by Ms. Mary Jew,/ from California s // \\Cupertino\ \Union SchoolP District, who will- serive11 / / a secondlterm as ExecutiBoardVicePresident. TheB1diardI'snewestMem- \ / / 1 i \ \ ber,\ Colorado slorge Garcia, will serve aS Board Treasurer, and \\ -/ / // former\ \ Executive Board President,Dr:Josefina Villamil Tinajero, Treasurer ------____---- 1/ will \serve \ - as Board Secreffry.------Jorge Garcia / I/ Weld County SD6 /1.I \ I r_i \ NABE CongratulateslJr. GOmez and the rest of the NABE Ex- ecutive Board officers,'i 1and our members look to \thesform\ \ strong \ ; , leadership on the many important issues that are sure to lacer NABE over the next1 year.I \ \ \
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1 1) NABE NEWS 5 INN4111 41 E. Chan-T-e SCHOOLING IMMIGRANT YOUTH
CAROLA SUAREZ-OROZCO, HAIWARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
American society is undergoing a remarkable transfor- new home. Political upheavals, as well as religious and eth- mation. While in the middle of the 20th century, less nic persecution are the third major motivational force be- than 15% of our population was considered to be 'ethni- hind the new immigration.(Suarez-Orozco & cally marked minorities'. Currently over a quarter of the Suarez-Orozco, in press)For example, two million population is so classified. By the middle of this century, Columbians have been displaced from their homelands by the projection is that approximately half of the intensification of conflict in their our population will be `minority'a term homeland. that will clearly need rethinking. Some of -Large-scale immigration is a global phe- this demographic change is taking place be- By the middle of this nomenon. Today, there are over 130 mil- cause of differential birthrates. However, lion immigrants and refugees worldwide. much of this shift is occurring because of century, the projection is Twenty million immigrants have been ad- the dramatic increases in immigration since that approximately half mitted to the United States since 1965. 1965 (Suarez-Orozco, Fall 2000). of our population will be Since 1960, this rate has intensified to ap- `minority'a term proximately one million per annum. Impetus for Immigration While in sheer numbers, this is a phenom- Immigrants leave their country of origin that will need enal rate, it is important to note that our for three primary reasonseconomic, fa- rethinking. immigration rate is considerably less than milial, and political. Many are lured by an in several European coUntries.Further, economic boom in much of the develop- while our current rate is still under 10 per- ing world that is heavily dependent upon cent, during our last great era of immigra- immigrant labor (primarily in the high-tech and service sec- tion (from1880 to 1920), nearly 14 percent of the U.S. tors.)Globalization and economic restructuring has also populationwas ofimmigrant origin (Rong & Prissle, 1998). thrust out large numbers of immigrants by depressing economies in many parts of the world. Family reunifica- Diversity Among Immigrants tion is another major impetus for migratingonce estab- The new immigrants are remarkably diverse. Some are lished, immigrants long to bring their loved ones to their amongst the most educated and affluent immigrants of any
6 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2000 gz,c4.2, Figure 1: U.S. Demographics
1945 1995 2050*
O White 86% Ea White 75% White 53% 111 Hispanic 3% CI Hispanic 10% LI Hispanic 25% CI Black 10% CI Black 12% CI Black 14% Asian 1% Asian 3% Asian 8%
*Projected frorn Census Bureau, 1996
Source: Harvard Immigration Project 1997
era of immigrationover a third of minican Republic, Vietnam, and In- Much of immigration scholarship Silicone Valley businesses are owned dia (Census, 1997a). (largely conducted by demographers, by immigrants (Saxenian, 1999). While Spanish is the language spo- economists, and sociologists) has fo- Other immigrants have limited edu- ken by the largest proportion of new cused on immigrant adults. Yet cur- cation and are considered the work- immigrants, our new immigrants are rently, one in five children in the U.S. ing poor. It is important to note that also tremendously diverse in terms of is the child of immigrants, and it is while relative to the native born U.S. linguistic backgrounds. Over 100 dif- projected that by 2040, one in three population many have undergone ferent languages are represented in New children will fit thisdescription fewer years of formal education, they York Public Schools and over 90 are (Rong & Prissle,1998). Although im- are nevertheless more educated than found in Los Angeles Unified School migrant youth are the fastest grow- immigrants during the last great mi- District. After Spanish, Chinese (en- ing sector of the child population, gration. compassing what are actually several little is known about immigrant chil- The new immigrants are also ex- separate languages), Vietnamese, Ko- dren. Given the numbers involved, tremely diverse in terms of race and rean, and Tagolog are the most fre- clearly how these children adapt and color (Suirez-Orozco & Suirez- quently spoken languages encountered the educational pathways they take Orozco, in press). Nearly 80 percent in schools (Rong & Prissle, 1998). will have profound implications for of the new migrants are considered 'of The new immigrants have'tended our society. color' arriving from Latin America, to settle predominantly in California Asia, and the Caribbean. The Latino (34%), New York (13%), Florida School] Adaptation population in the U.S. has gone from (9.2), Texas (8%), New Jersey (4.8%), Of particular importance is the ques- approximately 14 million in 1980 to Illinois (4.8%), and Massachusetts tion of how immigrant youth adapt to 31 million at the dawn of the new mil- (2.6%) (Census, 1997b). Recently, their new school environments. Typi- lennium (U.S. Census, 1996a). The there has been a surge in new immi- cally schools are the first setting of sus- vast majority of the new immigrants grant populations, particularly of tained contact with the new culture come from Mexico (over 7 million Spanish speaking origin, in areas that for newcomer children. Furthermore, more than six times the rate ofthe next had rarely encountered immigrants. academic outcomes are a powerful ba- largest sending country). The remain- Nevada, for example, has had a 123% rometer of current as well as future ing top countries from which immi- increase in Latino population since psycho-social functioning (Mandel & grants arrive are Cuba, El Salvador, 1990.Since that time, Arkansas has Marcus, 1988) (Steinberg, 1996). Fur- Canada, Germany, China, The Do- had a 148% increase, North Carolina thermore, for immigrant children, a 110% increase, schools are the primary entry point and Nebraska has Table 1: Percentage of Foreign Born by Region of Origin into the host society. How immigrant sustained a 96% children fare in our schools will in increase. These many cases forecast their contributions 1880 1920 1950 1980 1990 changes are tak- as citizens to our society. While this EUROPEANS 97% 93.6% 89.3% 49.6% 25% ing school dis- has long been true, schooling is a par- ASIANS 1.6% 1.7% 2.65 18% 25% tricts by surprise ticularly high-stakes process in the new LATIN AMERICANS 1.3% 4.2% 6.3% 31% 43% and are generat- economy. AFRICANS 0.2% 0.4% 1.8% 1.4% 7% ing new chal- What do we know about how lenges for districts immigrant students are doing? In the Source: Rong & Prissle, 1998 to respond to. last few years, a small number of stud-
NABE NEws 7 the more likely they were to engage in risky behaviors such as substance Figure 2: Physical Health Status and School Adjustment Index abuse, violence, and delinquency (Hernandez & Charney, 1998).
Who Are These Children? Deepening Our Understanding The demographic shifts described ear- lier are leaving school districts all over the country to face unprecedented changes with few roadmaps. Who are these new children? What character- istics do they bring with them? What are their strengths, and what are their challenges? What educational strate- gies are effective for which kids in which contexts? What are the factors Europe/ Africa/ China Philippines Other Central/ Cuba Mexico that influence (both positively and Canada Afro- Asia South negatively) immigrant children's aca- Caribbean America demic engagement and outcomes? First Generation 0 Second Generation 111Third and Later Generations The Harvard Immigration Project (co-directed by Carola Suirez-Orozco Source: NRC Report prepared by Hernandez & Charney 1998 & Marcelo Suirez-Orozco) is a longi- tudinal, interdisciplinary, and com- parative project designed to deepen ies have examined the performance of highly adaptive attitudes and behaviors our understanding of these issues.' We immigrant children in schools. The for success in school (Gibson & Ogbu, are following 400 children between the data suggest a complex picture. Some 1991; Rumbaut, 1995; Suirez-Orozco ages of 9 to 14 (at the beginning of the immigrant children seem to do quite & Suirez-Orozco, 1995; Sue & study) from five different regions well in schools, surpassing native-born Okazaki, 1990; Waters, 1996; Zhou, Central America, China, the Domini- American children in terms of grades, 1996), the longer many immigrant can Republic, Haiti, and Mexico. This performance on standardized tests, and youth are in the United States, the project involves 27 bilingual and bi- attitudes towards education (Kao & more negative they become in terms cultural graduate level research:assis- Tienda, 1995). Other immigrant of attitudes and adaptations. tants who are following children groups tend to overlap with American This pattern holds true for non- attending schools in 7 school districts children (Rumbaut, 1995). Yet other academic indicators as well. A recent in the Boston and San Francisco areas. immigrant groups tend to achieve be- comprehensive National Research Recently arrived immigrant chil- low their native-born peers in terms Council (NRC) study considered a dren, their parents, and teachers are of grades, performance on standard- variety of measures of physical health being systematically interviewed and ized tests and attitudes towards edu- and risk behaviors among children and observed over a five-year period of cation (Kao & Tienda,1995; adolescents from immigrant families time. The children and their parents Rumbaut, 1995; Suirez-Orozco & including general health, emotional have participated in structured inter- Stirez-Orozco, 1995). difficulties, and risk behaviors among views documenting baseline data re- Recent cross-sectional data sug- others. The NRC study found that garding resources, immigration history, gest an unsettling pattern in search of immigrant youth tended to be educational history, schooling attitudes, robust empirical and theoretical treat- healthier than their non-immigrant and expectations of the future. Ethno- ment: among a number of immigrant peers. These findings are "counterin- graphic observations are underway in groups today, length ofresidence in the tuitive" given that many immigrant 18 schools allowing us to study immi- United States seems associated with children and families come from grant youth within the context of a declining school achievement and as- poorer backgrounds and are ofminor- wide variety of school settings.This pirations (Kao & Tienda, 1995; ity status, placing them at greater risk. study represents a pioneering effort to Steinberg, 1996; Suirez-Orozco & This study also found that the longer better understand immigrant students' Suirez-Orozco,1995;Vernez, youth were in the United States, the educational experiences. Abrahamse, & Quigley, 1996). A poorer their overall physical and psy- Currently mid-way in the re- growing number ofstudies have estab- chological health. Further, the more search we have a number of initial im- lished that while new arrivals display time they spent in the new context, pressions.First, it is striking how
8 N O V E M B E R/ D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 much the majority of recent immi- about half of them had received any grant children and their parents deeply training in how to teach LEP students value the opportunity to pursue an (Rong & Prissle, 1998). Clearly, as a education.However, there are very nation we must mobilize to provide evident differences in families' under- two levels of teacher preparation to standing of strategies to attain success- address immigrant students' special ful academic outcomes in the new needs. Teacher training programs will setting. Our ethnographic observa- need to make this type of training part tions reveal a wide array of schooling of the curriculum for new graduating experiencessome are rigorous and students; school districts will need to supportive while others are quite dis- make this kind of training a regular concerting. In such contexts, immi- (and mandated) part of continuing grant students report a keen awareness education efforts for teachers already of the often-hostile reception and low in the field. These efforts should be expectations they encounter. developed to recognize the special needs of immigrant students as well as Schools Face recognition of the challenges for teach- Numerous Challenges ers instructing these diverse students. Clearly, schools all over the country face These particular challenges are un- a variety of challenges. Resources are likely to be addressed in a one-time stretched thin as many of the poorest only training session. Efforts should districts face the greatest infiisions of be made to provide mentoring sup- new immigrant children. Many class- ports to teachers new to this popula- rooms have insufficient classroom ma- tion as they acquire these new skills by terials designed for English language linking them with seasoned teachers. learners. In a nationwide teacher short- Special efforts must be made to age crisis, there is a dearth of certified adequately, fairly, and systematically as- teachers adequately trained to address sess the specific learning strengths and the special needs ofimmigrant children. challenges of individual incoming stu- This dramatic demographic shift dents. What are the students' native lan- is taking place concurrently with a guage verbal abilities? What are their national school reform movement. math skills as they enter U.S., skills? All These reform efforts are being de- too often students arc placed in classes signed with little or no consideration where they repeat materials they cov- ofimmigrant children's specific needs. ered in their homeland. Has the new A number of these efforts, in fact, have student undergone interruptions to potentially catastrophic consequences their education during the process of formany immigrantchildren migration? An estimated 10 to 20 per- (Gindara, 1994). The high stakes test- cent of immigrant students have had 1 ing movement is likely to dramatically interrupted schooling ofup to two years inflate drop-out rates.In some dis- (Arensonn, 2000). This has clear im- tricts in Massachusetts with high den- plications for literacy skills. What about sities of Latino immigrant students, potential learning disabilities? Some failure rates for the MCAS (the re- English Language Learners who do not cently developed state test) was as high have a learning disability are incorrectly as 70%. Even well intentioned efforts referred for special needs assessments to reduce classroom size (as recently because of grammar, accent, or other mandated in California) result in stu- second-language acquisition related is- dents being placed at greater risk of sues. In other cases, immigrant children being taught by uncertified teachers with learning disabilities go unreferred not trained to the specific needs of for a special needs assessment because immigrant students. it is assumed that their learning chal- In 1994, the National Educational lenges are related to their process of Goals Panel found that while 43% of learning English. Efforts must be made secondary school teachers had LEP students in their classrooms, only (continued on page 35)
NABE NEws 9 EDUCATING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS INRURAL AREAS
PAMELA WRIGLEY, ESCORT CENTER
An increasing number of school districts across the U.S. cent nonmetro irmnigrants remains low." Many educators are experiencing an influx of language minority stu- who work with ELLs in rural areas lament the fact that their dents as the strong economy continues to create a wide range language minority students are dropping out at unusually ofjob opportunities. It is projected that in 20 years about 1 high rates, but they are hard pressed to find solutions to this in 6 residents will be of Hispanic origin, and by the middle seemingly intractable problem. of this century the ratio will increase to about 1 in 4. The Rural communities do not generally have much expe- vast majority of immigrants settle in large urban areas, but rience with"outsiders" of any sort. There are many rural their numbers are increasing dramatically areas where a majority of the local resi- in rural areas where 57 percent (up from dents have had little to no experience 48 percent in the 1980's) are of Mexican with people from other cultures. This origin (Huang, 1999). Poultry process- can lead to fear and misunderstanding ing plants and meat packing firms are at- "Rural communities when immigrants begin to settle in an tracting immigrants to rural areas in do not generally isolated community. In addition, small record numbers. school districts tend to have less access As Gary Huang reports in his ERIC have much experience to resources and bilingual peopleboth Digest entitled Sociodemographic Changes: with 'outsiders' of which are essential to meeting the Promises and Problems for Rural Education of any sort." needs of the newly arrived language mi- (January, 1999), "Immigrants in rural ar- nority students and their families. eas have attained, on average, less 'educa- In this article, I propose to highlight tion relative to urban immigrants. High some promising practices in the area of school completion rates, for example, are serving ELLs in rural schools. The prob- lower among rural immigrants aged 25 lems and challenges are well known, but and older than among their urban counterparts. And this I would like to emphasize that there are many districts gap seems to be widening: metro immigrants who have en- against all oddsthat are making remarkable strides in im- tered the country since 1980 report increasingly higher rates proving the achievement and high school completion rates of school completion, whereas completion rates among re- of their language minority students.
10 N O V E M B E R/ D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 Disitacit-ievell Mons This district leader took these steps over ten years ago, The districts that have leaders who view the influx of im- and, as expected, their language minority population has migrants in a positive light are more likely to prepare a well continued to grow. Due to these thoughtful early steps, thought out plan for serving their ELLs. Too often, educa- the district has become a model for surrounding rural dis- tors in small districts are in denial about the fact that immi- tricts that are struggling with similar challenges. This Vir- grant families are settling in their area, and they put off ginia district is so dedicated to ensuring that ELLs are devising a coherent plan for serving ELLs until the growing taught to high standards that they have hired an ESL teacher number of students is impossible to ignore. By this time, to teach "sheltered" high school courses for as few as three teachers and students have experienced a great deal of frus- or four students. This level of commitment is unusual, but tration due to the lack of instructional and moral support. it shows that a district, which had the good fortune to have An example of a district that chose the proactive route is an open-minded, positive leader who did the groundwork one that I encountered in rural Virginia. They had a few necessary to implement a well-researched program, can language minority students spread out among a lot of dif- set the district on the right path for years to come. ferent schoolsno school had more than about five or six students. One of the district curriculum specialists was as- School-level Efforts signed the duty of administering the nascent English as a Key role of the School Principal Second Language program. As is often the case with people Positive leadership is necessary at every level in order for a who are assigned this task in rural areas, she had no ESL school to successfully implement programs and practices that experience. What she did have was a can-do attitude that benefit their language minority students. The district can inspired her to search out resources about the field of ESL provide structure and guidance, but it is the school princi- and what constitutes a model ESL program. Here arc some pal who ensures that the programs are properly implemented early steps she took: and maintained. It is the principal who sets the tone of ac- D Called the state ESL person for information ceptance, who encourages his or her staff to warmly wel- D Studied the Office for Civil Rights guidelines and rec- come the language minority students and their families. I ommendations (www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/index) cannot stress enough the importance of the principal's atti- D Made a case to the school board that the district was tude in areas such as valuing what students bring both cul- obligated to meet the needs of their ELLs according to turally and linguistically, and initiating efforts to federal mandates, and projected the number of quali- communicate with the families on a meaningful level. In fied ESL teachers that would be needed my experience, the schools that arc most effectively address- D Instituted a home language survey for the entire district ing the many needs of their ELLs are those schools that have
I!) Researched a test that could be used district-wide to a principal who views' the new population as an enriching assess the English proficiency level of the ELLs rather than problematic addition to the school environment.
11) Read some key articles from the National Clearing- In addition to the importance of modeling a positive house for Bilingual Education (NCBE) website attitude for teachers, a principal needs to make it a priority (www.ncbe.gwu.edu) to schedule meaningful and ongoing training for the entire D Began a hiring process to seek out qualified ESL per- faculty. The training sessions ensure that the teachers be- sonnel come more culturally aware and learn about the kinds of D Assigned the ESL teacher with the most expericnce as instructional and assessment modifications that they should the district's "lead" teacher use in order to make their lesson content comprehensible D Gave the lead ESL teacher a stipend over the summer to their ELLs. The most successful principals I have encoun- to write an ESL plan for the district tered use many of the following strategies: Sponsored and encouraged training sessions for main- 0 Arrange a series of training sessions for all staff on cul- stream teachers in recommended instructional and as- tural awarenessgoing beyond the elements of "sur- sessment strategies that they could use to increase the face" culture into the richer area of value systems and comprehension and performance of their ELLs. why people act and think the way they do
11°u-V74--,,,,,,.
N ABE NEWS 11 D Schedule a series of training sessions for mainstream mate is hostile to language minority students. As men- teachers on the nature of second language acquisition tioned previously, providing training sessions for teach- and ESL strategies and resources. The training should ers can be a beneficial first step. Over the years, I have be conducted both at the school level and the class- observed a number of other successful strategies: room level and it should be ongoing D Actively recruit ethnically diverse teachers and D Include the degree to which suggested instructional support staff. This is particularly difficult in rural ar- modifications are used when rating a teacher's perfor- eas, but advertising job openings in a wide variety of manceif he or she has ELLs. settings and publications often pays off. These valuable IEncourageand allot time in the schedule forcol- faculty members and home-school liaisons can help a laboration between mainstream and ESL teachers school to bridge the cultural and linguistic divides that ISupport extended day opportunities for ELLs so that impede understanding and communication. It is also they can receive help with their schoolwork and/or par- advantageous to have students "see themselves" in ticipate in extracurricular activities people who are in positions of authority. Dedicate library resources to buying books that repre- D Purchase resources for both the classrooms and sent a wide variety of viewpoints and cultures the library that broaden the students' understand- D Reach out to parents using their native language to gain ing of different cultures. These materials need to be their trust and keep them informed. Invite them to par- selected with care in order to avoid the pitfall of inad- ent meetings and provide them with a clear idea ofwhat vertently promoting negative cultural stereotypes (for U.S. schools expect of them and how they can help example, choosing books that uniformly depict Latinos as gang members). This is a difficult task when the Ways to Reduce Cultural Isolation media is constantly promoting negative stereotypes. I have often heard language minority students tell me that There are many helpful resources available on the they do not "see themselves" (people who look like them) weba couple of interesting articles that are available in schools where there are only a few students from ethni- through the NCBE (www.ncbe.gwu.edu) or Depart- cally diverse backgrounds. This sense of not belonging is ment ofEducation (www.ed.gov) ERIC Clearinghouse often cited as a primary factor in a student's reason for drop- data base are: Integrating Mexican-American History and ping out of school. Comments such as "no one cares about Culture into the Social Studies Classroom, Kathy Escamilla, me" are commonplace and can lead to a profound sense of September, 1992 and Promoting Reading Among Mexi- isolation. This feeling of isolation is particularly acute in can-American Children, Yvonne Murray & Jose older students who are increasingly sensitive to differences Velizquez, December, 1999). and how they fit in or do not fit in with their peers. The Cultivate Links Between Home and School. The teenage years are difficult enough without this additional most successful schools go beyond simply translating challenge to forging a healthy sense of self. important documents. One school that I worked with What can schools do to help? On every level, attention in rural Virginia had a principal who believed strongly needs to be paid to whether cultural diversity is valued and in the benefits of actively involving all of his parents. whether students representing minority cultures are re- When he saw that his Hispanic parents were not com- spected. This means that every member of the school staff ing to his regular meetings (even when he informed and all students should be provided with opportunities to them that translators would be available), he initiated understand how culture not only shapes, but also limits, a series of Hispanic parent nights that were designed their actions (Spears, 1990). As Jenny Oliver states in her to inform the Spanish-speaking parents about what ERIC Digest entitled schools expect of them in Charting New Maps: .11,10511.0110.0.11...1111..11. the U.S. and how they Multicultural Education in can support and promote Rural Schools (August, their children's educa- 1992), "In this sense, tion. These meetings multicultural education were conducted in Span- seeks to create an envi- ish (although translation ronment in which stu- was provided for English- dents can understand, speaking participants) respect, and ultimately and, to the principal's de- value cultural diversity." light, nearly every parent "Easier said than showed up. The parents done," say many educa- were so excited about tors who are frustrated feeling welcome at their a with working in --411101- children's school that school where the cli- they asked the principal
12 N O V E M B E R/ D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 whether they could meet once a month. The princi- ELLs can make a strong case by showing the district the pal agreed to two meetings a year and, over time, these number of students who are either unable to take the state same parents who reluctantly attended the first meet- test or receive a low score. Every district and every school ing began to gain confidence and participate in field wants scores to improve, so they are increasingly receptive trips and committees. to suggestions of how to improve the performance of their ELLs. An article entitled "SOL Program Gives Rural Striving to reduce the cultural isolation experienced by both Schools a Boost" appeared in the Washington Post recently the local population and the newcomers is worth doing. and describes how the Virginia Standards of Learning ac- Research supports the use of strate- countability system has led to in- gies aimed at broadening everyone's creased state and local funding for rural world view. Any effort that results in districts individuals becoming more accept- "To be successful, this The federal government empha- ingand less judgmentalof those environment must take place sizes the creation and expansion of who are different is sure to lead to an in the context of supportive promising programs that narrow the improved school climate. performance gap and reduce the per- "Spears and colleagues (1990) re- relationships between teachers sistently high dropout rate of Hispanic ported that, to some participants, and their students, between students. It is important to remember multicultural education made school teachers and parents, and that the Title I program, which is op- more 'relevant', contributing, they between students from among erating in nearly every school in the believed, to decreased rates of drop- country, is mandated to serve ELLs ping out. Others reported a decrease a .variety of backgrounds." who are in need of extra assistance to in racial stereotyping, leading to bet- perform at grade level. The barriers ter relationships among students. that prevented the Title I program Among ethnic minority students, a cultural 'grounding,' from serving language minority students were eliminated or sense of belonging was reported, and demonstrated in 1994. The Department of Education provides free tech- through behaviors indicating increased self-confidence" (see nical assistance through a variety of federally funded cen- Jenny Oliver & Craig Howley, Charting New Maps: ters. In addition, there is a wealth of information about free Multicultural Education in Rural Schools, ERIC Digest, Au- resources and grant opportunities on the DOE website. gust, 1992). Searching Out Community Resources Capitalizing on the Emphasis Placed on Every school district that I have visited has community re- Standards, Accountability and Hispanics sources that are often waiting to be tapped. Help may come The increased emphasis on standards and accountability is from local libraries, or volunteer organizations, or churches, the name of the game in every state. There has been a lot of or simply individuals interested in helping immigrant fami- attention paid to the question of whether high-stakes stan- lies and their children in any way they can. In a rural district dardized tests are inherently unfair to minority and language in Maryland that I visited, the schools were reeling from a minority students. This is a valid issue which is being stud- sudden influx of non-English speaking students. The prin- ied on many levels and bears watching. However, one of cipal called the local chapter of Literacy Volunteers of the positive aspects of the standards movement has been an America and asked if they could lend a hand. The LVA increase in resources that are dedicated to education and a members were excited about the challenge and worked with focus on how to improve the achievement oflow-perform- the schools where there were concentrations of language ing populations. minority students to develop after-school tutoring programs. A small school district in North Carolina was strug- The schools agreed to provide the transportation and the gling to meet the needs of their burgeoning population of LVA volunteers furnished most of the tutors. This was a ELLs. Once the state accountability standards began to have win-win situation that grew out of a phone call to a local an impact, the district joined a chorus ofvoices that lobbied volunteer organization. at the state level to ask for extra money to bolster programs Many years ago, while I was working with a migrant targeting ELLs. The state legislators agreed to contribute education program in Virginia, a family brought their funding to the effort to help language minority students older children from Mexico. One of the girls was about meet the high standards they had imposed. As a conse- to enter high school and, although she had been an ex- quence, this small district was able to hire one more ESL cellent student in Mexico, she was not sure that she could teacher with the extra money. This meant that the ELLs succeed. Maricela did not know a word of English as she would receive more hours ofindividualized and small group began her first day of classes, and this particular high instruction each day. school had never had an ELL apart from an occasional This lobbying effort can be replicated at the local level as well. Those who are advocating for better programs for (continued on page 38)
NABE NEWS 13 ADMNISTRATIONOF BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS Column Editor: Mary I. Ramirez, MA.
Programming for English Language Learner's Success
In school districts across the country, the even the press. Planning also requires that Professional school year begins with a flurry of ac- the knowledge and expertise must be in Development for All tivities: class lists, teacher schedules, place or able to be accessed so that in- A key part of constructing effective pro- room assignments, and book distribu- formed decision-making becomes part of grams involves deep, rich ongoing pro- tions. Providing English Language the process. There are many resources fessional development. The district Learners (ELLs) with their place in the published which can provide an overview must realize that it has a responsibility process may begin with the ESOL/Bi- of what is needed for positive practices. to increase and improve the knowledge lingual office and teachers, but ensur- base of all. Professional development ing their academic and linguistic should involve board members, parents, achievement is the responsibility of all community organizations, superinten- educators, as well as the community. "The classification dents and principals, as well as teachers According to The National Clear- of language academy is and support staff Diverse professional inghouse for Bilingual Education development strategies include atten- (NCBE) and The Office of Bilingual given to schools when the dance at conferences, workshops, visits Education and Minority Languages Af- requirements of the to other schools and districts, bringing fair (OBEMLA) (1998) state surveys, K- ten Academic Master in national experts as consultants, 12 ELLs are projected to number over 4 graduate classes, teacher research study million nationwide in 2000, with the Principles are met." groups, etc. NABE's Professional Stan- major language groups of Spanish, Viet- dards for the Preparation of Bilingual/ namese, Cantonese, Hrnong, French Multicultural Teachers (1992) is a helpful Creole, Korean, Russian and Cambo- resource to identify important teacher dian. There is significant growth of the The TESOL Access Brochure, found prerequisites for working with lan- limited English proficient student popu- as an appendix in the TESOL ESL Stan- guage-minority children. lation in the majority of the states. U.S. dards (1997), is a short easy-to-read two A report on professional develop- Department of Education Secretary Ri- and one-half page document which fo- ment efforts was recently prepared by chard Riley (2000) notes that 54% of all cuses on four key access areas: Schwandt and Tobin (1999) in their re- ./Th teachers nationwide have ELL students in 1)a positive learning environment, view ofTitle VII programs. Five districts their classrooms, but only one-fifth of 2)appropriate curriculuiU, were recognized after site visits were teachers feel very prepared to serve them. 3)full delivery of services, and conducted, and the findings were pre- How does a school district ad- 4)equitable assessment: / sented at the NABE 2000 conference. equately and appropriately support aicl In their general conclusions, the authors
meet the needs of its ELL students? August arid Hakuta's EdUcating Language : noted, "It is important to clearly estab- What is required to help students suc Minorit)hildren (1998), a shorter ver- lish goals from the outset...professional ceedand to make district ESOL and/ sion of th eir major research effort, is avcievelopment is most effective as an on- or Bilingual programs(successful? The valuable reisource which Provides a com- 7'going cycle...collaborative partnerships key activities many diserts-7ommend prehensive summary of ELL research, are an important component [and] lead- include Planning, Implementing with with keffindiugs noted at_the beginning ership played an important role in imple- v" Professional Development, ancl\Moni--,) of each chapter. mentation:':,(p:"9-3). The authors toring and Evaluating. T-opics-to- "v. consult ior uistrict noted that one of the outcomes corn- cussions include bilingualism and secc mon across-sites./ was "increased recog- Planning by /ondlanguage learning, literacy \and\nitioii and support for bilingual Including Stakeholders content,/ the social context, stuuent \as- (Oirograms throughout the district and and Using Research sessment and program evaluation, arid Community, as well as an increased sense \. Planning for effective programs requires school and classroom effectiveness stud= 'of\efficacy for participants."(P.69). the inclusion and participatioh Of all ies. Planning also means that criticai stakeholderadministrators, teacners, resource issues must be addressed, such j.Evaluating Programs- I counselors, parents, students, CoMniu- as staffing, materials and books, cur- Finally, once prograrris are in place it is nity organizations, higher education cOl- riculum, assessment, support services ineciessary to monitor them and evaluate \ I leagues, government officials and yes,_,..!and proportional budget allocations. LtheirI progress. The Seattle Office for 14 N O V E M B E R/ D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 fpb $ 2 Civil Rights recently published a new user-friendly document, Programs for En- glish Language Learners. Here the reader can find a checklist format, which asks for self-reflection regarding the develop- ment of goals and a plan, and includes an evaluation framework. Additional review areas include program implementation, identification of students, providing staff and resources, transitioning or exiting students, input from parents and students, and student performance in English lan- guage development and academic perfor- p. mance. Bilingual programs could also include the consideration of progress in home/native language proficiency. Dis- tricts must also be accountable for the performance of their ELL students in meeting state standards cisco and Philadelphia have data which demonstrates that many and meaningfully participating in assessments. It is important students who were once designated as ELLs and successfully that data be produced which is appropriately disaggregated (for exited are now excelling in their academic performance, even example, by English proficiency level, program model, native outperforming English dominant students. The districts con- language) and which can be reviewed in schools, classrooms tinue an ongoing collaboration on issues such as Chinese bi- and communities so that the progress of ELL students is un- lingual programs and assessment. derstood and monitored. Maintaining successful bilingual and ESOL programs is an ongoing effort, which requires much collaboration, com- District Models munication and advocacy. Research and data demonstrating Two districts, on opposite coasts of the country, have been the importance and value of bilingual educational programs trying to improve programs for their Bilingual and ELL stu- must be produced, highlighted and publicized. Through net- dents. San Francisco initiated the Bilingual Education and Lan- working opportunities provided by NABE, OBEMLA and the guage Academy framework, which emphasizes competence in Council of Great City Schools, for example, district and state English and an additional language along with positive self- bilingual directors are meeting with each other and sharing images and attitudes toward other cultures. their experiences and effective practices. This new column will This classification of language academy is given to schools be an opportunity for that work to be shared with colleagues when the requirements of the ten Academic Master Principles across the country and the world. are met. These principles include the use of a research-base that predicts positive student achievement outcomes, clearly Mary I. Ramirez is Director, Office of Language Equity Issues in the communicated mastery criteria, demonstration and monitor- School District of Philadelphia. ing of student progress and access to extra curricular and co- curricular activities in targeted languages. San Francisco has References implemented parent leadership training courses, a Language August, D. and Hakuta, K., eds. (1998). Educating Language Minority Children. Olympics and home instruction programs for preschool young- Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. sters (HIPPY). Goals for the district have included implemen- The English Language Learner Action Plan. (2000). Philadelphia: The School tation ofbest practices, enrichment, leadership and 21't century District of Philadelphia. technologies, student and family centered services, collabora- ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students. (1997). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of En- glish to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. tions, and focused value. The Growing Numbers of Limited English Proficient Students. (1998). Washington, Philadelphia's ELL Action Plan details the use of 12 strategy D.C.: The National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. areas: standards, assessment, data, curriculum, best practices, pro- Language Academy Programs. (1997).San Francisco:San Francisco Unified fessional development, staffing, comprehensive supports, com- School District. munity involvement, equity, resources and planning/oversight. Language Academy: 1998 Annual Report. (1998). San Francisco: San Francisco All administrative offices are expected to support activi- Unified School District. ties for ELL student achievement. Philadelphia has been rec- Professional Standards for the Preparation of Bilingual/Multicultural Teachers. (1992). ognized nationally for its work in assessment including the use Washington, D.C.: National Association for Bilingual Education. of native language tests, testing accommodations, inclusion of Programs for English Language Learners. (1999). U.S. Department of Education multicultural testing items, and reviews of test items for stan- Office for Civil Rights. dards-alignment, cultural bias and language accessibility. Other Riley, R. (2000). Excellence for All. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of efforts in Philadelphia include the publication ofESOL, Span- Education. ish and Chinese Curriculum Frameworks and preliminary Schwandt, D. and Tobin, T. (1999). Report on Title VII, Subpart 1 Professional work on an ELL Skills Set. Development ActiVities. Washington, D.C.: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education Center for the Study of Learning. Both of these districts were recognized in Schwandt's study for their professional development efforts. Also, both San Fran- 63 NABE NEWS 15 TEACH THEM ALL Embracing the ESL Child ina Successful School Model
DR. MARSHA JONES, ASST. SUPT. FOR CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION, JUDY BoBso.b.I.,....C_o_c&DINA-ro_o.F_AT=RisK_EzaGgAmmi.I.G.,..&_DA.,pm_D_._g_Quius.,_S.u.P.EwNxEuDE.II
The theme of "Teach Them All" has guided our dis- This vision statement is proving to be true as success sto- trict over the past several years. This theme has taken ries about children are shared and as teachers come to believe on even more significance within the past five years as in the children and in their own ability to foster an attitude of the Springdale School District has worked with an emerging student achievement. and fast-growing immigrant population of non-English-speak- ing students. A critical lesson learned, however, is that this High Expectations for ESL Student Achievement theme is as important now as it ever wasor even more so! In We expect all students to fully participatc in scnool, Incatn-, the words of Ron Edmonds, one of the original research team letics, clubs, the arts, and social events. OUT- faculty,Members members for "Effective Schools": "We can, whenever and work hard to create those conditions to encourage students toi wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose stay connected to school. We expect all students-to-learn EnZ/ schooling is of interest to us." Those prophetic words seem to glishwithin an environment that allows students intensiw set the stage for creating "conditions for success" now for our language assistance while placing them in classes where lan- non-English-speaking students. guage acquisition strategies are taught within the content ar- The work our district has been doing to meet the needs of eas. We also expect students to participate in an assessment our quickly-changing school population was recently featured program. No student is exempted from measurement of school at the "Improving America's Schools" conference hosted by the progress. Some of it is through standardized testing (language- United States Department ofEducation. During our presenta- acquisition assessments, for example). Some of the assessment tions at that conference, we were honored to share some of the is done through portfolios so that students and teachers can strategies that we have put in place. This article summarizes the follow growth over time. Regardless of the methodology, all presentations made during those conference sessions. students deserve and receive feedback about their progress in a The Springdale School District has changed from a pre- timely and systematic way. dominately white (97%) population with zero non-English7 speaking students 10 years ago to our numbers today of 78% .(AliAccountability System that Tracks white population and 22% minority. The vast numbers 1 ofLthe,Achieiement of the ESL Student
our immigrant children are non-English-speaking, arriving pri- . clistrictihas an accountability system for all students. The marily from Mexico, South America, and the Marshall Islands. `Ek_LstudTt isa part of the accountability model. We target The majority of those children arrive at our doors with mini.specific,goals of concern and interest to this identified group mal school experience and minimal literacy skills in either their of Children so that we, as a district, can better serve their needs. native language or in English. Some examples of the types of indicators we use are: the per- We immediately saw changes in some of our schools where centage of students who have increased their language profi- the observed impact was that over 50% of the students in some ciency as measured by the LAS; the percentage ofESL students grades were children who did not speak English. We knew we who graduate from high school; the percentage of ESL stu- could not continue doing business in the same way if we were dents who are identified as Gifted and Talented; the number to meet the challenge of teaching all children. We needed a of students entering and exiting the ESL program; and the "recipe for success" for those children, their families, our teach- achievement level of students in the ESL program. All of those ers, and our community. Over the course of the last five years, indicators help guide the district in planning for staff develop- we have worked diligently to create such a "recipe," and that ment and program improvement. model appears to be having some successacademically, so- cially, and emotionallyfor all concerned. Systematic and Ongoing Support Our recipe for a successful school model that embraces the for Faculty About ESL Issues ESL-stirdent.includes six essential ingredients. This may be the most important ingredient in 271successfut
1----\ model. Teachers need the tools, resources and 'confidence tO A Strong Vision for Student Achievement. engage these newly-arrived children as an integral part of the v ---, We have \a stated vision statement that sets the tone for our classroom experience. Wdistrict\ We havea vision that all children can and will learn. We provide intensive support through week:long ESL A \ e believethat/neither/ ethnicitynor non-English native Ian- academies that are partially funded by the business com- Kguage is a predictor of school failure; we believe that our teach- . munity. We provide "solutions sessions" with staff mem- ers create the conditions for learning for all; and we believe bers from the ESL program at the university so that we can that we can give teachers the tools they need to get the job make changes as needed in our instructional strategies: We done through staff development. providocwriculum material support. We encourage fac- q.: 16 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2000 itp ulty members to attend regional and national meetings so they can acquire more tools. We also eliminate barriers (such as the use of the standard grading system) so that students Beyond the and teachers can establish a successful working relationship until the student becomes more skilled academically and linguistically. Classroom The most important message we send our teachers is that their first priority is to make the students feel safe and wel- come. Research indicates that learning is more likely to occur Community in a safe and nurturing environment. We ask teachers to cre- ate conditions that allow students the opportunity to be suc- Amy ELIZABETH HAYNES, DALTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS cg-S-ful b3iassuring them thatwe are glad they are here and we wilFhel then succeed. uring my teacher preparation and professional devel- opment, I have heard and subscribed to numerous Open)Commapdcation Syste s appeals for creating a "classroom community," where Teiaers)parents and community members needto know who students establish relationships that encourage their academic to calt-to solve problems. We have established an ESL center achievement. In my personal experiences during my past six to ser-ve-as a clearinghouse for information. We also collabo- years as a teacher at Roan School (Dalton Public Schools) in rate closely with our community's Multicultural Center as we Dalton, Georgia, I have experienced an exemplary model of work together to solve problems. Due to the language differ- community that has greatly extended beyond the walls of my ences, we use translators as needed during parent meetings or classroom. In Dalton, education is a community concern, and student conferences so that clear communication can occur. education is not viewed solely as a responsibility of its schools. Even though we encourage instruction to be English-language- Community and business leaders have joined forces with local based, the reality is that some times translated materials must school leaders to provide support and maintain academic ex- be made available and that native language speakers are needed cellence as a dramatic shift in student demographics has oc- to help students and parents understand what is required. curred
Community Support System Rapid Growth The children in our schools are a reflection of /-the changes in As a newcomer to the Dalton area, I began my teaching career the community at large; therefore, our scliools r1ished a\ unaware of the school systern's current challenges, which in- working relationship with community leaders early on as vve cluded a rapidly growing Hispanic (primarily Mexican) and began to see our population change. I 0 ) native Spanish speaking population. Such demographic change The community support initially begaci with monthjy was the result of a recent immigration of workers who came meetings to work through emerging issues andsto devise cre- from Mexico to support Dalton's carpet industry. While one ative solutions to community-based problems. The school would expect such diversity in larger urban areas, it caught a system was able to communicate the needs very efficiently small town in Northwest Georgia by surprise. Yet the schools because the parents brought community questions to school. and community have embraced the challenge and responded Questions related to health care, housing, insurance, etc. were positively to what some might consider adverse conditions. being asked of our teachers. Through a strong community During the 1994 school year, approximately 45 percent of network system, the community service organizations (police, my school's student population was Hispanic, yet only four fire, hospitals, banks etc.) began to help provide support to staff members spoke any Spanish. Frantically, new teachers the families.Currently, we have a fully functioning sought the advice and expertise ofveteran mentor teachers who Multicultural Center where new families can go to get impor- found themselves in a similar predicament ofnot knowing how tant information about the community of Springdale. That to best meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse center also works to build cross-cultural awareness and under- students. While school leaders began focusing efforts on pre- standing through activities such as the Multicultural Festival paring local teachers, the Dalton community volunteered its held annually. assistance in a very unusual and innovative way.
We have been enriched and rewarded by the arrival of our TheGeorgia Project newest immigrant families in Springdale.- Those families and The Georgia Project was envisioned and implemented in the their children are committed to becoming contributing mem- fall of 1996. The Georgia Project is a community based orga- bers of our school district. nization consisting of local business/industry leaders, that has As Will Rogers once said, "Even if you're on the right partnered with local schools and the Universidad de Monterrey, track, you'll get rUn over if you just sit there." We know that Mexico, to enhance the education of all students in the Dalton we are still in the learning process with our newest children, area. Though this project is multifaceted, it has impacted my but we believe that we have gotten off to a gipod start as a school and my students in two particular ways. First, The Geor- result of strong leadership initiatives, acceptance by faculty gia Project has brought biliterate instructors from Monterrey of the expectation to teach all children, and the realization who provide bilingual instructional assistance toDalton that we must do it right...because our work today is our legacy for the future. 0 (continued on page 36) / 65 NABENEWS 17 "I have never considered myself a do- gooder or a crusader.I am someone upon whom a challenge was thrust, and who believes that all children should be A NEW given a chance to learn." That spirit ofduty and commitment is made all the more obvious by what could be referred to as one of the Ameri- can educational system's greatest suc- cesses of modern times. Ten years ago, AMERICAN Dalton's public schools had 151 Latino students; today they number in the thousands and make up more than half of the student body. And, because of a program that uses children's native lan- TALE guage as a tool in education, Dalton's LEP students are not just learning En- glish, they are achieving to high aca- One Small Georgia Town Looks at demic standards. Ifthis were not positive enough, Latinos have become active par- Academic Success in the 21st Century ticipants in the town they now call home. While once upon a time Latinos JAthaE.A.. ZAPATA in Dalton had little representation within the larger community, they are now an integral part of the town's social, politi- What do you do if you have flown your ing group of new GeorgiansLatinos. cal, and economic fiber. P-51 in the World War II Pacific The- In fact, over the last five years, Dalton's Erwin will remind you that he is not ater, then served as a District Attorney, Latino population has grown so rapidly an educator and that it was his youngest a Superior Court Judge, and a Member that it now accounts for nearly 30 per- daughter, Lesliea teacher at the Roan of the United States House of Repre- cent of its residents. Street Schoolwho first brought the sentatives? If you are 76 year-old Erwin The reason for this demographic changing needs of Dalton's students to Mitchell, and you've spent most of your shift probably won't escape you.For his attention. The children of Latino life fighting for fairness, you call it a de- most of us, it's right at our feettufted carpet mill workers were beginning to cent warm-up and push forward to the and woven carpeting. Dalton is the fill the classrooms, and this Georgia best years of your life. And, you dedi- world's leading producer, and most of town's schools were not prepared to cate those years to addressing the edu- the carpeting that covers the planet is meet their needs."She told me cational needs of children in your made within 60 miles of this town of Daddy...you've got to do something to hometown. 25,000 people. And, while southern help these kids'." And, with a daughter's That is exactly what this favorite hospitality may account for some of determined call to action, the seeds of Georgia son has done. His effortsand, Dalton's popularity among Latino im- the Georgia Project had been planted. as he himself will tell you, those of many migrants, it is good jobs that continue othershave brought about remark- to bring most of them. So, it is fitting able changes in a town that until re- that carpeting also played a serendipitous cently was almost entirely White and role in improving education for the knew little about serving children who Dalton public schools' newest students. didn't speak English. In a Daughter's Plea...A New Patterns, Softer Path Challenge is Thrust For two hundred years, Dalton has been Erwin is the southern gentleman that a small but industrious town. Over that you read about in books. He is polite time, cotton and thread mills have given and impeccably attentive. When you way to bedspread and small rug manu- speak with him you can't help but be facturing. Erwin's family, and those of charmed by the snowy-locked, bespec- many other Daltonians, have made their tacled man before you. You may even home here since the beginning of the wonder how this elegant septuagenar- 19th century, and over the years Dalton's ianwhose words are rounded softly by immigrants became "forefathers," not a Georgia twanghas been such a fierce new arrivals. warrior in the battle for school desegre- Then came the 1990's. Since then, gation and access to high quality educa- Dalton has been host to a rapidly grow- tion. The answer, says Erwin, is simple. Erwin Mitchell
18 N O V E M B E R/ D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 An active civic leader, Erwin began Dalton City Councilmade up entirely with [tests]." But, he had just finished to talk about the challenges facing the of White memberscommitted looking at Dalton's scores on the Iowa Dalton schools with other members of $250,000 a year, for three years, for the Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and replied the community. "Now, you've got to project." Through word ofmouth, other proudly that those schools where bilin- understand that like me most of these contributions poured in, and Dalton gual instruction was taking place showed folks are Anglo and not bilingual. In fact, even decided to apply for a Title VII the grades of LEP students increasing like me, most of them can barely speak grant. "We received $500,000 over five steadilyeven as their numbers contin- English" he adds, with his usual wit. years from OBEMLA...the finest ued to grow. "Yes, it works!" He had "But, we knew we needed teachers who money the federal government has ever the proof. could help these students, so we tried to spent!" That comes as no surprise to those get some teachers who were biliterate. But, even Erwin acknowledges that who understand that one of the most And, we were willing to pay. There just tax dollars alone could not have made powerful tools in education is clear com- weren't enough to be had. We won- the project a reality. "This is proof that munication and that, while learning may dered what to do." private citizens working with leaders, be a complex process, children who are Then, one afternoon, during a ca- taught by qualified educators and given sual conversation with his friend Rob- the tools to succeed will achieve beyond ert E. Shaw, Chairman of Shaw all expectations. As Erwin puts it, "We Industries, the largest carpet manufac- need to get these kids while their eyes turer in the world, Erwin got his an- are flashing and their minds are quick. swer."Bob told me that he had a "Today, you walk in The better the teaching, the better their business partner in Monterrey, Mexico schools, and the kids are education, and through it, the better the who might be able to help." Erwin future of our country." didn't know it then, but things in his engaged and smiling. little town were about to get even more They high-five you all A Different Mace interesting. the way down the hall!" : Next fall, 20 biliterate teachers from Monterrey will join their American col- Meeting New Friends : leagues in Dalton, and Georgia teachers
It took eight months before everyone . will once again head South to Mexico
involved realized that it could actually : for summer courses that will further work. "Our friends in Monterrey . their own language skills. And, so goes and we've become good friends : the Georgia Project, steady and strong, made several trips to Dalton and met businesses, and government CAN making positive change possible and the with Latino and Anglo community make good things happen." He also achievement oflofty goals a reality. It all members to help engage them in this adds that corporate leaders should dig . makes Erwin Mitchell reflect on the project." Before long an accord be- deep in their pockets to help improve many changes that have come about in tween Dalton and the University of education but that their role should his little community. "My home town Monterrey would be signed. Dalton not be relegated to that of donors. : will never return to what it was. The schools would welcome 15 biliterate "Public education may just want changes of these last years are real, and teachers from Mexico, and 24 of money from the private sector, but the : they are permanent. Dalton is becom- Dalton's teachers would travel to private sector must be an equal part- ing an island of languages...and every Monterrey during the summer for in- ner in setting and implementing edu- day we are reminded that we truly are a
tensive Spanish courses. The Georgia cation policy." As Erwin sees it, it is . land of immigrants, and above all, that Project had become a reality. up to an entire community to figure : we must continue to be...a land of "It was magical. Before [the teach- out how to improve student achieve- opportunity." ers from Monterrey] cameand not a ment and truly make childrenwhat- single teacher from Dalton has lost their ever their backgrounda part of our Jaime A. Zapata is Director of Media and job because ofit the atmosphere in the nation's fiber. : Public Affairs for the National Associationfor schools was glum. You felt so despon- Bilingual Education (NABE). His publi-
dent when you left. Today, you walk in Does it work? : cation interests include reframing the issue of schools, and the kids are engaged and "People usually tell me 'what a wonder- bilingual education and documenting success
smiling. They high five you all the way ful thing!" says Erwin of those who learn : stories for broader distribution. Feel free to re- down the hall!" of the Georgia Project. Recently, how- print this piece, as with all NABE non-copy-
ever, he had an opportunity to tell a jour- : righted articles, citing the author and NABE Things Cost Money nalist from ABC all about Dalton's News as the source. To send comments or sug-
Dalton is an affluent community, but : innovative efforts, and this time what he gestions, writeJaime at the NABE address or when the Georgia Project was initiated, was asked was something different. his e-mail address, [email protected]. its total funding was, Erwin recalls, "ex- "Does it work, Mr. Mitchell?" Erwin actly zero dollars." "But, we knew we though that was an interesting question. needed it, and less than 30 days after we : "There are so many things in children's signed the accord with Monterrey, the . education that you just can't measure aa 6 7 NABE NEWS 19 taught in English. The 1997 National Research Council Report, Improving Schooling for Language-minority Children: A Research Agenda, states, "primary lan- guage instruction allows LEP students to access complex academic instruction An Important earlier than other approaches" (p.4) (August & Hakuta 1997). Strategy in Skutnabb-Kangas (1983) expands on this point by asking what happens Multilingual when, "the child sits in a submersion classroom (where many of the students Classrooms have L2, the language of instruction, as their mother tongue), listening to the teacher explaining something that the YVONNE AND child is then supposed to use for prob- DAVID FREEMAN, lem solving." In this situation, "the child FRESNO PACIFIC gets less information than a child listen- ing to her mother tongue" (p. 116). If a UNIVERSITY child fails to understand even a few words, he or she may lose the meaning of an explanation. An example will clarify this point (Freeman & Freeman 2001). Picture a kindergarten class where most of the stu- dents speak some English but five of the students speak only Hmong and three speak only Lao. The teacher, Ms. Smith is a monolingual English speaker. Early in the year, Ms. Smith wants to review colors and shapes with her students. Be- cause she wants to make the input com- R7earch has consistently shown that instructional time. However, the re- prehensible, she gathers some realia for 't takes English learners several searchers in the field of bilingual edu- the lesson. She has a green, square block, years to acquire academic language cation have shown that primary a yellow block the shape of a triangle, an (Hakuta, Butler et al. 2000; Collier language instruction is important. orange ball, a long blue scarf, and a white 1989). This research is in direct opposi- Krashen (1999) argues that we acquire egg. Ms. Smith tells the children they tion to the views of the general public language when we receive comprehen- are going to review their colors. She and mandated policies such as the "En- sible input, messages that we under- holds up the green block, and the teacher glish for the Children" initiative, Propo- stand. For second language students, and students say the color, green, to- sition 227, in California. In fact, in their the use of the primary language can help gether. Next, she points to the yellow summary of the research on the length make input comprehensible. To learn block, and the students call out the color, of time it takes to acquire aca- yellow. They go through this demic English, Hakuta et al. ex- routine with each of the objects plain that it takes from 4 to 7 and then the teacher points to years and, "that policies that as- "Primary language instruction allows LEP other color objects in the room sume rapid acquisition of students to access complex academic instruction such as the children's clothing. English...are wildly unrealistic" The non-English speakers begin (p.1). Primary language support earlier than other approaches." to figure out what the teacher is crucial for multilingual stu- and students are doing, "Oh, dents during the time they are we're talking about color!I get acquiring English. it. The ball is orange, my shirt is In addition to assuming that English a second language, students need to orange, and the pumpkin is orange." can and should be acquired rapidly, many have an understanding of what they At about the time those students policy makers are convinced that the best hear or read. If students enter school have figured out that they should focus road to English for non-native speakers speaking languages other than English, on color, Ms. Smith says, "Now, let's talk is through submersion in English. The and if English is the only language of about shapes." She holds up the green assumption is that "more English equals instruction, then the students may sim- block and says, "This is a square!" The more English" and that instruction in ply not understand enough English to English learners, however, are thinking, the native language is a waste of valuable acquire Enpish or to learn any subjects " I thought it was green!" She holds up
20 N O V E M B E R/ D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 the egg and says, "This is an oval." The English learner is thinking, "No, that's white!" Ms. Smith explains the yellow block is a triangle, the blue scarfis a long Preview/View/Review rectangle, and the ball is round. The native English speakers are with the PREVIEW teacher all the way, but the English FIRST LANGUAGE learners are struggling to make sense of The teacher gives an overview of the lesson or activity in the students' first language what is happening. (this could be giving an oral summary, reading a book, showing a film, asking a key The children learning English are question etc.). expending a great deal of energy trying to understand what the teacher is teach- ing, but during part of the lesson, they V 0 E are confused. By the time they figure SECOND OR TARGET LANGUAGE (ENGLISH) out that they should look at color, the teacher switches to shapes. While the The teacher teaches the lesson or directs the activity in the students' second lesson provides the native English speak- language. ers a good review of colors and shapes, the non-English speakers are acquiring very little English and are not learning REVIEW the important academic concepts the FIRST LANGUAGE teacher is presenting. The teacher or the students summarize key ideas and raise questions about the In this example, the students lesson in their first language. would have learned a great deal more English if there had been a preview of the lesson in their native languages. If an aide, a bilingual peer, or another teacher could have ex- current translation and can also motivate students to stay en- plained to the children in Hmong or Lao that the teacher gaged in the lesson. would be teaching colors and shapes and then reviewed the When lessons are well taught, the concepts presented in colors and shapes briefly in their languages, those students the primary languages transfer to English. As teachers of mul- would have been much more engaged and would have been tilingual students, we need to find ways to help our students able to acquire more English vocabulary during thc lesson access the curriculum and learn both English and school con- in English. tent. Using the preview/view/review technique can help any One excellent strategy for working with second language teacher to reach this goal. 0 learners, then, is preview, view, review. This strategy can work in classes with English learners from different primary lan- David Freeman, Ph.D. and Yvonne Freeman, Ph.D. teach at Fresno guage backgrounds, and it can work whether or not the teacher Pacific University where Yvonne is the Director of bilingual education speaks the students' languages. If the teacher, a bilingual peer, and the MA in Literacy in Multilingual Contexts, and David.is the a bilingual cross-age tutor, a bilingual aide, or a parent can sim- director of the CLAD and TESOL programs. Contact them at Fresno ply tell the English learners in their native language what the Pacific University, 1717 S. Chestnut. Fresno, CA 93702 or via e- upcoming lesson is about, the students are provided a preview. mail at [email protected] or [email protected] or FAX During the view the teacher conducts the lesson using strat- .(559) 432-7923. egies to make the input comprehensible. With the help of the preview, the students can follow the English better and References acquire both English and academic content. Finally, it is good August, D. & K. Hakuta. (1997). Improving schooling for language-minority chil- to have a short time of review during which students can use dren: A research agenda. Washington, D.C., Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. their native language. For example, students who speak the Collier, V. (1989). How long? A synthesis of research on academic achieve- same first language could meet in groups to review the main ment in a second language. TESOL Quarterly 23(3): 509-532. ideas of the lesson and then report back in English. The chart Freeman, D. E. & Y. S. Freeman. (2001). Between Worlds: Access to Second Lan- above outlines the preview, view, review technique (Free- guage Acquisition. Portsmouth, NH, Heinemann. man & Freeman 1998). Freeman, Y. S. and D. E. Freeman. (1998). ESL/EFL Teaching: PrinaPles for The preview, view, review technique provides a structured Success. Portsmouth, NH, Heinemann. way to alternate English and native-language instruction. Stu- Hakuta, K., Y. G. Butler, et al. (2000). How long does it take English learners to dents are given access to the academic concepts they need to attain proficiency? Los Angeles, The Univeristy of California Linguistic know and, at the same time, are acquiring English. Simply Minority Research Institute: 28. translating everything into a student's first language is not pro- Krashen, S. D. (1999). Condemned without a trial: Bogus arguments against bilin- ductive because the student will tune out English, the lan- gual education. Portsmouth, Heinemann. guage that is harder to understand. This concurrent translation Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1983). Bilingualism or not: The education of minorities. method does not lead to either concept or language acquisi- Clevedon, England, Multilingual Matters. tion. 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7 0 ISSUES IN INDIGENEOUS BILINGUAL EDUCATION Column Editor: Dr. Jon Reyhner, Northern Arizona University, AZ
Indigenous Community-Based Education
Endigenous Community-Based Edu- cess of the Maori language nests in New Peach Springs, Native Alaskan teacher cation (Multilingual Matters, 1999) Zealand as a model for indigenous com- leaders, Karuks in Northern California, is a 180-page collection of ten es- munity-based education. This grass- and Native Hawaiians. The Hawaiian says edited by Stephen May of the Uni- roots effort has expanded over the last efforts then receive more in-depth treat- versity of Bristol. These essays describe two decades from its pre-school base ment by William H. Wilson of the Col- efforts by indigenous peoples in North through elementary and secondary edu- lege of Hawaiian Language of the and South America, Australia, New cation into Maori language university- University of Hawaii at Hilo in his es- Zealand,andEuropetoend level teacher education programs. say, The Sociopolitical context of Establish- assimilationist schooling that denies the Archia Durie of the Department of ingHawaiian-mediumEducation. value of indigenous languages and cul- Maori and Multicultural Education at Hawaiian language activists give credit tures. Schooling for indigenous peoples to the pioneering efforts of the Maori has historically tended to be imposed im- in leading the way to indigenous com- perialism designed either to assimilate munity-based education. indigenous people into an alien domi- May's book is an important addition nant culture and/or to keep them in a "May's book...is to the literature on indigenous educa- second-class status. especially important tion. I think it is especially important The ten essays collected by May fo- because its global because its global viewpoint shows how cus on how indigenous peoples world- viewpoint shows how particular indigenous education efforts wide are working to take control of have benefited from the ideas and ex- particular indigenous schools in their communities so that amples of other indigenous groups, in the words of the first contributor education efforts have sometimes thousands of miles away. David Corson, indigenous learners can, benefited from the ideas Small, often isolated, such groups of in- "become active participants in shaping and examples of other digenous peoples are at a disadvantage, their own education (Corson: 10). indigenous groups, when attempting to wrest control of Corson cites the influence of Paulo educational institutions from populous sometimes thousands Freire in regard to adult indigenous edu- dominant groups. However, when these cation that saw, "literacy work as a way of miles away." indigenous groups learn from each other ofgiving voice to the oppressed...to talk and work together, their cooperation can about generative themes that they chose give them the strength needed to perse- themselves from their own experiences," vere in their quest for culturally and lin- giving, "the learners more control over Massey University College ofEducation guistically appropriate education for their own curriculum," (quoted in writes in the fourth essay about how their children. Corson, 1999:10). Maori efforts have changed from a sub- In the third essay, May discusses the ordinating to an empowering process. She Jon Reyhner, Ph.D. is Associate Professor at differences between nation state politi- describes assimilationist education as Northern Arizona University. Send article cal democracy and what Joshua Fishman education for cultural surrender.Jon Todal, submissions or comments to P.O. Box 5774, has termed cultural democracy. May writes, in the eighth essay, describes how some Flagstaff Arizona 86011-5774 or by email "If there has been a point of greatest re- of the idea for a Sarni language preschool to [email protected]. sistance to the recognition of separate in Norway came from Welsh language minority rights and entitlements, "it has activists. probably been in the area oflanguage and Two U.S. efforts are described in culture" ...because a common language the fifth and sixth essays.Teresa L. and culture has been central to political McCarty and Lucille J. Watahomigie nationalism (1999:48). :\rdescribe efforts by Navajos at Rough May points to the phenomenal suc: 'Rock and Rock Point, Hualapais at
7 L. NABE NEWS 23 Nominations 781-932-1144 smsommywww.epsi-usa.com for NABE Board omur11111Or of Directors PIMF (as Stipulated in the By-Laws of the National
Educationar ciformanceSystems, Inc.TM Association for Bilingual Education INABE1 ) Section A. Nominating Committee. Nominations of candidates for the Executive Board of Directors shall be the responsibility of a Nominating Committee comprised of a representative of each NABE affiliate organi- LINKS-Espailol zation in good standing. Nominating Com- mittee Members must also be individual NABE members in good standing. The Presi- dent or other Board Member designated by the President presides at, but does not vote in, all meetings of the Nominating Committee. vipl\TE Members of the Nominating Committee are not eligible for nomination as candidates. The Nominating Committee shall fulfill its respon- sibilities at a meeting during the Association's annual conference. The Nominating Commit- S' tee meeting shall be open to all Association members in good standing as observers. Section B. Qualifications of Candidates. 11417 A Través del Curriculo Candidates for the Executive Board of Direc- tors must be NABE members in good standing and must have been members in good standing for one year prior to their nomination. Section C. Nominating Procedure. The Nominating Committee shall nominate at least twice, but no more than three times, the num- ber of candidates as there are available Board Member-at-Large Positions. The Nominating Committee shall ensure that no more than two Board Members-at-Large reside in the same Helps Spanish speaking students struggling in their state by limiting nominations of individuals for native language write well-organized paragraphs. Board Member-at-Large positions to no more than two per state, less the number of Board Members-at-Large from a given state who have Helps ESL special education students transition from already been elected to serve any portion of the writing in Spanish to English. term for which nominations are being made. In carrying out this limitation, the Nominat- ing Committee shall use the NABE member- Helps Spanish speaking ESL general education students ship mailing address for all candidates. The write well-organized paragraphs and essays in English. Nominating Committee shall ensure that at least one individual is nominated from each of Helps English speaking students who are learning the Association's three geographic regions. The Nominating Committee shall also ensure that Spanish, write persuasive paragraphs and essays in the nominees come from at least three distinct Spanish. linguistic groups. Section D. Regional Representation. For pur- poses ofnominations, there shall be three regions: East, Central, and West....For copies of states Visit us @ www.epsi-usa.com or call 781-932-1144 within each region, call the NABE Office. 0
24 N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 NABE NEWS BOOK REVIEWS Column Editor: Dr. Beti Leone, Fresno Unified School District, Fresno, CA
Tale of Cambodian Immigration Compelling REVIEW BY THONG SATHAPHAN AND BRENDA BETTS
Criddle, Joan D. and Teeda Butt Mam. When Teeda's family reached Prey Tortung, one of the (1999). To Destroy You Is No Loss: -The Odys- Khmer Rouge soldiers recognized Teeda's father as a govern- sey of a Cambodian Family. Dixon, CA: East/ ment official. That night they came and took Teeda's father West Bridge Publishing House. 1987. ISBN away, so the family had to move from camp to camp without 0-9632205-1-9. their father.They were always afraid and wondered if they would see their father again. The Khmer Rouge forced many To Destroy You Is No Loss, is a compelling, true story about the people to work in the fields, using them like water buffalo. odyssey ofTeeda and her family during 1975, when the Khmer Teeda and her siblings were not used to working in the fields Rouge took over Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. This and found it difficult to adjust to the demanding labor. They informative book is important because it reveals the truth about had been raised in the city, where they had servants and at- the Cambodian people's experiences during this terrifying and tended school. To be educated had more value than to work chaotic time and their subsequent need to immigrate to the in agriculture, but during the reign of Angka Loeu, education United States. When students and teachers understand the had no value. The Khmer Rouge burned books, computers, unbearable conditions in Cambodia, they will better under- cars, and anything else that was related to technology. They stand and appreciate the challenges and perspectives of all im- believed that education was evil and that everybody should migrant groups. Instead of living in a country controlled by work in the fields in order to build a more equal and perfect Communists and under the constant fear of death, Teeda and society. Thus, everyone was forced to work in the fields if her family fled, along with millions of other Cambodian fami- they wanted to eat. lies, to find freedom and a more secure life for themselves and their families. Teeda's journey begins in the city of Phnom Life Goes On Penh and leads us through various Cambodian cities and Thai Teeda's family had no choice but to try and go on living their refugee camps, until she arrives in the United States. lives under the rule ofAngka Loeu. Angka Loeu or the Khmer There are many Cambodians living in the United States Rouge Republic, fed the people with slogans and lies, prom- at this time, and most are involuntary immigrants. If they at- ising a better life for those that supported them. They gave tempted to return to their homeland, they would be killed the people of Cambodia just enough food to survive and made because the Communists invaded Cambodia after they took the people dependent on the Khmer Rouge. Like Teeda's control of the government of South Vietnam. To foster un- family, the people went on living without protest because those derstanding and empathy for the plight of the Cambodians that opposed the Khmer Rouge were executed. The Com- and other immigrants, Americans need to understand why munists made it clear that killing people was no loss to the Cambodians were forced to evacuate their homeland and are Khmer Rouge. not able to return. In the city of Khum Speu, Teeda married Tevi. They eventually grew accustomed to the harsh life in the country. Teeda's Story They had no choice but to learn to live "the country way" When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia on April 17, because if the Khmer Rouge discovered that they were edu- 1975, the people of Cambodia rejoiced, not because they were cated, they would have been treated harshly.Living under cheering for the Communist party, but because the civil war Angka Loeu's rules and restrictions was difficult, frightening, was over. They assumed that peace would bring a stable gov- and tense. People were not allowed to speak their minds about ernment and prosperity. The Khmer Rouge established a new their circumstances or the new government. Soon, the Khmer government called Angka Loeu. They urged educated men Rouge no longer provided food for the people, so many starved, and women to step forward and help in the rebuilding of a and some died from infectious diseases. Many people attempted new Cambodia. Many doctors, engineers, teachers, govern- to escape to the borders of Thailand, where there were refu- ment officials, and other professionals stepped forward, but gee camps because anything seemed better than living under only to be executed by the Khmer Rouge. They made it clear the conditions of the Khmer Rouge. that they did not like education because educated people were a threat to their control. Teeda's father, who used to be a gov- Fleeing One's Coamtry ernment official under the rule of president Lon Nol, realized Teeda and her family also fled, walking toward the Thai bor- the danger of staying in Phnom Penh and decided to move his der. They traveled for days through the forests and the moun- family to the countryside as quickly and secretly as possible. tains. They witnessed many deaths along their journey and 73 NABE NEWS 25 encountered many Khmer Rouge soldiers. Luckily they had remember soldiers marching through the camps, and my broth- charms and quick-witted speeches to help them escape from ers and I would follow them around. The refugee camp be- the Khmer Rouge persecution. They walked through moun- came like a village full of friends and family. tainous terrain filled with land mines and traps set by the Khmer To Destroy You Is No Loss, is an excellent book because it Rouge to get to the Thai border. After reaching the Thai bor- reveals the truth about the Communist takover of Cambodia der, they faced another obstacle. They had to figure out a way and the unfortunate consequences. The narrative is well writ- to cross the border without getting shot by the Thai soldiers. ten and interesting because Teeda describes everything that Many Cambodians gathered outside' the Thai borders, wait- she encountered on her journey in detail. The story does not ing for an opportunity to cross into Thailand, but the Thai only tell about the odyssey of Teeda and her family, but it also soldiers forced the people to turn back and return to Cambo- tells about the experiences of many Cambodian families after dia. Those that did not listen were shot. Some of the Cambo- the Communist party took control of Cambodia. Over two dians who were forced back from Thailand stepped on land million Cambodians were brutally murdered in Cambodia. mines and faced death in a horrible way. "To Destroy You Is No Loss" was not only a slogan of the Teeda and her family did not give up. They were deter- Khmer Rouge, it was their attitude and their behavior towards mined to cross that border even if it meant losing their lives. anyone who disagreed with them. 0 They decided to wait and find an opportunity to cross the border to Thailand, but food was running out and they Thong Sathaphan wrote this book review while enrolled in EDUC thought that they would die of starvation waiting for a chance 4430: Crosscultural Techniques for Teachers: Language and Sociocul- to get into the refugee camps. So they moved on and even- tural Issues in School Settings, in the BCLAD credential program, tually stumbled upon a Vietnamese camp. Teeda and her Department of Teacher Education, California State University, family were surprised that the Vietnamese were willing to Stanislaus. Brenda Betts, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of help the Cambodians. But some Chinese-Khmer (Cambo- Teacher Education, California State University, Stanislaus, where she dians) were not so fortunate because the Vietnamese hated teaches courses on successful ways of teaching culturally and linguisti- the Chinese. Many Chinese-Khmer were left to starve and cally diverse students in the public schools. die. The Khmer Rouge government was an ally of China, so the Vietnamese were glad to help the Cambodians. With help from the Vietnamese, Teeda and her family made it into E MPLOYMENT the refugee camps in Thailand. O PPO The refugee camps were not comfortable, but they were TUNOTY better than living under Communist domination and intimi- The Department of Education, Graduate School dation. The camp provided food, shelter, and a short supply of Education (http://www.education.ucsb.edu) invites of medicine. The camp became home for many refugees. applications for an Assistant Professor, Tenure Track People visited neighbors and friends, played sports, and en- opening in the area of Linguistic and Cultural Diversity joyed each other's company. Many people waited for the day in Pre-K-12 Education effective July 1, 2001. Candi- when they would be sponsored and have an opportunity to go dates are sought with expertise in research and teaching to the United States, where people are free and opportunities for linguistically and culturally diverse students in one or are plentiful. Teeda and her family finally made it to the United more of the following areas: learning and acquisition States, thus ending their incredible odyssey. of languages and literacy, schooling and instruction, education and language policy, and teacher preparation. My Own Story The successful candidate will instruct graduate level courses Like many Cambodians in 1975, my family also had to flee and seminars based on her or his areas ofexpertise. Cambodia to escape from the Khmer Rouge. Fortunately, we Courses and seminars will fulfill required and elective lived in Battabong, a city near the Thai border. However, the offerings across one or more of the following emphases: escape was not an easy journey for anyone, including my fam- Child and Adolescent Development, Cultural Perspectives ily. My mother was six months pregnant with me, my oldest ofEducation, Educational Leadership and Organization, brother was nine years old, and my other brother was three and Teaching and Learning. Participation in the Teacher years old so he had to be carried by my father. My family trav- Education Program, and in a new undergraduate minor eled with cousins and uncles through the forest and moun- program is also possible. tains. My cousin Boonmy was born on the trails to Thailand. A Ph.D. in education or related disciplines must be My father said that many people traveled with him, but some completed prior to appointment. Application review will died when they stepped on land mines and booby traps set by begin January 15, 2001 and continue until the position is the Khmer Rouge. We were very fortunate that my father had filled. Applicants should submit a letter of application, connections with some of the Thai soldiers. My father was current vitae, representative publications, and three educated and could speak several languages, including Thai. letters of recommendation to: Once we reached Thailand, we had no difficulty crossing the Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Search committee border. We stayed in one of the camps, while my father re- Department of Education turned to Phnom Penh and joined the Cambodian army to Graduate School of Education fight against the Khmer Rouge. My father returned from the University of California, Santa Barbara war after he was hit by a shell from a grenade. Shortly after- Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9490 wards, we were sponsored and were taken to America. I still have many memories of my stay at the camps. My The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative brother would shoot down birds with his slingshot, and I would Action Employer committed to excellence through diversity. take the birds home so my dad could cook them for us.I also 26 N O V E M B E R/ D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 7g ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN EDUCATION CONCERNS Column Editors: Dr. Ji-Mei Chang and Dr. Ward Shimizu San Jose State UniversitySan Jose, CA A Synthesis of Current Literature to Support APA English Language Learners WARD SHIMIZU, JENNIFER JAFFON LEE, AND jI-MEI CHANG
The Asian/Pacific American Education The central goal of our review was that APA language groups experienced Concerns column is celebrating over to glean information from these APA au- when learning English as mentioned by five years in the NABE News. Over the thors to address the following two ques- the authors. The APA groups presented past five years, the editors of the Asian/ tions: (1) What do we know about APA by the authors included: Cambodian, Pacific American Column have invited English language learners and the chal- Chamorro (Guam), Chinese, Filipino, readers to submit articles about Asian/ lenges they face in learning English? (2) Hawaiian, Hmong, Indian, Japanese, Pacific Americans (APA) on issues, par- What can teachers do to support these Korean, Samoan, and Vietnamese. Each ticularly educational issues, related to article had a different focus,therefore increasing our knowledge base on APAs. some summaries in either section may The APA column will continue to serve be more in-depth than others. This re- as an open forum for discussing issues "We summarized view serves as an initial screening guide and concerns relevant to APAs. We for educators and specialists to look more want to thank all who have contributed recommendations into the specific challenges faced by vari- to this column. We would also like to suggested by APA authors ous APA language groups. Please note thank the NABE News Editor and the that will most likely that much of the following was taken Board Members ofNABE for their con- directly from the original chapters to tinuing support.. benefit all English avoid misrepresenting the authors. As we head into the new millen- Language learners, Urn (1999) and Wright (1999) in- nium, it is time to reflect on what we and which may be even dicated that Cambodian English lan- currently know about APA English lan- guage learners may have difficulties guage learners. Although, we have come more critical to APA with pronunciation, grammar, learn- a long way in increasing what we know low and high ing vocabulary, spelling/writing, and about educating APA English language incidence groups." the sociolinguistic aspects of English. learners, we still lack in-depth informa- Although Khmer (the national lan- tion about low incidence APA language guage of Cambodia) and English have groups because of the diversity within many of the same consonant and vowel APA groups. In light of the educational APA English language learners to suc- phonemes, Khmer lacks some of the and language needs among recent APA ceed in schools? This short paper was vowel and consonant sounds found in immigrants and at-risk APA English lan- organized into two parts. In Part One, English. Cambodian students may also guage learners, we reviewed 16 chapters we highlighted the challenges experi- have trouble with English articles (a, in three books on Asian-American edu- enced by the APA English language an, the) because they have no Khmer cation: Prospects and Challenges (Park & learner as presented by the authors. In equivalents. Cambodian English lan- Chi, 1999); Sociocultural Contexts of Lan- Part Two, we summarized recommen- guage learners may have difficulties guage and Lliteracy (Perez, 1998); and, In- dations suggested by APA authors that learning English verbs. In Khmer, tegrating Language and Learning for will most likely benefit all English lan- verbs do not change in tense, but rather Inclusion: An Asian/Pacific Focus (Cheng, guage learners, and which may even be tense is made clear throughout the 1995). Given the diversity of the APA more critical to APA low and high inci- entire sentence. In contrast, most verbs population, this synthesis is by no means dence language groups. in the English language change accord- an exhaustive review. We hope that this ing to tense. initial review will prompt more readers Selected English Language Thao (1999) indicated that Hmong to submit articles that address and/or Challenges Facing APA English may have difficulties with English pro- update our APA knowledge base across Language Learners nunciation, morphology, word order, both high and low incidence APA lan- In this review, we included various chal- verb formation, and semantics. Since guage groups in schools. lenges related to language and literacy lexicons in Hmong do not take on the
NABE NEWS 27 affixes, English morphology may bedif- rowed words may have been respelled to (Chu, 1999). For example, Korean students ficult for Hmong students. The Hmong fit\the Filipino alphabet which may pose may have trouble differentiating between language also lacks the grammatical gen- spelling problems for Filipino English the sounds of "p" and "f" because the Ko- ders found in English. As a ;result, be- language learners. Galang also suggests rean language lacks these sounds. There are ginning Engleafers" may have----.that-Filipinos may experience difficul- some Korean words that have more than trouble with words such as ' *aiter" and ties with English grammar, vocabulary, one English equivalent. The Korean verb "waiteres"s: In addition, Hmong ,stu- and writing. In addition, in Filipino the that means "eat" is also used in the sense of dents may have problems using Englisfi-syntax (i.epredicate/comment fol- "drink" or "smoke." This can lead to Ko- verbs becaue\Hmong verbs do', not take lOW\ ed by subject/topic) is the reverse of reans generating English phrases such as, on thevariouinflectioniforms when .the word order \in English (i.e., subject "eat a cigarette" or "eat water." indicating the tenses, follOved by predicate). Dien (1996) suggeited-that many Shekar & Hedge (1995) suggested How Can Teachers Heip iiiPA Vietnamese English langnage_learhers thatji chan English language learners English Language Learners may have difficulties prOnouncing some / may have some difficulties with English Succeed in Schee? of the sounds in English.\They may also syntax. In addition, the Indian languages When addressing family attitude towards have difficulties with verb'tense, English lack definite and indefinite articles, teachers and schools, APA groups as a syntax when forming questions, and-us- hence Indian English language learners whole value teachers' personal and pro- ing prepositions. Another iniPortant may experience difficulties using articles fessional knowledge about schooling. challenge facing Vietnamese English lan- (e.g., the, a, an). Hence, teachers play an important role guage learners is that Vietnamese lacks Cheng, Nakasato, & Wallace, in supporting APA English language an immediate single translation of the (1995) suggested that Samoans may learners' success in school. In this part dyad "I-You." Take for example, "He have difficulties with English phonol- of the paper, we have highlighted the introduced himself as Bill." A Vietnam- ogy, lexicon and syntax. Samoan words APA authors' recommendations in- ese speaker may say, "He was introduced always end in a vowel, and Samoan tended to facilitate APA students' lan- me as Bill." words often have multiple vowel com- guage and literacy development. To Chinese-Mandarin English lan- binations. Based on Samoan vowel word avoid misrepresenting the authors' sug- guage learners may have difficulties with endings and the repertoire of phonemes gestions, we adhered to their original consonant and vowel sounds, consonant and the vowel-oriented nature of the Sa- statements as much as possible. To- clusters, ending sound in consonant, moan language, it might be expected gether, these authors' recommendations vowel digraphs, the that a native Samoan may indeed help our teaChers become schwa sound, and plac- can encounter chal- effective cross-cultural communicatprs ing stress on appropri- lenges when speaking and enhance the internationalization of ate syllables (Chi, 1999) English. In the Samoan our teaching force_in-thils rapidlydecel- and with word forma- "Chi emphasized language, syntax is sub- oping global-vi, age./ tion, syntax, and gen- ject to context which ----- the importance of eral discourse style also makes learning General Strategies and (Chang, 1998). Fur- engaging students... glish difficult-for many APA Cultural AwareneSs I thermore, Chang (1998) within a meaningful Samoans. \ Dien (1998) stated that teachers caInhelp stated that Chinese En- Japanese English all learners when th7 practice an\ atti- context...to glish language learners language learners may tude of openness, make each contact may also have difficul- immerse them in have problems\ with with a new culture a personal and\en- ties in the following ar- a rich bath of English pronunciation, joyable experience for 'themselves and eas: using articles (i.e., language." wordrecognition/ their students, give enconkaging remarks the, an, a) properly be- spelling, and grammar. to students, and finally teachers should
cause they are not used Since Japanese lacks ar be life-long learners. Chang (1998) , in the Chinese lan- ticles, Japanese students stressed that teachers can hell) \students guage; using "he" for may also have trouble when they believe that all childten can
"she" or vice versa in conversations since with the definite and indefinite articles learn. Furthermore, Chang emphasizes--,,,, gender specific pronouns are not re- found in English. They may also expe- that teachers can utilize parents as re------, . quired for the Chinese spoken language; rience difficulties with oral and written source,N_ sparticularly by integrating the and demonstrate less consistency in us- discourse and the general usage patterns student's ho'ni-e-language and home re- ing verb tense because the Chinese lan- of the English language. (Whitenack & sources to enhance-sthool-learning,---- guage does not follow the same rules as Kikunaga. 1999). Understanding spoken Cheng (1999) recommended that teach- the English language regarding tense. English can be difficult for native speak- ers should not make assumptions about Galang (1999) suggests that Filipi- ers ofjapanese because words like "lap" what students know or do not know. nos may have difficulties pronouncing and "rap" are likely to sound the same Teachers need to anticipate-their.\----.-.... stu-_ -- certain consonant clusters (e.g., sk, st) to Japanese students' ears. dents' needs and the challenges they may or other sounds in English. The Filipino Korean learners are likely to have face, as well as to expec t frustration and language has many words borrowed some difficulties in phonology, lexicon, possible misunderstandings. Finally, from the English language. The bor- word order, and in sociolinguistic aspects Cheng recommended that teachers nur- \ 28 NO V E M B E R/ DE C E M B E R 2 0 0 0 t74- //
ture the development of a bicultural identity among their En- and motivating relatiori;hips through peer-group discussions glish language learners. aisa way to encourage Vietnamese-difdren to-P-articipate. She Chi (1999) recommended that teachers adopt a variety of suggested that/ietnamese-dildren may be comfortable with instructional approaches and flexible groupings to meet stu- small group discussion/rid one-on-one communication withN dents' needs. She emphasized the importance of engaging stu-, adult,peer,oir teach4. She alsQsuggested that it isa good idea \ dents in all language and literacy processes within a meaningful to\adopt the/ autocratic/ models of ie-aching because Vietnam- context, that is, immerse them in a "rich bath of lang/ uage." ese\students' neecrto be presented withructures and formu- She suggested giving students opportunities to respona to las first before expressing themselves. Littoii(1999) stated that' learning activities in a variety of ways. Wright (1999) sug- when encouraging\ \ and eliciting student\ responses, teachers gested that teachers read aloud to children severaftimes a day must engage-studentsN rather than talk down to them. TeZhers from various genres, especially nonfiction, fm`d ways to help must also maie the rules of the classroom explicit and help students acquire books and other reading materials for home, stuaents-oy mowing_tneirn to aeinonstrate\,tneir unaerstand-, \/, and implement a strong, distinct English language develop- : ing of subject matter through nonverbal means. ment program. Park (1999) suggested that teach`ers incorpo- Park (1999) reminded tea2hers that many Korean English
rate their knowledge about Korean students'cult`ure into : language learners-may dislike/group learning because they were instruction and other educational services and to take these -._not_exposedto such instructional,/ activities in their home coun- students' cultural perspective when attempting to interpret : try prior to immigration. Hence, teachersMay consider mini- their behaviors. She also highlighted the need for teachers to mizing the use-Of-small group activities, especially during the
act as community liaisons and provide orientations about the : initial adjustMent period to the American classroom. Both community to students and to get parents actively involved in Cheng (1999) andPark (1999) highlighted the need for teach- their child's school-education. ers to encourageArtvstudents to partiyipate in extra-curricu- Nishida (1999) su\ggested that in order to make a student's lar activities. This may alsabe a wayto facilitate their transition
transition successful, te'achers may benefit from learning about : into the mainstream culture. Authors Cheng (1999) and the cultural and socil\ differences of Japanese learners. Whitenack and Kikunaga, (1999) suggested that role playing
Whitenack and Kikunaga (1999) suggested that it helps when : may be a means of guiding APA students through a transi- teachers understand that student errors are due to differences tional period or to help them solve problems in a non-threat-
between the Japanese and English languages, and not due to : ening environment. Furthermore, Cheng, Nakasato and deficiency on the student's iiart. Encouraging students to read Wallace (1995) emphasized the importance of involving APA
may increase a student's vocabulary. In addition, teachers must : students in purposeful communicative interactions that pro- keep in mind that Japanese students are more likely to distin- mote the use of language. Park (1999) suggested that teachers
guish between similar sounding words when visual represen- : provide Korean students with more hands-on learning activi- tations accompany the text. \ ties, as well as experiential and interactive learning activities Vang_ - (1999)_stated_that teachers must try to include a va- : that require total physical involvement. riety-Of teaching strategies wlien-working with Hmong stu- z---rdents, suchas matching their own teaching styles with the . Strategies for Faciliating APA's preferred learning styles of Hmong English language learners. Reading and Writing Development Being sensitive_to_Hmong culture is critical. For example, Whitenack and Kikunaga (1999) suggested that teachers pro- Hmonotudents may often be silentin the classroom. They vide opportunities for students to constantly check their own ,---- _may not ask many questions, so they will-not be perceived as : writing in order to self-correct their mistakes. Peer editing or .being-dumb. In addition, showing off one's knowledge is dis- pairing Japanese students with native English speakers may help 7"--- couraged in the,Hmong culture. When teachers learn more : them develop writing proficiency. Chi (1999) suggested that about the Hmong culture, they are more likely to reach out to it is preferable to teach English grammar while revising both
Hmong students effectively. Cheng, Nakasato, and Wallace : content and form. She also suggested that teachers provide a (1995) also Aated the importance for teachers to be culturally physical classroom that is language and print-rich in both En- sensitive and \highly attund to unique variations from con- glish and Chinese. Dien (1998) stressed the importance of munity to cOMmunity. Cheg, Nakasato, and Wallace also reading for information seeking and the development of cre- suggested tnat dhamorros may need role models from their ativity for Vietnamese English language learners. She also in- own culture. dicated the need for teachers to show these learners a variety `of good writing samples. _.,Strategies/. that Encourage \Chang (1998) introduced English writing strategies to help Participation and Communication C\ hinese English language learners with English syntax. One Chi (1999) stated that supportive conversations are one way to useful strategy is to teach these learners how to use a semico- enhmce students' second-language competence. Teachers may This strategy helps them avoid using run-on sentences model the language and use concrete materials; wheneverfea- and helps them overcome the transferring of the Chinese sen- --"7sible, teacherscan encouragestudentsto speak-in-firll sentences, tence structure to the English sentence structure. Using web- and help them make their statements-more descriptive and bing or concept mapping may help Chinese-speaking learners --- interesting. Teachers may also exaggerate intonation to high- organize their thought patterns while composing an English light the features/tnrough, supportive conversations. Dien essay. It is also important for these English language learners to (1998) stated that to reduce Vietnamese learners' anxiety in have frequent models and support through both process- and the classroom/teachers may offer personalized, affectionate, textual-oriented instruction to build their English written 77 NABE NEWS 29 expression. Explaining the scoring rubric beforehand will help Ward Shirnizu is a part time instructor who teaches vocabulary and them focus on the organization of written expression as well. writing development to athletes and English language learners at San Jose State University. JenniferJaffon Lee is a consultant; she is a recent Next Steps graduatefrom the University of California, Berkeleyji-Mei Chang is In this paper, we presented some selected profiles of APA En- a Professor, San Jose State University and Principal Investigator of a glish language learners and summarized some of the effective professional development Research Project involving APA English lan- strategies as recommended by the authors. We hope the infor- guage learners, funded by the Center for Research on Education, Di- mation is beneficial for teachers with regards to some corn- versity, and Excellence (CREDE) at UC, Santa Cruz
monalities and differences among APA English language (www. crede. ucsc.edu). learners. As stated earlier, this is not a comprehensive review; rather, this is the initial effort of this column. We hope that References through this review, readers will examine current literature Chang, J. M. (1998). Language and literacy in Chinese American communi- focusing on supporting APA learners in schools. We also hope ties. In B. Perez (Ed.), Sociocultural contexts of language and literacy (pp. 163- 187). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. that this review will encourage readers to review and submit informative and interesting articles in the future. Cheng, L. (1999). Sociocultural adjustment of Chinese-American students. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), Asian-American education: Prospects and To support APA English language learners, it is critical to challenges (pp. 1-17). Westport, Connecticut: Bergin and Garvey. consider their life beyond the classroom because many of them Cheng, L., Nakasato, J., & Wallace, G. J. (1995). The Pacific Islander popula- may have little or no contact with mainstream cultural groups. tion and the challenges they face. In L. Cheng (Ed.), Integrating language Chang (1998) highlighted the needs for teachers to generate and learning fir inclusion: An Asian/Pacific focus (pp. 63-103). San Diego, the optimal learning environments across home, school: and CA: Singular Publishing Group, Inc. community; Cheng emphasized the need to work with indi- Chi, M. M-Y. (1999). Linguistic perspective on the education of Chinese- American students. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), Asian-American vidual parents and with the PTA to support the family and education: Prospects and challenges (pp. 18-46). Westport, Connecticut: Bergin students. Dien (1998) suggested that teachers make assignments and Garvey. relevant to social contexts and tailored to these English lan- Chu, H. (1999). Linguistic perspective on the education of Korean-American guage learners' ages and family needs. The following strategies students. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), Asian-American education: Pros- are likely to be relevant to all APA language groups, particu- pects and challenges (pp. 71-86). Westport, Connecticut: Bergin and Garvey. larly to those low incidence language group. Litton (1999) in- Dien, T. T. (1998). Language and literacy in Vietnainese American commu- dicated that having role models is very important to Filipino nities. In B. Perez (Ed.), Sociocultural contexts of language and literacy (pp. learners, and the mere presence of a Filipino teacher can be 123-161). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. empowering to these students. Wright (1999) suggested using Galang, R. (1999). Promoting educational success for Filipino-American stu- dents: A linguistic perspective. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), Asian- bilingual aides to preview and review lessons and stories in American education: Prospects and challenges (pp. 154-182). Westport, Con- Khmer and acquiring Khmer language materials for use in in- necticut: Bergin and Garvey. struction and learning. It is most desirable, indeed for teachers Litton, E. F. (1999). Learning in America: The Filipino-American sociocul- to become familiar with the similarities and differences be- tural perspective. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), Asian-American edu- tween Khmer and English to bcttcr undcrstand potential dif- cation: Prospects and challenges (pp. 131-153). Westport, Connecticut: Bergin and Garvey. ficulties for Cambodian students learning English. (continued on page 38)
Majority of U.S. Asians and Pacific Islanders Are Foreign Born Dmuili_wAGGcluak_
Reflecting the large number of Asians who immigrated dur- ing the second halfof the twentieth century, three in five Asians ESTIMATED U.S. POPULATION AND PERCENTAGE OF FOREIGN and Pacific Islanders-6 million out of 10 millionwere born BORN, BY NATIVITY AND RACIALATHNIC GROUP, 1997 abroad. They are the only racial/ethnic group the majority of whom are newcomers. Only about 38% of Hispanics were Native- Foreign- Racial/ethnic group Total % born in other countries. In their case, recent immigration of born born
people from Spanish-speaking countries has added to the al- Total 266,792 241,014 25,779 9.7 ready substantial population of native-born people with His- African American 33,293 31,598 1,695 5.1 panic backgrounds. American Indian/Alaska Native 2,100 2,033 67 3.2 The estimated numbers of people in the various racial/ Asian/Pacific Islander 9,905 3,886 6,019 60.8 ethnic groups by nativity and the percentages who were born Hispanic 29,703 18,311 11,393 38.4 in other countries from Current Population Report P. 23-195 are White 191,791 185,186 6,604 3.4 shown in the table. Reprinted with permission from Dorothy Waggoner, editor of Numbers andNeeds, Ethnic Linguistic Minorities in the United States. Box G1F1/13, 3900 Watson Place, N. W, Washington, DC 20016. A subscrOon to this newsletter costs $20. 30 N0,V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 14c4i Immigrant Students' Right to Attend Public Schools
The National Coalition for Students on the basis of undocumented status; Plyler rights of undocumented children. (NCAS) launched its annual School D treat a student differently to verify These changes apply only to students Opening Alert Campaign to reaffirm the residency; who apply for a student visa from out- legal rights of all children who reside in D engage in any practices to "chill" or side the U.S. and are currently in the the United States to attend public hinder the right of access to school; U.S. on an F-1 visa. schools, regardless of immigration sta- D require students or parents to dis- Also, the Family Educational Rights tus. This information is available in En- close or document their immigra- and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibits glish,Spanish,HaitianCreole, tion status; schools from providing any outside Portuguese, Vietnamese, and Hmong by D make inquiries of students or par- agency including the Immigration contacting NCAS at 1-800-441-7192 or ents that may expose their undocu- and Naturalization Service with any online at www.ncas1.org.alert.htm. mented status; or information from a child's school file require social security numbers that would expose the student's undocu- SCHOOL ALERT from all students as a condition of mented status without first getting per- In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled admission to school, as this may ex- mission from the student's parents. The in Plyler v. Doe [457 U.S. 202 (1982)] that pose undocumented status. only exception is ifan agency gets a court undocumented children and young order known as a subpoena that adults have the same right to attend pub- Students without social security parents can then challenge. Schools lic primary and secondary schools as do numbers should be assigned a number should note that even requesting such U.S. citizens and permanent residents. generated by the school. Adults with- permission from parents might act to Like other children, undocumented stu- out social security numbers who are ap- "chill" a student's Plyler rights. dents are required under state laws to plying for a free lunch and/or breakfast Finally, school personnel espe- attend school until they reach a legally program for a student need only state on cially building principals and those in- mandated age. As a result of the Plyler the application that they do not have a volved with student intake activities ruling, public schools may not: social security number. should be aware that they have no le- D deny admission to a student during Recent changes in the F-1 (Stu- gal obligation to enforce U.S. immi- initial enrollment or at any other time dent) Visa Program do not change the gration laws. 0
Assimemi.i. For more information or to report incidents of school exclusion or delay, call:
NCAS 100 Boylston Street Suite 737 Boston, MA 02116 Nationwide 1-800-441-7192 English / French / German / Spanish
Pil ETA Nationwide 1-617-628-2226 English / Spanish
IVI ETA West Coast 1-415-546-6382 English
NY Immigration Hotline Nationwide 1-718-899-4000 English / Chinese / French / Haitian Creole / Hindi / Japanese / Korean / Polish / Russian / Spanish / Urdu
MALDEF - Los Angeles Southwest / Southeast 1-213-629-2512 English / Spanish
MALDEF - San Francisco Northwest 1-415-546-6382 English / Spanish
MALDEF - Chicago Illinois 1-312-782-1422 English / Spanish
MALDEF - San Antonio Southwest 1-210-224-5476 English / Spanish
Florida Parent Hotline Florida 1-800-206-8956 English / Spanish / Haitian Creole
NABE NEWS 31 Resources for Bilingual Educators
Software from Computer Curriculum Corporation Music
Computer Curriculum Corporation software provides a vari- Bridges across the World( a Multicultural Songfest). This ety of multimedia courses for educators using bilingual and compact disk is accompanied by a 60-page book that includes ESL approaches to language acquisition. These courses pro- lyrics, a language appendix and bibliographies.It is a collec- vide a repertoire of teaching tools that enable educators to make tion of 30 original and traditional multicultural songs with fo- instructional decisions and choices that supplement and en- cus on valuing diversity, richness of traditional folksongs, and rich their language acquisition programs. learning words in different languages through song. The com- pact disk includes 30 songs. Fifteen songs are Sarah Barchas Vamos a leer! TM originals, one song is a Raffi original and 14 songs are tradi- (Kindergarten-Grade 2) tional folksongs. The target audience includes grades K-6 & Designed to supplement a class- above. The cost of the book with cassette is $14.98 (ISBN: 1- room Spanish acquisition program, 889686-13-1) and $16.98 for the compact disc with book VAL provides Spanish literature and (ISBN: 1-889686-14-X). literacy for young learners. Chil- dren hear literature selections; learn story vocabulary; record and listen Center for Research on Education, to their responses; respond to phonics, vocabulary, and com- PhlerSittigLEXCellenCeAREFIEVReparts prehension activities;.and enjoy a multimedia approach to read- ing and writing that includes authentic music and delightful Thefollowing reports are availablefor $5.00 (plus 10% shipping)from animations. CAL/Crede, 4646 40"' Street NW, Washington, DC 20016. For more information contact [email protected] or call 202-362-0700. Tele- Spanish Story Painter TM phone, e-mail, or credit card orders are not accepted. (Grades 1- 3) A Spanish drawing and writing tool Collaborative Practices in Bilingual Cooperative Learning for primary bilingual students that Classrooms, written by John Gumperz, Jenny Cook-Gumperz, delights the senses and encourages & Margaret Szymanski, UC Santa Barbara. "In cooperative writing. As students read, record, learning environments, small groups of students work together listen to, and share their stories, to accomplish specific tasks and teachers act as facilitators. What they start down the road to writing success. happens when students are left alone to work on classroom tasks? This report examines the role that everyday informal Discover EnglishTM conversation among students plays in cooperative learning situ- (Kindergarten-Grade 2) ations in monolingual and bilingual classrooms." (RR7) Discover English, an ESL course for young learners, opens the door to The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol: A Tool For English language acquisition as stu- Teacher-Research Collaboration and Professional Development, dents are actively involved in listen- written by Deborah J. Short and Jana Echevarria. " This re- ing, speaking, reading along, and port describes a research-based model of sheltered instruction, writing activities from a wide variety of themes, multicultural an approach where teachers use specific strategies to teach con- literature selections, and activities. tent curriculum (e.g., social studies or math) to English lan- guage learners while promoting their English language Math Concepts and Skills, development. The report presents the Sheltered Instruction LanAa....502aleestatura.....a.mordr,..bnlis Spanishn^ estearom.paam...... unareesvoes. vreta Observation Protocol, which operationalizes the model and is (Kindergarten-Grade 8) arta a Is co. used by teachers to plan sheltered lessons and researchers to Math Concepts and Skills Spanish measure implementation of the model. The collaborative role is a comprehensive course that pro- of teachers and researchers in developing this model is ex- vides highly interactive practice and plained." reinforcement in elementary math- ematics foundations.
First Adventures Bookshelf,Tm Spanish Titles (Grades 1- 2) First Adventures Bookshelf supports listening, speaking, read- ing, and writing development of young learners. The course 80 includes six Spanish titles with interactive activities.
32 N O V E M B E R/ D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 ,`,01MMJRIE`APMW. 4V` NEWS FROM NABE's SIGs Column Editor: Dr. Alicia Sosa
Teachers' Learning Communities for Highly Diverse Classrooms MARGARITA CALDERON,CRESPAR, JOHNSHOPKINS UNIVERSITY
The following is a synopsis of a paper needs to be allocated to professional de- scratch (Calderón, 1991, 1999, 2000). presented at the American Educational velopment. Teachers need new kinds After an initial comprehensive Research Association (AERA) in April, of skills and knowledge necessary to inservice training, teachers typically 2000, in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is teach in today's classrooms. They need meet once a week for 45 to 90 min- organized around several questions that profound knowledge of the students' utes within school time, on early-re- reflect observations made and lessons sociocultural background and talents, lease days, or after school.Teachers learned from working with Teacher and an ample repertoire of instructional combine structured-planned activities Learning Communities (TLCs) in cul- strategies that meet diverse needs and with improvised topics, problem-solv- turally and linguistically diverse class- high academic standards simultaneously. ing, sharing and celebrating. In TLCs rooms over the course of many years. From our studies during the past ten each individual member contributes years, we have found that this tremen- his/her talents, resources, and shares in How have changes in student dous undertaking implies more time and the decision-making.It is a collabo- populations affected the schools? resources invested in teachers' year-long rative process oflearning, experiment- When a whole school participates in re- learning.It also implies creating safe ing, and questioning. These contexts form processes or reform models, teach- contexts where teachers can take risks, help teachers develop nurturing rela- ers have an opportunity to create success build relationships outside their comfort tionships by moving from isolation and for students and themselves or to choose zone, and become centered on their stu- self-centeredness as they reach out to to sustain the status quo. It is often stated dents' learning. others experiencing the same dilem- that school reform initiatives have the po- The teachers in our studies began mas. They are particularly effective for tential to create a context for teachers to calling these contexts Teachers' Learn- dealing with whole-school reform ef- learn if the right collegial support systems ing Communities (TLCs). TLCs cre- forts where minority and majority exist within the school (Goodlad, 1984; ate opportunities for teachers to teachers need to work together for the Tharp & Gallimore, 1988; Joyce, Show- transform themselves and their school to first time. ers & Weil, 1992; Darling-Hammond, meet the needs of the diverse students 1996; Hargreaves, 1997; Fullan, 1997). they serve. TLCs are contexts where hat was the background However, increased diversity among teachers co-construct knowledge and for the study? school faculties is turning collegial pro- meaning from their craft as they attempt In a former study, TLCs had been imple- cesses into quite complex and oftentimes to learn more about instruction, imple- mented in 7 experimental and control superficial endeavors. Models of school ment reform models, develop new cur- schools with transitional bilingual pro- reform rarely take diversity into consid- riculum, learn new assessment processes grams, yielding significant results in stu- eration. It becomes very difficult to get or create a schooling innovation from dent academic achievement and to the heart and equity of reform when the teachers espouse different instruc- tional philosophies and beliefs about Table 1: Relationship of TLC quality and Two-Way Programs students or come from different socio- cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Pro- School A = high SES; low-level implementation of TLCs; average student results; program found learning and profound changes dissipated the year after the study. become a collective threat. School B = low SES; low-level implementation of TLCs; low student results; program What are the professional dissipated the year after the study. development practices that have School C = mid SES; high-level implementation of TLCs; high student results; program a positive impact on teachers and continues. their culturally and linguistically .:School D SES; high-level implementation of TLCs; high student results; program diverse students? c.4 The higher the student and teacher di- continues. versity in a school, the more time that 81 NABE NEWS 33 teachers' professional development (Calderón, 1991). Build- References ing on this study, the current quantitative and qualitative four- Calderón, M. (2000). Two-way bilingual programs: The promise, practice year study was conducted in four two-way immersion schools. and precaustions. In Slavin, R.E. & M. Calderón (Eds.).Effective pro- grams for Latino children. Nahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaurn. These schools were selected because of the complexity of the Calderón, M. (1999). Teachers Learning Communities for cooperation in di- innovation and the challenges teachers would face in creating verse settings. In M. CalderOn & RE. Slavin (Eds.). Building community these new programs. through cooperative learning. Special issue of Theory into PracticeJournal. Spring, Findings indicated that student test results correlated 38 (2). Columbus, OH: Ohio State University. with the intensity, frequency and activity structure of the Calderón, M. & A. Carreón. (1999). In search of a new border pedagogy: TLCs. The quality and frequency of the TLCs also related Sociocultural conflicts facing teachers and students along the U.S.-Mexico to the quality and engendering of the two-way immersion border. In Ovando, C.J. & P. McLaren (Eds.). The politics of multiculturalism and bilingual education: Students and teachers caught in the cross-fire. New York: program. McGraw-Hill. How do teachers describe their experiences in TLCs? Responses to various teacher interviews and surveys indicated P LOV MEN T teachers perceptions and evaluations of TLCs. Responses in- 0PP IR 7' (1.D RD 11 7' V cluded: D A talent development model of professional development TESL/TEFL and Linguistics, D Teachers become ethnographers and peer coaches D Significant collegial relationships with peers West Chester University: Assistant Professor, D An inquiry process full time, tenure-track position begins Fall 2001. D A mechanism to cope with all these changes Required: Doctorate or ABD with doctorate in hand by D A sense of belonging for teachers Opportunities to learn together August 2001, in TESL/TEFL, Applied Linguistics, or re- D Shared responsibility lated field, or in Linguistics with demonstrated commitment D Friendly feedback for everyone I A place for creativity and invention to TESL/TEFL as the primary field of study; and ESL/EFL D Mutual support teaching experience. Desirable: Experience in teacher train- I A pedagogy of caring ing and supervision and service to schools, community and D A place where a teacher's voice is heard and valued. professional organizations serving ELLs. Also desirable: What have we learned from the study of 'Ms? TLCs are situated models and must be constructed by each Scholarly work and specialization in one or more of the school. They must be culturally sensitive and account for the following areas of the specified field: methodology and/or multiple ways participants co-construct the context, activities special education in public school settings; media for teach- and their shared language. They are powerful focal points for transformation when continuous learning is occurring. They ing; adult and community-based programs; assessment and can also get bogged down with logistics, schedules, negative standards; ESL in bilingual education; methodology and conversation or superficial tasks. One of the schools allocated time during the workday, but the meetings were not struc- contexts for EFL; materials writing; L2 literacy; and SLA. tured to be productive. Another school did not schedule the Faculty member will teach undergraduate and graduate TLCs and did not encourage teachers to attend. The two that persisted adhered to the following principles: courses in methodology, research and linguistics and will D Learn to conduct classroom ethnographies advise TESL graduate students and serve on the TESL IExchange cultural histories through writing of autobiog- Committee. Faculty member may also be expected to teach raphies, writings of reflection, story telling. I Study journal articles courses in freshman composition (or ESL composition) as D Analyze student products and data assigned by the chair. Finalists must demonstrate effective I Solve problems of implementation I Celebrate student and teacher successes teaching during on-campus interview. Send letter of interest, curriculum vitae, three letters of recommendation, and What are the advantages 0 whole-school two- way immersion reform models? graduate transcripts to: Dr. C. Ruth Sabol, Chair, Department D All teachers are equalmainstream and bilingual of English, West Chester University, West Chester PA IWhen all teachers participate in such a school, there are 19383-2124. Review of applications begins November 15, richer discussions and multiple perspectives D Mainstream and bilingual/ESL teachers learn together and 2000 until position is filled. Salary and benefits very com- from each other petitive. Visit our web site at http://www.wcupa.edu. D Teachers feel empowered when they see student results and when they help each other succeed. 34 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2000 Hernandez, D., & Charney,.E. (Eds.). (1998). From generation to generation: The MEETING THE CHALLENGE health and well-being of children of immigrant families. Washington D.C.: Na- (continued from Page 9) tional Academy Press. Kao, G., & Tienda, M. (1995). Optimism and achievement: The educational to develop better diagnostic strategies to establish special needs performance of immigrant youth. Social Science Quarterly, 76(1), 1-19. so that target services can be provided. Mandel, H. P., & Marcus, S. I. (1988). The psychology of underachievement: Dif- School administrators and teachers must develop realistic ferential diagnosis and differential treatment. New York: John Wiley and Sons. models of parental involvement (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez- Rong, X. L., & Prissle, J. (1998). Educating immigrant students: What we need to Orozco, in press). They should recognize that the majority of know to meet the challenge. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press Inc. immigrant parents highly value the educational opportunities Rumbaut, R. (1995). The new Californians: Comparative research findings afforded their children. However, several factors influence on the educational progress of immigrant children. In R. R. a. W. Cornelius (Ed.), California's Immigrant Children. immigrant parent's active involvement in their children's Saxenian, A. (1999). Silicon Valley's new imnugrant entrepreneurs. San Francisco: schools.First, it should be recognized that the American Public Policy Institute of California. premise that 'good' parents are active in advocating for their Steinberg, L. (1996). Beyond the classroom. New York: Simon and Schuster. children in schools may run counter to the cultural values of Suirez-Orozco, C., & Suirez-Orozco, M. (1995). Transformations: Immigra- many immigrant parents. In many places in the world, teach- tion, family life, and achievenwnt motivation among Latino adolescents. Stanford ers are deeply respected and deferred to in matters of educa- CA: Stanford University Press. tion.Further, many immigrant parents do not have the Suárez-Orozco, C., & Suirez-Orozco, M. (in press). Children of immigration. flexibility ofwork hours required to attend meetings at schools. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. It should alSo be recognized that immigrant homes often do Suirez-Orozco, M. (Fall 2000). Everything you ever wanted to know about not have the resources that are required for many complex assimilation but were afraid to ask. DaedalusJournal of the American Acad- homework assignmentscomputers, Internet access, paren- emy of Arts and Sciences, 129(4), 1-30. tal English skills and even simply parental time. Homework Sue, S., & Okazaki, S. (1990). Asian-American educational achievements: A assignments should be designed in such a way that students phenomenon in search ofan explanation. American Psychologist, 45(8), 913- 920. who do not have such resources will not be penalized. U.S. Census Bureau (1997a). Current population reports. Washington, D.C.: U.S. The challenge that all schools encountering immigrant Census Bureau. students face is that of providing interesting and challenging U.S. Census, Bureau (1997b). Profile of the foreign-born population in the United curriculum while children are in the process of acquiring En- States. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. glish language skills.Information must be provided multi- Vernez, G., Abrahamse, A., & Quigley, D. (1996). How immigrants fare in U.S. modally in order to scaffold on all the children's available education. Santa Monica CA: Rand. linguistic and cultural resources. Every effort must be made Waters, M. C. (1996, February 10). West Indian family resources and adolescent to foster robust learning environment that maintain high ex- outcomes: Trajectories of the second generation. Paper presented at the Annual pectations. To be successful, this environment must take place Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in the context ofsupportive relationships between teachers and Baltimore MD. their studcnts, between teachers and parents, and between stu- Zhou, M. (1996, February 12). Growing up American: The adaptation of Viet- namese children. Paper presented at the The Current Issues in Educational dents from a variety of backgrounds. Such robust learning Research Workshop, Harvard University Graduate School of Education, communities must recognize diversity as a resource for learn- Cambridge MA. ing rather than a problem to be eliminated. Every effort must be made to embrace immigrant students' high hopes and en- Notes ergies. In such environments immigrant studcnts will thrive 1. This project is funded by the National Science Founda- and become productive members of their new society. CD tion, the W.T. Grant Foundation, and the Spencer Founda- tion. For more detailed information, see Carola Suarez-Orozco is the co-director of the Harvard Immigration www.gse.harvard.edu/ -hip/ Project. She is also a Senior Research Associate & Lecturer in Human Development and Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Edu- cation. She (along with Marcelo Suarez-Orozco) co-authored Trans- formations: Migration, Family Life, and Achievement Motivation Among Latino Adolescents. They are also the au- thors of Harvard University Press' forthcoming Children of Immi- gration and the co-editors (with Desiree Qin-Hillard) of theforthcoming NABE NEWS six volume series on The New Immigration' for Garland Press. is now accepting References submissions for its March/April Arensonn, K. (2000). Scaling the barriers of literacy and language. The New York Times, pp. Al. issue on Literacy. Gindara, P. (1994). The impact of the educational reform movement on lim- ited English proficient students. In B. McLeod (Ed.), Language and Learn- For full details, see page 39. ing: Educating Linguistically Diverse Students. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Gibson, M., & Ogbu, J. U. (Eds.). (1991). Minority status and schooling: A comparitive study of immigrant and involuntary minorities. New York: Garland Publishing Inc.
601.13' NABE NEWS 35 8 3 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM COMMUNITY I for Pape (continued from Page 17) students as they transition into the English language and local culture. The Monterrey teachers have at-VNGUAL RESEARCH provided invaluable support to local teachers in JOURNAL helping to establish appropriate methodologies and instructional programs. They provide vital com- munication to families and serve as role models to Special Issue: Highlighting Success in students within their own culture. Bilingual Education The community, through The Georgia Project, Guest Editors: Maria Este la Brisk, Li liana Minaya-Rowe, has instigated a Summer Institute. This program and Maria Torres-Guzman gives Dalton teachers an opportunity to travel to
D Monterrey, Mexico to study the Mexican culture and Spanish language. Through this experience, Statement of Purpose In addition, the issue will feature shorter they also learn about language acquisition and spe- In the increasingly global and ethnically manuscripts that contain the following: cific ways to tailor instruction to meet the needs of diverse society we find ourselves im- A. Personal narratives detailing experi- English language learners. This experience has sen- mersed at the turn of the century, few ences with bilingual education pro- sitized staff members regarding cultural issues and question either the value of testing as the grams has equipped teachers with confidence that they are way to measure academic achievement or B. Parental perspectives/experiences the need to go beyond test scores as a with bilingual programs prepared to educate diverse students. measure of educational success. Recog- C. Bilingual program descriptions nizing and encouraging the diversity of our High Student Perfor ance multi-linguistic populace is often over- Finally, the issue welcomes relevant book Roan School continues to document success, as looked in defining educational "success." reviews. evidenced through rising standardized test scores, Some schools, however, have embraced while recent demographic data reveal that over both the challenges of achieving aca- Submission Guidelines 80%of its students are of Hispanic descent and demic success as well as using English The guest editors request that manu- 82 % receive free/reduced price meals. A signifi- and another language for instruction. The scripts submitted as feature articles be cant reason for this progress is that currently 29 purpose of this special edition of the Bi- a maximum of 30 computer-produced of Roan's staff members are bilingual, which pro- lingual Research Journal is to recognize pages, double spaced, in 12 point type, vides greater communication to Roan's Hispanic flourishing bilingual education programs using 8.5 by 11 inch paper, with one and to highlight their achievements for the inch margins all around.Manuscripts students and their families.I believe that Roan purpose of informing the educational and for other sections may be shorter. Au- School's success is attributed to site-based and academic community. Therefore, this call thors must follow the style manual of central office administrators who are committed for papers is geared toward research stud- the American Psychological Associa- to providing a quality education to all students, ies on successful bilingual programs/ tion (4'h edition), submit a title page, and who welcome students' culture and language schools representing different models. and on a separate page, a one paragraph into the learning environment. Papers may examine the areas of curricu- abstract. The full name of the author(s), Teachers feel vast support that encourages lum, instruction, student outcomes, physical and e-mail address, and tele- them to strive for excellence. When I began my school or program outcomes, and com- phone and fax numbers must appear teaching career, I felt isolated in my classroom and munity response to the school/program. only on the title page. believed that it was my sole responsibility to meet Topics Deadlines my students' needs. Currently, I am supported This issue will highlight feature research The closing date for receipt of manu- by an entire community. This community con- articles exhibiting the following content: scripts is February 1, 2001.Gener- sists of both school-based and central office ad- A. Case studies of successful bilin- ally, submissions are based on original ministrators, in conjunction with local business gual programs/schools work that has not been previously pub- and industry leaders.However, in our unique B. Administrative perspectives on lished. On an exceptional basis, contri- context, "community" transcends our city in achieving/maintaining successful butions of high merit, interest, or sig- northwest Georgia, and extends to Mexico where bilingual programs/schools nificance may be reprinted at the discre- educators are working to support our local edu- Criterion for defining bilingual edu- tion of the editors. All submissions will cational efforts. In essence, Dalton has become a cational success be peer reviewed. global community that is preparing all students for their future in our global society. 0 Send manuscripts directly to: Maria Este la Brisk, Professor Dr. Amy Haynes currently teaches First Grade at Roan Lynch School of Education Boston College School in Dalton, Georgia.She serves as Chair, The 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 Fax: 617-552-1840 Email: [email protected] Georgia Project's Teacher Advisory Committee. She also serves as an adjunct professor in Curriculum and Instruc- tion for the State University of West Georgia. 36 N o v E n n t s E R / D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 8 It II i k_ 0 10 Resolutions to be considered at the NABE General Membership Meeting on Saturday,February 24th, 2001, during the 30th Annual International Bilingual/ Multicultural Education Conference in Phoenix, Arizona should be submitted in advanceto: Chair of the NABE Resolutions Committee. NABE procedures state that "the Maker and the person providing the Second signature of the proposed resolutionmust be NABE members in good standing." The 2001 Resolutions Committee, "composed of the appointed chair and a representative from each affiliatein good standing" will be considering resolutions for presentation to delegates at the General Membership Meeting. Approved resolutions (that pass) willbe forwarded to the NABE Board of Directors for their consideration for action. All members and affiliates wishing to submit resolutions should follow the formatpresented below and either mail to the NABE office by February 1, 2001 or bring them to the NABE Conference Office in the Phoenix Civic Plaza ConventionCenter before 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February, 21, 2001.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BILINGUALEDUCATION2001 RESOLUTIONS
Mr. Chairman, I/we wish to submit the following resolution: Whereas:
Be it resolved that:
Rationale:
Submitted by: Seconded by: Name: Telephone: Address: City: State: Zip:
Note: Copies of this form are to be brought to the NABE Conference Office in the Phoenix Convention Center by Febru- ary 21, 2001 or mailed, postmarked no later than February 1, 2001 to: Chair, Resolutions Committee or Delia Pompa, Executive Director, NABE, 1030 15th Street, N.W., Suite 470, Washington, D.C. 20005-1503
(For NABE Official Use Only)
Resolution No. 1:1 Approved LI Disapproved, Reason: Amendment Needed for Re-editing? Li Yes LI No NABE Membership Action: 1:1 Carried Li Failed Date
What is a Resolution? Why Are Resolutions Important?
A resolution is a recommendation from the membership that the Board take action to address a critical issue that affects the bilingual education profession. Some examples of past or possible resolutions include addressing issues such as the critical bilingual teacher shortage, full funding for Head Start, or counting student credit hours for ESL courses taken. The maker or the person providing a second (signature) of a resolution should make plans to attend the Annual General Membership Meeting and speak in favor of their resolution. Resolutions are important. They serve as a vehicle for members' concerns to be heard and addressed. Resolutions serve an advisory role. They recommend issues to the Board for their consideration and do not mandate specific action. The Board assumes responsibility for deciding on the appropriate action. The Secretary reports the action taken by the Board of Directors at the General Membership Meeting held the following year. Resolutions that reach approval from the Membership (represented by Delegates at the General Membership Meeting) send a strong message to the NABE Board of Directors that they must act in a manner that reflects this important issue in the field. Action by the NABE Board(a vote, a letter, a change in organizational structure or other) similarly sends messages to the Membership, our constituents, and/or policy-makers that the Association has taken a particular stance toward a critical issue. Use your membership privilege by participating in these forums.
NABE NEWS 37 ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN COLUMN EDUCATING ELLs IN RURAL AREAS (continued from Page 30) (continued from Page 13)
Nishida, T. Y. (1999). Meeting the educational and sociocultural needs of foreign exchange student. They were totally unprepared and, Japanese students in American schools. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), even though the Spanish teacher agreed to help whenever she Asian-American education: Prospects and challenges (pp. 87-109). Westport, Connecticut: Bergin and Garvey. could, it was clear that Maricela was going to be on her own. Park, C. C. (1999). Schooling for Korean-American students: A sociocul- I put the word out to local community members and agen- tural perspective. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), Asian-American edu- cies, and a retired teacher responded that she would like to help. cation: Prospects and challenges (pp. 47-70). Westport, Connecticut: Bergin This teacher quickly bonded with Maricela and agreed to see and Garvey. her for at least an hour each day. This special individual gave Shekar, C. & Hedge, M. N. (1995). India: Its people, culture, and languages. In Maricela the start she needed while the school scrambled to go L. Cheng (Ed.), Integrating language and learning for inclusion: An Asian/Pacific through the process of making their case to the school board to focus (pp. 125-146). San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group, Inc. hire more personnel. It turned out that Maricela and her volun- Thao, P. (1999). Mong linguistic awareness for classroom teachers. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), Asian-American education: Prospects and challenges teer teacher became great friends and Maricela's family frequently (pp. 237-262). Westport, Connecticut: Bergin and Garvey. invited the teacher over to partake of mom's special "mole" (a Um, K. (1999). Scars of war: Educational issues and challenges for Cambo- chicken dish with a special, rich sauce), long after their daughter dian-American students. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), Asian-Ameri- was holding her own in English. Maricela graduated from high ,can education: Prospects and challenges (pp. 263-284). Westport, Connecti- school within four years. At her graduation party she gave much cut: Bergin and Garvey. of the credit to the woman who had given her so much support Vang, A. (1999). Hmong-American students: Challenges and opportunities. and encouragement when she needed it most. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), Asian-American education: Prospects and challenges (pp. 219-236). Westport, Connecticut: Bergin and Garvey. Expecting Success Whitenack, D. & Kikunaga, K. (1999). Teaching English to native Japanese students: From linguistics to pedagogy. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), The one element that all of these examples of best practices Asian-American education: Prospects and challenges (pp. 11.0-130). Westport, have in common is that they do not allow for any option but Connecticut: Bergin and Garvey. success. The district leader expected to be successful when she Wright, W. E. (1999). Linguistic perspective on the education of Cambo- set about devising a coherent plan for serving their district ELLs. dian-American students. In C. Park & M. M-Y. Chi (Eds.), Asian-Ameri- The school principals expected to engender successful out- can education: Prospects and challenges (pp. 285-303). Westport, Connecti- cut: Bergin and Garvey. comes by communicating to their staff members, students and parents that taking time to learn about each other and work- ing together they could become a true community oflearners. State and federal government agencies expect students to be American educators: successful by holding schools more accountable for teaching Visit China and meet educators in China who and learning. And the volunteer tutor believed in Maricela share a vision for their nation's children and expected that she would graduate in four years. Educators in rural areas have tremendous challenges as they strive to meet the needs of their language minority stu- 5" Annual China-U.S. Conference dents. With optimistic leadership, well-trained teachers, and Forging 21st Century Communities informed parents who all share an expectation of success, the students are likely to realize their potential. Every coininu- Through Education nity, no matter how isolated, has creative people and helpful June 12-15, 2001 resources that can improve the quality of education for En- Beijing', PRC glish language learners. A small success can be a startand each success breeds other successes. Failure must not be an option for any student. The four-day conference includes Pamela Wrigley has worked as a teacher and bilingual resource special- two days of concurrent sessions on: ist with a variety of ESL and Migrant Education programsfor 14 years. Chinese Partners She is presently a senior education specialist and provides technical as- Compulsory Education for All sistance to schools and districts through the Eastern Stream Center on ,Technology and Growth \ Resources and Training (ESCORT). Please direct any comments or China's Open Door feedback to pgwrig@worldnet. att. net References For more information contact: Huang, G. (1999). Sociodemographic changes: Promises and Problems for Rural Edu- Ana Graneros-Garcia cation. ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools. U.S. Department of Education Oliver, J. & Howley, C. (1992). Charting new maps: Muiticultural education in (202) 219- 8077 or ana' [email protected] rural schools. ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools. Schlusberg, P. & Mueller, T. (1995). English as a second language in volunteer- based programs. ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education. 38 N O V E M B E R/ D E C E M B E R2 0 0 0 86 Guidelines for Article Submission toNABE NEWS
General Editorial Policies guage Equity Issues, 202 E.Gowen/Ave, Send a copy ofyourreview;,preferably as a Word The NABE News is published six times a year Philadelphia, PA19119. Ile in an e-mail, to: Dn Beti Leoni,Frbsno, on a bi-monthly basis. We seek previously CA, [email protected]. unpublished articles.Articles should focus Dr. Ji-Mei Chang, Editor-Asian/Pacific on the theory, research and/or practice of Americans Column, Associate Professor, San Submission Guidelines implementing quality bilingual education Jose State University, College of Education, All articles must confcirm-to the publication / programs, including dual language programs. Sweeney Hall, Room 204, 689 Erie Circle, guidelines of the Publication Manual of the NABE invites manuscripts on a wide-range Milpitas, CA 95192. [email protected] American Psychological Association (4th of topics related to support structures for edition). these programsfrom funding issues, paren- Dr. Ward Shimizu, Co-Editor-Asian/Pacific Print materials and electronic versions tal involvement, staff development, curricu- Americans Column, San Jose State Univer- should include a title page, with contact in- lum and instruction to legislative agendas, sity, 689 Erie Circle, San Jose, CA 95192. formationincluding mailing address and state initiatives, staff hiring/retention and telephone number.If available, authors personal reflectionsthat advance the Dr. Jon Allan Reyhner, Editor-Indigenous Bi- should provide fax numbers, and e-mail ad- knowledge and practice in the field. lingual Education Programs, Northern Ari- dress. NABE News prefers a reader-friendly zona State University, Associate Professor, Include a two to three sentence bio- style ofwriting that resonates well with com- Division of Bilingual Education, CEE, P.O. graphical reference that may include job title munity groups, parents, legislators, and es- box 5774, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5774. or highest degree earned, work affiliation peaally classroom teachers.Contributors [email protected] and/or research interest (not to exceed 50 should include reference to a theoretical base words). and cite related research, but the article Dr. Lucy Tse, Editor-Theory Into Practice Manuscripts and diskettes will not be should contain practical ideas or implications Column, Assistant Professor, Arizona State returned. Keep copies ofyour article or other for practice. University, Division of Curriculum and In- materials submitted. struction, College ofEducation, Tempe, AZ The editor of NA BE News reserves the 85287-0208. [email protected] right to make editorial changes needed to Types of Articles enhance the clarity of writing. The author Feature Articles: A feature article should Mr. Aurelio Montemayor, Editor-Parent/ will be consulted only in cases where the address the issue's theme (if identified), be Community Involvement, Interculltural De- change(s) is/are substantial. no longer than 2,000-4,000 words, includ- velopment Research Association, 5835 ing references and sidebars. Type/save your Callaghan Rd., Suite 350, San Antonio, TX manuscript as a Word document (6.0 or be- 78228. [email protected] Themes of Future NABE News issues: low) and attach it to an e-mail sent to [email protected] or mail a diskette to the General/Other Articles: Other articles, March/April NABE address. Please do not use running not addressing the announced NABE News Literacy (Elementary and Secondary) heads or bold. Include contact information themes, are also sought and welcomed. They and a brief bio indicating name, title, affilia- should be relevant to current interests or is- May/June tion, and research interest. sues. They must be no longer than 1500 - Responding to Standards and 1750 words. to LEP Student Needs Articles for Regular Columns: NABE news publishes four regular columnsAd- Reviews: Reviews should describe and July/August ministration of Bilingual Education Col- evaluate recently published bilingual educa- Assessment Issues and Implementation Ideas umn, Asian/Pacific Americans Column, tion materials, such as professional books, Indigenous Bilingual Education Column, curriculum guides, textbooks, computer September/October and Theory Into Practice Column. Each programs, or videos. Reviews should be no Access to Technology: column has a column editor. These articles longer than 500-750 words. Include in your Promising Programs and Practice are shorter in length, usually focus on one review: issue, elaborate on two to three major 1. a brief summary of the major compo- November/December points, and provide specifics for practice. nents or features of the material, with Curriculum and Instruction in the Manuscripts should relate to the special fo- no evaluative comments Bilingual Early Childhood Classroom cus and be approximately 1500-2200 words 2. an evaluation of the features, indicating in length. They can be mailed to the NABE how they are useful/helpful or not office, to the attention of the NABE News 3. if appropriate, a discussion of how the Copy is due two months in advance of the editor or mailed directly to the column edi- material ties in or responds to broader first month listed for the issue (for example, tors as follows: issues in the field or to specific meth- The deadline for the March/April issue is due odologies January 1", for May/June it would be due On Ms. Mary Ramirez, Editor-Administration 4. an assessment as to whether the teacher/ March 1"). Advertisements should be sub- of Bilingual Education Programs, Philadel- reader would want to use the material mitted at least two months in advance of the phia Public Schools, Director-Office ofLan- and why (or why not) first month listed for the issue. 8 NABE NEWS 39 Ar, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION COTell us About MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION yourselt. I am involved with bilingual Membership Type (checkone only) O education as (check one): If renewing a current membership, please enter membership# here: ciAdministrator .0 College Instructor ['Individual Membership $48 ci Consultant 0 Full-Time Student DDiscounted.Individual Membership $30 0 Paraprofessional O Parent: MUST NOT be a professional educator and MUST have a child currently enrolled in a bilingual 0 Parent/Community Member education/ESL program. A letter written on school stationery from either the teacher or a school 0 Publisher Staff administrator must accompany this membership application. 0 School Board Member O College/University Student: MUST NOT be professional educator and MUST be enrolled on FULL-TIME 0 Teacher basis. A copy of an official college or university document showing current enrollment status must accom- 0 Other pany the NABE membership application. O Paraprofessional: MUST be working as an instructional aide in a public school system. A letter on I work in this type of school stationery from the supervising teacher or a school administrator must accompany the NABE membership application. organization (check one): 0 Commercial Organization ['Discounted Membership for State Affiliate Members $43 0 College/University Name of State Affiliate: 0 Local School District 0 State Education Agency ['institutional Membership $125 0 Other ['Lifetime Membership $1000 I usually work with this level of Memberships are valid for one year from the date of processing, and include a one-year subscription to NABE student (check one): publications (except Lifetime: valid for life of member and includes lifetime subscription). Organizational member- 0 Early Childhood ship is non-voting; all other memberships are voting. Memberships are non-transferrable and may not be refunded. 0 Elementary Membership dues are non-refundable. 0 Secondary 0 Higher Education Name and Address Information 0 Adult
0 Mr. LI Mrs. I want to participate in the LI Ms. LI Dr. following Special Interest Group Last First Middle (check one): Preferred Mailing Address: CI Business Li Home 0 Adult/Vocational Education Business Address: ci Asian & Pacific Islanders 0 Critical Pedagogy Position: D Early Childhood Education Division. 0 Elementary Education 0 ESL in Bilingual Education Organization. 0 Gifted Education Parent Organization/School District: 0 Higher Education 0 Indigenous Bilingual Education Street Address: 0 Instructional Technology 0 Language Policy City: State. Zip: 0 Making Connections: Teachers Phone: ( Ext. to Schools to Communities ci Para-Educator Fax: ( E-MaiF ci Parent & Community Home Address: 0 Policy Makers 0 Professional Development Street Address: 0 Research & Evaluation City: State: Zip. 0 Secondary Education 0 Special Education Phone: ( 0 World Languages & Cultures
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Contribution to help NABE Card Number: promote quality bilingual 0 Check this box to make Renewal Easy! If you are paying by credit card and you want NABE to education programs $ automatically renew your membership annually, check this box and we will charge your credit card the standard renewal amount annually. This permission will remain in effect until you cancel it in writing. TOTAL DUE SIGNATURE:
O Mail to: NABE, 1030aSTREET NW, SUITE 470, WASHINGTON, DC 20005-1503 NABE News Nov/Dec 2000 22 0
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NA3ECbraes25 Years of What constitutes effective SerAce to 3 [linguaEducadon teaching for Asian American English language learners7 see page 10
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Parents' varied roles exemplified in parent leadership typology see page 27
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[I3SC LASTEC MESSAGE FROM THE NABE NEWS Table of Contents EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Delia Pompa ..vor Message from the President 5
Dear NABE Members: Bilingual Education
This 25th anniversary issue ofNABE News Maga- Through the Years 6 zine looks at the work of the Association and its members over the last quarter-century. Much Asian/Pacific American has changed in America's schools over that time, aTV and I am proud to say NABE has played a key role in Education Concerns 16 some of the more positive changes.
From Compensatory NABE was born out of a need to connect language minority children to high quality education and bilingual educators to cutting-edge professional to Excellence 22 development opportunities. And, what started out as an organization of hundreds has grown to a committed family of thousandsa family whose members must be better prepared and informed than ever before. Issues in Indigenous Bilingual Education 26 Policies regarding the education oflimited English proficient children con- tinue to change dramatically, and the number of limited-English-profi- cient students in our nation's schools has risen to an unprecedented level. Parent Involvement in All of this points to a dramatic need for qualified educators that can help Bilingual Education 28 every childregardless of mother tongueachieve to world-class stan- dards and succeed in every aspect of the educational process. So, it is espe- cially heartening, that while bilingual education continues to face great Legislative Update challenges, NABE members show a determination and professional growth President Clinton And Congress that is unparalleled. Agree on a Historic 18% Increase Such is the case in Arizona, where despite the' passage of a misguided state in Educational Funding ballot initiative, bilingual education advocates continue to work to ensure for FY 2001 34 that no child will be denied meaningful access to the academic curriculum. In February, NABE will celebrate its 25th anniversary at the conference in Phoenix. The conference will serve as a reaffirmation of the Association's Legislative Update commitment to the field, and a reassurance to bilingual education profes- sionals everywhere that whatever the challenges, NABElike its mem- Bush's Education Plan 36 berswill remain committed to our children and unwavering in our efforts to ensure their success. Administration of Bilingual
I hope you enjoy this look back at NABE's history and that it serves to re- Education Programs 39 energize your efforts. As always, the road ahead is sure to hold obstacles, but together we will overcome them all. Technology and Language Sincerely, Minority Students 43
Guidelines for Article Delia Pompa Executive Director Submission 47
f Membership Application 48 NABE NEWS IENECUM NABE NEWS BUB 26100-2071 Published by the National Association for Bilingual Education President Joel GOrnez Editor: Alicia Sosa, Ph.D. George Washington University Design & Layout: Kieran DalyKDaddy Design Institute for Education Policy Studies 1709 North Roosevelt Street Arlington, VA 22205 Volume 24 of NABE NEWS will be published in 6 issues; publication dates are: p: (202) 467-0867/(202) 994-3306 - f: (202) 467-4283
Secretary NABE NEWS ADVERTISING Josefina Villamil Tinajero Display Advertising Rates (Black & White, Camera-Ready art) University of Texas El Paso College of Education Full Page (7.5" x 10") $850 1/3-Page (4.75" x 4.75") $425 500 W. University Avenue 2/3-Page (4.75" x 10") $700 1/3-Page (2.25" x 10") $425 El Paso, TX 79968 p: (915) 747-5552 f:(915) 747-5755 1/2-Page (7.5" x 4.5") $550 1/4-Page (3.5" x 4.75") $325
Member-at-Large NABE reserves the right to reject any advertisements which it deems inappropriate and/or inconsistent Joe J. Bernal with the goals of the Association. For additional information, contact NABE at (202) 898-1829. University of Texas San Antonio 6410 Laurelhill San Antonio, TX 78229 p: (210) 342-8026 f: (210)342-2182
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pc- MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Dr. Joel Gomez Starting Out
On the RoadN to the Next 251ears: A New Direction That Includes Academic and Career Success
___-----"1 t-was about 2I5 years ago that the National Association for that our goals do not constitute an end unto themselves but \ Bilingual Education became an organization.,Early N 'AiiE 4i'at theyserve as a means to personal, professional\ , and eco- \ I pioneers such \asAlbar Pelia, Carmen 1Perez Ho'gn, : nonuc opportunities and prosperity for all citizens. Roberto Cruz and Severo\\ GOmez, saw a need fori an organiza-I 1 ,-! 1\ ton that would champion the language needs ottlanguagelmi- : Typically, we do not think of Kentucky as a leading state in- \ . nority students. The gbai \ then was reducing theluni conscionably volved/ in international trade. However, Kentucky gervesas a \ . \ \\ high dropout rate among Mexican Americanisi-ranginigi_froin strjnig example of why the goals stated abovemust be met. 60=-75%\ \ in some ----statesiriclilding-Texas7-7 / AccordingI to the Associated Press (January 8, 2001) "T\he Over the past-25-yeats, NABE has evolved into an// orgarn- need for bilingual workers... is increasing[in Kentucky] as \ \ ,-- \ ( / zation thatinclndes far more than the early pioneers envisioned:// / more companies join the ranks of exporters to countriies wiith / / /1 /// all language \minority groups, multiple language groupsyat all . 'different languages, cultures and business practices. Thestate l6v7els ofpublic schooling. While NABE hals'had iasharel5f/die already exports a range of products to a multitude of countriies
-"--eNsl'on the rc.cito its twent-fifth anM/iersarc, the/deed for ? where Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, French and other lan- -....,_,, :\ /1 / . // champibning academic succesfor language minority/.7 students guages are spoken." /./ / / I 1 ";--, is now evengreater than two and a half decades ago. As/we be- . The Associated Press article goes on to describe the extent _------' // \\gin-the.,21st ce'n-4ry, the number of language minority/stydents to which Kentucky's economy depends on international trade: \i`larger, andthe-academicarfd social demands are greater. Is \ I. "Kentucky exported more than $9.6 billion in goodand/ser- Takig n a Mew Direction vices in 1999 and was expected to surpass the $10 billion mark . / Todate\\,\NABE, its/membership, and state affiliates have in 2000. Kentucky ranked in the top five among states in export evolveddedicating\ \ manyIt of their resources'defending edu-/ growth in the 1990's... Trade with Brazil increased 837 per- N \ I II. 1 1 cent, to roughly $300 million, in 1999; with Argentinav417 per- cational praces tha result in acadenu7/achievemen1t,// cent to $50.7 million; and with Chile, 172 percent to about $20 home languagediteracyond English language mastery for Ian- \.;\ / million." guage\ minority studentMaving reached its twenty-fifth mill. e- . , / stone.and\ starting\ on the\ Nroadto its fiftieth-anniversary, NAim, \ \ -.... ,...- Lexmark (www.lexmark.com/corporate) is or/le of the compa- its membership and state affiliates-must now shift fromiai de- nies in Kentucky that is involved in international/trade. In 1999, fensiv.Mode intoan,,offIen-s;niode-in-helpingstudetlitsto Lexmark derived 56 percent of its revenue/from international attain thkighest acad'enlic standards, to perfecth\eir inglish sales and exports and did business in som,/150 countries in language cOMmunica[il'orc skills to the highest leTe\14\ssible, 1999. Jennifer Richard, spokesperson for Lextnark stated, "For and to devel4literacy Slkills in their home language and in a our company, speaking a foreign language/ is not a requirement, second languageN ill but it is a very, very desirable job skilk"
Emphasizing Denaflits (continued on page 38) In taking the offensiveI to promote these goals, we mustem- phasize that attainingitheseI I goals will benefit not only\ int\ viduals but also oui country as a whole. We must emphasize
/1 NABE NEws 5 THROUGH THE YEARS NABE Looks Back At Its History
NABE
On April 12 19765 NABEwas incorporated in Texas as a 1965 non-profit organization, organized exclusively for educational purposes, President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Elementary and Secondary Education related primarily to bilingual education. In the late 1980s, NABE was incorpo- Act (ESEA) into law. rated as a non-profit in Washington, DC. With this issue the February/March NABE Newsand during the annual conference scheduled for February 20-24, 2001, in Phoenix, the NABE 1967 Executive Board and Staff will conduct a year-long celebration of NABE's Senator Ralph Yarborough (D-TX) twenty-five years of service. We will look back through the years, reflect on (see sidebar, next page) introduces the first federal Bilingual Education Act past achievements and disillusionments, dream about possibilities for programs proposal before the United States and policy, and encourage/support those new to the ranks of bilingual educa- Congress. tors to assume leadership positions. The following timeline takes us to the beginnings of bilingual education in the nation. Many of us who experienced those early years (I was a college 1968 intern in a bilingual program in 1968 and began teaching in a bilingual Congress enacts the Bilingual Educa- tion Act (BEA).It marks the first program in 1972) feel gratified at the developments in the bilingual education major instance of Congressional rati- field and, at the same time, chagrined at re-visiting some of the same old fication of bilingual education pro- issues, often dressed-up in slightly different hued garments, for example the grams and supports their implementation in schools .through issues of oVerrepresentation of LEP students in special education. ..0eral funding. We invite you to review NABE's educational purposes (see sidebar, page 11) and the timeline of major events or actions in the history of bilingual education and NABE.- NABE News Editor 6 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2001 SENATOR RALPH YARBOROUGH "I believe that the teaching-learning process is most exhilarating, but the elation has been 1975 absent too long in the schools of the Spanish-speaking," Senator Ralph Yarborough told the After approval of its Constitution and 1967 Texas Conference for the Mexican-American. Yarborough had introduced the first federal Bilingual Education Act three months earlier and Bylaws the first members of the would, within a year, steer the bill to enactment. Association's Executive Board of Di- From the day he first taught in a one-room school as a 17- rectors are installed. Albar Pella (see year old in Chandler, Texas, through his career as Texas State sidebar, page 8) is tapped to serve as official and U.S. Senator, Yarborough was an outspoken and President, Hernan La Fontaine as dogged champion of education, environmental, and social issues. As a member and later Chair of the Senate labor and President-Elect, Toni Metcalf as Vice Public Welfare Committee, Yarborough authored the National President, Juan de Dios Solis as Sec- Defense Education Act of 1958 (the first federal law to support retary, and Pepe BarrOn as Treasurer. general education), the Cold War GI Bill, and more national legislation than any other Texas Senator in the twentieth Later that year, the Association hosts a century. fifth Annual International Bilingual/ Ralph Yarborough was the only Southern Senator to vote for the 1964 Civil Rights bill, one of many courageous acts that Bicultural Education Conference in earned him the nickname, "the people's Senator." Chicago, with Maria Medina Swanson NABE honored Senator Ralph Yarborough with a Pioneer Award on the 25th Anniversary of (now Maria Medina Seidner) as local the original Bilingual Education Act in 1993. Indeed, his leadership on bilingual education at chairperson. the federal level sparked many states, inspired by the promise of federal monies and guidance, to pass their own bilingual educatiOn statues. Ralph Yarborough died at his home in Austin, Texas, On January 17, 1996, at the age of 92. He is deeply missed by grateful NABE members, language-minority students and their teachers, and all Americans who understand the importance of bilingual education and 1976 federal education programs. The National Association for Bilingual Education is officially incorporated in San Antonio, Texas on April 12, 1976. The Association's Articles of Incorpo- same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and ration are issued to its first president, 1972 curriculum; for students who do not Albar Pella, by John D. Wennermark, The First Annual International Bilin- understand English are effectively Robert A. Valdez, and Michael T. La gual/Bicultural Education Conference foreclosed from any meaningful edu- Hood. is held in Austin, Texas. The total cation." Short of prescribing a spe- number of attendees is in the hun- cific method ofinstruction for schools The first NABE Bilingual ResearchJour- dreds, with most coming from a hand- to help limited-English proficient stu- nal is published in December. Dr. ful of school districts in several states. dents, the Court states that a variety Josue Gonzalez is chosen to serve as of techniques may be utilizedinclud- editor of the publication. ing ESL and Bilingual Education. 1973 The Office ofBilingual Education (later Building on the acclaim of the previ- renamed The Office for Bilingual Edu- 1977 ous year's forum, the Second Annual cation and Minority Affairs) is estab- In mid March the U.S. House of International Bilingual/Bicultural lished within the federal agency of Representatives' Education and La- Education Conference is held in San Health, Education and Welfare. The bor Committee begins markup of the Diego, California. Consensus on ad- office is charged with helping school Bilingual Education Act. NABE's dressing the growing needs ofnon-En- districts meet their responsibility to pro- Juan de Dios Solis submits testimony glish spealdng students leads to discussions vide equal education opportunity to lim- urging the committee to consider regarding the formation of a national ited English proficient children. Albar NABE's recommendation to in- bilingual education organization. Pella is appointed to serve as Director. crease Title VII authorization from $135 million to $200 million. After The Third Annual International Bi- great effort and extensive collabora- lingual/Bicultural Education Confer- tion with key members of both Con- 1974 ence is held in New York City. At the gressional chambers, the effort is The United States Supreme Court . gathering, work begins on the Con- successful. rules on Lau v. Nichols. The decisioii.stitution and Bylaws of a national bi- handed down by the Court states lingual education organization, and a Recognizing the need for continued "there is no equality of treatment slate of candidates for its Executive tracking of federal legislation, NABE merely by providing students with the Board of Directors is prepared. appoints A. Miguel Romo, Director NABE NEws 7 of El Congreso/National Congress of NABE's Special Interest Groups Adult Education; Elementary Educa- Hispanic American Citizens, to serve (SIGs) are formalized. The list of SIGs tionLegislation; Early Childhood as the Association's lobbyist in Wash- now includes: Research and Evalua- Education; and Special Education. ington, DC. tion; Secondary Education; Higher NABE Executive Board President, Education; Vocational Education; Par- Juan de Dios Solis (see sidebar, page ent and Community Involvement; 10), proudly explains: "Special Inter- "NABE was asked to testify on behalf of bilingual education before the House and Senate ALBAR A. PE&A Committees during their hearings on Title VII ESEA Albar Pena devoted his professional career to bilingual education. During more than 35 years of involvement in education, Dr. Pena consistently demonstrated initiative, innovation, and Bilingual Ed. Act. NABE leadership. His career as a teacher, administrator, speaker and author was distinguished by prepared and submitted a many "firsts", including first President of NABE and first director of the Federal office of bilingual education. testimony in June, October, and After obtaining his B.S. in Spanish and French at the University of Texas in Austin, Dr. March.f/Vhile all the legislative Pena began his teaching career as a junior high school Spanish teacher in the Brownsville Independent School District in Texas. Three years later, while completing his M.A. in Spanish activity was going on in and Educational Administration at Texas A & I University, he moved to Brownsville High Congress, the NABE Executive School, where he taught both Spanish and French. From 1964-1967, while pursuing a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Board became acutely aware of Instruction, with a specialty in Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language (ESL) at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. our need to maintain close Pena held three concurrent positions: Director of the National communication with Defense Education Act Summer Institute for Teachers of Spanish- Speaking Disadvantaged Children Language Laboratory; Lecturer Washington once in a while. in English as a Second Language and Spanish at the University of So, this Spring NABE Texas; and Spanish Consultant to the Language Research Program of the University of Texas and the San Antonio Independent School contracted for the services of an District. As a consultant, he was in charge of planning, developing official representative in and providing curriculum assistance to teachers in areas of bilingual education, ESL, science, social studies and reading grades 1-4, and Washington to insure that developing materials in both English and Spanish. After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Pena became an assistant professor at the University of Texas in NABE's concerns were, Austin, teaching courses in ESL and bilingual education and serving as the Assistant Director of addressed." the language Research program. Maria Medina Seidner, 1977 In 1969, after the passage of the Federal Bilingual Education Act (Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act), Dr. Pena was appointed the first director of the Bilingual Education Program (now OBEMLA) of the U.S. Office of Education.In his four and one-half years in office, he oversaw the development, funding, implementation, and continuation of the first 200 Title VII Bilingual Education projects, in 24 different languages, 1978 ranging from early childhood to high school levels. The first issue of the NABE News is In 1973, Dr. Pena returned to the University of Texas at San Antonio to establish the Division of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies of the College of Multidisciplinary Studies, published in March, with Carmen becoming its first and only director until 1978. He then continued as a professor in that Vazquez ofArlington Heights, Illinois division until his death in July of 1993. During his lifetime, Dr. Pena taught grades one serving as editor. The publication is through twelve, adult, and higher education and administered education programs well received by the field, and letters encompassing the same span. pour in offering suggestions and ar- Dr. Pena was a well-known author, guest lecturer, speaker and consultant in the fields of bilingual/bicultural education and English as a second language. He participated in the ticles for subsequent issues. White House Conference on Bilingual Education; was a United States representative to the International Colloquium in Bilingualism held in Paris, France; and was listed in Who's Who International, Who's Who in Bilingual Education, and Who's Who in America. In 1975, Dr. Pena became the first President of the National Association for Bilingual 1979 Education. He continued to be an active and supportive NABE member throughout the years and served as Chairperson of NABE's Fifth Annual Conference in San Antonio in 1976. Dr. NABE is growing stronger, and be- Pena was named NABE Honoree for 1983, in recognition of his service to the Association and coming more organized. The in the field of bilingual education. And, at NABE's 22nd Annual Conference in Houston, Texas, Association's membership lists are he was recognized as a Texas Pioneer in Bilingual Education. JJ computerized., and NABE's first It is because of Dr. Pena's vision, determination, dedication and leadership that NABE membership directory is created. and the field of bilingual education exist today. Despite his stature in the field and the Association, Dr. Pena always had time to meet and talk to a new member; to share his expertise with new teachers; and to offer his support and guidance to all in the field of bilingual education., \kith a deep sense of loss but with gratitude for the time he shared with us, we remembA 440,4pena, the person and his accomplishments, as we continue his work on behalf of the future of American language-minority students. 8 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 100 25reETS CYR SOTWka est Groups have been organized. Some are very active, some are not so 1982 In sidebars like this over the next few pages, active, but at least they are off the Civil rights attorney James J. Lyons you will find the names of the NABE Executive Board Members serving during the past twenty- ground and we look forward to in- becomes NABE's legislative counsel. five years.If you see any of them during your creased membership input through His work dramatically increases professional interactions or during our annual these groups." NABE's presence on Capitol Hill and conference, be sure to let them know that you strengthens the Association's role in know of their past involvement with NABE and shaping education policy at the na- encourage them to continue the good fight. tional level. 1980 1975-76 President Jimmy Carter establishes the Marisol Arceo, Jose Cespedes, and President Albar Pena U.S. Department of Education. David Vasquez become the first win- President-Elect Hernan LaFontaine Vice President Toni Metcalf ners of NABE's nation-wide writing Secretary Juan Solis NABE Executive Board President, contest sponsored. Their essays on Treasurer Pepe Barr6n Ricardo Fernandez, announces the "What bilingual education has meant opening of NABE's first permanent to me" are chosen from over 500 sub- 1976-77 President headquarters in Washington, DC a missions made by applicants in 28 Hernen LaFontaine President-Elect Maria Medina Seidner single room office within the National states. The contest, created by Jaime Vice President Juan Solis Education Association.NABE also de la Isla, receives immediate acclaim Secretary Luis Vazquez names its first Executive Director, Dr. and becomes a permanent part of the Treasurer Alba Moesser Carolyn Ebel, and hires Ms. Carolyn Association's annual conference Riddick as its first fiill-time employee. 1977-78 President Maria Medina Seidner President-Elect Juan Solis NABE amends its Constitution to in- Vice President Carmen Perez clude three regional and one parent rep- 1983 Secretary Henry Oyama resentative on its Board of Directors. NABE hosts its first national gather- Treasurer Arturo Luis Gutierrez ing in Washington, D.C.The 1978-79 In February, NABE hosts its first Af- Association's 12th Annual Conference President Juan Solis filiate Presidents' Summit. Pepe features representatives from both President-Elect Carmen Perez Barrón, Mary Destefani, Marcelo presidential candidates and a special Vice President Henry Oyama Fernandez, Carmen Perez, and Nancy appearance by Mrs. Barbara Bush at Secretary John Correiro Zelasko coordinate the forum. Eigh- the Second Bilingual Student Essay Treasurer Ram6n Santiago teen of the twenty-six affiliates presi- Luncheon. 1979-80 dents attend and share an intensive three President Carmen Perez days that feature meetings with federal NABE Board President, Gloria President-Elect Ricardo Fernandez education officials, White House rep- Zamora (see sidebar, page 12), testifies Vice President Ramer' Santiago resentatives, and congressional aides. before Congress on the reauthorization Secretary Aurea Rodriguez of the Bilingual Education Act. She Treasurer Sonia Rivera tells Congressional members that dur- 1980-81 ing her days as a teacher in Texas, the President Ricardo Fernandez 1981 law mandated teaching children only in President-Elect RamOn Santiago NABE officers meet with U.S. Sec- English, and she had tried to obey it Vice President Pepe Barren retary of Education, Terrel Bell. Bell Secretary Nilda Garcia only to find blank stares in the eyes of Treasurer Ursula Urbiztondo reaffirms his commitment to the "re- her students. Then one day she had sponsibility of schools to provide equal closed the door, and broken the law by 1981-82 educational opportunity for all chil- speaking to her students in their native President Ram6n Santiago dren" and the civil rights of the na- tongue"and their eyes lit up for the President-Elect B. Robert Cruz tions' non-native English speakers. Vice President Gloria Zamora first time"learning had begun. Secretary Macario Saldate Treasurer Tomes Miranda Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) addresses attendees at the NABE con- 1982-83 ference in Boston, Massachusetts. He 1984 President B. Roberto Cruz receives thunderous applause upon ex- President-Elect Gloria Zamora NABE heads the development ofTitle Vice President Macario Saldate pressing his strong and continuing sup- VII modifications with a broad coali- Secretary Olivia Martinez port of bilingual education programs. tion of national organizations. The Treasurer Awilda Orta Parent-at-Large Norma Preciado Eastern Reg. Rep. Luis Martinez Central Reg. Rep. Agnes Cowen Western Reg. Rep. Belia Cruz t. NABE NEWS 9 Juan de Dios Solis Juan de Dios Solis dedicated his professional life to bilingual education. He believed that 1987 bilingual education held the key to the success of language minority students. The United States General Account- A founding member of the National Association for Bilingual Education, he served on ing Office releases its report on the NABE's first five Executive Boards as Secretary in 1975-76, Vice-President in 1976-77, President-Elect in 1977-78, President in 1978-79, and as Past-President in 1979-80. research evidence in support of native In 1968, Juan was tapped to serve as the first state program director of the Office of language use in the education of LEP International and Bilingual Education.It was while he held this position, that Texas hosted the students. First International Conference on Bilingual Bicultural Education, and it was here that it all began! The following year in San Diego, the first meeting to initiate the association was held. Resolutions in support of bilingual In 1974, in New York, the first membership assembly was held and a nominating committee selected candidates for the various offices of the Executive Board. In 1975, in Chicago, the education are adopted by a number of elected officersincluding Juanwere installed and NABE had its first executive board. professional organizations, including A native of Mission, Texas, Juan credited his loving parents with giving TESOL and ASCD. him the strength to overcome the hardships of the Depression and the discriminatory attitudes of the day. He served in both World War II OBEMLA director, Carol Whitten an- and the Korean Conflict and considered his experience in the military service and the resulting ability to attend college nounces her resignation, Alicia Coro is through the G. I. Bill, "the turning point in [his] life." He appointed to head up the Office. received his bachelor's degree in 1953 from Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas and his master's degree in Education Administration in 1956 from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. 1988 His long career in education began in the McAllen Indepen- dent School District where he taught for several years.In 1965, Lauro F. Cavazos becomes the first he was appointed consultant for adult migrant education at the Hispanic American to serve as U.S. Texas Education Agency in Austin, and a year later he was promoted to Secretary of Education. state director of that division. During the 1980's, while based in Dallas,.Juan directed a federally-funded bilingual materials development center, which published instructional materials for bilingual educators IBM enters the field of bilingual edu- throughout the United States, and prior to his retirement and return to Austin, he served as an cation by introducing a Spanish ver- administrator in the Dallas public schools. sion of the Popular Writing to Read The proud father of nine children and the devoted husband of Maria Lorenza "Lencha" Program. Solis, Juan passed away in 1999. Those of us who were fortunate to know and work with this one-of-a-kind "gentleman" will remember him fondly and miss him greatly. The House Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights holds the first of series of hearings on several coalition includes: The National Edu- proposals for a Constitutional amend- cation (NEA), The National School 1985 . ment to establish English as the offi- Board Association, The National NABE conducts a national member- cial language of the United States. Council of La Raza, The Mexican ship survey to refine its membership Henry Lesnick writes on the proposed American Legal Defense and Educa- profile and obtain ratings for its pub- measures to make English the official tion Fund, and The League of United lications from the field. language of the United States. He Latin American Citizens. The effort states that it "would be only the sec- yields a stronger Bilingual Education The Association also hires a Develop- . ond in two hundred yearsProhibi- Act and increases funding authoriza- ment Director on a consultant basis to tion being the otherto limit rather tion for federal bilingual education assist with fundraising and organiza- than extend democratic rights." programs. tional development. Following passage by the House of Representatives of the conference re- 1989 port reauthorizing and strengthening 1986 NABE Legislative Counsel, James the Bilingual Education Act, key NABE appoints Joe Beard to serve as Lyons becomes the Association's House members celebrated at a recep- its first National Office Director. new Executive Director, and NABE tion hosted by NABE Legislative finds a new home on the 3rd floor of Counsel, James Lyons. President Ronald Reagan's Fiscal Year Washington, DC's Union Center 1987 request calls for a 17 % cut in fed- Plaza with the Nationaj Council of eral support for education. NABE and La Raza. its partners help stave off severe cuts of federal bilingual education funds. 10,2 10 J A N I U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 25 Vous SOTWk0 NABE recommends Rita Esquivel The U.S. Census Bureau finds that for the post of OBEMLA Director. there is dramatic growth in the num- 1983-84 Esquivel's appointment isan- ber of Native American, Asian, and President Gloria Zamora President-Elect nounced at the Association's Annual Hispanic people in our nation.The Sarah Meléndez Vice President Gene T. Chavez Conference. Bureau adds that this fact "accounts for Secretary Hai T. Tran the dynamic growth ofAmerica's lan- Treasurer Bel ia Cruz guage-minority and 'limited-English- Parent-at-Large Lucy Cruz proficient' student populations." Eastern Reg. Rep. Juan Zamora 1990 Central Reg. Rep. Jerry Manus The U.S. Department of Education Western Reg. Rep. Eddie Alarid releases the findings of its Longitudi- nal Study of Structured English Immer- 1991 1984-85 President Sarah Meléndez sion Strategy, Early Exit, and Late-Exit The Condition of Bilingual Education in President-Elect Gene T. Chavez Transitional Bilingual Education Pro- the Nation: A Report to the Congress and Vice President Hai T. Tran grams for Language-Minority Children. the President is released by the Secre- Secretary Nancy Zelasko The study is intended to "compare tary of the Education. The report Treasurer Lilliam Malavé the relative effectiveness of two al- identifies and discusses key issues with Parent-at-Large Norman Gold ternative programs (structured En- regard to the 1993 reauthorization of Eastern Reg. Rep. Rosa Castro Feinberg glish immersion strategy and the Bilingual Education Act. Central Reg. Rep. Stan Seidner late-exit transitional bilingual edu- Western Reg. Rep..... Aurora Martinez-Quevedo cation) with that of programs typi- President George Bush requests an in- 1985-86 cally funded under the Bilingual crease of $2.7 million for federal bi- President Gene T. Chavez Education Act, the early-exit transi- lingual education programs. The President-Elect Josué Gonzalez tional bilingual education program". House of Representatives responds Vice President Li I I iam Malavé It finds that all models are effective with an increase of $49 million. The Secretary Aurora Martinez-Quevedo in academic gains for LEP students Senate recommends $3.8 million in- Treasurer A. Cowen/Nancy Zelasko but that academic gains are supe- crease. A compromise of $27.3 mil- Parent-at-Large Norman Gold rior when the child's native language lion in additional funds is reached after Eastern Reg. Rep. Myrella Lara is used in instruction. NABE and its partners launch a major Central Reg. Rep. Tony Baez advocacy campaign. Western Reg. Rep. Lucy Cruz 1986-87 President Josue Gonzalez President-Elect Hai T. Tran ig, E's Educational Purposes Vice President Paul Martinez Secretary Janice Schroeder NABE's educational purposes include: Treasurer Gene T. Chavez Parent-at-Large Juan Sanchez (1) Recognizing, promoting, and publicizing programs of excellence; Eastern Reg. Rep. Bernard Cohen (2) Promoting efforts to assure equal educational opportunity; Central Reg. Rep. Gay Kingman Western Reg. Rep. Stan Paz (3) Promoting the provision oflinguistically and culturally appropriate education services to children, youth, and adults; 1987-88 President Hai T. Tran (4) Promoting public understanding and appreciation of the linguistic President-Elect Macario Saldate Vice President and cultural needs oflanguage-minority children, youths, and adults; Rodolfo Chavez Secretary Lori Orum (5)Promoting the development of standards of professional excellence; Parent-at-Large ( Juan Trinidad Eastern Reg. Rep. V. Petrosino/ M.Tanouchi (6)Conducting educational workshops and conferences; Central Reg. Rep. Dick Hsieh (7)Encouraging research and publications; Western Reg. Rep. Anna M. Perez (8)Promoting the inclusion of language-minority students in assess- 1988-89 ment systems which, to the extent practicable, assess students in a President Macario Saldate President-Elect Rodolfo Chavez language and form most likely to yield accurate and reliable infor- Vice President Lucy Cruz mation; and Secretary MOnica Sandoval Treasurer Mutsuko Tanouchi (9)Serving as an advocate for language-minority children. Parent-at-Large Juan Sanchez Eastern Reg. Rep. Tony Simoes 31411-V- 11.)3 Central Reg. Rep. Ray Howe Western Reg. Rep. José Agustin Ruiz NABE NEWS Ii dare English the official language of lies in opposition to the measure take 1992 the United States. While the measure place throughout the state, but voters To accommodate a new, larger staff, is seen as having little chance of pas- adopt the measure. NABE moves to a new office at 1220 sage, it reveals the extremes to which L Street in Northwest Washington. some politicians will go to restrict the Congress takes up the reauthorization civil rights and life opportunities of of the Elementary and Secondary The widow of New Mexico Senator, non-English-speaking Americans. Education Act.NABE devotes its Joseph Montoya, one of the authors energies to seeing a sound version of of the original Bilingual Education the Bilingual Education Act through Act, accepts NABE's Pioneer Award the process. Throughout March, on her husband's behalf at NABE's 1994 proposed amendments are filed by 1992 Conference in Albuquerque. NABE takes an active role in opposi- Representatives Toby Roth (R-WI) tion to California's Proposition 187, and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). Congressman Edward Roybal (D- which threatens to prohibit education, Their proposals threaten language- CA), who consistently championed welfare, and medical services to un- minority students, and aim to dis- the rights of language-minority stu- documented immigrants. Massive ral- mantle important legal provisions dents to effective education and is one of the original House sponsors of the Bilingual Education Act, retires. Be- fore leaving Congress, he calls NABE Gloria Zamora members to action:"Congress re- sponds to facts and pressure, and All Gloria Zamora ever wanted was to be a teacher.It has proven a fitting goal for someone NABE members, more than anyone whose life-long efforts have ensured that her lessons are learned not only in the classroom, else, know about the dramatic growth but wherever policies impacting limited English proficient students are considered. in the language-minority student Dr. Zamora's extensive vita represents decades of work dedicated to fine-tuning population...and they know how bilingual education programs and vast contributions to curriculum and staff development in poorly many of these students are be- early childhood education. And, her conviction and commitment epitomize the early ing served by our schools. Tell your pioneering work that served as a solid base for the advances that have been made in the education of America's limited English proficient children. people to get out the facts and keep up At a time when bilingual education needed strong advocates, Gloria provided powerful the pressure, that is the only way the leadership as a passionate, articulate speaker.In 1980 and 1981, for instance, she joined situation will improve." fellow Texas Association for Bilingual Education (TABE) Legislative Co-chairs in providing guidance and helping develop the 1981 Bilingual Education Act in Texas. This arduous NABE Executive Director, James endeavor demanded multiple trips to the Texas capital, long waits on hard benches, quick Lyons echoes Roybal's advise, urging trips to university libraries, and interactions with recalcitrant legislators and non-supportive members to "take the time to com- educational leaders. Gloria was not fazed by the cross-examinations she received in many house and senate committee hearings. Unsavory interactions and experiences were pile the facts regarding the growth of tempered by a sharp focus; she knew she was speaking for the thousands of children who the language-minority student popu- didn't have a voice. Con cariño, or as a term of endearment, she was lation in your school district, area, or described by admirers as chiquita pero picosawhich loosely state and to describe and possibly translates into "diminutive but powerful". quantify the unmet educational needs Dr. Zamora also contributed to the development of bilingual of these students." education during her many years at the Intercultural Develop- ment Research Association. With expertise gained from years of experience as a classroom teacher and researcherand with Ph.D. in handshe developed Amanecer, one of the first bilingual/bicultural early childhood education curriculums 1993 distributed nationally. Years later, Santillana, published it for NABE hosts an extremely successful national distribution. As Director of the Regional Desegregation national conference in Houston, Assistance Center at IDRA, she led the development of a series of Texas. It features more than 6,000 at- 12 training modules on equity issues related to race, gender, and tendees, 200 workshops, and 175 ex- national desegregation. Twenty years later, the modules-which include videotapes and all training instructions and handoutscontinue to be published and used to hibits. develop sensitivity and competencies among educators in the nation. Above all, Gloria Zamora has been a role model and mentor for many of today's The English-Only lobby persuades bilingual education leaders. She sees the talent and skill in people and motivates them to nine Republicans and one Democrat impact the community in ways they never would have thought. A former President of the in the U.S. House of Representatives NABE Executive Board of Directors, she has given many of NABE's Past Presidents and Board to introduce H.R. 739a bill to de- Members their first taste of the Association. In fact, many NABE leaders became involved, not just in NABE, but in bilingual education, because of her. A passionateNA an academic expert, an extraordinary visionary, a motivator, and a mentor, Dr. ZamoraIWIRIDed shape the future of millions of children. Hers is truly the living legacy of a giving tree that will continue to bear fruits. 12 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 104. 25 'Vous og Sorm[loo serving America's neediest students. Congressman Jose Serrano (D-NY) The first of Rohrabacher's amend- introduces his English-Plus Resolu- 1989-90 ments is directed against undocu- tion in the U.S. House of Represen- President Rodolfo Chavez mented students. It states that school tatives.The measure expresses President-Elect Angel Noe Gonzalez districts should be required to report Congressional findings on the benefits Vice President Anna M. Perez the number of undocumented en- of speaking other languages, in addi- Secretary Marlene Kamm rolled students in their school system. tion to English, and lays out broad Treasurer Mutsuko Tanouchi After passionate debate on the floor policy goals to further the acquisition Parent-at-Large Michael Gaddis Eastern Reg. Rep. Angela Carrasquillo of English and other languages in the of the House of Representatives Central Reg. Rep. Sylvia Cavazos Pena with 21 members speaking eloquently United States. The first of its kind, Western Reg. Rep. Richard Littlebear against the measurethe amendment Serrano's English Plus bill is in sharp is rejected. contrast to several English-Only pro- 1990-91 posals introduced by conservative President Rodolfo Chavez The House approves its version of the members of Congress." President-Elect Paul E. Martinez ESEA (which it renames "Improving Vice President MOnica Sandoval Secretary Jerilynn Smith-Ritchie America's Schools Act of 1994)" in Treasurer José Agustin Ruiz April.In November the measure is Parent-at-Large Susan Garcia approved by the Senate and signed by 1996 Eastern Reg. Rep. Anna M. LOpez President Clinton. Upon its enact- NABE hosts its 25th International Bi- Central Reg. Rep. Wageh Saad ment, NABE Executive Director lingual/Multicultural Education Con- Western Reg. Rep. Rosalie Salinas James Lyons comments on the changes ference in Orlando, Florida.At the to the Bilingual Education Act, add- conference, the Association recognizes 1991-92 President Paul E. Martinez ing: "I am delighted to report that the the efforts of all former NABE Board President-Elect Marlene Kamm new ESEA meets all of NABE's fun- memberswho give their time and Vice President Julio Cruz damental objectives." talents on a volunteer basis to advo- Secretary Jerilynn S. Smith cate for children's rightsby making Treasurer Rose Marie Medina them recipients of the Association's Parent-at-Large Susan Garcia President's Award. Eastern Reg. Rep. Anna M. LOpez 1995 Central Reg. Rep. Alicia Salinas Sosa Western Reg. Rep. Richard LOpez, Jr. NABE's 24th Annual International Representative Elton Gallegly (R-CA) Bilingual/Multicultural Education introduces an amendment in the 1992-93 Conference brings over 6500 people House that threatens to overturn the President Marlene Kamm to Phoenix, Arizona. NABE Execu- 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Vice President Anna M. L6pez tive Director James Lyons proudly Plyler v. Doe. The Plyler decision holds Secretary/Treasurer Kathy Escamilla states, "NABE '95 demonstrates that that states may not deny public edu- Parent-at-Large Susan Garcia the English-only movement, an im- cation to students on basis of immi- Member-at-Large Paul E. Martinez Member-at-Large Richard Littlebear portant part of the current nativist gration status.Speaking on his Eastern Reg. Rep Maria Valverde movement which spawned Proposi- amendment, Gallegly states that Central Reg. Rep Olga Valcourt-Schwartz tion 187 in California, is out of step "when illegal immigrants in our class- Western Reg. Rep Richard L6pez, Jr. with reality".Conference keynote rooms sit down in public school class- speaker Samuel Betances points out rooms, the desk, textbooks, and 1993-94 that "You cannot educate someone blackboards in effect become stolen President Kathy Escamilla you cannot communicate with." property stolen from the students Vice President Mary F. Jew Secretary/Treasurer Richard Littlebear rightfully entitled to those resources." Parent-at-Large Susan Garcia Rick Lopez, the former Executive House Speaker Newt Gingrich sup- Member-at-Large Marlene S. Kamm Director of the Congressional His- ports the amendment adding that "this Member-at-Large José A. Ruiz-Escalante panic Caucus, becomes NABE's As- is the right thing to do." NABE works Eastern Reg. Rep Marisol Rodriguez sociate Director for Legislation, Policy, with key legislators in opposition to Central Reg. Rep Olga Valcourt-Schwartz and Public Affairs. the Gallegly provision. The House ap- Western Reg. Rep Janice Schroeder proves the amendment, but it is halted 1994-95 in the Senate chamber. USA Today opposes "Official En- President Jose Ruiz-Escalante glish" in an editorial, noting that Vice President Kathy Escamilla American citizens are frightened of Secretary/Treasurer Mary Jew foreign languages and that Official Parent-at-Large Susan Garcia English measures are "disgraceful" Member-at-Large David Baez and "unnecessary." Member-at-Large Nga Duong Eastern Reg. Rep Marisol Rodriguez Central Reg. Rep Joe Bernal Western Reg. Rep Janice Schroeder NABE NEWS 13 Ramón L. Santiago ecutive Board of Directors appoints Dr. Ram On L. Santiago served in all of the Association's leadership positionsTreasurer, Vice Delia Pompa, former OBEMLA Di- President, President-Elect, President, Past-President, and Conference Chairpersonhelping rector, to lead NABE into the next to build and organize NABE in countless ways from the late 1970's through his untimely death. As part of his tireless efforts, Dr. Santiago worked to computerize Association millennium. membership, recruit new members, make the Association's newsletter an excellent publication, streamline Association elections, and encourage the continuing NABE Executive Board President, participation of former NABE Executive Board members. Josefina Villamil Tinajero, testifies On a moment's notice and often in the middle of an before the House Committee on Edu- unexpected crisis, Dr. Santiago would step in to help his beloved NABE. Whether it was to help to write scripts for conference cation regarding the Reauthorization events, proof and edit NABE publications, serve as a policy of the Bilingual Education Act. advisor, or do.anything else that demanded speed and intellecthe was never too busy or too far. Ron Unz begins a campaign to adopt a Dr. Santiago also contributed something else to the 227-like state ballot initiative in neigh- Associationcourage and integrity. Time after time after time in the 1980s, he was called upon to serve as spokesperson in boring Arizona. Bilingual Education the nation's Capitol for the field of bilingual education. Dr. advocates mobilize to prepare for even- Santiago told Administration officials, Members of Congress and tual campaign to stop such a measure. their staff, and the national press the truth about bilingual education. He did so knowing that the truth was not music to the ears of some of his listeners and that the truth could do more than set him free, it could precipitate a professional and financial free-fall. Nevertheless, he spoke out, over and over again, to help national policy makers understand the truth about bilingual education and the 2000 needs of limited English proficient students. NABE hosts the 29th Annual Confer- In March of 1997, Dr. Santiago lost his battle with cancer. Shortly, thereafter, NABE ence in San Antonio, Texas. It is the renamed its President's Award in his honor. Today, his spirit and dedication remain an largest and most successful gathering inspiration for all of the Association's members, and his memory lives on in the work of all those who carry forth his mission. in the Association's history. The con- ference highlights NABE's strength- / ened focuson advocacy and pro- fessional development, and features the Adding to its shameful list of accom- Millionaire, Ron Unz', measure to end largest number of workshops in the plishments for the year, the House also bilingual education Proposition 227. history of bilingual education confer- approves H.R. 123, which designates 30 years after Governor Ronald Reagan ences.Closing Gala speaker, Henry English the official language of the recognized the harmful effect of En- Cisneros, challenges NABE members United States government for the first glish-only instruction on California's to put an end to anti-bilingual educa- time. NABE members rally in oppo- LEP studenis, Unz calls the states bi- tion initiatives and all such attacks on sition to the bill, and with the help of lingual programs a failure. He dubs his the future of America's children. Senator John McCain, kill this nefari- initiative "English for the Children." ous legislation in the Senate. Arizona's Proposition 203 is approved. A similar initiative is halted in Colo- rado, as that state's Supreme Court 1998 rules its language unconstitutional. 1997 NABE receives an operational grant Dr. Ramón L. Santiago (see sidebar, from the Kellogg foundation to insti- NABE conducts an extensive evalua- above), former NABE President and tutionalize Dia de Los Nifios/Dia de tion of its membership services and lifelong advocate of language-minority los Libros. The project is launched undertakes a nationwide survey of bi- children, dies ofcancer. NABE renames nation-wide on April 30th. lingual educators. The information its President's Award in his honor. compiled gives root to a series of new Despite the valiant efforts of parents partnerships with mainstream organi- Despite a tough battle to secure and educators, California's Proposi- zations and an overhaul of the Asso- funding for Title VII in a conserva- tion 227 is adopted on June 2"d. Exit ciations materials. tive Congress, the year marks a vic- polls show overwhelming opposition tory for NABE's advocacy efforts. to the measure by Latinos and African The association's magazine, NABE $199 million are appropriated for bi- American voters. News, is refocused and redesigned. It is lingual instruction and professional now a theme-based publication, and has development in Fiscal Year 1998. 1999 received wide acclaim from members. In California, however, Bilingual Edu- After 17 years of service, James Lyons NABE expands its cadre of bilingual cation advocates face Silicon Valley retires from NABE service. The Ex- education content specialists and trI) t-'1,r lOG 14 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 20 Vearls off SWAN moves to its current suite of offices behalf ofchildren's rights very late into four blocks from the White House. the night, primarily on their personal 1995-96 time and often with their own re- President Kathy Escamilla The Association receives several new sources. As the Association has grown, Vice President David Baez Secretary/Treasurer grants from foundations and is tapped professional staffresearch and write the Mary Jew Parent-at-Large Susan Garcia to head up a series of new education articles for publication and assist the Member-at-Large Janice Schroeder initiatives. Board with public policy and advocacy Member-at-Large Nga Duong as part of their NABE employment.) Eastern Reg. Rep Maria Brisk We realize that many people form the Central Reg. Rep Joe Bernal Note : We have listed names for the pioneers in bilingual education. These Western Reg. Rep Herman Garcia early leaders in bilingual education and have been honored and listed by of NABE. These persons worked on NABE during the 25 years. 1996-97 President Janice Schroeder Vice President Mary Jew Secretary/Treasurer David Baez Parent-at-Large Adela Holder Member-at-Large Susan Garcia Share Your Memories Member-at-Large Nga Duong Member-at-Large Maria Brisk We encourage you to think about your own professional development, espe- Member-at-Large Joe Bernal cially as it relates to the NABE annual conference, the Bilingual ResearchJournal, Member-at-Large Herman Garcia the NABE News, and our advocacy and public policy record. We ask NABE 1997-98 members to please write us to share the following: President Josefina Tinajero Vice President David Baez D The most memorable NABE conference and why. Secretary/Treasurer Susan Garcia The most useful NABE article (BRJ or NABE News) anC1 where. Parent-at-Large Adela Holder Member-at-Large Nga Duong Member-at-Large Herman Garcia D The strongest advocacy campaign by NABE, why you joined in, and the outcome. Member-at-Large Mary F. Jew Member-at-Large Paul E.Martinez E-mail, fax, or mail your stories to: 1998-99 Email: [email protected] President Josefina Tinajero Fax: (202) 789-2866 Vice President Susan Garcia Secretary 'Mary F. Jew Dr. Alicia Sosa, Editor- NABE News Treasurer Paul E. Martinez Parent-at-Large Guillermo Serna National Association for Bilingual Education Member-at-Large Joe Bernal 1030 15th Street, NW Suite 470 Member-at-Large Nga Duong Washington, DC 20005-1503 Member-at-Large Susan Garcia Member-at-Large Phyllis Noda Selected anecdotes (75-125 words) will be either posted on our Web site or included in a compilation in future issues of NABE News. 1999-00 President Josef ina Tinajero Vice-President Mary Jew Secretary Joel Gomez Treasurer Paul E. Martinez Parent Rept. Aurelio Montemayor Look for the Member-at-Large Joe Bernal Member-at-Large Susan Garcia NABE 2002 Member-at-Large Phyllis Noda Member-at-Large Susan Pien Hsu Call for Presentation Proposals 2000-01 President Joel Gomez in the March/April 2001 Vice-President Mary Jew Secretary Josefina Tinajero Treasurer Jorge Garcia Issue of NABE News Parent Representative Aurelio Montemayor Member-at-Large Joe Bernal Member-at-Large Susan Garcia Member-at-Large Susan Pien Hsu -i( Member-at-Large Paul E. Martinez NABE NEWS 15 The best of Yvonne Freeman SECOND so mo ri Teachiny Reading in Classrooms 1 Between Worlds Teaching Reading ESL/EFL Access to Second in Multilingual Teaching Language Acquisition Classrooms Principles for Success SECOND EDITION David E. Freeman Yvonne S. Freeman David E. Freeman and Yvonne S. Freeman and David E. Freeman and Yvonne S. Freeman Reading is the hottest issue in education Now, more than ever, there is a need among ESL/EFL teachers for a clear With the first edition, David and Yvonne today. Newspapers trumpet reading test scores, politicians campaign on reading explanation of sound teaching practices. Freeman helped thousands of educators We need to prepare our students to use understand second language acquisition reforms, and educators are scrambling to keep pace with new teacher-training English for real purposes. With ESL/EFL theory and the social and cultural factors Teaching, Yvonne and David Freeman that affect school performance. Now, policies. In this context it is critical to clarify the goals of reading instruction help teachers provide that foundation, seven years later, the schooling of offering a readable explanation of English language learners has become and to provide teachers with principles for working effectively with diverse second language teaching methodology far more complex and political. So the and numerous classroom examples. Freemans have updated their classic text student populations. With this book, David and Yvonne Freeman come to Throughout the book, the emphasis is to address new trends and issues related on teaching language through meaning- to the teaching of multilingual students. teachers' assistance, introducing the core principles of effective reading practice. ful content. 0-325-00350-5/2001 /368pp 0-325-00079-4/1998/292pp Paper/ $28.00 0-325-00248-7/2000/144pp Paper/ $25.00 Paper / $15.00 To order your copies, call 800-793-2154, fax 800-847-0938, or write: Heinemann, 88 Post Road West, P.O. Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881 Save 10%,When you order online! www.heinopnn.com ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN EDUCATION CONCERNS Column Editors: Dr. Ji-Mei Chang and Ward Shimizu, M.A. SanJose State UniversitySan Jose, CA Monitoring Effective Teaching and Creating a Responsive Learning Environment for Students in Need of Support: A Checklist DR.JI-MEI CHANG, SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SAN JOSE, CA s I enter the third year of a follow-up study in a Title I above and beyond other minority groups, and some Asian Pa- middle school in Northern California, I once again cific American students were among the lowest performers of observe that the best practices for educating English all student groups. language learners may be underutilized by some school ad- In recent years, a record number of such Asian Pacific ministrators. Furthermore, best practices may even be termi- American students in need of support are showing up in many nated by new school administrators, regardless of the good will regions, as evident in our own service areas. It is important to and compassion of teachers who are willing to continue an note that most ofthese students have not shown any special needs, outstanding and integrated instructional program for low per- but some of them will eventually be placed in special education forming incoming sixth grade English language learners. because they are reading three or four grades below their peers Over the last two years, our field re- upon entering the sixth grade. In a review search confirmed that many Asian Pacific of some of their cumulative files, it was American English language learners face not clear what had been done to accelerate academic challenges in some schools. We their English language development and documented and observed groups of pri- "...elementary school school learning. marily Asian American English language teachers need to realize that One of many research collaborators learners each year who were perceived as in this middle school team observed and having very low academic skills as they en- teaching a single subject in a reflected that elementary school teach- tered the sixth grade. These students made middle school will impact a ers need to realize that teaching a single significant progress in self-esteem, language teacher's perception of their subject in a middle school will impact a proficiency, and state testing when they teacher's perception of their students dif- completed the sixth grade (Chang, 1998; students..." ferently from teachers teaching multiple Chang & Shimizu, 2000). However, as subjects. Elementary school teachers are each group entered seventh grade, they responsible for multiple subject areas, so faced two additional challenges. The first they have a better grasp of a child's over- challenge was how best to place them in non-sheltered class- all performance. Often, these teachers may give more wait rooms in which seventh grade teachers were NOT very anx- time before seeking systematic support, not just special edu- ious towards having them in their classrooms. Some ofteachers' cation services, for students who read below their peers, par- reluctance may be related to perceiving these students as "state ticularly second language learners. On the other hand, fewer test score spoilers" who lower their class rating in the school middle school teachers will get to see a wide range of stu- or region. The second challenge was placing them in class- dents' ability and performance beyond their own responsible rooms, that were dominated by "lecture-note taking and end- subject area(s) all through the school year. The scheduling of-chapter-tests" where little language support would be and grouping for special education services or other language available to them. resource program for students in need of support are also more difficult; hence, delivering an individualized education pro- Mot aiiIA Students are Succeeding Drn Schoois gram (IEP) for any student becomes a challenge, particularly Asian American students are often perceived as college-bound for English language learners who needs more language sup- and model minority students; however, Asian Pacific Ameri- port in academic learning. can student populations differ significantly in socioeconomic In each of the last two years, we found Chinese and Viet- status, educational aspirations, English language proficiency, namese American students who read at least four years below optimal learning opportunities, or family/community support. their peers. Although they were eventually referred and quali- The state department's NELS:88 data, as reported in Peng fied for special education services, their placement was far more (1995), reflected that some Asian American students perforTim restrictiveplaced in a special day class (SDC), rather than in ' NABE NEWS 17 Table 1: Checklist for Monitoring Effective Teaching and Generating Responsive Learning Environment Ji-Mei Chang, Ph.D. Joint Productive Activities O provides opportunities for student input in O applies diverse entry points to actively Teacher: order to design, adjust, and enrich motivate and engage students to contribute O provides opportunities for student input in instructional activities to reflect the multi- in instructional conversations at a rate classroom instructional activities to dimensions of ethnic, cultural, and linguistic higher than teacher talk. accomplish the specific lesson plan. diversity of student populations. O co-constructs with students a clear rubric to O provides appropriate training, behavioral O invites guest speakers and establishes monitor classroom's instructional checklist or rubric and time for students to community contacts to model the respect for conversations that are aligned with complete their team-based project. multicultural aspects of knowledge pertinent instructional objectives and text-based O provides classroom seating arrangement to the topics under study on a regular basis. evidence, that encourage students' suitable for peer or team communication and O presents lessons in the authentic contexts, expression of personal interpretation/ support to complete group work. such as the students' world, to ease opinions, that permit fair and full participa- O provides frequent hands-on support to students into connecting, applying, and tion, and that lead to a joint product to model, guide, and access essential gaining insights into specific topics under reflect learning outcome. materials for each group to complete their study on a regular basis. O practices active listening to respond or elicit joint product(s). O generates and implements service-learning student responses to help student clarify O provides appropriate groupings that promote (or work-based) projects to bridge theory concepts, model the use of language, or productive team work and learning according with practices and helps students gain first assess student learning. to the instructional goals and objectives. hand experiences about the various career O establishes group rotating routine, scheduled O provides access to parents/guardian of options in the community. adult helper or peer tutors and meaningful students, using various means to obtain independent seat work or activity/learning relevant information regarding productive group Challenging Activities centers to provide teacher-led small group learning processes and joint products that Teacher: instructional conversations for specific reflect expected behaviors of each student. O plans, designs, and implements lessons that instructional goals on a regular basis. are rich in promoting students' higher order Language Development thinking skills (HOTS). Diverse Entry Points Teacher: O explains, models, and monitors students' Teacher: O listens and responds to student talk both in ability to acquire, comprehend, analyze, O utilizes quantitative entry points allowing and outside of classroom on a daily basis in synthesize, and evaluate their own learning students to use number, calculate, measure, order to model the appropriate use of school on a regular basis. chart, graph information to enhance in- language. O provides guidelines and scoring rubrics that depth learning. O assists, models, questions and clarifies lead students to follow specific scientific O utilizes logic entry points, aligned with students' comments, feedback, or oral report methods in their project-based learning challenging activities, engaging students to in a positive manner and provides clear activities and demonstrate self-assessment classify, reason, order, compare, etc. to guidelines to practice. skills and ability. enhance in-depth learning. O is aware of and respects students' culturally O is aware of the nature of learners with O utilizes narrative entry points encouraging oriented speaking style and responds respect to the developmental levels of students to listen, read, write, orate, act, and positively when interacting with these cognitive abilities in performing scientific respond to relevant topics to enhance in- students. thinking processsuch as observing, depth learning. O helps students connect their own use of ordering, relating, applying, analyzing, O utilizes aesthetic entry points providing language with the teacher's use of language, evaluating, etc.in order to provide students opportunities to apply as well as specific requirement for grade level literacy responsive modeling, feedback, and reveal artistic inclination and strengths to development and content vocabulary by support, as well as prevent mislabeling of enhance self-esteem and in-depth learning. giving frequent modeling in daily speaking, students for cognitive delays. O utilizes experiential/hands-on entry points listening, reading, and writing activities. O reaches out to the families and communi- immersing students in real-world activities O provides an appropriate buddy system or ties to obtain multi-dimensional aspects of to enhance in-depth learning. other in-class meaningful support for strategies or funds of knowledge commonly O utilizes existential entry points assisting English language learners to gain peer used in students' home in order to generate students to generate fundamental or support in English language development as meaningful opportunities for students to philosophical questions to enhance in-depth well as the use of first language for clarify and apply culture-specific learning. clarification or confirmation of learning in approaches to solve problems in specific O utilizes interpersonal, or social-cooperative, daily instructional activities. domains. entry points motivating students to interact, collaborate, and promote mutual respect to Contextualization Instructional Conversations enhance in-depth learning and excel in joint Teacher: Teacher: productive activities. O always checks what students already know O arranges the classroom according to through prior experiences about a topic or instructional goals to promote conversation lesson introducing daily instructional between the teacher and a small group of activities. students on a regular basis. 18 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 I 1a a less restrictive resource program where they could still be 2000). The function of this checklist is twofold: First, it serves educated with normal achieving peers. Such a placement de- as the guide for teachers to monitor their own best practices in cision was often justified on the basis that these English lan- the classroom. Second, it is highly recommended for a school guage learners could not read as well as their English-speaking assessment team or family/community advocates adopting the peers placed in the resource program. Therefore, adding such checklist as a means to look beyond the child and instead of a student in the resource program will inadvertently tip the focusing on the type of instructional environments in which balance of an existing special education resource program. In the student experienced academic challenges. other words, there was no block of time that could be utilized to provide "individualized services" for this student who has Foundation for the Checidist not learned to read. In this section, I briefly stated the two guiding theoretical More challenges are anticipated in a restrictive placement frameworks that we adopted for the project and also for this for English language learners with school-identified "mild" dual-function checklist. Readers can access details of the frame- learning disabilities (LD). For example, currently we face an works and its praxis from their Web sites. The first group of extreme shortage ofqualified special education teachers across five effective teaching standards was based on the sociocul- the nation, particularly in California. Consequently, students tural theory oflearning (Tharp 1997). These standards are being will be served by a constant parade of substitute teachers with promoted and further studied at the Center for Research little or no continuity to address their educational needs. on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) (see When placement is in an SDC setting, as observed in our www.crede.ucsc.edu). These five standards are: 1) Joint pro- study, teachers and instructional associates are likely to man- ductive activity: Teacher students producing together; 2) lan- age students' challenging behaviors andsocial misconduct guagedevelopment: developing language across the rather than addressing students' academic curriculum; 3) making meaning: connect- needs on a daily basis. Subsequently, the ing school to students' lives; 4) cognitive access of English language learners with challenge: teaching complex thinking; and mild LDs to grade level core curriculum 5) instructional conversations: teaching may be limited if they are placed in an When placement is an through conversation. These standards SDC. SDC setting, teachers were advanced over continued consensus Itis reasonable to assume that and instructional associates building and field testing to address needs throughout this pariicular Chinese among all types of learners (See http:// American English language learner'sfor- are likely to manage www.crede.ucsc.edu/Standards/Effective- mal schooling, teachers and school person- students' challenging ness/effectiveness.html.) Moreover, they nel were and are eager to provide best behaviors and social are critical to students who must rely on services for him in the least restrictive en- effective and culturally responsive teach- vironment. Nevertheless, he is now placed misconduct rather than ers to succeed in school. full time in all core curriculum areas addressing students' The second framework is Howard within an SDC environment. Could this academic needs. Gardner's (1983; 1999a) theory of mul- student's educational reality be just an iso- tiple intelligences (MI). Specifically, I lated case? It is unlikely because in Year II would like to focus on his promotion of of the study, we observed another very adopting MI as diverse entry points pleasant, sociable and hard working Viet- (Gardner, 1991; 1999b). He suggested that namese American English language learner who was staffed the diverse entry points can be pathways to facilitate teachers for special education services for mild learning disabilities, and and students' ability to provide access for in-depth explora- who read four grades below his peers. Obviously their reading tion of teaching and learning activities. The entry points, ac- challenge did not just occur at the sixth grade level. cording to Gardner, are like windows/doors to a room or In 1995, upon completing a long term follow-up study openings/pathways into the domain of knowledge among Chinese American English language learners with mild (www.pz.harvard.edu/SUMIT). MI as diverse entry points LD in inner-city and urban schools, I talked about when they provides educators with a framework to closely examine school are not model minority students; I suggested that they will curriculum and instruction to provide meaningful and fair ac- experience missed learning opportunities (Chang, 1995a; cess to diverse learners. Kornhaber and her associates closely 1995b). As we head into the new millennium, we are still docu- examined 41 schools using the theory of MI menting such missed learning opportunities each year. What (www.pz.harvard.edu/SUMIT) and learned that such practices can we do to guarantee their learning opportunities in schools were most beneficial for those students facing challenges in and prevent them from being sent to more restrictive school- schools and exceptional learners. ing once they enter middle schools? Based on my own research conducted in Northern Cali- In this article, I generated a dual-function checklist (See fornia and Taiwan, MI serves multiple functions in the educa- Table 1) from cumulative research findings from major na- tion and lives of Asian Pacific American individuals (Chang, tional research centers, as well as our own field observations 1999). Through the reactions and responses I collected from and studies, to highlight the outstanding features of effective credential candidates over the years after they read my 1999 instructional environment. The items presented in the check- article published in NABE News, the consensus was- that MI list are informed by two theoretical frameworks that guided would be applicable in their own classroom to support a wider our intervention studics in the last two years (Chang, 1998; range of learners. The multiple fiinctions should be included 0 NABE NEWS 19 at least in sensitizing these learners' homes and communities tivities in their formal schooling nor understand the value of to value their abilities within perceived disabilities or limited such teamwork in school. Informing the parents of these stu- English proficiency, substantiating respect among diverse pro- dents about the valuesas stated in the checklistis just as fessional aspirations beyond traditional contexts of preferred important as enhancing teachers' implementation ofthese criti- career paths, and recognizing individual differences in formal cal practices. Educating the whole family teams, including their schooling, to name a few beyond our adopting MI as the di- social network, about such innovative practices, particularly verse entry points. the checklist generated from research based findings and na- tional center's cumulative work, is one viable pathway to forge POen ger APA Students in Mewl el Schmid Support productive partnership with these parents or family/commu- Not all APA students have had the same prior learning experi- nity members. Such multi-dimensional collaborations beyond ences and language use that are conducive to school learning. classroom will directly address the optimal learning opportu- When they are not performing as well as their same ethnic peers nities for these learners to succeed in school and lead a more or students from dominant language groups, it is critical to in- productive schooling and daily lives. 0 form them about the concepts and applications of MI critical to Ji-Mei Chang, Professor at SanJose State University, is the Princtpal function effectively in the new millennium (although this should Investigator of a professional development Research Project involving preferably be done earlier, prior to their falling behind). They APA English language learners, funded by the Centerfor Research on need to be assured of their own potential for personal, lan- Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) at University of guage and academic growth to meet school expectations as California, Santa Cruz. well as observable multi-strengths based on MI theory, mea- sured beyond standardized test scores through diverse entry Relevances points. Students need support to see themselves as a viable be- Chang, J.M. 1995a). When they are not Asian American model ing beyond day-to-day struggles with limited or no-proficiency students...Focusoir Diversity,5(3), 5-7. A Newsletter published by the in the English language and expected academic performance. National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Lan- When they experience any setbacks in developing read- guage Leaning, UC, Santa Cruz. ing or other school related skills, please don't hesitate to seek Chang, J. M. (1995b). LEP, LD, poor, and the missed learning opportunities: other teachers' support, such as California's Student Study A case of inner city Chinese American children. In L. L. Cheng (Ed.), Integratinglanguage and learning: An Asian-Pacific Focus(pp. 31- 59). San Team, or other states' Teacher Assistance Team. It is not pro- Diego: Singular Publishing Group, Inc. ductive seeking special education referral initially before uti- Chang, J.M. (1998). Expandingknowledge base on teacher learning and collaboration: lizing all other meaningful support available to teachers and A focus on Asian Pacific American English language learners(Program 2.2: Pro- students in order to address such students' unique needs. How- fessional Development). National Center for Education, Diversity, & Ex- ever, the support to students hopefully is aligned with the items cellence (CREDE) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, funded addressed in Table 1. by the U. S. Office of Educational Research & Improvement. Letting these students fall so many grades below their peers Chang, J. M & Shimizu, W. (2000). EducatingAsian American English Language Learners At Risk of School Failure through Teacher Collaboration.Paper pre- in reading almost guarantees that they will be placed in a more sented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research restrictive environment in middle school as reflected in the Association, April 27, 2000, New Orleans. two cases I reported earlier. Should these students be placed in Chang, J. M. (2000).School-Home Collaboration for Reading and Language Devel- special education, it is critical to observe them regularly in any opment.Paper presented at an Invited Session at the 2000 CEC/DDEL type of special education placement setting over a period of Multicultural Symposium. October 12-13, Albuquerque, New Mexico. time to realistically monitor to what extent their goals and Gardner, H. (1983).Frame of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences.New York: objectives to achieve reading and language development as well BasicBooks. as specific district's content standards could be met in a year. Gardner, H. (1991).The unschooled mind: How children think and how schools should Close monitoring through classroom observations over time teach.New York: Basic Books. will better guarantee the students' IEP team members the pre- Gardner, H. (1999a).Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21" century. New York: Basic Books cious time for proactive actions to better address their educa- Gardner, H. (199913).The disciplined mind: 1,11hat all students should understand. tional and social needs long before they leave for high school. New York: Simon & Schuster. Some teachers are open to or encourage cooperative learn- Peng, S. (November, 1995). Diverity of Asian-American students and its im- ing in a classroom. It is important to provide sufficient train- plications for teaching and research. NABENews,11-12, 18. ing to many APA students who may need guidance to function Tharp, R.. G.(1997). From at-risk to excellence: Research, theory, and principles for effectively in group learning situations. In addition, many of practice.(Research Report No. 1). UC, Santa Cruz: Center for Research their parents may not have experienced such instructional ac- on Education, Diversity and Excellence. Has your membership expired? Check your membership card. Remember:\1 You save $5 if you have joined your state affiliate. lj Your membership is included in the price when you register for NABE ic/Onferences under joining/renewing. 20 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 I ficgA Scott Foresman Cambiar6 el mundo nitio por Les abrir6 nuevas puertas e iluminar6 sus suetios con cuentos que los hagan pensar, sentir y crecer. Change the world one child at a time with Lectura Scott Foresman. Visit our booth at NABE to see the nation's #1 Sfianish reading propynn,fir Grades K-5. Scott Foresman Customer Service: 800-552-2259 scottforesman.com the staff and school adniinistrators dur- ing staffmeetings and incorporated their FROM suggestions into the new design. When the design was finalized, we shared the design and its rationale with the super- intendent and presented it to the COMPENSATORY Framingham School Committee. The Mew !Design: !From TM to GIBIE We wanted to incorporate as many fea- TOQUALITY tures of the TWBE program as was fea- sible in our new program design (See Figure 1 for the design). Since our goal is to provide quality education in both An Example of Change languages, we decided to change the pro- gram label: it is now referred to as "gen- eral bilingual program" in order to ESTER J. DE JONG, FRAMINGHAM Zial___AC SCHOOLS, MA distinguish it from our two-way bilin- gual program. In our new design, we particularly focused on consistency in ramingham is a suburban commu- bilingual program more consistent with language use and student integration. nity in Massachusetts with an ur- the literature on quality bilingual edu- ban flavor of diversity, located 20 cation without turning the program into Language Distribution miles west of Boston. The K-12 public a TWBE program. The new design conceptualizes the pro- school system enrolls almost 8,300 stu- gram as a K-5 program design where the dents, 25% of whom speak a language The !Process of Change native language continues to be used in other than English at home. Approxi- Our first step was to identify why the the upper grades for literacy as well as mately 17% of the total student popula- two-way program was more successful. for content area development for all stu- tion is enrolled in a Spanish or Key elements included: dents. The program is therefore a main- Portuguese bilingual program or a self- D A clear program design that articu- tenance/late-exit program and increases contained English as a Second Language lated usage of the two languages the status of the native language. program. Besides a general Spanish bi- from grade level to grade level. The English component was made lingual program, there is a two-way bi- D The native language continued to more explicit, was more carefully lingual education (TWBE) program for be used for academic purposes after planned from grade to grade, and incor- native English speakers and native Span- the introduction of English (for the porated sheltered English content teach- ish speakers (currently implemented in native Spanish speakers). ing starting in third grade.It was Grades K-11). D A consistent and gradual increase in important to stress the English compo- Framingham has had a traditional English literacy and the use of En- nent over a K-5 span to reflect the un- Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) glish for concept building in other derstanding that it takes time to master program for Spanish and Portuguese content areas. academics through a second language. speakers for many years. A few years ago, D Clearly defined outcomes and ac- A third element was the explicit al- there was a shift in leadership and an in- countability. location of time to each language and its creased understanding by the bilingual usage for content matter. Although it program staff that change was necessary However, we could not simply turn the was not expected that teachers would in the TBE program. The staff s im- TBE programs into TWBE programs. adhere to these percentages rigidly, they pressions were substantiated by achieve- After all, TWBE programs are not well do reflect a goal for the program. ment data.These data showed that equipped to take in new students and students in the Two-Way bilingual pro- require extensive curriculum planning, Student Integration gram consistently outperformed stu- teacher training, adequate materials in As can be seen in Figure 1, there is an dents in the Spanish TBE program on both languages, and parents/community academic integration component at the standardized tests in Spanish and English support. These conditions were not in upper grade levels (grades 3-5) for math, (reading and math). With this knowl- place in the schools with TBE programs. science and social studies (shaded areas)'. edge, it was difficult to maintain the We also strongly believed that TWBE is Integration is important because it: same transitional program. If one pro- only one form of effective bilingual edu- D avoids extended segregation of bi- gram clearly produced superior results, cation; there are other effective, quality lingual program students from na- why relegate any students to an inferior bilingual programs (Brisk, 1998). tive English-speaking peers; design? Thus, we started a process of D provides optimal opportunities for This article describes how we changes in program design and imple- the social, academic and linguistic changed the old TBE prOgram into a mentation. First, we elicited input from dimensions oflearning (Glenn & de 22 J A N U A R Y /F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 110 SW FOJZ 20(11 X' , . ndard- as Phonics-driven kossIgurricular ulticult ral Connections Em al P AM, III I 1 ;II A ; ; Jong, 1996); and beyond this 'requirement'. To support focused and the design has become a tool D integrates the bilingual program the implementation of the integration for training new staff and administrators. into the school culture. component, we organized five full-day One of the elements we have con- workshops provided for all pairs, which tinuously stressed during our conversa- During the integration time, teachers focused on the process of second lan- tions is accountability: We will continue integrate their students for selected so- guage acquisition, sheltered English to closely analyze our achievement data cial studies or science units. The inte- teaching strategies, integrating language to see whether the changes we are mak- gration component does not follow an and content, and assessment. The work- ing will in fact lead to the desired out- alternative, added-on curriculum but shops always included planning time for comes.(Test data are now presented focuses on the grade level content that each pair, which proved to be a crucial annually to the staff.) Data include read- needs to be taught. An integrated group component. ing and writing proficiency, oral profi- of students consists of 50% students The teachers have seen many impor- ciency, and standardized achievement from the standard English curriculum tant positive effects of the integration. tests in Spanish and English. Key to the classroom and 50% students from the bi- Students got to know one another as successful implementation has been the lingual classroom. The social studies/sci- learners, and they mastered the academic buy-in of the staff and school adminis- ence or math units are taught as sheltered and language content.Importantly, trators, professional development, and English units within a context that em- spending time in both classrooms helped on-going dialogue with the staff about phasizes the value of two languages. to demystify what was going on in the the actual implementation of the new There are no specific goals for the na- "other" classroom. Students saw that the program design. 0 tive English speakers to learn Spanish or same academic content was taught in the Portuguese, although they are exposed bilingual and the standard curriculum deJong, Ed.D. is the Assistant Di- to the language. The bilingual students' classroom, even though the language of rector of Bilingual Education with the native language is accepted by students instruction was different. Framingham Public Schools, IVIA. and by the teacher, even though the majority of the instruction is in English. Conchosion neerences The 1999-2000 school year repre- Our initial experiences with the new Brisk, M.E. (1998). Bilingual Education: From Com- sented the first district-wide implemen- design have been very positive. The staff pensatory to Quality Schooling.Lawrence tationyearof theintegration has embraced the program design be- Erlbaurn Associates: Mahweh, NJ. component. Before that, individual cause it clearly describes the expectations Glenn, C.L., with De Jong, E.J. (1996). Educating Immigrant Children. Garland Publishers: New teachers had experimented with integra- from grade to grade. Moreover, it val- York. tion. Expectations for the first year were ues bilingualism as a program outcome one hour of integration in the content and supports bilingual education as a IMes areas on a weekly basis in the Fall and, quality education for bilingual students 'K-2 also integrates students but does so with a in the Spring, a complete content unit. and rejects a remedial approach to lan- focus on social integration. We considered these expectations mini- guage minority education. Discussions mum expectations; and many pairs went about the program have become more Figure 1 - General Bilingual Education: Program Design Language Distribution by Grade Level 1 2 3 4 5 L1 80% 70% 60% 60%-> 50% 50% 50% 12 20% 30% 40% 40%-> 50% 50% 50% Language Distribution by Subject Area 1 2 3 4 5 LA-L1 Ll L1 L1 L-1 L-1 L-1 LA-L2 ESL ESL ESL/L2 L2 L2 L2 Math L1 Concept building in Concept building in Concept building in 1_1/L2: concept 1.1; review in L2. 1_1; review in L2. 1_1; review in L2. building through concept building Some concept both languages. through both building through L2. languages. Sci/SS L-1 Concept building in Concept building in Concept building in 1.1/L2: concept 1_1/L2: concept 1_1; review in L2. 1_1; review in L2. 1_1; review in L2. building through building through Some concept both languages. both languages. building through L2. Ll = Native language art (Spanish or Portuguese) L2 = English language arts ESL = English as a Second Language (focus on oral language) Shaded areas = Content areas for integration and/or sheltered English units 24 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 Ha Complete ESL Solutions from Hampton-Brown Elementary Eittrshi 72.1' 1,Into tnglish! TOO" Help students take SUOCESSIN LANGUAGE LITERATURE CONTENT a smooth step into the mainstream curriculum with the leading ESL program. %K@IjDODO [j pt YourCommand, S]I11iIFL The Language Arts handbook that prepares English learners and at-risk students for success with on-level J curriculum and standardized tests. SZ:A. Picture Perfect Dictionaries A standards-based ESL program with specialized This highly visual strategies for English learners. dictionary series Comprehensive skills coverage facilitates vocabulary Flexible to the needs of teachers and students and academic Relevant content language acquisition. Help your students reach for success in language, literature, and content with High Point. Come see us at our booth during NABE 2001! HAMPTON-BROWN 800-333-3510 " ISSUES IN INDIGENEOUS BILINGUAL EDUCATION Column Editor: Dr. Jon Reyhner, Northern Arizona University, AZ Hard_Truthsjleepltructure,_antlilinguaLEducation_ After some thirty years of bilingual edu- itincluding teachers, administrators, capped children, and they want the best cation, one would think that it would and teacher trainers. for them, so they insist on them not be- be more firmly established than was in- Furthermore, the ill-fated Lau Rem- ing segregated and being treated better. dicated by the passage ofProposition 203 edies, that forced reluctant school districts At the same time they often provide a rich in Arizona this past November, Propo- to adopt bilingual education, helped coa- literacy environment for their "normal" sition 227 in California in 1998, and lesce the opposing forces and further children so that they sometimes even siinilar efforts to abolish it elsewhere. aggravated the shortage of trained per- know how to read when they reach This is especially true because in 1968 sonnel (Crawford, 2000). Even worse, a school age. Parents want the best for these the Bilingual Education Act passed minute fraction of bilingual programs "gifted" children as well and insist on spe- through Congress under its unanimous largely excluded English from their cur- cial programs for them. These middle and consent provisions where a single mem- riculum, and these became "poster chil- upper socioeconomic status parents have ber could have stopped it. dren" for the English-only movement. the political power to get what they want Despite its current troubles, the re- from schools, whereas language minor- search on school reforms indicates that ity parents lack political power. bilingual education is doing better than In the world ofRealpolitik, the ques- most reforms. In her book Hard Truths: "Tye's book helps explain tion is: How can bilingual education ad- Uncovering the Deep Structure of Schooling, vocates tap into the power structure of the continued resistance to Barbara Benham Tye (2000) reviews the their communities to create greater sup- extensive research on school reforms that bilingual education and many port for programs that historically have finds the vast majority of reforms spring other reforms because they served relatively powerless low-income quickly to life and quickly die out within threaten the deep structure of immigrant and other minority families? ten years or sooner. One answer has been two-way/dual-lan- Tye's book helps explain the con- established practices and guage programs that mix "gifted" En- tinued resistance to bilingual education institutionalized inequality glish-speaking children in the same and many other reforms because they in American education." classroom with low-income, non-En- threaten the deep structure of established glish speaking children. Even the most practices and institutionalized inequal- vocal opponents of bilingual education ity in American schools. In addition, the have nice things to say about two-way "soft" nature of much federal and other programs (Cummins, 2000). grant funding, including much bilingual Educational Reforms I say "gifted" English-speaking chil- funding, has led many bilingual and That Do Surruhce dren because it is the same parents that other innovative programs to falter and When one examines the power struc- give their children a rich literacy envi= die with the inevitable withdrawal of ture in American communities that in- ronment at home who will most likely federal financial support. fluence school board and schdol be the ones to realize the value placed administration decisions, it is interest- on second languages in universities and Hard Truths ing to see how a few programs, not nec- want their children to be in dual lan- To an extent, bilingual education was essarily complementary, prosper and guage programs. Recently Arizona's oversold back in 1968 as a panacea to grow while most others die or are con- conservative Goldwater Institute criti- deep rooted social and economic prob- stantly threatened. For example, special cized the state universities for cutting lems causing the low academic achieve- education programs survive and grow as back on foreign language graduation re- ment of many minority students, in the handicapped students are mainstreamed quirements. Ironically, I have not heard same manner as the anti-bilingual edu- into regular classrooms, whileat the that it opposed Proposition 203. cation, English immersion initiatives are same time gifted and talented programs, being oversold as quick fixes today. Ad- that pull students out of these same regu- ©hanging the Deep Structure ditionally, in its early daysand to a de- lar classrooms, also find strong support. One weakness of bilingual education is gree even todaybilingual education I see the explanation of the relative the failure to build widespread strong was handicapped by a lack of curricu- success of these seemingly contradictory grassroots support for it even among the lum materials (especially for students efforts to help exceptional students as one groups it serves (Crawford 2000). speaking American Indian languages) of power. Parents from middle and up- and trained professionals to implement per socioeconomic levels have handi- (continued on page 46) 26 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 fie Like NABE, Western Union understands the importance of education among Hispanic children and adults. That's why we commit our efforts to the development of education initiatives like Aprender es Podersm. The program includes Sabemos y Podemos, adult curriculum and Alrededor del Mundo con Western Union, teacher, parent and child bilingual workbook. Attend the Western Union® Aprender es Poder workshop on educational advocacy at the NABE 2001 Conference and learn more about the Western Union education initiatives. _AtIG Is WESTERNuniloNa EREvOS ©2000-2001 Western Union Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The WESTERN UNION name, design and related trademarks and service marks, owned by Western Union Holdings, Inc. are registered and/or used in the U.S. and many foreign countries. 1 I PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION Column Editor: Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.A., IDRA Valued Parent Leadership BY AURELIO M. MONTEMAYOR, M.E1). AND ANNA ALICIA &OMER() 11 families are valuable; none is expendable. The Inter- Listen to peers by conducting focus groups with other cultural Development Research Association (IDRA) parents. adapted this phrase from our very successful Coca-Cola Reflect on activities, debrief, acknowledge successes, ana- Valued Youth Program in which we model the paradigm ofvalu- lyze actions, and integrate lessons learned into future plans. ing. Our use of the word valuing is deliberate and pragmatic. We Provide contexts and opportunities for parents to be wish to champion and speak for the inclusive, nondiscriminatory spokespersons and advocates. and triumphalist idea that all families (particularly those who are Learn to work in groups, including conducting meetings, economically disadvantaged, minority or speak a language other listening to all ideas, resolving conflicts, making decisions, than English) are inherendy good and worthy of being treated carrying out plans of action, and evaluating results. with respect, dignity and value. Support long-term relationships among participating fami- IDRA's goal is bigger than parent involvement in educa- lies. tion, rather it is parent leadership. This model is a vision of Act on issues of current interest. all parents as advocates of excellent neighborhood public Plan and carry out conferences for parents by parents on the schools. We consider leadership the culminating set of ac- topic of public education. tivities in a spectrum of parent participation. In this con- text, leadership is: Compailsoini off Two Parent involvement Typologies D inclusive, Currently in the field of parent involvement, Joyce Epstein's D expanding, "Six Types of Involvement" from School, Family, and Commu- D based on peer support and rotating responsibilities, nity Partnerships is the major comprehensive model that is re- D ongoing invitation and support of new leadership, search-based. The perspective of the Epstein model is D connecting parents and communities across race, ethnic institutional. It works well to help schools look at a variety of and class divisions, ways to reach out to and involve families. D focusing on collective action for the good ofall children, and Epstein's six types of parent involvement are: D building relationships and trust that are essential to the D parenting, process. D communicating, D volunteering, The characteristics we support in the development of leader- D learning at home, ship are in contrast to some traditional parent leadership mod- D decision-making, and els that emphasize individual assertiveness and charismatic D collaborating with the community advocacy. Our process supports parents in learning to work in groups, planning and carrying out activities, speaking in front The Epstein model sees each type of involvement as an of groups, and developing other personal skills and traits that area of responsibility that the school must carry out in a com- develop the individual. Yet, beyond the personal assertiveness, prehensive and well-designed parent involvement program. our emphasis is on collective action, listening to peers, and The perspective of the IDRA model, on the other hand, revolving tasks and leadership roles. is parent-centered (Montemayor, 1997). IDRA's four types of parent involvement are: MIRA Pavent levoivemeng Modell D parents as teachers, IDRA's concept of the leadership role is part of a broader D parents as resources, schema for parent involvement. Our underlying assumption D parents as decision-makers, and (paradigm) is that of valuing as illustrated in facilitating parents D parents as leaders and trainers. to identify the strengths and assets in themselves and their peers. Key characteristics of the process include the following. The IDRA model differs from the Epstein model in sig- D Establish strong communication links and relationships nificant ways. For example, "parenting" and "learning at home" among parents. are part of IDRA's first step, "parents as teachers." "Communi- D Support and nurture networks with schools and commu- cating" permeates all four steps in the IDRA model. "Volun- nity organizations. teering" is a part of IDRA's "parents as resources" step. D Recruit peers to participate and support emerging leaders to "Collaborating with the community" is part of IDRA's "par- train other parents and community members to be leaders. ents as resources" and "parents as leaders and trainers" steps. 28 J A N U A R Y /F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 Ago odzi . Segunda edicon ' 0 ItII 1.1 I"I: " A /I '1 S '1'11 A10) e S . S. Il La prueba de logros en espanol I' . . 'II II S. . 6 . 5 . off' II S. . M. II II - ' 1 Pearson Learning Spells Success in Any Language When it comes to meeting the challenges of a diverse classroom, pears., Pearson Learning has the bilingual resources you need to get Spanish- Learning speaking students on the road to success. Pre li-12 4. 124. From phonics practice and assessment to authentic Spanish series written by native speakers like Pinata and A/16s Pinata, our dynamic bilingual materials help students learn to read as they explore their own colorful culture. Globe Fearon Modern Curriculum Press Pacemaker® Basic English from our Globe Fearon imprint Celebration Press provides a complete grammar, usage, and mechanics curriculum Good Year Books carefully designed to help all students master the English language. Dale Seymour Publications Our family of imprints, including Globe Fearon, Modern Curriculum www.pearsonlearning.com Press, Celebration Press, and Good Year Books, is dedicated to 800-321-3106 supporting bilingual studentsyours can be next! In the IDRA model, valuing and assets acknowledgment for Equity, and in collaboration with the National Coaliton of undergird each step of participation. We see the parent as Advocates for Students (NCAS), IDRA established a pattern teacher, first ofall. This validates and acknowledges all the par- of community conferences that served as training laboratories ent already is, has done and will continue to do with his or her for leadership. child: as parent, teacher, communicator, supporter, role-model, The challenge accepted by the participating parents was values transmitter, etc. to plan and carry out an educational conference for parents by "Parent as teacher" is usually of greatest interest to most parents. The constants in the process were dialoguing as peers, parents who are not actively engaged with their child's school. mutual listening, reporting to large groups, connecting con- Research shows that the effects of parent influence are greatest versation to action, and refining through reflection. in reading: If the family reads, the child will read. Similar re- A key element in each conference has been that each major search findings exist for amount of time spent watching televi- speaker is followed by small group discussions and reports from sion and school attendance. the small groups. The small group discussions are critical in al- The next level in the IDRA parent model is a further op- lowing all participants to voice what the main points were for portunity to validate and give respect to them, what they learned, and implications the parent as an experienced, capable, for their action. By having a report from each thinking and complex being. We support group, the discussions are given further vali- parents to be and be seen as rich resources dation, and the number of individuals pre- in language, culture, history, empathy and "The leadershtp senting before the large group is increased many other possibilities to the school be- aspects that we will significantly. yond simply volunteering to do chores and The parents play many roles in the raising funds for the school. continue to nurture process. All of them are part of the plan- In the third level, parents as decision- surround issues of ning. Key tasks in carrying out the confer- makers, IDRA supports and encourages sustainability, tenacity ences included: assisting with registration parents to participate in all aspects of the and welcoming guests; providing the break- school process. They should be recog- and commitment fast snacks; ushering and organizing the nized as full partners in planning, curricu- over time." seating arrangements; being mistresses of lum and instruction. This does not mean ceremonies; making presentations in work- asking professionals to abdicate their re- shops; facilitating small group discussions; sponsibilities but finding means of inte- reporting to the plenary group; network- grating parent points-of-view and ing and forming new connections; encour- experiences into all aspects of running the school. aging feedback and gathering evaluations; and debriefing and The decision-making effort, which is a strong move in the reflecting together. Each conference enabled all aspects of the direction of leadership, has been documented, and training planning, carrying out and evaluating to be a learning experi- materials are available. Though not as common or as widespread ence for the parents and families involved. as the materials for parents as teachers and parents as resources Initially, four of the events were local conferences held in to schools, there is a body of literature that supports developing San Antonio, independent of any other organization or group. parents as decision-makers on committees and boards. The re- A loose knit group of parents and others in the community search identifies skills needed to work effectively in groups. called themselves FUEGO (Families United for Education: The fourth level of IDRA's model of parent participation, Getting Organized [Familias unidas para la educacion: ganando the focus of this article, is parents as leaders. In our definition organizadas]) (Romero, 1997). and experience, this kind of leader is one who listens deeply to In addition, a small group of parents in Boerne, near San his or her peers, who accepts responsibility for advocating the Antonio, held its own local conference with support from rights of all children, who is assertive but also accepts rotating FUEGO parents. A group from Project ARISE, based in the responsibility, who values collective action more than personal Lower Rio Grande Valley, and mostly from unincorporated recognition, and who trains other parents to be leaders. communitics'called colonias, attended the Boerne conference. The method that the IDRA model emphasizes goes be- They have recently held their own conference, which included yond most schema for parent in- discussions on education issues. volvement and has been the least A group in El Paso, Bienestar Fa- documented and researched out- miliar, has also recently held its side of IDRA. Yet the need for own education conference with this kind of leadership is great. the guidance and support of IDRA staff. Laboratories for Parallel to these events, Leadership Deveiopment IDRA has assisted with parent In 1995, IDRA launched a fo- institutes held as part of state and cused and sustained effort to national organization events carry out our parent involvement (Montemayor, 1999). In 1998 model, with strong focus on the and 1999, FUEGO parents leadership level. With the sup- planned, carried out and evalu- . port of the Ford Foundation ated two parent institutes held in through its national Mobilization Parents express their suggestions for program im rovement. San Antonio and Corpus Christi I 30 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 smet3 for the Texas Association for Bi- Yet our commitment to all chil- lingual Education. In 1998, dren is, in many aspects, an act of FUEGO parents helped plan and faith and a position of advocacy carry out a parent institute for the that comes from our sense ofjus- National Association for Bilin- tice, democracy and compassion. gual Education (NABE) conven- We will not be diverted by faulty tion held in Dallas. In 1999, research that attempts to prove an assistance was given to the par- inherent inferiority of particular ent portion of the NABE con- ethnic groups. We will never sup- vention in Denver. This past port the idea that economically- February, the San Antonio par- disadvantaged, limited-English- ents planned, hosted and carried proficient and minority-families out the parent institute for the have little hope for their children NABE national convention held to succeed in school because of in San Antonio. Participants visited the exhibit hall and technology alley.inherent "deficits" in their fam- As part of the Seventh An- ily structure, culture or class. In nual IDRA La Semana del Nino Early Childhood Educators fact, IDRA has researchdemonstrating otherwise (Robledo Institute, a parent institute was held with more than 150 par- Montecel, et al., 1993). ents participating. This reflected the results of a new outreach Currently, research on what affects student achievement effort being piloted by IDRA. Parents and some educators from is driving reform efforts. In this environment and public dia- San Antonio and other Texas sites participated in bilingual logue, high standards have become the linchpins of improv- (Spanish/English) presentations on parent leadership and bi- ing education and creating an educated citizenry. There are lingual early childhood education. As in previous conferences, obviously serious questions to many parts of the syllogism. there were small group dialogues and reports to the large group. One widespread, though questionable, indicator is the stan- During the last three years, IDRA has been expanding dardized test. Test scores are being touted as effective mea- parent leadership opportunities by hosting live interactive sures of student achievement, and, therefore, indicators of videoconferences. For each, we have joined 10 or more Texas good schools, effective curriculum and instruction, equity, sites with educators and parents. The presentations and con- and good parent support. versations have been bilingual (Spanish/English), and the pan- All IDRA efforts are aimed at producing excellent schools elists have been parents and educators presenting on parent that work for all children. So in our parent participation ef- leadership, bilingual education, quality early education pro- forts, we recognize the importance ofstudents learning, achiev- grams, and after school programs. The process has allowed for ing and having great success in school, from the elementary interaction across all sites, with discussions and problem solv- school level to the post-secondary school level. We are left with ing using vignettes related to the confer- the challenge to support parent advocacy ence topics. These videoconferences also of these issues on the one hand, and the gave new access to technology to parents need to measure impact of parent advo- who had not previously experienced it and "The easy or expedient cacy on the other. provided one more type of laboratory for path in parent IDRA's court testimony on the leadership development. rights ofchildren of undocumented work- Advocacy can burn out the isolated involvement research is to ers to a free public education is an ex- leader. IDRA has had consistent and document 'good' vs.'not- ample. We measure our impact by those persistent success in our efforts to sup- so-good' family patterns thousands of children who are receiving port parent leadership. We have seen and then develop a an education in spite of prejudices that some people pull back and then return. others may feel toward recent immigrant Because of this phenomenon, we en- program to turn the 'not- families. We know that all those students courage emerging leaders to follow our so-good' to `better'..." that have become literate and computer- model of peer support and connection. proficient citizens and workers in our so- The leadership aspects that we will con- ciety would have ended up as illiterate tinue to nurture surround issues of low-wage earners in bottom level jobs if sustainability, tenacity, and commitment over time. the SupremeCourt had not defended their right to an educa- We have participated in and experienced other programs tion.We don't know what the reading and math scores are that focus on teaching parents their rights. Many advocacy or- for children whose parents are without documents, and we ganizations have developed excellent materials and training haven't set up a research project to measure the impact ofDoe programs to do this. We do not wish to recreate those pro- v. Plylar on the academic achievement of the children who had cesses, and we support any and all programs that teach parents one less obstruction for going to school. about their rights and the children's rights. We must advocate parent leadership in spite of the diffi- culty of measuring its impact. This difficulty is not a problem Research Challenges of having no impact to measure. It is in determining how to IDRA operates on a research-based and data-driven process. measure the impact on children's learning, over time, ofa single 01. 1 NABE NEWS 31 we document and lenses. Some families are broken and need recognize the value to be fixed. The easy or expedient path ofparents defending in parent involvement research is to docu- their own rights to ment "good" vs. "not-so-good" family be heard and seen as patterns and then develop a program to real stakeholders in turn the "not-so-good" to the "better" education. It can be and document how the children improve done, and we en- in school when their parents become courage the research "better" parents. Usually, this pattern community to put merely serves to reinforce race, ethnic and effort into it. class biases. Otherwise, Moreover, there is a burgeoning in- we will continue to dustry of parent educators who are de- Parents learn about each other and discover their strengths. show simply that veloping programs to meet the needs of parents who read parents who feel guilty about not being produce children the best of parents. This "guilt trip" is factor (parent leadership) in the midst of who read. As a result, schools' activities for clearly a cheap shot aimed at parents who multiple factors. parent involvement will primarily consist feel they haven't been perfect in rearing Our challenge is to find the ways to of classes to teach parents to read and help their children...the vast majority! We at document the effects of parent leadership their children with homework. We will IDRA are not assuming perfection, nor in education. When a group of coura- continue to focus on changing the current are we impractical idealists about fami- geous parents defend their children's right concern of "improving the family" as the lies. Obviously, some families have seri- to have a state-of-the-art campus in their main issue in parent involvement. ous problems. But that reality can apply barrio with effective, appropriately cre- The preponderant volumes of re- to families of any race, ethnicity, culture, dentialed teachers and with spacious fa- search are looking at family patterns, edu- class and neighborhood. Perhaps family cilities and reasonable student-teacher cation and relationships at home. From "problems" are simply more visible in ratios, we must document the effect on these studies, researchers will continue to (continued on page 40) the children. 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Multi-leveled packs address varying degrees of literacy- learning and language-learning needs Hands on activities support content areasscience, math, or social studies Addresses the five stages of English Language Acquisition and the four levels of English Literacy Development EACHReach for ReadingfReaching Up EN ESPANOL Increasing Reading Skills One Student at a Tme. forREADING Reach for Reading is a one-on-one tutor program designed to bring the reading levels of at-risk students up to grade level. Reaching Up is for first through third grade students and Reaching Higher is for third through fifth grade students. ighy Rigby1-800-822-8661 www.rigby.com PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT S-12 A.25 NABE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE President Clinton and Congress Agreeon a Historic 18% Increase in Education Funding for FY2001 Bilingual Education Increased by $48 Million B Y EAT RIT LA___L 0 E__KA_, ESQ., NABE n December 15, 2000 Con- FY2001 proposed appropriation for Bi- D $150 'million for Emergency gress approved the final fiscal lingual Education provides $180 million Immigrant Education Pro- year (FY) 2001 education for Instructional Services, an increase of gram. Immigrant Education has funding bill which represents the largest $17.5 million, or about 10.7 percent, been frozen for the last several years. investment in federal education funding over the FY2000 level. For the first time $1.2 billion for a new School in history. H.R. 4577 (Conference Re- since FY1998, Support Services received Renovation Program to renovate port 106-1033) covering the Depart- an increase to $16 million $2 million and repair about 3,500 schools. ments of Labor, Health and Human D $846 million for After School Services and Education passed by 292- Centers, an increase of $393 mil- 60 in the House of Representatives and lion, nearly doubling the program, cleared the Senate by voice vote. Con- The Federal Bilingual to serve an additional 600,000 chil- gress adjourned shortly after the votes dren and to open 3,100 new after were completed. Education Act was funded school centers. Overall, the final funding package at the President's $6.2 billion for Head Start, an in- provides $42.1 billion for the Education request of $296 million. crease of $933 million or 18% over Department increasing federal education 2000 to expand Head Start enroll- spending by a record $6.5 billion an ment by 66,000 children.' 18% increase over last year's funding lev- $8.6 billion for Title 1 grants, els. This is the biggest increase in fed- more than the FY2000 level.Once $660 million or 8% over last year - eral education funding since the again, Professional Development pro- 850,000 disadvantaged students Department ofEducation was created in grams received the largest increase to would receive extra help in reading 1979. The final spending package was $100 million, a $28.5 million, or 40 per- and math, and turn around an ad- completed two and a half months into cent more than FY2000. ditional 1,800 low-performing the fiscal year, which started October 1, The spending package also increased schools 2000 and took twenty-one Continuing the following programs: $7.4 billion for Special Educa- Resolutions (stopgap measures) to keep D $1.6 billion to reduce class sizes tion, $1.4 billion or 23% over 2000, the federal government working while in the early grades, a $323 mil- increasing the federal contribution the White House and Congressional lion or 25% increase over last year from 12% in 2000 to 15% in 2001 leaders negotiated the final spending to hire 8,000 new teachers. An ad- the highest in the history ofIDEA. package. ditional 432,000 children would get $692 millionto improve The Federal Bilingual Education the benefits of smaller classes. teacher quality, an increase of Act was funded at the President's request D $14 million for Foreign Lan- $244 million or 54% over last year of $296 million an increase of $48 guage Assistance, an increase of to provide training in core aca- million over FY2000. The President's $6 million from FY2000. demic subjects to up to 1.0 million teachers, reduce the number of uncertified teachers, and provide FUNDING HISTORY (in millions) technology training to 110,000 fu- ture teachers. FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 NABE applauds the historic bipartisan Instructional Services (Subpart 1) $160 $160 $162.5 $180 $6.5 billion funding increase for educa- tion.This budget reflects the impor- Support Services (Subpart 2) 14 4 14.0 16 tant role ofeducation in the overall fiscal Professional Development (Subpart 3) 25 50 71.5 100 health and competitiveness of the nation's economy as well as its high pri- Total $199 $224 $248 $296 ority with the American people. 0 34 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY2001 128 State-of-the-art training materials, for 4y1 Training Initiatives educating English Language, Learws 4 EducatingThe BUENO LinguistwalljA\and-Culturally Center foi'MulticulturaVEducation piverse,-Students: presents: \74-- 'gay ta_W't Professional`DevelopmentSeries offers-some &the bestResbfirce up.17-1O7date Serci_es CD-ROMs.researth-based \ \\\ / *Second materialsI-C--;rij_su\age currentlyavailable in the field! Topicsi/nclude: uisitiorif\AsseSme/fit-ofELLs \. , CD-ROM media provideisithe_versatiliity\ toCulturcil \customizeFamily your training prglowei=nitent for ClassiNom luurncututritaaptation iWanagementLearning Styles z AlciinhrAneColiration customizedhardcopyActivityPowerPointspecific Guides. audiences. presentation. on-site Slides, All materiblstraining EasrtO-ysedisussion! Consultation, provided. Icon poi'rits\ \ bematerials lused-digitally Participanttechnical 'include assistanceor Handouts pre-developedprinted out andand for 77) http://www.colorado.edu/education/BUENOBUENOUniversity of Colorado atCenter Boulder Campus127 Boxfor 249, Bouldei;Multicultural CO 80309 [email protected] Education 128 NABE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE The Education Agenda of President George W. Bush and the Education of Limited English Proficient Children BY PAT_RJCIA NABE n November 7, 2000, the American people went to discrimination. We must challenge the status quo and en- the polls to elect a new President. Although the out- act bold education reforms that insist on high standards to come of the election was not finalized until five match the high hopes of America's parents. To create an weeks0 later, George W. Bush was selected as the 43rd President opportunity society, we must prize educational excellence of the United States of America. and make it a top national priorityfor every child of ev- Now that the elections are over and a new administra- ery accent and background. tion has moved into the Department of Education, NABE Our goal in Texas is to teach all our children to read and members must be ready to respond to the President's policy comprehend in English. The ability to speak English is key to agenda on education. Numerous political pundits surmise success in America. Many times, English-only programs send that education will be one of the top pri- a signal that says "Me, not you; without ority issues for the Bush Administration. taking into account others."I support a At the same time, the Elementary and concept I call English-P/us, insisting on Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and English proficiency but recognizing the numerous other pieces of education leg- "...NABE Members invaluable richness that other languages islation will be reauthorized during the must be ready and cultures bring to our nation of immi- 107th Congress. to respond to grants. Here in Texas, the Spanish lan- Although we do not have a crystal ball guage enhances and helps define our to look into the future, we can look at the the President's State's history. statements of the Bush Campaign on policyagenda My fundamental priority is results. President Bush's education agenda as a on education." If a good immersion program works, I guide for the future regarding education say great.If a good bilingual program policy during the Bush Administration. effectively teaches children to read and In September 2000, The Mexican comprehend English as quickly as pos- American Legal Defense and Educational sible, I say great. Any program that is Fund (MALDEF) issued a Policy Issues Paper for the Presi- not [accomplishing this] should be improved or eliminated. dential Candidates in the 2000 Presidential Campaign. The The standard is English literacy, and the goal is equal op- following is one of the policy questions posed to and the writ- portunityall .in an atmosphere where every heritage is re- ten response received from the Bush Campaign. Visit http:// spected and celebrated. And we must utilize our rigorous www.maldeforg to see the full Policy Issues Paper and the accountability system to judge whether bilingual programs are full response from the Bush Campaign. serving young students. I believe that true education reform requires pressure from Question on Limited English Proficient Students above about our high standards and competition from below What plans do the Presidential candidates have to educate the to spur innovation. This requires redefining the relationship growing numbers of students entering elementary and secondary between the states and the federal government, granting free- public schools whose primary language is not English? dom from regulation in exchange for results. That's why my Bush's Answer: Educating our children is the most im- plan harnesses the potency of choice, and accountability, and portant thing we will ever do, and we must get it right. We local control, and parental involvement, and results.I have will never be the nation we should be until every child in high hopes and expectations of every single child in America, America is educated and no child is left behind. Today there and every member of my administration will be committed to is a persistent achievement gap in our public schools be- this goal: That no child will be left out or left behind. Educa- tween Anglos and minorities, between disadvantaged stu- tion reform in Texas has earned high marks nationally, and I dents and their more affluent peers.Access is universal, plan on bringing this same results-oriented philosophy to the but excellence is not. And whatever the cause, the effect is White House. 36 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY2001 129 Objectives of President Bush's third of state costs to establish a merit scholarship pro- Education Reform Han gram for students who take an advanced or recommended The Bush Campaign also issued policy statements on educa- curriculum. tion, which can be found on the Internet (http:// D Make it easier for parents to save early for college by grant- www.georgewbush.com/issues/education.html). What ing complete tax exemption to all qualified pre-paid and follows are the highlights of President Bush's education re- tuition savings plans. form agenda. 5.Improve Teacher Quality and Increase Resources: President Bush's education reform plan has 6 basic objectives: Consolidate and increase funds for teacher training and recruitment a $2.4 billion fund for states to enact teacher 1.Close the Achievement Gap between Disadvantaged accountability systems. Students and their Peers: Expand loan forgiveness from $5,000 to $17,500 for teach- D Empower low-income parents of students stuck in persis- ers with math and science majors who teach in high-need tently failing schools with the option of transferring to schools for five years. another public school, or using their share of federal fund- Increase funding for the Troops-to-Teachers program to $30 ing to pay for another option of their choice (including million to recruit former military personnel to America's tutoring, a charter school, or a non-public school). classrooms; and establish a tax deduction for teachers to D According to the Bush Campaign's policy paper, A Cul- deduct up to $400 dollars in out-of-pocket classroom ex- ture of Achievement, President Bush proposes to consoli- penses. date most of the sixty programs authorized under the ESEA into five categories: improving achievement of dis- 6.Restore School Safety and Promote Character De- advantaged children, promoting fluency in English, train- velopment: ing and recruiting teachers, encouraging character and D Require states to measure and improve school safety; pro- school safety, and promoting innovation and informed vide students in persistently dangerous schools with a trans- parental choice. fer to a safe school. Establish Project Sentry to prosecute juveniles who carry 2.Strengthen Early Learning: or use guns and the adults who provide them. D Establish the Reading First program by investing $5 billion D Improve discipline by requiring schools to enact a zero- over five years to ensure that every disadvantaged child tolerance policy on classroom disruption; enact a Teacher can read by third grade. Protection Act to shield teachers from merit-less lawsuits. D Reform Head Start by making school readiness, including D Triple federal funding for character education and expand pre-reading and numeracy, its top priority. the role of faith-based and community organizations in after-school programs. 3.Raise Standards through Local Control, Account- ability and Choice: According to political pundits, education will be the likely D Restore local control by combining more than 60 federal place for President Bush to kick off his legislative agenda. Many programs into five flexible categories and have states es- expect Bush to start with a non-controversial and bi-partisan tablish accountability systems, testing every student in supported education issue like the reading initiative he pro- reading and math. posed during the campaign. Bush's reading initiative proposes I) Demand results by establishing a $500 million fund to re- to spend $5 billion over five years to make sure every poor ward states and schools that improve student performance child can read by the third grade. The next likely education and respond by withdrawing a portion of federal funding issue Bush is expected to tackle is the ESEA reauthorization. from states that permit student performance to decline. Bush proposes to push through so-called "state and local flex- D Help districts meet school construction demands by al- ibility initiatives" also known as block grants. lowing state private activity bonds to be used for school NABE is committed to working with President Bush's construction and repair. Administration and the Congress to ensure that LEP children are afforded equity and access to a high standards education. 0 4. Give Parents More Options from Kindergarten to College: D Publish school-by-school report cards on the Internet to arm parents with information. D Double the number of charter schools through a Charter NABL4, NEws School Homestead Fund to provide $3 billion of loan guar- antees for start-up and construction costs. is now accepting submissions for its D Expand Education Savings Accounts by increasing the an- May/June issue on Responding to nual contributions limit from $500 to $5,000, and allow- ing funds to be withdrawn tax free to pay for expenses Standards and to LEP Student Needs. from kindergarten through college. For full details, see page 39. D Establish a $1.5 billion College Challenge grant to cover one- Itt 130 NABE NEWS 37 MESSAGE FROM 781-932-1144 siumirwww.epsi-usa.com THE PRESIDENT MENEM./ (continued from Page 5) BommorINEr PIW afiledng IR Happen Educational- erformance TM Systems, InC In preparing students to work in compa- nies like Lexmark, we must work with local, state and national education lead- ers in assisting schools and in holding them accountable for helping students attain high academic standards, English LINKS-Espanol language skills, and dual language literacy. In today's world, it is not enough to con- tinue arguing the old paradigm that bi- lingual education works and that English- only does not. We must hold schools ac- countable for the high academic achieve- ment of all students, for if schools are not NTEr, offering all students the opportunities to achieve to the highest standards, language minority students will also fail. It is ironic that the two states that have passed English-only legislation re- cently also have among the lowest test results in reading for all students partici- pating in the National Assessment ofEdu- 41/1 A Través del Curriculo cational Progress (NAEP). For Arizona, NAEP results for reading in 1998 show that 82 percent of all fourth graders and 72 percent of all eighth graders partici- pating in the exam scored below the proficient level. In California, for the same period and test, 78% percent of fourth graders and eighth graders scored below the proficient level. It is clear that local and state govern- ments that are failing in teaching reading Helps Spanish speaking students struggling in their skills to all students at all levels will simi- native language write well-organized paragraphs. larly fail in teaching reading skills to lan- guage minority students. It is also clear Helps ESL special education students transition from that NABE, its membership and its state affiliates must join with all educational writing in Spanish to English. leaders to hold state and local govern- ments accountable for the educational Helps Spanish speaking ESL general education students achievement of all students. English-only write well-organized paragraphs and essays in English. is not a panacea, not even for English-only students! The mandate initiated by the early Helps English speaking students who are learning pioneers to promote educational excel- Spanish, write persuasive paragraphs and essays in lence for language minority students continues and constitutes as large a chal- Spanish. lenge, or even larger, than twenty-five years ago. I exhort all educators to join with NABE in local, state, and national Visit us @ www.epsi-usa.com or call 781-932-1144 leaders to improve educational attain- ment and renew hope for a better to- morrow for all students. 0 38 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 (t. F3 ADMINISTRATION OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS Column Editor: Mary I. Ramirez, MA. Sharing My Thoughts on the Education of English Language Learners in New York City LILIAN HERNANDEZ, OFFICE OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION, NEAR/ YORK CITY Bomu) OF EDUCATIQN s a school girl in El Barrio (Span for New York City. It serves as a ratio- the magnitude involved in educating ish Harlem) in New York City, nale for advocating for effective bilingual/ New York City students in general, and I didn't need bilingual edu- ESL programs and reinforces my confi- ELLs in particular. Our public schools cation.(not that this option existed in the dence in New York City initiatives such serve over one million students. About fifties!). I believe, however, that many as expanding and supporting dual lan- 15 % of these students were ELLs served newly-arrived classmates from Puerto guage, newcomer and prevention/inter- during the 1999-2000 school year; 65, Rico could have benefited from it. In- vention programs. 389 ELLs were served in bilingual/ESL stead, they sat confused, helpless, unable Effective bilingual/ESL programs are programs; and 67, 295 of the ELLs were to understand their teachers. I still see key for ELLs, as are effective instructional served in ESL programs only. Over 140 those faces. I was lucky. I spoke English programs for all learners. Currently, great languages are represented, but the diver- and Spanish. Deep inside I felt a twinge emphasis is placed on higher standards. sity and numbers of students speaking of guilt because somehow I knew I was particular languages vary greatly from lucky by accident. I had older siblings in Ldistrict to district (there are 32 commu- school. They "brought" English to our nity school districts, 6 high school dis- Spanish-speaking home long before I tricts, one citywide special education entered kindergarten. Effective bilingual/ district) sometimes from school to school My luck ended when my family or within a school. The greatest language moved to Puerto Rico. Talk about cul- ESL programs are group is Spanish, with over 90, 029 stu- ture shock!I felt alienated, uncomfort- key for ELLs, as are dents. Following are students speaking: able in social, cultural and academic effective instructional Chinese (14,860), Russian (4,686), Hai- situations. My kitchen Spanish wasn't tian (4,325), Bengali (3,728). Closely good enough. I couldn't express myself programs for behind are 3,667 Urdu speakers and 2, adequately, but I'd soon be attending a all learners. 539 Korean speakers. Adding to the university in Puerto Rico! I was an ex- complexity, students' learning needs are cellent studentin English. Now I similarly diverse. Some students enter needed to be Spanish college-level school at older ages with little previous smart. Until I caught up I felt frus- formal schooling, yet the new standards tratedbad for any student's self-esteem The work of my office has always re- and requirements for graduation from at any age. Perhaps that's why I identify flected high educational expectations for high school apply to all students. Re- so closely with newly-arrived students. ELLs; therefore, we welcome the chal- quirements include the passing of sub- In fact, the connections to my first lenges to meet more rigorous standards. ject area Regents examinations and an language and culture, to my second lan- OBE collaborates with central offices and English Regents. guage, and to other cultures I've been district superintendents to help provide fortunate to encounter have greatly in- educational services to English language Ilnitiaghms Support fluenced me as have my teaching, guid- learners while supporting and valuing Nigh Standards ance and administrative experiences in their primary cultures and languages. We Due to space constraints, I will highlight the school district and City University needn't sacrifice a student's home lan- only some New York City initiatives that of New York. My role as the assistant to guage to learn English. In fact, research support high standards for ELLs through a nationally-known New York City supportsincluding recent long-term assessment, curriculum, professional Board of Education member also pro- studies here in New York Citythat a development and parental support. First, vided insight into policy formation and strong foundation in the first language OBE has adapted the performance stan- its impact on educational systems. My helps in learning others. I'd like to share dards appropriate for ELLs' educational background informs my commitment to some of these findings and other of our needs. To expand equity for ELLs, OBE English language learners (ELLs) and exciting initiatives for ELLs with my has ensured the inclusion of Spanish, assists me in my role as the Executive NABE colleagues. Chinese, Haitian and Russian student Director of Bilingual Education (OBE) teb RA few demographics give an idea of work samples for the New York City 132 NABENEWS 39 standards-based curriculum in language standards. We are working in schools PARENT INVOLVE arts, math, science and for the applied throughout the city and planning pro- learning standards. gram expansion for 2000-2001. Addi- MENT IN BILINGUAL tionally, these effective schools will serve Assessment is crucial in targeting stu- to establish/expand dual language initia- EDUCATION dents' educational needs and charting tives. Dual language programs can serve (continued from Page 32) progress. Assessment must also be a greater diversity of students and enrich aligned with the standards and curricu- educational/linguistic and cultural expe- poorer neighborhoods, particularly lum. Additionally, for ELLs, it is nec- riences of all participants. when this is the main place researchers essary for determining appropriate are looking. program entry/exit criteria. Therefore, Professional development in New We cannot easily measure how many OBE is involved in a series ofinitiatives York City is primarily the responsibility field workers today have a better living with the Division of Assessment and of each community school district, how- wage, accessible restrooms and other pro- Accountability (DAA). Uppermost is ever, OBE provides staff development tections as workers because Cesar Chavez, the major effort to update and re-norm opportunities to new teachers and those Dolores Huerta and others provided lead- the Language Assessment Battery (LAB) already in the system. In fact, activities are ership in fighting for their rights. It is and use it appropriately for entry criteria generally inclusive ofall teachers, whether equally difficult to empirically measure only. For 25 years, the LAB was used bilingual, general or special education, the benefits to society ofRosa Parks' de- to: determine entry criteria; assess stu- since ELLs are often served outside bi- cision to stay in her seat at the front of dent progress in English as a second lan- lingual programs. the bus. Yet few doubt the tremendous guage, and to assess exit criteria. The positive results of these actions. Board of Education of New York City Parents are a great resource and allies Our faith in parent leadership in is also collaborating with the State Edu- for teachers in educating students. The education presents a similar challenge. cation Department (SED) to develop parents of ELLs are no exception. We We believe that parents will ultimately more appropriate ESL progress assess- must ensure that parents of ELLs are make a critical difference in ensuring ments which will also be used to "set" welcome in our schools as active partici- that our neighborhood public schools exit standards. pants in the education of their children. provide the best possible education for Furthermore, the Board and SED OBE provides forums for parents at dis- all children. Parent leadership will make are critical partners in translating Re- trict, central and state-wide levels (SABE it happen. Our hearts and our experi- gents examinations at the high school conferences); we also helped establish ences know: All children can learn. No level and in establishing accommoda- newcomers welcome-centers in the child is expendable; all families are tions to assist ELLs in passing the Re- Bronx and Brooklyn. Our office also de- valuable. 0 gents. Additionally, OBE and DAA will velops and/or translates informational adapt the Early Childhood Literacy Assess- brochures regarding the school system Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed., is the lead ment System (ECLAS) for Spanish-speak- for parents in various languages. trainer in IDRA 's Division of Professional ingstudents(similartothe The responsibility of educating Development. Anna Alicia Romero is an edu- instructionally-based tool for New York children in New York City nowadays cation assistant in the IDRA Institute for City used with English proficient K-3 often seems daunting or insurmount- Policy and Leadership. Comments and ques- students to assess progress in literacy able. Ensuring that ELLs meet the high- tions may be directed to them via e-mail at beginning in kindergarten). est standards present more distinct [email protected]. Recently completed long-term challenges. In our day-to-day endeav- DAA studies of ELLs have shown gen- ors, we can lose sight of overall accom- Resources erally positive conclusions regarding plishments and achievements that have Montemayor, A.M. "Parents Organizing Bilingual bilingual education. The research has improved learning environments for Education Advocates: Parent Institutes as a Strategy," IDRA Newsletter (San Antonio, contributed to an understanding of the ELLs. I thank Mary Ramirez and Texas: Intercultural Development Research success of bilingual/English as a second NABE News for the opportunity to Association, May 1999). language programs in facilitating the highlight some on-going initiatives Montemayor, A.M. "The Nurturing of Parent transition of ELLs into mainstream and to remind ourselves here of some Leadership," IDRA Newsletter (San Antonio, classes as well as their academic success gains. There remains much work ahead, Texas: Intercultural Development Research Association, September 1997). after the transition. but my staff and I are continuing with Robledo Montecel, M. and A. Gallagher, A. The Development and Dissemina- our mission to educate English language Montemayor, A. Villarreal, N. Adame- tion Schools Initiative, starting its third learners in New York City to the best Reyna, J. Supik. Hispanic Families As Valued year of implementation, represents in- of our abilities. 0 Partners: An Educator's Guide (San Antonio, Texas: Intercultural Development Research novation and hope . Its goal is to increase Association, 1993). the capacity ofschools to develop/deploy Lillian Hernandez is the Executive Director, Romero, A.A. "Parents Speak Out: Quality Edu- a range of effective approaches/strategies Office of Bilingual Education, New York cation for All Children," IDRA Newsletter (San to deliver high-quality instruction to City Board of Educationa position she has Antonio, Texas: Intercultural Development help ELLs, grades K-12, achieve to high held and provided leadership since 1992. Research Association, September 1997). 40 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 4tIt; 123 ft itew*ce 045Pfr publications 4t04° latest news online library 4iPs. programs and practices funding information current research information services Your Access to Answers in Educating Linguistically & Culturally Diverse Students e co coo 40e, e,§..e e The Bilingual Math Solution! Moving with Math® is a Pre-K Grade 8 Manipulative based math program in Spanish and English with Proven Results! Immersion, Extended Day or Summer School Achievement Tests show Measured Results Teacher Guides with Easy to Use Step-by-Step Instructions Attend our Workshop "Manipulatives The Universal Language of Math" Thursday, Feb. 22nd from 1:30- 2:45 Prescott #7 in the Convention Center. Or stop by our Booth #1009-1015 to play manipulative games and win prizes. Let us show you how the universal language of manipulatives can bring success to your classroom. 135 1 TECHNOLOGY AND LANGUAGE-MINORITY STUDENTS Column Editors: Anne Dolan, ESL Specialist, Boston Public Schools Ana Bishop, Multilingual Educational Technology Consulting, NY The Digital Divide: Closing the Gap among Bilingual Personnel as well as Students BY DAVID DIOKNQ, PATRICIA SARANGO, CQ7....CHAIRS INSTRUCjIONAL TECIJNOLQGY SIG Faiiing Through the MET Our 1999-2000 ADVISORY COMMITTEE included Studies cited in the recent report from the National Telecom- Edison Freire (PA), Francesca Venning (Apple)janna Klein munications Information Administration speak to the grow- (Edmark) ,Patricia Jury (Tucson), Fred Ochoa (UT), Vu Tran ing need to provide language minority students equal access to (K-12 student representative) and Elizabeth Willett (univer- technology and the Internet. Without opportunities at home, sity representative). as well as in school, to tap into the wealth on the Internet, LEP students are rapidly becoming the new information underclass. D Workshops - NABE 2000 offered Showcase Presentations The findings in the report, Falling through the Net: Defining the by three school districts that are spearheading exemplary tech- Digital Divide, show that language minority students have the nology programs for LEP students in Union City, NYC, and least access to technology of all groups surveyed. South San Francisco. Tech Ailey/ MBE 2(D 00 Yet even amid these alarming statistics, Tech Alley and all its D Software Demos - Two consultants, Bishop & Green, resources at NABE 2000 were under-utilized. In fact, the Digi- shared their expertise, and the representative from CALI gave tal Divide seemed as visible among the NABE membership as a hands-on demonstration of their new software for English it is for our students. If you didn't stop by NABE's "Tech Al- language Learners. ley" last year, here's what you missed: D Donors - Apple, Compaq, Lexmark and Boston Public I) Staffing - The IT SIG Officers were on hand to help launch Schools donated hardware. Free printers were even raffled . bilingual educators into the mainstream of current technologi- Software donors included The Learning Company, Soleil, Q cal development in San Antonio, TX last February. Our mem- Group, Edmark, Forest Technologies, Inspiration, DK Inter- bers are national leaders in the field of technology for diverse active, Sunburst, Tom Snyder, Deep River, Heart Soft, IDRA, learners. They include: Multilingual Ed Technology. There was ample opportunity Past Chair: Ana Bishop (NY) and sufficient staff were there to help NABE members pre- Current Chair: Dr. Chris Green (TX) view the latest in high quality educational software for second Vice Chair: Patricia Sarango (MA) Webmaster: Edwin Nieves (VA) language learners. Communications: David Diokno (MA) Volunteers: Gilberto Vega (NY) tRecoei WeI sites Software: Leticia Lopez-De la Garza for Second Language Learners Bookinarks of recommended sites were also prepared by Dr. Chris Green for bilingual educators to take home to their dis- AM& tricts. In sum there was a wealth of resources that were hardly tapped given the urgency of the digital divide that separates bi- lingual students from their mainstream peers. Mew Officers OTSIS The election of new ITSIG brought more technology profes- sionals on board with renewed commitment to assure that tech- nology makes an even bigger impact during NABE 2001.The dediated ITSIG team for 2000-2001 includes: Co-Chairs - Patricia Sarango, and David Diokno Vice Chair - Jerry Bennett 136 NABE NEWS 43 Our Advisory Committee includes: hnportant Mehsites and addvesses feu. MBE DTSOG Edwin Nieves, Webmaster David Diokno, Communications D www.nabe.net/it.htmlListserv, [email protected] Leticia Lopez , Software D Patricia Sarango: [email protected] An indispensable crew of volunteers D David Diokno: [email protected] also came on board offering their brains and/or brawn to the ITSIG: Ana Silva, D Jerry Bennett: [email protected] Denver, CO, Rhonda Struminger, I) Edwin Nieves: [email protected] Cambridge, MA.Vicky Magaletta, D Leticia Lopez: [email protected] Anne Dolan, and Nydia Mendez from the Boston Public Schools. David Diokno and Patricia Sarango are on the highly acclaimed Technology Team in the Boston Public Schools. They have been active in running Bilingual Technical Institutes Tech Alley MOE 21111111 in their district over the past three years. With their support and vision, bilingual and ESL We look forward to seeing even more staff has learned how to integrate technology into the curriculum and have received the soft- NABE members at the National Con- ware and hardware to implement their objectives. vention, Phoenix, 2001 Though you may be tempted just to drop by to check your email, we hope to entice you to stay DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL AND TRANSCULTURAL STUDIES with the latest showcase of exemplary practices for accelerating learning for BILINGUAL/BICULTURAL EDUCATION bilingual students, parents and staff. In Position: Senior scholar to join the faculty in preparing students for teaching, administration, and related roles in bilingual instructional settings. addition, we plan to give NABE mem- Responsibilities: Teach basic courses and work with MA students in a teacher-education bers hands on interaction with the hard- program; teach research seminars and develop a program of fitnded research that supports ware, software and Web sites available doctoral students who are specializing in bilingual/bicultural education; help develop innovative approaches to teacher education; and, collaborate with other teacher educators in re-examining to accomplish the technology goals for and refining teacher education programs and in the Colleges Professional DevelopMent your district. School projects. Qualifications: Doctorate and substantial scholarly publications in a relevant field. Relevant experience in teacher education, especially in programs that integrate schools, communities, Wohanteer Oppevtunities and the workplace. Experience in obtaining funding for innovative research in bilingual/ And liegistraiden Fees bicultural education. Preference will be given to candidates with teaching and research experience in both the U.S. and other countries. Reduced conference registrationfees Rank: Associate/Full Professor, Tenured. can be arranged for volunteers who help Send CV, a letter of application that indicates ways in which the above responsibilities would in setting up and or/staffing the Tech be carried out, copies of two relevant publications, and three letters of reference to Professor Marfa Torres-Guzmin, Search Committee Chair, Box 122S. Alley. We can use your technical exper- Review of applications will begin November 22,2000 and continue until the search is com- tise or your energy for setting and break- pleted. Appointment begins September 2001. ing down our lab. The investment of TEACHERS COLLEGE as an institution is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment. In offer- some of your time and energy is crucial ing education, psychology; and health studies, the College is committed to providing expanding employ- ment opportunities to minorities, women, and persons with disabilities in its own activities and in society. investment to make sure our influence Candidates whose qualifications and experience are direcdy relevant to College priorities (e.g., urban and minoriv con- is strongly felt at NABE 2001. You can cerns) may be considered fir higher rank than advertised also acquire more learning and do addi- TEACHERS COLLEGE tional networking! COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 525 West 120th St., New York, NY 10027 http://www.tc.columbia.edu/ Mosing the Gap Ifwe are to make an impact on the Digi- tal Divide, we need to keep bilingual edu- cators abreast ofcutting edge technology. Through the Instructional Technology Remember, April 30" is SIG GROUP, our goal for NABE 2001 pszg is to accelerate our utilization of tech- nology to foster communication among our members as well as advocating for infrastructure, teacher training, techni- cal support, and materials development a for our students. 44 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 Building confidence. Building competence.,,,, ^t jlt ,0'e:1;11110:14 M1" A wealth of educational materials for your Spanish-speaking students. Harcourt Copyright t4D by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in USA. HARCOURT and the Harcourt Logo are trademarks of Harcourt, Inc. 1 3 S INDIGENOUS BILINGUAL EDUCATION (continued from Page 26) OE NPPOOVUL:107-ifP OYPA ER9 '7 Advocates of bilingual education cannot afford to wait until Ron Unz comes to their state to start a major campaign to CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY advertise good bilingual programs and develop community Tenure-Track Faculty Positions in the support. In addition, any attempts to force bilingual education on unwilling parents only strengthen the possibility that it will College of Education be denied to parents that want it. In the words of Lani Guinier (1994) and others, bilingual Chicago State University is seeking to fill education proponents through the initiative process are being four tenure-track positions in the College of Education subjected to democracy's tyranny of the majority. For example, for the spring of 2001. American Indians, less than one percent of the nation's popula- tion, are defenseless in the face of the majority unless they present DEPARTMENT OF READING, a united front and, in addition, link arms with other minorities ELEMENTARY EDUCATION, EARLY CHILD- and actively recruit the support of mainstream Americans. HOOD EDUCATION, LIBRARY SCIENCE/COM- One way to gain wide support, I think, is to build on the MUNICATIONS MEDIA, AND BILINGUAL rhetoric of the defining American political documents in the EDUCATION (2 positions) same manner as was done by the Civil Rights movement. Start- ing with the Declaration of Independence, the definitions of freedom, liberty, and free speech in those documents needs logi- Bilingual Education Program - Position #1 cally to be broadened to include group as well as individual Duties/Responsibilities: Full-time tenure-track position rights to heritage languages and cultures. To paraphrase what I to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in Bilingual wrote in this column in 1996: Education. Education/Experience: Ph. D. preferred; Government suppression of minority languages and cultures vio- public school teaching experience in bilingual programs lates the liberty of American Indian, Latino, and other language required. Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in minority citizens to be who they want to be. There are different English and Spanish. Salary/Rank: commensurate with forms of slavery, and of being a subject rather than a citizen. experience. One form of slavery in this country ended with the Civil War, but there is another form of slavery that says "you will be like us," whether you like it or not. This form of forced conformity Bilingual Special Education Program Position #2 is still being imposed on ethnic minorities in the United States Duties/Responsibilities: Full-time tenure-track position through assimilationist, English-only schooling to the detriment to teach Bilingual and Special Education graduate and of full and equal citizenship. undergraduate courses. The faculty member will work We have lost some battles in the war for bilingual educa- collaboratively with College of Education bilingual and tion and better education for language minority children, but special education faculty and public school educators to the struggle goes on. The day after Proposition 203 passed, I prepare specialists in the area of bilingual special educa- attended a conference sponsored by the Navajo Nation Learn tion. Education/Experience: Earned doctorate preferred, in Beauty Project. Already, Navajo leaders were planning strat- will consider doctoral candidates. Experience in class- egy, which may well include civil disobedience, for overcom- room teaching and assessment of LEP/special education ing this latest blow to their children's future. 0 students required. Salary/Rank: commensurate with qualifications and experience. Jon Reyhner, Ph.D. is Associate Professor at Northern Arizona Uni- versity. Send article submissions or comments to P.O. Box 5774, Flag- To ensure full consideration, applicants for positions at staff Arizona 86011-5774 or by email [email protected]. Chicago State University should send complete files, including a letter of application, curriculum vitae, References Crawford, James. (2000). Language politics in the United States: The para- transcripts, three recent letters of recommendation, and dox of bilingual education. In Carlos J. Ovando & Peter McLaren (Eds.), names, addresses and phone numbers of three references. The politics of multiculturalism and bilingual education: Students and teachers caught Positions will remain open until filled: in the cross fire (pp. 107-125). Boston: McGraw Hill. Cummins, Jim. (2000). Beyond adversarial discourse: Searching for common ground in the education of bilingual students. In Carlos J. Ovando & Peter Dr. Gloria Pleasont, Search Committee Chair McLaren(Eds.), The politics of multiculturalism and bilingual education: Students REEL-B Department - Chicago State University and teachers caught in the cross fire. (pp. 127- 147). Boston: McGraw Hill. 9501 S. King Drive, ED 318 Guinier, Lani. (1994). The tyranny of the majority : Fundamental fairness in repre- Chicago, IL 60628-1598 sentative democracy. New York: Free Press. Reyhner, Jon. (1996). Citizen or subject: Part II. NABE News, 19(8). http:// Chicago State University is an Affirmative Action, Equal jan.ucc.nau.edu/ -30 .h tml#26 Opportunity Employer. Tye, Barbara Benham. (2000). Hard truths: Uncovering the deep structure of school- ing. New York: Teachers College Press. ;' 46 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 1 139 General Editorial Policies guage Equity Issues, 202 E. Gowen Ave, 4. an assessment-assto wtether the teacher/ N...... -- \ // The NABE News is published six times a year Philadelphia, PA19119. reader would want to use the material on a bi-monthly basis. We seek previously and,why (or why riot) \/ / unpublished articles.Articles should focus Dr. Ji-Mei Chang, Editor-Asian/Pacific Sencl.a.copy0outreziew, prferably as,a Word on the theory, research and/or practice of Americans Column, Associate Professor, San file in an e-siriail-,-toz.Dr. Betile.M, resno, implementing quality bilingual education Jose State University, Division of Special Edu- CA, [email protected]. programs, including dual language programs. cation & Rehabilitative Services, College of NABE invites manuscripts 'on a wide-range Education, One Washington Square, San Jose, Submission Guidelines of topics related to support structures for CA 95192-0078. [email protected] All articles must conform to the publication these programsfrom funding issues, paren- guidelines of the Publication Manual of the tal involvement, staff development, curricu- Mr. Ward Shimizu, Co-Editor-Asian/Pacific American Psychological Association (4th lum and instruction to legislative agendas, Americans Column, San Jose State University, edition). state initiatives, staff hiring/retention and Division of Special Education & Rehabilita- Print materials and electronic versions personal reflectionsthat advance the tive Services, College ofEducation, One Wash- should include a tide page, with contact in- knowledge and practice in the field. ington Square, San Jose, CA 95192-0078. formationincluding mailing address and NABE News prefers a reader-friendly telephone number. Ifavailable, authors should style ofwriting that resonates well with com- Dr. Jon Allan Reyhner, Editor-Indigenous Bi- provide fax numbers, and e-mail address. munity groups, parents, legislators, and es- lingual Education Programs, Northern Ari- Include a two to three sentence bio- pecially classroom teachers.Contributors zona State University, Associate Professor, graphical reference that may include job title should include reference to a theoretical base Division of Bilingual Education, CEE, P.O. or highest degree earned, work affiliation and cite related research, but the article box 5774, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5774. and/or research interest (not to exceed 50 should contain practical ideas or implications [email protected] words). for practice. Manuscripts and diskettes will not be Dr. Lucy Tse, Editor-Theory Into Practice returned. Keep copies ofyour article or other Column, Assistant Professor, Arizona State materials submitted. Types of Articles University, Division of Curriculum and In- The editor of NABE News reserves the Feature Articles: A feature article should struction, College ofEducation, Tempe, AZ right to make editorial changes needed to address the issue's theme (if identified), be 85287-0208. [email protected] enhance the clarity of writing. The author no longer than 2,000-4,000 words, includ- will be consulted only in cases where the ing references and sidebars. Type/save your Mr. Aurelio Montemayor, Editor-Parent/ change(s) is/are substantial. manuscript as a Word document (6.0 or be- Community Involvement, Interculltural De- low) and attach it to an e-mail sent to velopment Research Association, 5835 [email protected] or mail a diskette to the Callaghan Rd., Suite 350, San Antonio, TX Themes of Future NABE News issues: NABE address. Please do not use running 78228. [email protected] heads or bold. Include contact information May/June and a brief bio indicating name, tide, affilia- General/Other Articles: Other articles, Responding to Standards and tion, and research interest. not addressing the announced NABE News to LEP Student Needs themes, are also sought and welcomed. They Articles for Regular Columns: NABE should be relevant to current interests or is- July/August news publishes four regular columnsAd- sues. They must be no longer than 1500 - Assessment Issues and Implementation Ideas ministration of Bilingual Education Col- 1750 words. umn, Asian/Pacific Americans Column, September/October Indigenous Bilingual Education Column, Reviews: Reviews should describe and Access to Technology: and Theory Into Practice Column. Each evaluate recently published bilingual educa- Promising Programs and Practice column has a column editor. These articles tion materials, such as professional books, are shorter in length, usually focus on one curriculum guides, textbooks, computer November/December issue, elaborate on two to three major programs, or videos. Reviews should be no Curriculum and Instruction in the points, and provide specifics for practice. longer than 500-750 words. Include in your Bilingual Early Childhood Classroom Manuscripts should relate to the special fo- review: cus and be approximately 1500-2200 words 1. a brief summary of the major compo- in length. They can be mailed to the NABE nents or features of the material, with Copy is due two months in advance of the office, to the attention of the NABE News no evaluative comments first month listed for the issue (for example, editor or mailed directly to the column edi- 2. an evaluation of the features, indicating The deadline for the May/June issue is due tors as follows: how they are useful/helpful or not April 1", for July/August it would be due On 3. if appropriate, a discussion of how the June 1"). Advertisements should be submit- Ms. Mary Ramirez, Editor-Administration material ties in or responds to broader ted at least two months in advance ofthe first of Bilingual Education Programs, Philadel- issues in the field or to specific meth- month listed for the issue. phia Public Schools, Director-Office ofLan- odologies 140 t NABE NEWS 47 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION Ten us ,About MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION yoursellt. I am involved with bilingual ® Membership Type(check one only) education as (check one): 0 Administrator If renewing a current membership, please enter membership# here: 0 College Instructor Individual Membership $48 0 Consultant 0 Full-Time Student 1:1 Discounted Individual Membership $30 0 Paraprofessional O Parent: MUST NOT be a professional educator and MUST have a child currently enrolled in a bilingual 0 Parent/Community Member education/ESL program. A letter written on school stationery from either the teacher or a school 0 Publisher Staff administrator must accompany this membership application. 0 School Board Member O College/University Student: MUST NOT be professional educator and MUST be enrolled on FULL-TIME 0 Teacher basis. A copy of an official college or university document showing current enrollment status must accom- 0 Other pany the NABE membership application. O Paraprofessional: MUST be working as an instructional aide in a public school system. A letter on I work in this type of school stationery from the supervising teacher or a school administrator must accompany the NABE organization (check one): membership application. 0 Commercial Organization LI Discounted Membership for State Affiliate Members $43 0 College/University Name of State Affiliate: 0 Local School District 0 State Education Agency 1:IInstitutional Membership $125 0 Other 1:ILifetime Membership $1000 I usually work with this level of Memberships are valid for one year from the date of processing, and include a one-year subscription to NABE student (check one): publications (except Lifetime: valid for life of member and includes lifetime subscription). Organizational member- 0 Early Childhood ship is non-voting; all other memberships are voting. Memberships are non-transferrable and may not be refunded. 0 Elementary Membership dues are non-refundable. 0 Secondary 0 Higher Education © Name and Address Information 0 Adult mr.1:1Mrs. I want to participate in the following Special Interest Group U Ms. U Dr.Last First Middle (check one): Preferred Mailing Address: 0 Business U Home 0 Adult/Vocational Education Business Address: 0 Asian & Pacific Islanders 0 Critical Pedagogy Position. 0 Early Childhood Education Division. 0 Elementary Education 0 ESL in Bilingual Education Organization. 0 Gifted Education Parent Organization/School District: 0 Higher Education 0 Indigenous Bilingual Education Street Address: 0 Instructional Technology 0 Language Policy City: State: Zip. 0 Making Connections: Teachers Phone: ( Ext. to Schools to Communities 0 Para-Educator Fax: ( E-Mail: 0 Parent & Community Home Address: 0 Policy Makers 0 Professional Development Street Address: 0 Research & Evaluation City: State: Zip. 0 Secondary Education 0 Special Education Phone:( 0 World Languages & Cultures © Payment information Check/money order # 0 Institutional purchase order # Membership dues 0 MasterCard U VISA 0 Discover Expiration Date: Contribution to help NABE Card Number: promote quality bilingual 0 Check this box to make Renewal Easy! If you are paying by credit card and you want NABE to education programs automatically renew your membership annually, check this box and we will charge your credit card the standard renewal amount annually. This permission will remain in effect until you cancel it in writing. TOTAL DUE SIGNATURE: 0 Mail tO: NABE, 1030 15TH STREET NW, SUITE470, WASHINGTON, DC 20005-1503 NABE News Jan/Feb 2001 141 NABE thanks our 2001 Conference Sponsors. Through their sponsorship, learning materials, and professional development, they help "Give Children the World." DIAMOND SPONSORS Scholastic, Inc. GOLD SPONSORS Hampton-Brown Scott Foresman Western Union SILVER SPONSORS BUENO Center, University of Colorado Harcourt Educational Harcourt School Publishers Kagan Professional Development Math Teachers Press National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE) Pearson Learning Rigby Santillana USA Publishing NABE Invites You to Attend An Intensive Pre-Conference Session at NABE 2001 in Phoenix, Arizona 21stCentury Community Learning Centers Bidder's Conference 9:00 a.m.4:00 p.m. Phoenix Civic Plaza Convention Center Phoenix 16-20 Alicia Sosa, National Association for Bilingual Education Carol Mitchell, U.S. Department of Education Grant award recipients from local school districts NABE is sponsoring a technical assistance conference on the 21" Century Commu- nity Learning centers in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The White House recently announced that Congress appropriated $846 million dollars for the 21" Century Schools Program to provide continued funding to existing grants and to fund new competitive applications for afterschool programs. Last year 310 new grant awards were made. Projections are that this number would increase for this competition. A federal program officer will present the regulations and requirements for grant ap- plications and answer questions. Representatives from two funded afterschool pro- grams will share tips for collaborating with community based organizations. Participants should plan on attending all-day. Total registration is limited to 200participants, on a first-come basis. Twenty-five registrations will be reserved for NABE participants (walk-ins, not previously registered), on a first-come basis. WIVE NEWS The Magazine About Bilingual Education Volume 24, Issue No. 4 March/April 2001 When L-1 is the means for attaining cultural literacy see page 9 Skills learned tlliroughSpanish reading predict English performance see page 22 Which-reading-- strategies help bilingual students who are proficient in English? see page 13 Changes proposed to the Bilingual Education Act (BEA) see page 29 13 ogrgliFIS progress-. Lagramg. Is bilks pal news. When it e.o m &Que..® m Ars Taimpreikepaultixn aclkqk hst imnin fGitit idIfencr mincroGic mrffi laN [ICA h1h2CA GIO afflar ect SC::OLASVIC TRNSTTi PROGRAM espaiiol Scholastic en Espanol .'panish/English Of) EWS LTORUM kalLffUeint-TMERICA'S CLASSROOM N7VISPAPER orqUG)YOUestrosnosmerecen mej Visit us at www.scholastic.com Contact us at: [email protected] Iookfrtrour catalog in your schoon EDSCE=EOLASTDC MESSAGE FROM THE NABE NEWS Table of Contents EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Delia Pompa Implications of the New York City Schools Research Report for Program-Restrictionist Legislation in the United States 4 Dear NA13E Members: The Promise of Biliteracy 9 We are very excited about this issue of the NABE News Magazine, as it The Transfer Of Skills from Spanish to English: A Study of Young Learners 11 deals with a part of education that is central to the success of our children building strong reading skills.Literacy is a basis of all successful educa- Asian/Pacific American Education Concerns: Promoting Literacy Development tional programs, including those that address the needs of English language Through Teacher Collaboration 13 learners (ELL). Administration of Bilingual Education Programs: Excellence with Second Languag Learners When it comes to these students, America must acknowledge what the En La Frontera 15 National Research Council has already reported: Children learn to read Theory Into Practice: A Bogus Argument. Against Transfer of Literacy 17 best when they do so in their own language. Considerable inroads have been made in this effort. No longer is a major report on literacy considered Issues in Indigenous Bilingual Education Literacy and School Success 18 complete unless it examines the specific needs ofELL children, and a grow- ing body of research is being produced in the critical area of literacy trans- Focus on Recent Reports and Activities on Literacy 20 fer. Much remains to be done, however, to ensure that there is an accUrate Watch What You Say: Bilingual Education and widespread understanding of both the challenges faced by these stu- Policy in Puerto Rico and "Dangerous" dents in achieving second language literacy and the powerful role that their Discourse 22 home language plays in achieving this goal. Tamales Para Ricitos de Oro: Promoting Writing Through Children's Literature 24 Several of the articles featured in this issue deal with these very important topics and look at the transfer ofliteracy from first to second language. Also Guide to Online Literacy Resources 27 of great importance in this process, is the crucial role of well-trained teach- Legislative Update ESEA Reauthorization on the Fast Track in the ers. Where ELL students are concerned, educators must have a full under- U.S. Senate and House of Representatives standing of both the reading process and second language acquisition. Bilingual Education in Jeopardy of Being Blockgranted 29 I hope you enjoy this issue of the NABE News, and I invite you to share its NABE Issues Guiding Principles on Providing a High Quality Education for Limited content with anyone you think would benefit from a clearer understand- English Proficient Students 32 ing of the role of language in the literacy process. NABE Joins United Education Community Challenging Congress and the White House to Dramatically Increase Education Funding 33 Sincerely, NABE News Book Review 35 A Call for Papers and Presentations Delia Pompa for NABE 2002 37 Executive Director Guidelines for Article Submission 43 Membership Application 44 NABE NEWS NABE EXECUTIVE NABE NEWS BOARD 2000-2001 President Published by the National Association for Bilingual Education Joel G6mez George Washington University Editor: Alicia Sosa, Ph.D. Institute for Education Policy Studies Design & Layout: Kieran DalyKDaddy Design 1709 North Roosevelt Street Arlington, VA 22205 p (202) 467-0867/(202) 994-3306 f: (202) 467-4283 Volume 24 of NABE NEWS will bc published in 6 issues; publication dates are: Issue 1 09/15/00 Issue 3 01/15/01 Issue 5 05/15/01 Vice President Issue 2 11/15/00 Issue 4 03/15/01 Issue 6 07/15/01 Mary F. Jew Cupertino Union SD 10301 Vista Drive All advertising and copy material must be received in the NABE office TWO Cupertino, CA 95014 MONTHS prior to publication date to be considered for inclusion. p: (408) 252-3000 x426 f: (408) 255-8830 < [email protected] 2.ca.us > Secretary Josefina Villarnil Tinajero NABE NEWSADVERTISING University of TexasEl Paso Display Advertising Rates (Black & White, Camera-Ready art) College of Education 500 W. University Avenue Full Page (7.4" x 10") $850 1/3-Page (4.75" x 4.75") $425 El Paso, TX 79968 2/3-Page (4.75" x 10") $700 1/3-Page (2.25" x 10") $425 p: (915) 747-5552 f: (915) 747-5755 NABE NEWSREPRINT AND EDITORIAL POLICY Member-at-Large Readers are welcome to reprint non-copyrighted articles which appear in NABE Susan A. Garcia Executive Director NEWS at no charge, provided proper credit is given both to the author(s) and to Sevilla At The IceHouse NABE NEWS as the source publication. 1801 Wynkoop Street, Suite C-1 Denver, CO 80202 All articles printed in NABE NEWS, unless written by an Association staff p: (303) 298-7777 f: (303) 292-6868 NATIONAL OFFICE: Parent Representative 1030 15th Street, N.W., Suite 470 Washington, DC 20005-1503 Aurelio M. Montemayor (202) 898-1829 FAX: (202) 789-2866 IDRA 5835 Callaghan Rd. E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.nabc.org Suite 350 San Antonio, TX 78228 p: (210) 444-1710 -1: (210) 444-.1714 Delia Pompa, Executive Director 2 MARCH / APRIL 2001 k41. PI Ro Utt PERMA-BOUND BOOKS THE STRONGEST BOOKS You CAN BUY OIJILO =° : I : Apres La guerre des chocolats German u111C,100 0)11 10111)1(0 0 Dictionaty , II 1 I I '1 0 It 1 III s r'sz: Xtttzl..3 b i N-i1110,4 ji_VMaftg.,,cir -t-t; 4 Wal.;4 IF YOU'RE EVER 'DISSATISFIED WITH A PERMA-BOUND BOVS, FOR ANY REASON, WE'LL REPLAGE IT. PERMArBQVNI 4,11ANDALIA\ ROAD JACKSONVILLE, I L 42450 CALL TOLL FREE: I-800-637-6581 OR,CALL: 217-243-5151 TOLL FREE FA*: 1-800-551-1169, OR,FA*: 217-243-7505 WEB SITE: www.perma7bound.com [email protected] Implications of the New York City Schools Research Report for Program- Restrictionist Legislation iniheUnited States JEFF MACSWAN, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY The Ncw York BbaidI of Education guage proficiency upon entry to identical to a child enrolled in ESL, arid (2000) report on the progress of En- school, or teacher certification and ach:\ildenrolled in ESL identical tO a 1 I 1 I glish Learners found thatstudents ex- proficiency in the language ofinstruc-1 child in bilingual education, in terms ited4.om biliYgialeducation . tion. The potential of these factors to of actual educational experiences. 11.1 1 prograr s typicallydnull betteron the muddle the study's resiults is spelled Citywide Reading Test than students out below. Socio-economic status exited erom EnglAl ad a SeCond Lan- Perhaps' most important of all, the I 1 1 11 1 1 guage (ESL). Also, despite the likeli- School and home treatment factors study did notI control for the differen- hood that bilinguale1dLation students A child enroilled in a-iiESL program nal. errects \or_socio,economic status entered with lower !EinglisI h language who has regular assistance_at\ 1 11 home_in (ESi) oln achievement outcoMes. ltis proficiency, the B 1o tct! rePort found the native language will appear to be well known that children from higher 11 11 1 1 that these children progressed at the in an ESL programrfor Pprposes of SES (4erforMehildren of lckver SES sameralteas ESLstUden'tsi, often faster. the Board's Istudyqultinfact has a (Rosenthal,1 I I Millie, Ellman, 6nsbuirg 11 I 1 \ Nonetheless, due to a lack of statisti- treatment that is in effect the same as & Baker, 1983; Genesee, 19,84; Ber- 1 cal control for relejva/rit background that of Children edi--011ed1i`n- bilingual liner) &I. Biddle, \ 169),Ijnd aiatcthl- factorst the results musebe interpreted education. The child receives assis- dren1 who) artive ati)[school trom homes I 1 11 1\ 1 1 1 / J tance inioolsubjECtic in Lithe native where print media is available Jtypi- language while leariiingiWish, just clally highe SEerito read faster Limitations of the Study as children inbihngtlialleducationpro- than children\ whO cOrne, from homes I /1/ 1:The BOrd's repOrt Correctly points grams do. Similarlya child enrolled where it is nbt lavailable (Scollon & out that "nferentiL-OmPrisoniI of the in bilingual education whose teacher Scollon, 1982; McQuillan,I1 1998). I I 1 Li (illative lefficacy ofbilingdal versus ESL is not properly certified and who does This factor is particularly1 1 impor- prograins \ is clearly beyond the limits not know the child's native language tant in programI 1 comparisonI ' research o, -if the tudy's methodology" (13. ii)ATwillqppear to be in bilingual educa- involving Erigliesl h ll arl tilers because F-1 1 , I I I I SpecifiCally, the study did not CtintrOl- tion for the purposes-offl the-13oard s children in bilingual rducation are far flfor relevant1 1 background factors-suchn-study,ibut will very likely receive an more likely to attend a sehool of low as prior education in the home lan- educational treatment very similar to SES than are1 childrenI 1 in ESL. The guage, 1access1 to native language aca-rthat,of a child enrolled-in ESL-.1 These U.S. IDepartrrenit ofEdueation (1997, demic dupportinthehocrie, factors1 I I have the potential of making a pp. 12-15) reported thait ESL students socio-economic status, English lan- child enrolled irvi)bilingual-edue-ation are relativelyjevenly distributed ahiOng .( U j r7\ I 4 MARCH / A P R I L2 0 0 1 4.0 149 schools of lower and higher SES, ity to speak, understand, read, and English proficiency and higher aca- whereas children enrolled in bilingual write in English. Because the test as- demic achievement. education classes are two times more sesses reading and writing, as well_as It is in fact_remarkable_that the i likely to be in a lower SES school. speaking and listening, it is hoth a test data ithe Board's report shows chil- Thus, in the absence of a proper sta- oflanguage proficiency and academic dren in bilingual education doirig as tistical control for the influence of achievement. Again we expect stu- well as children in ESL, and often bet- SES, we expect to find higher aca- dents with higher SES to do better on ter, given the lack of control for back- demic achievement among children in the test than those with lower ground factors.These data will be ESLnot necessarily because the pro- because SES is independen'tly known(-SES1 _summarized below. gram is more effective, but because to be a strong predictor of academic 1 1 A 1 " those children tend to be from schools achievement, and because children program Comparisons of higher SES, a characteristic inde- with higher SES are more likely11 to)1 The Board's study folioved four co- pendently associated with higher aca- become successful readers at school horts of1 students in ESL .and bilingual demic achievement. (Scollon & Scollon, 1982; Rosenthal education programs, eajcli beginning.1 I at r ' Milne, Ellman, Ginsburg & Baker, diffeent grdde level\ (Pre-K/K 112,, I I; I Prior knowledge of English 1983; Genesee, 1984; Berliner !8 3).Col mpartive acacaemic achid7e- Another important background factor Biddle, 1995; McQuillan, 1998)J menta'nd exitrates areigh1Hl-i ted\in I I which the Board's report acknowl- Furthermore, the oral language o1 r! the Board's1 report for grade cohorts1 edges not to have controlled statisti- tions of the test have beel strongly1 Pre-K/K, 1 and 2. cally is the level ofEnglish proficiency upon entering the ESL and bilingual education programs. We might natu- rally expect children who have learilied a considerable amount ofEnglishifrom siblings or in the community to exit programs much faster thanthoselwho "This factor is particularly important zn program have not.Indeed, according /to the Board's study, only 57.3% ofrchildre: comparison researhirivolvi6 English leairners who exited either program within because children inbliliin,igua'l(lucation are farmo\re 1 three years had scored at the 1" per- likely, to attend a school1 1 1 w(ith1 1 mostly low SES centile on the City's English language proficiency test upon entering school. children than arle children in ESL." On the other hand 79.2% of Students who exitedTke-(6-9 years) had scored that low (p. 15). Thus, sniidents1 1 who exited earily tended to kii!o:v more English upon enteiy to 49'ol than r \--those wh6 exited late. In addition, criticized for their heavy use of Academic achievement there is a well-known tendencyI for decontextualized1 11 1 land unnatural 1lan- n general, more children served it, schools to place childrenI) with some i \in Ithe1 tesit items!! (BarrowsII bilingual education scored above the I guage\ 1 1 1 English ability in ESL programs, and Chesterfield, 1976),a format which 150th percentile on the City//wide Read- I I those with little oilnoEngl4 ability wouldlhe inuch m'ore faniiliar/ to1istu- ing' Test than ddi chldreni taughtexi- I 1 1 I. nil bilingual classes.1 This tendacy, dents fq)ni \ higher\ educational back11 dusively if', ESL clades.thisis which is not discused in the Baaird's ground's anti higherSES1 especially_surprising given the Ilack1 of1 I Li repoq, may account1 for the fact that a On1ce again, due1 to the distribu- statistical control for background fac-11- slightfr higher nuMher ofESntudents tion ofi IESII students in higher SES tors which favor students in EStic exiteLwithin (tihreelyears fdr) ea-fl of schools 'and ithe nature of the English classes. Among children who exited the four student cohorts. language1 1 proficiency1 I test, the instru- early (1-3 years) in the Pre-K/K co-; merituI sed 1otxit e children from the hort, more children in ESL scoreL-___cI 1 Nature of the ,assessment instrument H I I. the \--abOVejthe 50th percentilelhan children language assistance programs,l_.1 in Finally, it is in-iportantI to note that the absence of' statistical controls we ex- in bilingual educaItion. IHowever, it is ; , 1 L 0 New York City Schools use11 only_one pect tov findI Istudents in ESL. ekiiinPt. Ner.Y_Tinportant to keep in mind that , I criterion for eXitingI 1a language assis- much higher rates and maintaining these children erife.fEdr-school with i ) 0 ,..7L j I I f----, ----1 ---1 I -:,. i lJ tance program.II To exit, a childu-nustn higher aelademic achievementP -,-0 much nigher English language profi- t,' -- ) c-scoi:e --a-t or ahtove ithe 40th percentile again, not necessarily due to the pro- ciency than childfa rliiiliCeXife-d later, /./ A.) c_pn_thg,,Languagerissessment Dattery gram they were enrolled fin, blit[R- C,aciiools tend to-placechildren who i .1 1 r) 1 1 (LAB). The test assesses a child's abil- cause they started off with higher knowmore English mESLirather than ) o NABE NEWS 5 bilingual education, and that children often than children taught in ESL remarkably similar. Although no, in- in ESL are more likely to attend higher classes. ESL students who exited early, formation is given in the report, given SES schools. (See "Limitations of who once again are likely to have had national averages and programmatic Study," above.) Among children who greater advantages in terms of back- constraints, it is reasonable to specu- entered school with less English lan- ground factors, scored above the 50th late that the average Language Assess- guage proficiency (the late-exit percentile more often than bilingual ment Battery (LAB) score for ESL group), more children in bilingual education students after 2 or 3 years of students was higher than for bilingual education outperformed children services.(After 1 year, percentages education students upon entry to taught in ESL after 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 years were similar: 80% of bilingual educa- school. Thus, for reasons elaborated of services. Among children in the tion students and 76.5% of ESL stu- above, we assume that children in ESL Pre-K/K cohort who tested out after dents tested above the 50th percentile.) tended to know more English upon six years, children in both programs However, among students who tested entry to school and tended to attend had very similar mean scores: 23.3% out of the program after four or more higher SES schools. Despite these above the 50th percentile for bilingual years of services, children taught in probable initial differences, which education, 25.8% for ESL. (See Fig- bilingual education consistently scored would have advantaged students in the ure 29 of the Board's report.) above thc 50" percentile more often ESL program, both groups progressed The pattern is even stronger for than children taught in ESL programs at essentially the same pace in each of children in the grade 1 cohort. Slightly between 1994 and 1999. (See Figure the four cohorts, as may be seen in Fig- more bilingual education students 31 of the Board's report.) ures 7-10 of the Board's report. scored above the 50th percentile for Considering that children served However, exit rates varied consid- children who tested out after one year, in bilingual cducation programs tend erably by language groups, with some with the trend reversed among chil- to enter school with lower English lan- language groups in bilingual education dren testing out after two years. How- guage proficiency and are more likely exiting faster than counterparts in ESL. ever, beginning with students who to be from lower SES backgrounds, Spanish- and Haitian-speaking chil- exited after_three years of services, bi- independently associated with lower dren in ESL generally exited in larger lingual education stUdents consistently academic achievement; it is in fact re- numbers than students irbilingual scored ab'ove the 50 h percentile more markable that the Boairds report.shows_\:education, but the differences\ were often thjn ESL studenisfr-Oiii-1.993 bilingual education students doing so\slight. The average annudll dif1es.7ce through 1996, then again in 1998. In well in comparison to children taught for Spanish speakers in the two pro- 1997, slightly more ESL students in ESL. Had the study used appropri- grams was 0.8%, and 0.1% for (22.2%) cored above the 50th percen- ate statistical control for SES and)prior tian speakers. tile than idid bilingual educatiostu- knowledge of English, the advantage These trends were reversed for /dents-(-16.7%). (See Figure 30 of he ofbilingual education woill-d=nodoubt Chinese-, Russian- aria Oean- Board's report.) have been much more visible in the speaking-cliklren in the Pre-K/K co- Finally, amongchildren in the Board's report. U horrthinese- and .lussialn-spekking grade 2 cohrOrt a similar1 pattern1 agianI I children in bilingual eaucation irit the LI Li c) appears, with children Exit rates exit criterion in large1r nuMbeIrs \each educatiorpscoring above the 50th per- The proportion of children-who\ ex- yeat) than c-hildC-en inIESL1 Aiier six 1 . I ' I I 1 1 centile on the City's reading1 testI more ited the two programs1 each year was i'years, Chirie'selseakers in /ESIJ ljegan U 1 n 1 I I I 1 to catch up toI1 Chinese speakers in bi- IU 1 eddcation, but Russian speakTlin ersinl eauca/tioniiefe 1 1,1 , , consistently exiteai n larger Miers,ll1D LI than Russian speakers in ESL. Korean speakers1 in.1 EA.\ v)ere exited inIslightiy 1 1 ' , higher numbers after one year, gut ale "Had the study used approptiiqe statistical control for trend reversed1 1 ; theinext year. Exit rates SES and prior knowledgeofiEnglishi,\the advantage for Korbn 1+111cers were well over 90% after three pryarsj,/with the two groups of bilingual education would 'no doubt have been \ reaching relative parity. (Only the Pre- [) :much more visible in the Board s report." K/K cohort is broken down by language group in the Board's report.) n LJ In the context-of prograth rat-ric- tionist initiatives such as California's Proposition 227 and Arizon_a_'s Propo- sition 203, which_promisc_to teach children English in-a period-not-nor- ODD L_J L.J 6 MARCH /A PRIL 2 0 0 1 151 mally to exceed one year," it is per- less, the great majority ofstudents were Likely effects on achievement haps more important to note the num- able to pass the City's English profi- The findings of the New York City ber of children who could pass the ciency/literacy test within a reasonable Board ofEducation are consistent with City's exit criterion after one year of amount of time (65% within three findings of the Arizona Department services. Among children who joined years, 77% within four years, 84% of Education regarding differences in the City's schools in kindergarten, within five years). Some students ap- academic achievement associated with only 43.5% of students taught exclu- pear to need more time to meet the different program types. The Arizona sively in English (ESL classes) were redesignation criterion (6% need six State Superintendent of Public In- exited after one year.That rate de- years, 9% need 7 years or more). The struction observed in her 1998 report clined to 24.1% for students who en- difficulty which some students face in to the state legislature, "The mean tered in grade 1, to 28% for children exiting the programs may be an artifact scores of students who are in bilingual entering in grade 2, and 15.5% for of the test itself The City might con- programs are consistently higher than children entering in grade 3. In Cali- sider using more than one measure of the mean scores of students in English fornia, where a measure promising language proficiency, including a as a Second Language programs" (Ari- rapid English acquisition passed two teacher observation/evaluation, as rec- zona Department ofEducation, 1998, years ago, only about 5% of children ommended in Stefanakis (1998) and p. 21). A further analysis of data in the could meet redesignation criteria af- Genesee and Upshur (1996). 1999 and 2000 reports reveals that bi- ter each year that program has been in lingual education students in Arizona effect.In Oceanside Unified School Children in mixed groups consistently have higher academic District, which has been prominently The Board's report concludes that the achievement than ESL students, at featured in the media, the redesignation New York City School System has done each grade level, every year data have rate was just 4.1% last year. (While the a good job of educating English learn- been collected (Crawford, 2000). redesignation rate is an inappropriate ers, but emphasizes that children taught Like the New York City report, index of success for programs which in a mixture of bilingual and ESL pro- the ArizonaiDepartment ofEducation teach children English over a period of grams performed very poorly compared report didnij control for background factors such/ as SES. Again, given na- several years, it is a perfectly appropri- to students taught either exclusively in / ate index for programs rhich promise ESL or in bilingual education. Students tional averageskbilingual education to teach English in a period not nor- served in mixed approaches exited both New York City and mally to exceed one yearl .) much later than either ESL or bilingual Aarizon arc more likely to be served Again it is important1 to empha- education students, and also evidenced in lower SES scho+. If this factor had size that the Board's study did not corr-1 low academic achievement on the been taken into account in a statistical trol for prior knowledge of-\English, district's standardized achievement model, the achievement fdvantage for and that students who ;exikted within testsr-C--ertaifilrather factors may_ac,-,---bilingual educatimil students would be 11 three years tended to enter school wi/th1 count for thesestLdents'poor perfor- even inore salient than itappearPin the .1 higher language proficiencyltestI I 1 scores mance, such as high mobility, frequent descriptwe data. I N 6ian those who eXitedi later. programchanges,iand poor quality of Frher confusiion hr'pren added .N \ '179.2% of children Nivho exitLliate had:1instructional material and lack tern- by reports in the rnedia regarding the I 11 ... scored at-therri) perCentille onitlie City's fled teaCher. Nonetheless, the findings presulmeldsuccess(if PrtipCAitiOii 227 I I I I 11 I I 1 I \II languageIr--,111, proficiency test upon enter- are also consistentwith)the theory that in California, where test sIcores have IrlI inglschOol, (only 57.3°)o of leIrly-exit laick ofpogrammatic consistency re- \risen over tne two-year perio\ all con-i 11 1 I I I _._./ III 1 1 1scored that low. In the\case sults in lower achievement and aislower identwith the passage of Propiostion students 11 11 I I 1 1 I 1.1 1 ( of early7exitI I students,A 1.6% of chil- rate of growth in English language ac- 227. Not only are relevant student fac- I 1 f / dren1 had scores1 between the 21'1 and quisition; as the Board suggests tors unknown in the case ofCalifornia's 40thIperjenItilels City'rs lanskidge Stanford 9 \data, but direa IprOgram on the I \ proficiencyI I Is test1 when theyenrolled,1 Implications for Program- comparisionsfe impossible: The Cali- 1 I I ' '1 fornia 12,epartment of Education(does while onlyj 2' .3% of late-exit students Restrictionist Legislation IIII I I I U had scoredthat high. Without these A number of critics of bilingual edu- not separate Stanford 9 scores by pro- I I 1' advantages deriving from experiences cation\i'n New York have called for the gram types,isOwe cannotcOrnpreri av- I 1i ouaide Ofidlietity's schools, the one- implementation of a program similar erage scores of children in /bilingual year exit rates for K-3 students would to Proposition 227/203, inwhichiall education with average scores of chil- f I II II II have been even lower than attested in instruction is carried out in English. dren in'English immersion in that state. c; 11 I/ 11 the Board's findings. However, the B-Oarot's report suggesits Immersion advocates have at- I I As will be-emphasiz-cctbelo-w, it is that eliminatingbilingual edUcatioi!i in ternpted to focus attentionon I clear from the Board'_s study that chil- favor of 227/203-styke prog_gm would Ocean1 side Unified School District as dren typically need more than one year have a ignibePof negative conse-Li an example of a district true to Propo- oflanguage assistance-se7ices regard- quencesCfOrzNeW YO'rk-City English : sition 227's requirements, where im- pressive gains were indeed reported. less of program-placement-,u Nonethe- language learners. 0 Ic .fs4 142 NABE NEWS 7 However, thereare important of academic achievement than children California, the data indicate thisas counter-examples which show clearly taught exclusively in ESL, and they of- well. After two years of English im- that the gains are not uniquely associ- ten exit from these programs a faster mersion, only about 5% of children are ated with districts which faithfully rates than children taught exclusively1 in exited each year from that state's im- converted to immersion. For instance, ESL. However, state- and uistrict-ievei, mersion program. at Ninth Street, where much of Unz's data reported by the CaliforniaDepart- This is a striking failure. The un- original activity was staged (Crawford, ment of Education, which lavr1r- derlying rationale for Unz's one-year 1999), second graders' reading scores ceived the most media atrtion, immersion program is that, taught actually decreased, from the 25th to the unfortunately do not allow for mean- only in English, children will learn the 24th percentile. And at Niernes School ingful comparisons between/ESL and language so quickly that they will suf- in ABC District, which kept its bilin- bilingual education programs. fer no loss in the learning of academic gual program, second graders' reading Because Arizona's Prioposition content. Since it is the goal of the sys- scores rose from the 11th to the 50th 203 specifically forbids of the tem to teach English within a year, and (the-use percentile a gain of 39 percentile native language for instruction in aca- since 95% of all English learners in points, nearly double the increase re- demic subjects, we cail expect lower (California fail to achieve this goal each ported in Oceanside Unified School average achievement an1tong LEP chil- year, it is reasonable to describe the \ District (Californians Together, 2000). dren in Arizona if this' aspect of the program as a dramatic failure. Our interpretation of aggregate new law is impleinented. However, state-level data should be guided by the since standardized Lst scores consis- B\estPolicy in Light results of studies in which background tently go up from Year to year for all otOur Current Understanding factors have been controlled. For ex- groups of students (Biddle & Berliner, and !Resources ample, Ramirez and colleagues ,q.991) 1995), the drop irichievement will be Giveillthe clear finding that children 1 studied children in structured English difficult to ascertain in the absenceof in bilingual education do as well as or 11 immersion, early-exit bilingualleduca- any comparison group. In other1 words,I 1 I better,1 than children in English immer- 1 I tion (grades K-3), and late-exit bilin- without a bilinglial progralM In414- sion, 'and that such programs are not \ 1 I I 1 gual education (K-6), and found that zona, we will not know how children more costly than English immersiOri, 1 E----.`nglish learners could be "provided in bilingual education would1 ' have1 1 it makes sense to allow districts the with substantial amounts of primary done in comparison to those11 in all-1 option1 of serving English learnes in i langudge instruction withoutiimpeds-\ English programs. bilingual1 education programs. Dis- ing tleir acquisition of English Ian- tricts andt local school agencies d'iffer guage\ and reading skills," lindthat One-year limit widely' with regardto the partijular doing so allowed them to caitch up to There can be no doubt that Englisl dem4raphics oftheir students, theiri their English-speaking peers in En- immersion will continue 'to fail t studen'ts' individual needs, and their 1 glish language arts, reading and math. acineve English fluency for ail Itildent fiscal andI-...._, professional riesources. As More 'specifically, while students in in one year. Similar exitratHescaIn b August and Hakuta (1998) pointed out 1 1 1 1 I English -i--innersion did slightly better-L.,'observed in bothl the New York City in con'cluding remarks1 on pleigram .1 .I 1. \ \ I \ ii than bilingual education students in Schools and the state of Arizona!, ,vith evaluation in their Naitonal Research grade 2, this advantae immediatelyI I approximately 15% of all E4ish Council report, disappeared as bilingual education 'stuir learners exited after four years of1 ser-1 "We see little value1 in coli`iduPd4 dents took the lead in grades vices. In the New1 York City Board of evaluatlionsto determi'ne whiLh6piel Ramirez and colleagues also found thalt Education repoq, only 43.59d Of +4 of pr4arn-is-best. Firt, the key issue chikr:tren in bilinguAl education wierf : dents taught in ESL classes140 had is not finding a prgrarili that CoiCforr-: able to exit the program at a faster rate entered the school system in kinder!- all childred and all \locaiities, bnt rather 1 \ C r 1 L_JLJU than children English immerson. gartenmere e)dteid after one year.-iat finding a set of pro.gram components I ) 1 1 in Similarly, in a synthesis of research on . rate declined to 24.1% for, studentls that works for the children in tlii-FiS'ima 1 / program evaluationTthe National ke- : who eRtered in grade 1, td, 28%ifor munity of interest, given the pals, 1 I v search Council recognized the positive . L./ children InterQ in grade 21- anh demographics, and resources\ of that effects ofbilingual education programs 15.5%-fFor children\ entering in grv ade community." (p. 147) I) I \s\ bothiin its 1992 rand 1998reports 3. However, 11.6% of these students Because program restrictionist (Meiy I 1 1 & Fienberg 11992- AirrustL-5 & had-scores betweerl the 21" and 40th proposals like Proposition 227 and 203 ler 1 I Hakuta, 1998). percentiks on the 9ty's language pro- outlaws1 prcrOgrams except English 1 \ 1 I Insum, data-replirted bs, the New : ficiency test upon entering school, and immersion, it faces an especially heavy I I ' York City Board ofEducation, the Ari- ne2y[lialf,of theml scored above the [12,urden ofproct Advocates.mustslpw, 1 zona Department ofEducationPs well 1"iprcre_ntik on Vle test.Clearly, far that English immersion is better for all i as results of con-tPolled research studies . fewer students wotild have exited af-rEnglish karners in all contexts,cin allj 1 I converge: ChildreInlinl'bilinglialLeduca- ter a year if they had1 Inot come to school L tion1iisually do betteron measureinents . with prior knowiedge of English. In (continuedjon prip16)-1 1 J \ / t I 8 MARCH / APRIL 2001 MARIA DE LA Luz REYES UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER Literacy, narrowly perceived as "learning to read," has "natural linguistic resources"the seeds ofbiliteracynec- long been a topic of great interest to educators and essary to become literate not only in English, butalso in parents.Today, virtually everyone is interested in Spanish. How, then, can we be satisfied with only English literacyso much so that it has become an issue ofimmense literacy when biliteracy is within our children's reach? importance to politicians, state legislators, and governors. The school failure of Chicano/Latino students attrib- Even at the federal level, President George W. Bush has uted to "the 'problem' of Spanish" is without merit be- identified literacy as a topic of high priority for his admin- cause it fails to acknowledge that many Latinos whodo not istration. In his education document, No Child Left Behind speak Spanish also have academic problems in school (Nieto, (2000), he promises to close the literacy gap between "rich 2001). On the contrary, rather than being a problem, Span- arid poor" and "majority and minority" children. ish together with a healthy cultural identityis the means to attaining what Freire calls "critical literacy"an "Poor" and "Minority" Children individual's ability to "read the world" (Freire & Macedo, Although one of the major goals ofBush's education plan is 1987) based on his/her own experiences and values, not as to close the gap between the haves and have-nots, it is tell- it is often portrayed by those in power. This ability to criti- ing that no mention is made of the cultural or linguistic cally examine mainstream discourse is essential today be- backgrounds of these large numbers of "poor" and "mi- cause those in power still want Spanish speakers tobelieve nority" children.In the absence of these two important that English is "the ultimate prize" and that monoliteracy factors in the current literacy debates, one can only con- in an increasingly multilingual, global society is better than clude that "literacy" is being treated synonymously with literacy in two languages! They would have us believe that English (Reyes, 1992) assuring that English literacy remains students who speak other languages and who continue to the only desired and valued outcome. be measured against native English proficient students are A mere glance at today's schools, however, reveals that academically "deficient" and "illiterate" even when they a large number of students come from diverse backgrounds have the ability to speak, read, and write in another lan- and speak a wide variety of languages.Spanish speaking guage.In an increasingly multilingual, global society we students make up the largest percentage of this segment of know that future success lies in the ability to communicate the student population (August & Hakuta, 1997). Many of in not one, but two or more languages. them come from homes where there is exposure to varying degrees of Spanish and English. Schools perceive the pres- The Benefits of Biliteracy ence of Spanish as an obstacle to academic success.Bilin- Former U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard W. Reilly gual advocates view this exposure to two languages as (2000), was on the right track when he stated that the Latino 14? NABE NEWS 9 community holds the "promise of language"; that is, they calling for an end to bilingualprograms have deeply have the potential to become fully bilingual and biliterate. wounded our community's "promise of language." These skills are within their reach because "language isat the Throughout the country, this anti-bilingualmovement has core of the Latino experience in this country and must be spread fear and doubt about the value ofbilingualprograms. at the center of future opportunities for this community Many school districts with large numbers of English lan- and for the nation" (p.3, emphasis mine). In just fiveyears guage learners accepted the "death" of bilingual education Chicanos/ Latinos will be the largest U.S. minoritygroup without protest. Today, many teachers continue to feel their within the U.S.the most diverse nation in the world. Now jobs threatened by both the "bilingual police" and the is the opportune time to propose a model of biliteracy that "phonics police"two fronts that hinder support and de- can transform Spanish from a defi- velopment of biliteracy.They fear cit to an asset, and can move our teaching evaluations that measure children from "behind the class" to their adherence to letter-of-the-law the "head of the class." guidelines rather than effective lit- We have to believe this is pos- Today, virtually everyone eracy instruction. sible. Over the last 30 years we have Fortunately, not all wounds are accumulated evidence that children is interested in literacy mortal. A major threat can galva- who learn to read in their native lan- so much so that it has nize a community into actionac- guage are more likely to succeed, become an issue of tion that can have even more positive and learn English more quickly and results than the initial threat. For ex- more effectively than students immense importance to ample, although attendance at the forced to read in English when they politicians, state legislators, California Association for Bilingual do not understand it (Cummins, and governors. Education (CABE) had been wan- 1981; Ramirez, Yuen, & Ramey, ing since the passage of Proposition 1991; August & Hakuta, 1997). In 227, it is apparent that bilingual ad- addition to this evidence, there is vocates are returning to the confer- emerging research reporting that ence in record numbers. A new many Chicano/Latino students are energy and renewed support for bi- developing biliteracy even without the benefit of formal lingual education was evident at the 2001 CABE Confer- literacy instruction in both languages (Moll & Dworin, ence in Los Angeles.As one teacher expressed it, "We 1996; Berzins & Lopez, 2001; Reyes & Costanzo, inpress; took a major hit, but we're not dead. We'renow on our Reyes, 2001). feet fighting back!" Similarly, a school principal reported My own literacy research conducted over the last 10years that her school was offering before and after school bilin- involving Chicano/Latino elementary school students reveals gual instruction "to get around Prop 227."Educators are that biliteracy can thrive in nurturing learning environments recognizing that bilingual education is not the problem for where Spanish and English occupy equal status for bothso- students learning English; it is the solution.As the mo- cial and academic purposes, and where students have mul- mentum grows, it's time to seize the opportunity to form a tiple opportunities for experimenting with language and united front to protect the rights of our children. No mat- choosing books to read and topics to write. A fouryear study ter what the mainstream media would have us believe, bi- revealed that even as early as kindergarten, students demon- lingual education is as valuable now as it ever was, and it strated emergent biliteracy. The number ofstudents becom- will be even more so in the future. ing biliterate steadily increased each year, and the level of their We must ask ourselves:Is promoting only half of our proficiency improved. Students themselves expresseda grow- children's potential morally defensible? Does it makeany ing awareness that their bilingualism and biliteracyare assets, sense in an increasingly more multilingual society? Is it the not deficits.For example, when asked what her first lan- "best for our children"? There is growing evidence that guage was, one student replied proudly, "I was born bilin- the most natural, effective, and promising goal forour gual!" Over the four years, the children's biliteracy became children's success is biliteracy, not monoliteracy. As advo- more and more similar, suggesting that continued support cates of bilingual education, we must harness our collective and enrollment in the bilingual program could result incom- energy to promote biliteracy, to teach it, and demand it.It parable proficiency in Spanish and English literacy by the is time to begin a national conversation on the promise of end of 5th grade (Reyes, 2001). biliteracy and work to make it a reality. Galvanizing Support for Biliteracy Maria de la Luz Reyes, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus at the Uni- Few can deny the importance of biliteracy, or multiliteracy, versity of Colorado-Boulder, School of Education. Her recent pub- in a global society. Why, then, do we (bilingual educators, lications include The Best for Our Children:Critical teachers, and other supporters) remain silenton the prom- Perspectives on Literacy for Latino Students (edited withJohn ise of biliteracy?I believe that the successful passage of J. Halcon). She can be reached at: [email protected]. California's Proposition 227 and othercopy-cat legislation (For referneces, see page 42) 10 MARCH / A P R I L2 0 0 1 :ZIAi The Transfer Of Skills from Spanish to English A Study of Young Learners DIANE AUGUST, CENTER FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS MARGARITA CALDERON, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY MARIA CARL HARVARD UNIVERSITY Overview Hancin-Bhatt, 1993), word reading riculum parallel to the Spanish one. The major research question that guided (Lambert and Tucker, 1972; Kendall, Fourth, all students in the study were our study is "Does transfer exist?" That Lajeunesse, Chmilar, Rauch and exposed to the same literacy curriculum, is, for children entering school in the early Shapson, 1987), vocabulary knowledge Success for AlllExito para Todos. To en- grades, do literacy skills that are acquired (see Fitzgerald 1995 for a review), and sure geographic diversity, and thus gen- in Spanish actually transfer during the comprehension(Escamilla, 1987; eralization, the study took place in process of learning to read in English? Jimenez, Garcia and Pearson, 1995, Success for All[Exito para Todos schools Moreover, how is this demonstrated 1996). Our investigation builds on in three locations: Boston, El Paso, and Thus, the focus ofour study is on under- Cummins' theoretical framework and Chicago. standing the manner in which enabling previous research on transfer. We recognized that a research de- skills for reading are transferable across sign that proposes to study cross-lan- languages, in this case Spanish and En- Rationale For Study Design guage transfer of skills in a meaningful glish. The study examined how perfor- Our ability to addres the research ques- way must meet certain criteria. mance on indicators of Spanish reading tions cited above was contingent on hav- at the end of second grade (April 1999) ing English language learners (ELLs) Control of Factors predicted English reading performance at who had: First, to demonstrate the occurrence of the end of the third grade (April 2000). 1. received instruction in Spanish transfer of skills, the design must con- reading prior to receiving instruc- trol for other factors that might affect a Cummins (1984) proposed a theoreti- tion in English reading; students performance on outcome as- cal framework that has signifkantly in- 2.received instruction targeted to spe- sessments of English literacy. We con- fluenced the way educators think about cific component reading skills; trolled for differences in children's instructional experiences designed to 3.had a chance to develop a minimum learning backgrounds and home learn- benefit second language learners. It de- level of mastery of those skills; and ing environments by collecting data on scribes the relationship between second 4.received comparable instruction home language use and family reading language development and academic across classrooms and sites. practices from parent questionnaires, and achievement. One essential component data on schooling history from school of this framework centers on the notion Our study population met all of records. Using this data as one of the that academically mediated language these needs. First, one group of students variables in our analysis enabled us to skills can be transferred across languages in the study had received reading in- determine the extent to which these fac- in a manner that facilitates the acquisi- struction in Spanish only; the study ex- tors affected students' English reading tion of these skills in the second lan- amined the transfer of reading skills as ability. We used a similar approach to guage. This notion was formalized in the these children began to learn to read in control for general ability level-the pos- linguistic interdependence hypothesis English in the third grade. Second, the sibility that children with higher intel- which states that: children received targeted instruction in lectual abilities perform all tasks at higher The level of L2 [second language] the components of reading: phonologi- levels than children with lower abilities. competence which a bilingual child at- cal awareness, orthographic (letter, We administered the Raven Coloured tains is partially a function of the type of word, and non-word reading) and com- Matrices test, a measure of non-verbal competence the child has developed in prehension skills. Third, the children had ability, and used the test results as a con- Ll [native language] at the time when an opportunity to develop a minimum trol variable in our analyses. Finally, we intensive exposure to L2 begins. mastery of these skills because many of controlled for variation in teaching (Cummins, 1979, p. 233) them had been instructed to read in Methods by studying only children in Previous research on the transfer of Spanish since they were in kindergarten. Success for AlllExito para Todos curricu- skills from Spanish to English indicates A comparison group of Spanish back- lum. At the heart of the program is 90 that there is transfer in phonological ground students had received reading minutes of uninterrupted daily reading awareness (Durgunoglu, Nagy, and inst6iguii in English only, using a cur- instruction that emphasizes a balance be- NABE NEWS 11 tween phonics and meaning, using both Success for All programs in Boston, sified as monolingual English speakers children's literature and a series of stories Chicago, and El Paso. Twenty-four stu- were not included in these analyses. in which phonetically regular student text dents were English monolinguals, forty- is enriched by teacher-read text. three were Spanish-English bilinguals in Findings English-only instruction, and eighty- Results from preliminary analyses indi- Assessment of four were Spanish-English bilinguals in cate that Spanish phonemic awareness Literacy Component Skills Spanish-only instruction. Of those and Spanish word reading and fluency A second criterion for meaningful re- eighty-four, thirty-four were tran- are reliable predictors ofEnglish perfor- search on cross-language transfer is the sitioned into all-English instruction at mance on parallel tasks in English at the recognition that literacy is composed of the beginning of third grade. end of third grade. The effect of Span- many component skills. The compo- We collected data at three points in ish phonemic awareness on English pho- nent skills of reading (such as phonol- time: the end of second grade (Time 1, nemic awareness emerged for all ogy, orthography, and comprehension) Spring 1999), the beginning of third students. However, the effect of Span- must be carefully assessed in both the grade (Time 2,Fall 1999), and the end ish word reading on English word read- first and second language in order to of third grade (Time 3, Spring, 2000). ing emerged only for students who trace the development of these abilities At Time 1 and Time 2, we tested all stu- received formal instruction in Spanish in relation to each other. Our research dents except the monolinguals in both reading. These preliminary findings design used a combination of standard- Spanish and English, so that we could support the practice ofproviding literacy ized measures and researcher-developed compare ability levels across the lan- instruction in Spanish to Spanish-speak- measures to assess phonological aware- guages at the same point in time. At time ing English-language learners as a means ness, phonemic segmentation (ability to 3, we tested students only in English, of helping them acquire literacy skills in divide words into their component since our objective was to learn which English. Strengthening these students' sounds), orthographic and comprehen- Spanish skills tested at the end of second Spanish literacy, also enables them to use sion skills in both Spanish and English. grade could predict English performance their native language well, enhancing We also tested for oral language ability at the end of third grade. their bilingual capacity. in both languages. The measures administered at Time The data collection and analysis that 1 and Time 3 included three researcher- we expect to carry out over the next two .Study Conducted Over Time developed tests ofphonology and orthog- years should further elucidate the rela- A third criterion for effective research on raphy. Each of these measures was tionship between literacy in Spanish and skills transfer is study over time. In order developed in parallel Spanish and English literacy in English. As the study popula- to be certain that students are transfer- versions. We also used the Spanish and tion moves through fourth and fifth ring skills from the first language rather English versions of the LAS, a test of oral gradeand those who were in in- than using skills learned in the second lan- proficiency. To measure reading compre- structed in third grade transition to En- guage, researchers must study subjects hension, we used the Woodcock-Johnson glish classroomswe will be able to who have received reading instruction in test to assess English skills, and the Wood- analyze the effect of further instruction the first language prior to receiving it in cock Mulioz to assess Spanish skills. in English on Spanish-speaking students' the second language and who have had We used regression analysis, a acquisition of English literacy skills, in- sufficient first language instruction to method for idcntifying statistically sig- cluding word knowledge and reading have developed a base of first language nificant correlations between vari- comprehension. skills that can be transferred. ables, to examine whether initial Our research design addressed these Spanish performance within each References issues by studying bilingual students component of reading (phonological Durgunoglu,A., W.E. Nagy, and B.J. from the beginning of second grade awareness, word reading, and reading Hancin-Bhatt. (1993). Cross-language trans- fer of phonological awareness. Journal of Edu- through the end of third grade, the pe- comprehension) was predictive of En- cational Psychology 85 (3):453. riod of this grant and will continue to glish performance at the end of third Cummins, J.M. (1979). Linguistic interdepen- study these same children as they grade. In each analysis, we accounted dence and the educational development of progress through fourth and fifth grade. for the contributions of general abil- bilingual children.Review ofEducational Research The members of the main research ity as measured by the Raven's Col- 49(2): 222-251. group all received reading instruction in ored Matrices Test, oral English Cummins, J.M. Swain, K. Nakajima, J. Spanishinsecond grade; some proficiency as measured by the LAS- Handscombe, D. Green, and C. Tran. (1984). Linguistic interdependence among Japanese transitioned into English instruction in 0, and number of years of formal in- and Vietnamese immigrant students.In C. third grade, and the remaindcr will tran- struction in English reading. Rivera, ed., Coinmunicative Competence Ap- sition in fourth grade. We also collected In analyzing the data, we obtained proaches To Language Proficiency Assessment: test data from a group of English results for the bilingual group as a whole Research and Application. Clevedon, Avon, UK: Multilingual Matters LTD. monolinguals and a group of Spanish- and also for each of the three subgroups: English bilinguals in English-only in- Escamilla, K. (1987). The relationship of native lan- students instructed only in Spanish, stu- guage reading achievement and oral English profi- struction for comparison purposes. dents instructed in Spanish in second ciency to fitture achievement in reading English as a grade and transitioned to English in- second language. Unpublished doctoral disser- Study Design struction in third grade, and students tation, University of California, Los Angeles. Our stud subjects were 151 students in instructed only in English. Studrtl- (continued on page 42) 12 MARCH / A P R IL 2 0 0 1 .14 le-44P1'.-P4 ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN EDUCATION CONCERNS Column Editors: Dr. Ji-Mei Chang and Dr. Ward Shimizu SanJose State UniversitySan Jose, CA Promoting Literacy Development Through Teacher Collaboration CHRISTINA HARWAY AND MICHELLE M. MOMII, CUPERTINO USD Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are the building tention has been blocks of literacy. In order to be literate, our students must given to the use of learn to be active learners by knowing how to use multiple RTM by L2 learn- strategies through reading, writing, listening, and speaking to ers. This model ex- search for meaning from print or other media. However, cited us because it through our teaching experience, we noticed that elementary offered strategies for all school students who were not yet proficient in reading often students to become overused decoding strategies, maybe acquired from phonics more independent in drills, at the expense ofaddressing comprehension. These read- monitoring their reading comprehension through the use of ers usually focused all of their energy on the strategy of sound- a set of strategies to guide themselves in reading processes ing out words with little attention to meaning. If they continue across the curriculum. to face challenges in schools, it is more likely that they will make it through our educational system without the skills "Metacognition as defined in this context is a student's ability needed to be a literate citizen. to identify when a breakdown in reading occurs and to supply an appropriate strategy to fix the problem." Reciprocal Teaching for Asian American Second Language Learners and Students According to the literature and research evidence, the RTM with Special Needs helps students apply and strengthen their metacognition in The participating school is known for having a wide array of reading. Metacognition as defined in this context is a student's services to address the needs of second language learners and ability to identify when a breakdown in reading occurs and to students with special needs in the primary grades. This school's supply an appropriate strategy to fix the problem (Dickson, population is made up of seventy to eighty percent Asian and Collins, Simmons & Kameenui, 1998). The RTM gives stu- Asian American (APA) students, and the other twenty to thirty dents the knowledge of four reading strategies: questioning, percent are European Americans, Middle Eastern, Hispanic, clarifying, summarizing and predicting. These strategies mo- and African Americans. Seventy percent of the APA student tivate students to actively self-monitor their reading compre- "population had English as their L2. The participating second hension through dialoguing with each other in the classroom. grade class reflected the school-wide percentages. In light of the current trend that promotes inclusive edu- As teachers, we recognized the need to provide our stu- cation for all students, the RTM provides a unique opportu- dents with a more balanced reading program to address their nity for general and special education teachers to collaborate diverse needs by providing them with practices in applying in an inclusive classroom in order- to model, as well as facili- multiple strategies in their reading processes. The purpose of tate, the students' independent dialogues. Inclusive settings our project was to teach these second grade students strategies allow students with special needs opportunities to learn from to aid in comprehending what they read while developing lit- their general education peers. Teacher collaboration also en- eracy skills. riches inclusive education for all children because two teach- Our district introduced us to reciprocal teaching, which ers apply their expertise in assessing student learning and building was based on Palincsar and Brown (1984)'s reciprocal teach- instructional activities more effectively. ing model (RTM). The RTM focuses on dialoging while reading, so it offers great strategies to promote verbal expres- Conducting a Collaborative Action Research sion with L2 learners and students with special needs. Stu- Project to Promote Literacy dents are encouraged to ask questions and think critically as The collaborative attion research team comprised of one spe- they become active readers. While there have been many stud- cial educator and one general educator conducted this col- ies assessing the effectiveness of the RTM with students, there laborative action reSearch project with twenty-two second graders. The central research questions to be addressed in this is limited research on the RTM with Asian and Asian Ameri- . can students in the primary grades. In actetititot little at- paper were: What types of modifications would be necessary 11% q9, NABE NEws 13 to implement the RTM effectively with L2 second graders IShortened time: We found that second graders could fo- and students with special needs? What are some of the ben- cus on the RTM dialoguing in a group of ten to twelve efits and challenges experienced and documented by the col- students for twenty minutes. This time limitationwas es- laborative research team while implementing the RTM in an pecially important for those students, who were notpro- inclusive second grade language arts program? ficient in L2 and/or have special needs, because they The findings revealed that the proficient L2 learners dem- probably did not develop their higher thinking skills fully. onstrated more mastery in applying the strategies while read- They became distracted if they had to focus longer than ing than the rest of the class. These students were proficient in twenty minutes. their home language and English with the exception of one One-on-one assistance: We providecrassistance in read- student, who was not on grade level in either language. This ing and writing during independent RTM activities; such non-proficient student may have minor language processing as, partner reading and filling out worksheets. The assis- difficulties that are independent of her learning a second lan- tance to the one L2 learner, borderline and SDC students guage. The proficient L2 learners may have possessed higher was crucial to their participation in the RTM study. thinking skills due to learning a second language. It.is-also-pos- sible that these APA L2 learners are challenged by their par- "These strategies-,.. motivate students to actively self-moni- ents to excel academically, therefor_ve th"-ey were more focused : tor their reading comprehension through dialoguing with each on learning the RTM strategies./ other in thc classroom." Modifications were necessary for all second graders over the four-week research period, however those placed within /----:\ the groups identified as/borderline an'cl having special needs Teacher Collaboration that Makes a Real Difference required more modifications. Of the borderline,students, one Through the joiint research processes, ,,e came to recognize and / appreciate the (benefits for1 students and\ teachers when two was an L2 learner. A's mentioned above, this-student was the / \ only L2 learner wh/o was not on grade/ level imeither language. trained teacherszteam=taught in an inclusive program with The borderline and SDC students were able to master clarify- L2 learners. The L2 learners, who were\ proficient in En- / / ing and sometimes could come up with a questiONnS.The evi- glish, became the leaders inkhe RTM dialOgues. Having the commanh oftwo languages, these students clernonstrated the dence documtnted by the researchers reflected that the 1 \ / '--...._ ability/to utilizesome of the more difficult RTM strategies, collaboration between general and special eduation teachers---._ 1 enhanced the/instruction and curriculum for all\parficipating\such/as summarizing. They also/were able to dialogue in in- students and providedI . a solid foundation for teachers' profes- dependent pairs. Perhaps tliir mastery of a se9ond language sional develo'pment. / at-suCh a young age helped developmentally prepare them . for the deMands of the higher thinking strategie's in the RTM dialogue. Implications for Classroom lqervention When teachers work effectively with stuclents, they are for Asian American English Language Learners able to createI more effectiveI lessons, which addressI more needs and/or Students with Special Needs of students1 with diverse ba'ckgrounds, particulairly L2 learners The modifications made to the parti\dpatingdistrict's RTM and thoseI with special needs.I They are also able to share in- 1 I / may be beneficial to other teachers, livho work with general sights, observations and reiflections,t which in/turn help to cre- education prirnary students and/or 4per gracie students with ate a richer and more efficient instructionai program for all. special needs or who are learning English as a second language. These actions1 are not just. 1 "feel-good moments"/ for teachers In an attempt to make our modificanons more applicable to and students,' I t his research' project documented that students' . teachers from other districts, we pinpointed important modi- use ofth'e newly lea' rne'd strategies resu/Ited in tangible,mea- I / fications needed for theudents in our stu'dy to access the surable results. / RTM. The modifications are as follows: ( High interest text: We used.the text, Multicultural Fables and Christina Harway and Michelle M/Mom i i just completed their M.A. N .) ! . . . / . Fairy Tales, which was more appropriate fo-ife-Ciprocal teach- from-the-Division_ofSpecial Education and Rehabilitative Services at ing in language arts because it coniainedshort, high interest, San Jose State University.--Christina taught as a special educator for vocabulary-rich stories. These folk tales celebrated the rich four years in the CupeKno Union School District (CUSD). Michelle heritage ofthe diverse classroom population. Each story con---..taught speciareducation for three years in the Milpitas Unified School tained a hands on comprehension activity for the students to District and is currently teaching herfourth year as a second grade teacher in the CUSD. do independently as they completed the RTM activities. I Highlighted passages: We found blocking out passages with References a highlighter helpful in focusing students' attention on Dickson, S. V., Collins, V. L., Simmons, D. C., & Kameenui, E. J. (1998). the passage being discussed. The highlighted passages Metacognitive strategies: Research bases. In D. C. Simmons, & E. J. also helped L2 learners and students with special needs to Kameenui, I4/hat reading research tells us about children with diverse learning track the text. needs. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. RTM worksheets: These worksheets supported the RTM McCarthy, T. (1992). Multicultural fables and fairy tales. New York: Scholastic Professional Books. strategies by providing graphic organizers for students to Palincsar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching in comprehen- follow and record their RTM strategy use. Graphic orga- sion fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities. Cognition and nizers assisted students in organizing language concepts. Instruction, I( 7- 75. 14 MARCH / A P R IL 2 0 0 1 avamminimpamonnewv ADMINISTRATION OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS Column Editor: Mary I. Ramirez, M.A. Excellence With Second Language Learners En La Frontera BY ANNA LISA BANEGAS PESIA AND ANTONIO FERRo, REGION-1-9-EDUCATION SERVICE CEN-TER,-TEXAS The ultimate compliment for any bilin- thinking back to those days and compar- ers are invited to attend a four-day read- gual teacher, I would think, would be to ing them to what we know now to be ing academy that exposes them to areas sit at graduation commencement exer- even more successful it goes without say- dealing directly with reading instruction cises and have the valedictorian, a bilin- ing the responsibility is tremendous. methodology. Included in these acad- gual student, extend a heartfelt thank emies is information that focuses entirely you to her 4" grade bilingual teacher. A Supportive Context on second language learners in either Talk about touching my heart. As my In keeping with the Literacy theme of bilingual or ESOL programs. Because tears streamed down my face and my this newsletter we would like to share of continued support from Texas teach- heart bursting with the ultimate joy, I the successes we've experienced in the ers, additional academy material has been sat there listening to a beautiful articu- area ofliteracy here in our El Paso, Texas written and continues to target our bi- late young lady so full of life and a won- region. Please keep in mind our prox- lingual and ESOL students. The high derful future ahead ofher. I also recalled imity to Ciudad. Juarez, Mexico and the quality training materials model and the trials and tribulations of helping that revolving door that exist on thefrontera. teach effective literacy strategies and pro- particular 4th grade class learn English We are certain that many of you can re- vide teachers with "how to" informa- while enriching their Spanish language. late to the diversity of the population we tion that they can take right into their This was in the so proudly serve. classrooms. In essence the TRI project daysback when it In 1996, then is helping to get everyone "singing on was, "those kids Governor George the same song sheet," if yoti will. With from Ciudad:Juarez, W. Bush intro- administrator follow-up sessions, teach- Mexico"...who "There is a common duced the state to ers and campus level administrators can were set apart from vision, mission, and the Texas Reading speak the same language. the rest of the stu- Initiative. Gover- dent population. goal that second nor Bush declared An Emphasis and With very limited language learners will that all children Focus on Reading materials we all be afforded every would be reading Throughout the El Paso Region, many made the best of at grade level by schools achieve high levels of success opportunity to the adversarial situ- Grade 3 and con- with bilingual students. The emphasis ation. My students succeed." tinue reading at and focus that these schools place on lit- and I both knew grade level eracy is one of the main reasons they can that to attain a high throughout their celebrate such successes.In this geo- level of success and school career. The graphical area, we firmly believe in mutual respect from our peers, we would Texas Reading Initiative also called for teaching the second language through have to work twice as hard. And we did! : students in grade K-2 to be assessed the use of the first language. It is com- Amidst the elimination of bilingual throughout the school year to deter- mon practice for schools to begin read- education in California and Arizona my : mine their strengths and weaknesses in ing instruction in the child's first heart tells me that the bilingual teachers in areas such as oral language develop- language, in this case Spanish. Our those states have a commitment and dedi- : ment, phonological awareness, and schools also believe that it is crucial to cation to the English language learners . reading fluency, just to name a few. teach the academic language in Spanish they serve, regardless of what legislatures : But, how is this initiative different from as well as in English. In a typical bidin- tell them they have to do. Our challenges . others? gual classroom teachers do not spend their "back in those days" were many. Today's : Aside from the initiative being time translating the same lessons for their challenges are somewhat different. Ulti- . founded entirely on researched-based students. Instead they teach the content mately we have a responsibility to the En- : methodology, it continues being sensi- in the language that is designated for that glish Language Learners we serve.In ii\44 to second language learners. Teach- period of the day. Using cognitive strat- (tD LGO NABENEWS 15 egies, academic language and effective would benefit from a focus on reading. Anna Lisa Banegas Peiia, M.A., is the Bi- language acquisition strategies, teachers They also realized that it would take lingual/ESL Program Manager at Region 19 teach the content in this manner. some convincing of math, science and Education Service Center in El Paso, Texas. Bilingual teachers are also invited to social studies teachers to allow their stu- A bilingual educator for 30 years (4 as pro- participate in other professional devel- dents time to practice their reading. gram manager, 12 as principal, 11 as bilin- opment opportunities that include bet- They had to convince their administra- gual teacher and 3 as bilingual teacher tering the bilingual teacher's academic tors to allow them a block of time within assistant), Anna Lisa served as Chair of the Spanish. Through their participation in the master schedule for students to prac- state-wide committee that developed the Hand- intensive Spanish language arts institutes, tice their reading. This year San Elizario book for the Implementation of Bilingual/ the teachers learn from native speaking High School became a Recognized cam- English as a Second Language Programs, instructors from Ciudad Jucirez, Mexico. pus for achieving high results on the Committee Chair for the development of the Professional development opportunities Texas Assessment of Academic Skills or Texas Center for Bilingual Education are also offered for content area teachers TAAS in all subgroups that include eco- Website, and a Committee member on two working with second language learners. nomically disadvantaged and limited other statewide committees focusing on Span- A core group of teachers from San English proficient. ish Literacy for Second Language Learners. Elizario High School representing dif- Even though the schools in the El She can be reached at [email protected]. ferent content areas attended a Leader- Paso area use a variety of instructional Antonio Fierro, M.A., is the Program ship Institute hosted by Region 19 materials and programs, the thing that Manager for the Texas Reading Initiative at Education Service Center. Their charge stands out the most is that there is em- Region 19 Education Service Center in El at the start of the institute was to pro- phasis on literacy. There is also mutual Paso, Texas. Selected as Texas Teacher of the duce a product that they would present understanding that the administration Year in 1997, Antonio served as a bilingual to their administration and faculty that and the faculty will maintain the same educatorfor 11 years and served as State-wide would produce a positive impact on stu- focus. There is a common vision, mis- Committee Chair for the continued develop- dent performance. Their school is lo- sion and goal that second language learn- ment of the Tejas LEE (Spanish reading as- cated in a remote rural area about 1/4 mile ers will be afforded every opportunity sessment for grades K-2). He is currently from the Mexican border. This core to succeed.In El Paso, Texas we are pursuing a doctorate in educational leadershtp group of teachers chose a focus on read- proud to serve the diverse population at the University of Texas at El Paso and can ing. They realized that their students that we do. be reached at [email protected]. Genesee, F., & Upshur, J. A. (1996). Classroom-based evaluation in second lan- IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW YORK guage education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CITY SCHOOLS RESEARCH REPORT Genesee, F. (1984). On Cummins' theoretical framework. In C. Rivera (Ed.) Language proficiency and academic achievement. (pp. 20-27). Clevedon, UK: (continued from Page 8) Multilingual Matters. McQuillan, J. (1998). The literacy crisis: False claims, real solutions. Portsmouth, schools, everywhere in the region, into the foreseeable future. NH: Heinemann. The data and research reviewed here make it clear that this Meyer, M. & Fienberg, S. (1992). Assessing Evaluation Studies: The Case of Bi- burden of proof has not been met. Only unwarranted and lingual Education Strategies. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. unsubstantiated zeal for English-only instruction could be be- New York Board of Education. (2000). ELL subcommitee research studies: Progress report. Brooklyn, NY: Division of Assessment and Accountability, New hind the demand that we limit all program options to English York Board of Education. Available at A Bogus Argument Against Transfer of Literacy BY STEPHEN Sill Rossell (1998) disputes the claim that literacy transfers, main- Hoover Middle School, and Lincoln High School (Lan- taining that bilingual education theorists only promote read- guage Academy, 1999). ing in the first language when a roman alphabet is used in both 1 Wong and Cook (1995) asked 116 Chinese bilingual teach- languages. There is extensive data supporting the existence of ers (105 Cantonese, 11 Mandarin) if they felt it was im- transfer of literacy across languages with different orthogra- portant to be literate in Chinese to be a good bilingual phies, evidence showing that the underlying psycholinguistic teacher. Seventy-one percent of the sample felt Chinese processes of reading in languages with different alphabets are literacy was very necessary or somewhat necessary. Those who similar, evidence showing that the process of the development reported being proficient in reading and writing Chinese of literacy in these languages is similar, and evidence showing felt more strongly about the importance of Chinese lit- positive correlations between literacy development in the first eracy in teaching: Eighty-four percent of those who re and second languages, when length of residence in the coun- ported they read Chinese very well felt Chinese literacy try where the second language is spoken is controlled (Krashen, was important in teaching. Forty-seven percent of those 1996). This evidence is available for a wide variety oflanguages, who said they read Chinese not well felt this way, still a including Chinese, Vietnamese, Turkish, Japanese, and Yid- substantial percentage. dish. Rossell does not attempt to refute these findings. In fact, 1 Hoover (1983) reported that there was a positive relation- they are not even mentioned, and Rossell even claims that this ship between literacy developed in the first language for evidence does not exist: "The bilingual education theory is Cantonese speakers and the development of English lit- absolutely silent on the non-applicability of its theory to non- eracy when literacy was substantially developed in the first Roman alphabet languages" (p. 5, section 11). language. This occurred when children had literacy de- Instead of dealing with the published research, she gives velopment in their home country. For those who had small these two arguments. The first is this: " I can read fluently amounts ofCantonese literacy development in the United in English, but I cannot read in Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Chi- States, there was no relationship between first and second nese, Japanese, Hindi or any other non-Roman alphabet lan- language literacy. Hoover concludes that "... although such guage. I can only read in Roman alphabet languages." instruction represents time spent away from direct En- This is not the point at all. The point is that anyone liter- glish literacy instruction, it does not show the detrimen- ate in any language will find learning to read in another easier tal effects some hypotheses would predict" (p. 4). These than someone not literate in their first language. A literate results suggest that more literacy instruction in Chinese speaker of Chinese will have an easier time learning to read as part of a bilingual program would be a good thing. English than an illiterate speaker of Chinese. The facilitating effect of first language literacy may not be immediate. As Lucy Tse has pointed out to me, there are several rea- Rossell's second argument is that she has not personally ob- sons why Chinese literacy development may not take place in served first language literacy instruction in bilingual classrooms: some bilingual classes, including availability and appropriate- "Indeed, in the decade I have been observing bilingual class- ness of reading material, and, as Rossell also notes, the fact that rooms throughout the United States, I have never ever seen the children may speak different Chinese languages. While one taught in Chinese according to the theorythat is students there is one written language, there are many oral Chinese learning to read and write in their native tongueand I have languages that are not mutually comprehensible, which makes seen only one school where the teacher even used a Chinese readalouds and other literacy-related activities difficult. These dialect (sic) in instruction. Children are not taught to read and are practical constraints and are real, but are not counter evi- write Chinese because there are no teachers in the United States dence to the hypothesis that literacy transfers even when the so crazy as to think that the skill oflearning to read and write in orthographies of the two languages are different. Chinese, an ideographic language that bears no resemblance to References English, is transferable to English" (p. 4, section 10). Hoover, W. 1983. Language and literacy learning in bilingual instruction. Austin: There certainly are teachers "crazy enough" to think that Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. literacy development in Chinese is a good idea. Descriptions Rossell, C. 1998. Deposition. United States District Court, Northern Dis- of various examples follow. trict. of California. July 15, 1998, Case No. C98-2252. 1 In the San Francisco Unified School District, Chinese lit- Language Academy, 1999. San Francisco Unified School District, eracy is taught at the folloWing schools: Alice Fong Yu, www.sibilingual.net/academics/index.html West Portal, Cesar Chavez, Gordon Lau, Chinese Educa- Tse, L., Wong, G., and Cook, T. 1995. The relationship between Chinese tion Center, Benjamin Franklin Middlicrol, Herbert literacy and bilingual teacher attitudes. NABE News 18(8): 33-34. 4 16,2 NABE NEWS 17 ISSUES IN INDIGENEOUS BILINGUAL EDUCATION Column Editor: Dr. Jon Reyhner, Northern Arizona University, AZ Literacy and School Success In her 1999 autobiography Lori Arviso quota filling, not the result of hard work defiance of her supervisors Qoyawayrna Alvord, the first Navajo female surgeon, and my own merit" (p. 50). chose teaching material from the expe- wrote of her experiences at Crownpoint riential background of her students: High School in the Navajo Nation: Some History Dr. Alvord's experiences support the What do these white-man stories mean I made good grades in high school, but idea that students who learn to read well to a Hopi child? What is a "choo-choo" I had received a very marginal educa- do well in school. However, her experi- to these little ones who have never seen tion. I had a few good teachers, but ences ofhaving to join what Frank Smith a train? No! I will not begin with the teachers were difficult to recruit to our (1988) calls the "Literacy Club" almost outside world of which they. have no schools and they often didn't stay long. knowledge. I shall begin with the famil- Funding was inadequate. I spent many in spite ofher schooling is a longstanding iar. The everyday things. The things of hours in classrooms where, I now see, problem. The substandard education home and family. (125) very little was being taught. (pp. 25-26) that Dr. Alvord received in the public schools at Crownpoint, New Mexico is She substituted familiar Hopi legends, What saved her at Dartmouth was her nothing new. Poor instructional prac- songs and stories for Little Red Riding "strong reading background." She tices were compounded throughout Hood and other European tales. writes, "I read my way through the most of the history of American Indian education by the use of English-Only tiny local library and the vans that The Question of When? came to our community from the instructional practices. Luther Standing One of the reasons for the recent up- Bear (1928), who became a teacher at the Books on Wheels program," encour- surge in English-Only popular opinion end of the nineteenth century wrote, aged by her parents "to read and dream" is the widespread perception that bilin- (p. 9). She could even get out of chores gual education programs do not teach by reading. The Indian children should have been taught how to translate the Sioux English and that minority students "lan- She majored in the social sciences tongue into English properly; but the guish" in them. This perception was and graduated from Dartmouth in 1979. English teachers only taught them the loudly expressed in the passages of Not being able to get a job in English language, like a bunch of par- Proposition 227 in California and 203 Crownpoint, she went to Albuquerque rots. While they could read all the words in Arizona. However, Jim Cummins, where she was offered two jobs, one as a placed before them, they did not know Stephen Krashen, and other prominent social worker and another paying much the proper use of them; their meaning was a puzzle. (p. 239) supporters of bilingual education con- less as a medical research assistant at the tinue to emphasize the need to intro- University ofNew Mexico. She took the Students were immersed in English, duce English early-on in bilingual lower paying job and became increas- programs while at the same time deVel- ingly interested in medicine, taking the when, in fact, the written versions of American Indian languages were easier oping literacy in the children's home math and science classes she had avoided to learn to read because they were de- languages whenever possible. at Dartmouth at the University of New veloped with a one-to-one sound syrn- In his new book Language, Power and Mexico with the encouragement of her bol relationship, unlike English. Pedagogy (2000), Cummins rebuts his supervisor, which led her to being ac- Polingaysi Qoyawayma, a Hopi critics and clarifies his positions on the cepted by Stanford University's medical teacher, reported in the 1930s the same use of home and school languages in bi- school. experiences as Standing Bear. When she lingual programs. He questions a "rigid" One should not underestimate Dr. became a first grade teacher, she was ner- separation oflanguages in bilingual pro- Alvord's accomplishments. Only four : vous, but she felt that she at least knew grams," and "a near-exclusive empha- percent of the practicing surgeons in the the language her students spoke. How- sis" on the home language in the early United States are women, and only a few : ever, her supervisors soon reminded her grades, and the idea that literacy skills of those women are American Indians. that she was forbidden under the can transfer automatically from the home While she got into medical school partly government's English-Only policy to language to English (pp. 20-21). because ofaffirmative action, this meant speak Hopi to her students. In her mind Cummins especially has doubts that she was constantly tested. She held . she questioned her supervisors' direc- about "delaying the instruction of En- herself to a higher standard lest "my be- tives and the mainstream English cur- glish literacy for a considerable period" 'rig a surgeon-would-be-attributed-toHriculum-she-was-required-to-teath,-In (p-1-76),-hi-regar4_to_the well-known_ 18 MARCH / A P R I L2 0 0 1 163 VAI threshold and interdependency hypoth- assessment. However, Cummins points Reyhner and -Cockrurn conclude, k esis he writes that "Neither hypothesis says out that in studies that utilize both types anything about the appropriate language to ofassessment,l there are "extremely strong Childreri!Who come from homes, begin reading instruction within a bilingual correlations)between communicative [of- whether they are ethnic minority chil- dren or not, where they are not read to program nor about when reading instruction ten termd "authentie] assessments of extensively need early direct instruction in the majority language should be introduced" reading and writing and discrete point in what reading is all about, including (p. 176, emphasis in original). He writes, measures! such as standardized and cri- / phonics; but they also need to be im- terion referenced test scores (p. 137). mersed in a friendly literacy environ- I believe, and have strongly argued, that a These paper and-penla teststend to mea- ment as soon as possible in school that bilingual program should be fiilly bilin- sure students' academic vocabulary. emphasizes how reading can satisfy their gual with a strong English language arts In fact, Cummit)is,A while recogniz- curiosity about things they are interested (reading and writing) program together /mg their misuse, states that "to the ex- in, whether that be dinosaurs, whales, with a strong L1...language arts program horses, race cars, motorcycles, basket- (pp. 24-25, emphasis in original). . tent that standardized reading tests ball, or whatever, and can provide plea- mirror the context-reduced demands of sure as well: Cummins sees a special problem .k schooling and many real-life reading with delaying the introduction ofEnglish performances (e.g. reading and complet- However, beyond playing on the im- in indigenous language programs because ing variousiorms), they can be consid- mediate interets of children to get . ..----- of the lack of indigenous language litera- ered potentially appropriate despite the them to read, the best books from all ture for older students (p. 22). fa6-they lack a tisk-based comniunica- culturesincluding picture books Cummins also defends his well tive orientation" (p. 137). help teach children what it means to known BICS/CALP categorization. be a human being in. the same manner , Based on the research of Douglas Bibe Ir, Learning to Ready by Reading of traditional stories from oral cultures. David Corson,and others, he finds tliat While it is too early to tell, there is some Whether these stories are read or Basic Interpersonal Cornmunication`.----indication that President George W. heard; they help enculturate children Skills (BICS) are made up largely of Bush's educatianal-initiatives will focus to become productive membeii-OT "Anglo-Saxon-based lexicon" while the on_phonics-rea-diriFinstruction. While, their communities. Children who are vocabulary of Cognitive Academic Lan- as-Cummins/ points out, some direct in- denied these oral and written stories guage Proficiency (CALP) is largely of s9uction in reading and writing is a good are in danger of missing a moral com-- "Graeco-Latin" origin, which is mainly thing, the development of a strong cul- pass that will keep them on course. found in books. Graeco-Latin words niral identity is also important. It isnot Educators need to work with parents . tend to be three or four syllables long, Ji4t a question of teaching children to and communities on a literature-based whereas the everyday high frequency rad it is also critical that they perceive reading program to provide students words of the Anglo-Saxon lexicon tend themselve, as readers without seeing this with narrative guideposts, both oral to be one or two syllables in length (p. as a "selling out" of their heritage and and written, that will provide direc- 78). Cummins writes, that they get lots of practice reading tion for today's youth. material biat thcy find interesting. An obvious implication of these data is Lwant to conclude with a quote from References that if second language learners are to Stephen Krashen's The Power of Reading: Alvord, Lori Arviso. (1999). The scalpel and the sil- catch up academically to native-speak- Ins hts from the Research, which I quoted ver bear. New York: Bantam Books. ers they must engage in extensive read- Cummins, Jim. (2000). Language, power and peda- in this)column onSeptember 15, 1998 gogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Clevedon, ing of written text because academic and a quote from a recent chapter on read- UK: Multilingual Matters. language is realibly to be found only in ing that I co-authored. Krashen writes, Krashen, Stephen. (1993). The power of reading: In- written text. The research on reading sightsfrom the research. Englewood, CO: Librar- achievement also suggests, however, that ies Unlimited. in addition to large amounts of time for Myconclusions are simple. When chil- Qoyawayma, Polingaysi (Elizabeth Q. White). actual text reading, it is also important dren read for pleasure, when they get 1964). No turning back: AHopi Indian woman's "hooked on books," they acquire, in- strggle to live in two worlds. Albuquerque: Uni- for student to have ample opportunities versity of New Mexico Press. to talk to each other and to a teacher voluntarily and without conscious ef- fort, nearly all of the so-called "language Reyhner, Jon. (1998). The impOrtance of read- about their responses to reading.... ing: Part 1. NABE News, 22(1), 11-12. (http:/_ Talking about the text in a collabora- skills" many people are so concerned /jan.ucc.nau.edu/jar/NABE31-40.html#34) tive context ensures that higher order aBout: They will become adequate read- Reyhner, Jon, & Cockrum, Wa4 'On press). thinking processes (e.g. analysis, evalu- acquire a large vocabulary, develop Reading, Language, Culture, and Ethnic.Mi! the ability to understand and use com- nority StudentsP. Mosenthal &-Patricia ation, synthesis) engage with academic Schmidt (Eds.) Reconceptualizing literacy in the language in deepening students' comli- plex grarnmatical instructions, develop new age of pluralism and multicutluralism. prehension of the text. (p. 79) a good writing style, and become good Westport, CN: JAI Press/Greenwood Pub- (but not necessarily perfect) spellers. lishing Group. (http://jan.ucc.nau.edurjar/ Although free voluntary reading alone Reading.html) ha'N) Whole language advocates will not ensure attainment of the high- Smith, Frank. (1988). Joining the literacy club: criticized some of Cummins' work and Further essays into education. Portsmouth,, est levels of literacy, it will at least en- NH: Heinemann. tend to oppose any kind of standardized sure an acceptable level. Without it, I Standing Bear, Luther. (1928). My people the Sioux and criterion referenced tests, advocat- suspectthat children simply do not have (Edited by E.A. Brininstool). Boston: ing in their place forms of authentic a chance19 3, p. 84) Houghton Miflin. 4 NABE NEWS ( \ Focuion RecenlReports and Activitieson Literacy\ Reports on Literacy from the Center for Research Reports on Education, Diversity & Excellence (CREDE) \ Report on Limited English Proficient students Educational Practice Report - Successful Transition into Mainstream English: The General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report/ on Effective Strategies for Studying Literature EPR 2 LimitecrEnglish Proficient students:-REPORTS Public William Saunders, California State University, Long Beach Education: Meetmg-the-NeedrofStudents,with_____--- Limid En- Gisela O'Brien, Deborah Lennon, & Jerry McLean, Los Angeles glish Proficiency. GA0-01-22,6;--February 23.Visit Unified School District www.gao.gov/cgizbifilgEtrpt?rptno=gao=-01-226 This report is one of a series of reports on various aspects of a multi-year Spanish-to-English language arts transition curricu- hree salient points mactc iifihe GAO report include: lum in the Los Angeles, CA area. The program uses 8-week SeN , show. Last year, this event had 734 exhibit booths and drew over 45,000 attendees for the two days. April 30th is recognized throughout Mexico and Latin America as Dia de Los Niiios, Dia de los Libros. NABE encourages elementary schools to join with their neighborhood public li- brary to hold a day-long (or whole afternoon) celebration of the young child (ages 4-8) and reading. The occasion should d: a public one and involve various segments of the commu- ay: multi-generational, multi-ethnic, and multi-sensory. 1GB NABE NEWS 21 Watch What You Say Bilingual Education Policy in Puerto Rico and "Dangerous" Discourse R.ENLANIKOP-GQ.NZALEZ,....TEIFUNSYLVAL\a&STATE UNLVI-RS.1.1Y At the 2000 NABE Annual My "Tenure" as an Uncritical, 1998; Méndez-Bernal, 1997; Navarro, Convention that took place in Apolitical, and Oppressive 1995; Spring, 1994; Muntaner, 1990; San Antonio, Texas, I had the Teacher in the Colony Algren de Guitierrez, 1987; Alvarez, honor of presenting a topic that is dear Assigned to work at a rural Puerto 1986; Ryan, 1981; Canino, 1981; to my heart as a bilingual educator Rican school as a Title 1 English Gorman, 1973; Osuna, 1949; Cebollero, that of the teaching ofEnglish as a Sec- teacher, I was immediately confronted 1945). In fact, Osuna (1949) remarks, ond Language in Puerto Rico. There with outdated and corroded textbooks "Were we to mention objectives before are many ways in which a scholar can that were exclusively based on the au- 1930, perhaps we could point out three, approach this subject. I opted to delve dio-lingual method of second language which seemed to be common to all com- into the socio-historical aspect of En- learning. This method relied on the stu- missioners, these being: Americanization, glish teaching on the Island. However, dents constantly repeating grammatical extension of the school system, and the to do this requires a critical lens that sentence structures. Of course, the teaching ofEnglish (p. 282). Silen (1971) looks at such issues as language, power, teacher was still seen as being the focus supports Osuna's remarks by stating, and colonialism. By no means are these of the class. Also, the students I "From its beginnings the Puerto Rican comfortable connections to make. The "taught" had no idea what they were school has smelled strongly of colonial- teaching of English and the topic of bi- saying nor did they particularly care. ism. Under Spain it was designed to cre- lingual education are political in na- However, I never questioned these ate loyal subjects of the Crown. Under ture and, as a result, are often the teaching practices. As a result, my stu- U.S. domination after the Spanish- subjects of heated debate as we attempt dents constantly scored low on teacher- American War, U.S. commissioners set to come to terms with our history as a prepared tests and dreaded the very about to subordinate public education to colonized people. thought of having to take English. Was the teaching of English" (p. 93). Also While heated debates are of no sur- there any solution? commenting on the intent to American- prise to me when confronting these is- Sensing my own inadequacies as an ize the Puerto Rican school system, Fox sues, what happened during and after ESL teacher as a result of the inadequate (1924) wrote: this particular convention presentation methods that were being espoused, I made me realize something very impor- sought a viable solution through the fol- American educators had gone to Porto tant. These debates can indeed be "dan- lowing premise: Can language be taught Rico [note the Anglicized spelling] and gerous" in the sense that engaging in a through a context that makes it more transplanted American methods of edu- 'critical dialogue can serve to threaten the meaningful to the students' own lives? cation unfortunately without adapting status quo that is vastly represented in Can language be used to engage learn- them to Latin-American psychological factors. For instancethese Spanish our teaching world. Social and power ers in a critical dialogue with which they speaking children, keenly patriotic, were structures are upset in the process. As a can make sense of the very world in taught American patriotic songs and the result, those who find themselves to be which they live? Can they use the En- flag salute in English. A mad scramble threatened will strike in very peculiar glish language, as well as their own, to ensued to learn English and teachers ways. So, then, I ask myself the follow- become agents of change rather than poorly equipped to teach English were ing questions as a bilingual educator: Is agents of the status quo? much in demand (p.50). bilingual education political? Whose in- terests does bilingual education serve? The Socio-Historical Context Between 1900 and 1945, various How can critical pedagogy be imple- of ESL Teaching in the Colony public school language policies were ex- mented within our bilingual program? Numerous scholars have examined the perimented with in Puerto Rico: the These are the questions that I attempted Americanization process from within the Brumbaugh policy (1900-1903), the to answer during that fateful day in San context of Puerto Rico and the teach- Falkner-Dexter policy (1903-1914), the Antonio. Join me as I help you relive that ing/imposition of the English language Miller-Huyke policy (1915-1934), the "dangerous" presentation. (Barreto, 1998; NegrOn de Montilla, Padin policy (1934-1937), the Gallardo These debates can indeed be "dangerous"...a critic vastly_represented in aurleaching world. Soc 22 MARCH / APRIL2001 policy (1937-1945), and the Villaronga "The main premise of critical pedagogy is that education and the policy (1945-present) (Osuna, 1949; knowledge that it produces are in no way innocent or value-free. One's Cebollero, 1945). This last policy makes the teaching ofESL a required subject for interests are being served in the process of teaching and learning." grades K-12 for one class period per day. Freire, 1970 In 1998, the Puerto Rico depart- ment of Education launched the Project for the Formation of a Bilingual Citizen. In this document, it was apparent to me that dominant class, or education can be would become very interesting. To my the current political party in power (the used to liberate people, helping heart's content, I found that most of New Progressive Party; the party advo- them to become critical, creative, those present in the audience had much cating statehood for the colony) was us- free, and active. experience working with bilingual edu- ing bilingual education to impose its own 2.Content comes from the par- cation within a Puerto Rican context on political agenda through its continued at- ticipants: People will act on issues both the Island and the United States. tempts to Americanize the colony's in which they have strong feelings. After a group from the audience populace. I argued, therefore, that this 3.Dialogue: Dialogue or discussion expressed their support of the critiques bilingual education project contained a should be engaged between both that were made during my presentation, hidden curriculum of Americanization. the teacher and learner. Learning the group representing the state appara- This, too, I stated and I countered by of- should not be a one-way street. tus from Puerto Rico became quite ner- fering a possible solutionone that 4.Problem-posing education: The vous. After all, being individuals with would exalt the benefits ofbilingual edu- teacher should not lecture his/her power positions in Puerto Rico, they cation and empower students to use the students. Rather, questions can be probably were not accustomed to hear- target language in a critical way. posed which, in turn, makes the ing such direct critique of their beloved learner an active participant. project. However, in these types of aca- The Discussion of 5.Reflection/Action: Learners demic venues, accountability is quite Critical Pedagogy and should feel free to reflect upon their high and professionals are not afraid to Bilingual Education learning process. make their sentiments known. What The main premise of critical pedagogy 6.Transformation: Education should surprised me the most was the question is that education and the knowledge that be used as a way in which learners that was posed to me in front of the au- it produces are in no way innocent or and teachers can change those so- dience. The director of the bilingual value-free. One's interests are being cial structures that affect their lives project in Puerto Rico asked, "Who are served in the process of teaching and on a daily basis. you citing in your research?" I again re- learning (Freire, 1970). The notion that peated the names of those scholars whose textbooks and teachers themselves are to The Post-Presentation Dialogue voices had made a contribution to-my be regarded as the purveyors of "Truth" After discussing the socio-historical as- critique. His response was, "But they while students are nothing more than pect of ESL teaching/learning in Puerto support independence for Puerto Rico!" passive receptacles waiting to be filled Rico, the hidden curriculum present in I read this response as meaning, "But with value-free knowledge is better the current bilingual project being they do not count!" As a result, the au- known as the "banking model of edu- implemented in the public school sys- dience once again showed their shock cation" (Freire, 1970). This belief is re- tem, and the need to consider the ben- and dismay at such a blatant dismissal of flected in many ESL classrooms in efits of critical pedagogy, I decided that voices and scholarship for the mere rea- Puerto Rico as our students are con- it would be good for the audience to re- son that they were not aligned with the stantly bombarded with discrete-point act and reflect on what was said. 'What status quo of the current Puerto Rican skills tests that supposedly serve to happened during this discussion was educational system? Once again, I ask, "Is just how much English our stu- quite interesting. education not political?" dents know. After having discussed some Once I offered the floor to the edu- Eventually, the presentation ended, of the basic theoretical points behind cators present in the audience, I noticed and I returned home to State College, critical pedagogy, I offered a set of prac- that marked divisions among those Pennsylvania to continue my doctoral tical ideas that could be implemented in present took place. There was the group studies. Three days after having arrived the current project's curriculum (Chi- that definitely supported what had been from San Antonio, I was requested to cago Praxis Project). said and a group that did not. However, meet my doctoral advisor in her office for The six ideas that were presented via I did notice that attending the presenta- some private time. She informed me that a transparency are the following: tion was the current director of the she had received a phone call from Puerto 1. Education is not neutral: Educa- Puerto Rico Department of Education Rico. The caller had evidently been quite tion is either designed to maintain Bilingual Education Program and a disturbed at what had transpired during the status quo, imposing on the group of supporters. Hence, I figured people the values and culture of the that the post-presentation dialogue (continued on page 41) dialogue can serve to threaten the status quo that is and power structures are upset in the process. NABE NEWS 23 propriate use of children's literature is the use of questioning strategies that pro- mote higher order thinking(cf. Tamales Para Marzano, 1993). Bloom's (1956)Tax- onomy and other models delineate vary- ing levels of abstract thought (cognitive engagement) that can be reached through the questions (scaffolding) from the teacher. Unfortunately, studies show Ricitos de Oro that "left to their own devices, teachers typically ask only low-level, fact-recall questions (LeNoir, 1989, p. 41). In the Promoting Writing Through context of literature discussions, ex- amples of low-level questions would be "Who was the main character? What Children's Literature was the problem? Where did the story occur?" According to Dillion (1981, BY HOWARD L. SMITH, UNIVERSITY OF TEXASSAN ANTONIO quoted in LeNoir, 1989, p. 351) "The WITH NORIVIA E. HERNANDEZ, CLAUDIA MARTINEZ, SHARON teacher's question is one factor which alone might account in great part for MARTINEZ, AND SIOMARA PALACIOS, SAN ANTONIO ISD minimal student expressivity, lack ofstu- dent-student interaction, and diminish- ing cognitive and affective processes." By the time most children arrive at In order to move beyond superfi- school they have formed their cial, fine motor exercises, teachers must Study Focus own theories about print (Fang, adopt new methods or tools for literacy This study examines the effect of 1999; Pontecorvo, Orsolini, Burge, & instruction. The term scaffolding has been children's books and questioning strat- Resnick, 1996). Research shows that used to describe a variety of teaching egies on the creative writing of kinder- young children write a wide variety of strategies that support students as they garten children in Spanish. The writing texts (e.g., shopping lists, restaurant or- engage in activities beyond their current samples presented in this article were ders, notes to a parent) long before they level of ability. As their ability increases created by bilingual kindergarten chil- enter school (Goodman, 1990). Sadly, in the particular task, the teacher reduces dren in three different schools in south- kindergarten students are commonly or removes the support. Butler (1998, west Texas. The students, all Spanish treated as if they were completely devoid p. 380) identified five features of me- dominant,listened to authentic of any notions about literacy. Most pre- diation or scaffolded instruction: children's stories in Spanish and then school students are prescribed hours of 1. It is support that is flexibly cali- received prompts in the form of ques- preparatory exercises before they are brated to meet students needs. tions to stimulate discussion and creative given meaningfiil opportunities to write 2.It will either increase or fade, de- writing. This literacy cycle was admin- (Moxley, Warash, Coffinan, Brinton, & pending on how independently stu- istered twice a week in addition to the Concannon, 1997). These writing "ex- dents regulate their learning. other activities usually covered during ercises" (e.g., letter tracing, copying from 3.It is contextualized. the language arts time for four weeks in the board) are designed to increase the 4.Optimal supportisprovided the spring of 1999. child's capacity to make accurate letters through interactive dialogues con- We wanted to see to what extent the shapes, maintain appropriate spacing and ducted during collaborative prob- writing of kindergarten children would the like. Such activities do little to create lem solving. change when two new scaffolds were of- an appreciation for writing as a mode of 5.Support also attends to sub-skills as fered to them during their language arts self-discovery or self- expression. they occur in the context of mean- period. Our goal was to provide scaffold- ingful tasks. ing so that they would produce original The Need: To Move Beyond the texts that reflected analysis, synthesis, and Superficial One way to support children's writ- evaluation of the stories (Edwards & For English language learners in bilin- ing is through the use of children's lit- Springate, 1995). For this study, we used gual classrooms, literacy development is erature (Lancia, 1997; Yopp & Yopp, an approach suggested by Ada (1990). even more problematized (Moll, 1992). 2000). Trade books and other authentic The children were asked to respond in According to Gomez, Parker; Lara- texts create common ground or context writing to (a) descriptive questions, (b) Alecio, & Gomez (1996, p.210) writing for discussions (Klassen, 1993). The use questions to foster critical analysis, (c) instruction for English language learn- ofauthentic texts has been found to help questions to prompt personal interpreta- ers is generally confined to "mechani- stimulate creative writing (cf. Johnson, tion followed by (d) creative expression. cal aspect of writing such as syntax, et al.,1999; McMackin,1998). Children's We were confident that the young stu- punctuation, and spelling." They are books, when used appropriately, also dents had sufficient experience with de- given few opportunities to use their L1 help teachers address various subskills of scriptivequestionstorespond in any substantive way (Martinez- language (Traw, 1996). appropriately to prompts of the first Roldin & LOpez-Robertson, 1999/ But children's books, alone, are not phase. We anticipated that the other --20007-Sniit, 1999). en-ough-.---An important-tool-for-the-ap _phases-were developmenta4appropriate. 2 4 MARCH / APRIL 2001 v: 1469 Creative Children story]. When students would individu- cochino feroz [The Three Little Wolves and Creative Classrooms ally approach a teacher with their work, and the Big, Bad Pig]. When the teach- In this article we discuss the writings of they might be encouraged to write more ers had finished reading the last page, seven students from three different class- through prompts: "Who kept blowing they would display the other versions rooms. They were selected because they down the houses of the three little pigs? that they had earlier to the class and say, illustrate the dramatic changes that occur Who was the one who ate the porridge "Hernos leido otras versiones de este cuento. when appropriate scaffolding is provided. of the three bears?" On Thursday of that Ahora han visto como se puede cambiar una The students were Mexican American week, they were read another familiar historia. Como autores, yams a escribir children between the ages of 5.11 and 6.7 children's tale and told to do the same nuestra propia vershin del cuento" [We have yearsall ofwhom received a free lunch. thing with descriptive level goals for read other versions of this story. Now, All were Spanish dominant and were en- their writing. you have seen how you can change a rolled in a bilingual kindergarten in which story. As authors we are going to write Spanish was the language of instruction Personal interpretive phase. our own version of the story]. In all cases, for 90% ofthe day. Two ofthe classrooms The following week, students heard the teachers read the stories in Spanish used a highly structured and scripted modernized versions of the children's to their classes reading approach. The daily routine of tales. To prompt their thinking at the these classes included a short book or pas- personal interpretive level the teachers Discussion Of The Writing sage read aloud by the teacher. The teach- askcd, "Has anything like this happened In the first writing sample (Figure 1) the ers would ask descriptive level ("one right to you?" Many students were immedi- student began with the date (provided answer") questions based on the story, ately able to identify with the wolf who by the teacher on the chalkboard). Writ- and on alternate days, the class would give was framed in La Historia Verdadera de los ings from this initial phase were short, an oral retelling. They also used guided Tres Cerdos por S. Lobo [The True Story uninspired and prosaic. One child wrote reading, highly structured phonemic of the Three Little Pigs, by I. M. A. his retelling in column form with a awareness activities, individual emergent Wolf]. After listening to a few volunteers drawing. This may be attributable to the reader texts and journal writing. the students were told to return to their student's desire to imitate an acceptable The third classroom used a litera- seats and to write about a personal ex- format (columns). ture based approach for literacy devel- perience similar to what had occurred During the second phase the writ- opment. At the start of each day the in the story. On Thursday, after hearing ings began to show some originality. Stu- teacher read a story or played a musical Bucles de Oro or Ricitos de Oro [Goldilocks dents heard another version of the fairy selection that related to the story. Pho- and the Three Bears] students were ea- tale and were told to write about an ex- nemic awareness was developed through ger to mention how some one had mis- perience they had that was similar to the the use of authentic children's texts, used their things, as Goldilocks had done story. After hearing a version of rhyming stories, games and songs. As to the Three Bears. The teachers allowed Goldilocks, one kindergartner related was the case with the other two class- a few to share their stories and then asked how she had become separated from her rooms, the students in this classroom everyone to write about an experience mother in a store (Figure 2). Although received time for journal writing, based similar to the one in the book. this child continues to struggle with sev- on personal experiences or literature re- eral mechanical conventions, she is able sponse everyday. In all classes the lan- Critical phase to narrate a cohesive story. The events guage arts period lasted approximately During the following period for lan- are clearly described and the plot sus- 90 minutes in the morning. All teachers guage arts, the students heard a third tains the interest of the reader. Like many had less than 2 years experience when version of each fairy tale story. For this writers she closes her story with the stan- they began the project. critical phase, teachers asked the students dard "the end." to respond to "what if" questions "Qué The writings from the third and The Literacy Cycle hubiera pasado si Bucles de Oro no hubiera fourth weeks exhibited qualitative and saltado por la ventana?" [What would have quantitative improvements. Jesica cre- Descriptive phase happened if Goldilocks had not jumped ated a story, based on Goldilocks, in To start, each teacher read a familiar clas- out of the window?]. which the main characters played to- sic children's tale (see "Bibliography") gether on the swings. Goldilocks was to the whole class. The teachers then told Creative phase also very responsible: "Va a sacar su their students "Escribdnme un resumen del Finally, the students heard a fourth ver- mugrero. Se va a ir a su casa. Se le hace tarde. cuento" [write me a summary of the sion of the tales (e.g. Los tres lobitos y el ...[She was going to take out her trash. Figure 1 Figure 2 A-fril ocitoc Calie,ron a pace,arI&vitro 15vc-I&C Yo m& pe,rdi &vi &I mot una tre. djo, de, °roil &ra_my1,:fravie,ca_A/io -froc platoc djjo dond& mamO Yo egabla llorandoIlve,50 e-C-ta mul c-ali&vtl-&1_prol:la cop ol& &I oco nie,ollana &ncontr6 a mi mam.4. dol_oco la copa. Y c&cubi6 para arriba de, loc &cc,alone,C durmi4 &Pi la c-ama oco.1 cc, qvc,da la c-artia petaii-ta c& de,cpe,r1-OIcal-1-91 por Ta v&prfavia. ;'11. VS A NABE NEws 25 Figure 3 Figure 4 Una v&z- C-ab&IloS cloc, Oro_ e_mtr6 a vna casi-ta _ Itabia viivc2-_-1-rcc pccc-acloc c-ovio fcroz,__E-1 cOtha pete;oa paraivyr con la c-oc4iino frroz_ vio 10c pccc-aclocbcvio_rvwti oci-l-a. ..)v5arczn cl pa0jcon .la trarvi. Y jvron a ric-oc kicC-OrVii(5. lac ccconcliclac cv marvd lc Ilaro6 a Gabcga cic Oro t.1. oijo doncic ccfa['a, ccfaba vria cac'rka olc vnoc ocH-oc. She was going to go home. It was get- which they could communicate their expression, they are creating zones of ting late.]" feelings, ideas and experiences that make proximal development (Vygtosky, 1978). Another responsible protagonist was them who they are. It allowed more than "As students engage in dialogues with created by Estrella. In her story, as self-expression. It gave them the means more competent partners and adults, Goldilocks played with the bears, "su to proclaim their self-identity in a soci- they internalize the language of these mama llam6 a Cabellos de Oro y le dijo ety that regularly and systematically ig- interactions and use it to organize their en donde estaba, estaba en una casita de nores them (Smith, 1998). individual endeavors in the same man- unos ositos [her mother telephoned and ner" (Jaramillo, 1996, p. 138). Through she explained that she was at the home Use of conventions from texts. classroom discussion on their writing, of three bears]." Kenneth Goodman (1988) argues that a the students had language conventions Students demonstrated their ana- literacy event is a dichotomous process reinforced for them while having lan- lytical abilities: of invention and convention. Children guage inventions introduced to them. who wish to join the "literacy club" ...if the houses were made ofbricks then (Smith, 1988) must learn to negotiate two Conclusion he couldn't eat them. "Si las casasfueron/ sign systemsone that exists for the 'estaban echas de ladrillos entonces no se los In this study we observed the effect that podia comer. Los cerditos estaban felices y world at large (society) and one that the questioning strategies, along with nunca jarncis los volvieron a mirar" The child creates for their world within. As children's literature, had on the writing three little pigs [would be) happy and the examples show, students adopted of kindergarten students. Despite the never again would he see them again.] many conventions provided by the limited time of the study the teachers of teacher (e.g. the date) the story books, as this study created an experience that In this study, the students created well as other printed materials in the class- produced a qualitative and quantitative texts that demonstrated their ability to room. One child re-created the story, change in the students' writing. The data surpass a superficial (descriptive) level of scene by scene." While not a completely presented (and many other samples not writing through scaffolding, in the form original thought, the amount of writing shown) offer convincing evidence that of questions. Stylistically, their writing was remarkable for kindergarten. Stu- when written communication is medi- became more sophisticated. When dents attempted to develop and maintain ated through socially constructed tools teachers design such classroom experi- the interest of the reader through a vari- and experiences, children can surpass the ences, they legitimize the cultural capi- ety ofsituations and turns ofevents. Their expectations of adults. Given the influ- tal of the student by giving it (prior writings had a sense of story. There was a ence ofL1 literacy on L2, it would seem knowledge, cultural capital) a forum logical beginning, an issue, a denouement important to explore teaching strategies within the school setting. This kind of (French term, used in children's litera- that develop literacy in the students' activity also allows children the oppor- ture plot sequence to denote successful home language in order to increase pro- tunity to practice or acquire a different resolution or final outcome of the main ficiency in the new language. system of representation (scientific con- dramatic complication),and an ending. The data also suggest other questions. To cepts). Specifically, their experience no By using the fairytale genre, students what degree would have the writing de- longer resides exclusively in their were allowed to enjoy a story while ac- veloped had the project continued an- memoryit has now been mediated quiring the structures they needed to cre- other month? Three months? A year? through an alphabetic system which can ate their own tales. Are there other genres that would have be communicated to others across time had similar or better effects on the and space. Language development children's writing? Will the children Students took advantage of the op- Another outcome of this experience transfer their skills to English when the portunities to link up the stories with with stories and scaffolds is the language opportunity arises?Hopefully, others events in their lives. Often the personal development that took place. Social in- will explore these issues. adventures of the children rivaled the teractions around texts and the creation harrowing escapades of the storybook oftexts provided students with innumer- Dr. Howard L. Smith is an Assistant Profes- characters. As children developed their able opportunities to explore and nego- sor in the Division of Bicultural-Bilingual stories based on personal events, they tiate meaning. As these students shared Studies at the University of Texas - San Were also coming to see how literacy can 'their writing with other members of Antonio. He can be reached via email at be used to mediate their world (Moll, their class, they were made aware of [email protected]. 1990). Writing ceased to be merely a other forms of expression. -When chil- tool to complete an irrelevant "seat"iac- dren are allowed to exchange ideas, ar (See page 41 for a list of Books tivitFltbecame an instrument through irithis case, msdes of-written-and-oral Cited and References) o 26 MARCH 1 A P R IL 2 0 0 1 Guide to Online Literacy Resources J.Q.LIKEYELLIE11,..N.Q.E.T.LIWNIVERSITY,AZ ERIC Clearinghouse for Reading, through a network of more than 50,000 volunteers nation- English and Communication: wide. Its certified, locally-based education programs are com- This Clearinghouse includes the READING PATHFINDER mitted to increasing literacy for adults and their families, with organized resources on the Web to help children become effectively utilizing and supporting volunteers in the delivery competent readers by about the third grade; LITERACY of services, and providing research, training and technical as- EDUCATION RESOURCES from early childhood to high sistance related to literacy. Through trained volunteer tutors, school, an extensive online collection ofliteracy resources from adult learners are enabled to achieve personal, educational, and theory to lesson plans; CHILDREN'S LITERATURE RE- job-related goals. It has more than 350 affiliates in 43 states SOURCES for young children to adolescents with an exten- and has tutored over half a million adults in both basic literacy sive online collection of literature resources from booklists to and English for Speakers of Other Languages programs [635 lesson plans; and the FAMILY INFORMATION CENTER James Street, Syracuse, NY 13203; Phone 315 472-0001 or 1- dedicated to providing educational materials and services to 877-Help LVA (toll free); FAX 315 472-0002; E-mail parents who take an active role in their children's education. It [email protected]]. www.literacyvolunteers.org/ also publishes Parents and Children Together Online magazine at home/index.htm www.indiana.edur eric_rec/fl/pcto/menu.html with the goal of promoting family literacy by providing children and The National Center for Family Literacy their parents with interesting materials that will help them to The National Center for Family Literacy is a non-profit orga- share the joy of reading together. It features original stories nization providing leadership for family literaccreloiirnw. and articles for children, suitable for reading aloud. A special It promotes policies at the national and state ivels to suppol. section for parents features articles on issues related to children's family literacy, and designs, develops, and demonstrates new, reading and writing, and book reviews of recent children's lit- family literacy practices that address the needs of\ families. It& erature (ERIC/REC, Indiana University, Smith Research goals include delivering high quality staff derlopment and Center, Suite 150, Bloomington, IN 47408-2698; Phone 800) technical assistance and creatinghand si.--7-p-F-3orting systems that 759-4723 or 812 855-5847; FAX (812) 856-5512; E-mail help sustain family literacy programs (Waterfront Plaza, Suite [email protected]). www.indiana.edur eric_rec/ 200, 325 West Main Street,.lisville, KY 40202-4251; Phone 502 584-1133; FAX 502584-0172; E-mail [email protected]). Helping Your Child Learn to Read www.famlit.org This resource is an online guide that gives basic information about reading to children arid then provides simple, fun ac- Thelational Center for tivities for parents and their children to do together. It ends ESCLiteracy Education (NCLE) with a list of resources. This guide focuses on what you can do This organization is a national-nifor-TITRian-ceiter focusing on to help children up to 10 years of age, the period when parents the language and literacy education of adults and out-of-school can lay the foundation children need to become lifelong read- youth learning English. It provides technical assistance.\ to adult ers. www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Reading/index.html nglish language and literacy programs, professicinal develop- ment of kogram Sfaff in such programs, and the clvelopment The Literacy Assistance Center of d'nline resource collections on a number of key\topics in The Literacy Assistance Center is a technicalsistance agency a/ dult ESL. As an adjunct clearinghouse in the EdUcational Re- that maintains a lending library of instructicmal materials and /source Information Center (ERIC) system, it also collects, professional books related to Adult Basic Education (ABE), analyzes, and abstracts documents within its scope for thERIC English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and youth database, provides an information and referral service, ancipub- related programs. The Center contains videos, instructional lishes resources for practitioners about literacy instruction\ for software, and professional and publishers,' journals. In addi- adults and out-of-school youth learning English. NCLE pub- tion, workshop handouts, teacher-made instructional materi- lications include NCLE NOTES (a biannual newsletter),) A als, and unpublished papers relating to literacy and language Research Agenda for Adult ESL, Assessing Success in Family #it- acquisition are available. The Center also conducts research, eracy and Adult ESL, and a variety of ERIC digests. Adult y SL writes reports and publishes the Literacy Ppdate newsletter and topics addressed in these publications include innovative//pro- The Literacy Harvest (84 William Street, 14th Floor, New York, grams and promising practices, learner assessmenvultural NY 10038; Phone 212 803-3300; FAX/212 785-3685; E-mail considerations, workplace literacy, and family li.t5racY in mul- [email protected]; www.lacnyc.orgi tilingual families (National Center for ESL--titeracy Educa- tion, 4646 40th Street, NW, Washigtc-i-n, DC 20014; Phone Literacy Volunteers of America 202 362-0700 ext-:-20-67 FAX 202 363-7204; E-mail Founded in 1962, Literacy VolunteerrAmerica is a national, ncle@cabofg). www.cal.org/ncle not-for-profit organization thatrs litevices v. -At NABE NEWS 27 Arnold, Chandler. (1997). Read With Me: A Guide for Stu- community volunteers, RIF programs provide books and other dent Volunteers Starting Early Childhood Literacy Programs. essential literacy resources to children, at no cost to them or Washington, DC: US Department of Education National In- their families. RIF focuses highest priority on the nation's stitute on Early Childhood Development and Education. neediest children, from birth to age 11 [1825 Connecticut www.ed.gov/pubs/ReadWithMe/ Avenue, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20009. Phone 1 877 RIF-READ (toll free) or 202 287-3220; FAX 202 673- Macfarlane, Eleanor. (1994). Children's Literacy Develop- 1635; E-mail: [email protected]] www.rif.org ment: Suggestions for Parent Involvement. ERIC Clearing- house on Reading, English, and Communication Digest #89. Simple Things You Can Do To Help All Children Read www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed365979.html Well and Independently by the End of the Third Grade. This publication of the America Reads Challenge lists things The National Institute for Literacy is an independent fed- parents, grandparents, and others can do to help children read. eral organization providing national leadership towards the goal To learn more about the America Reads Challenge call 1-800- of a fully literate America. The NIFL promotes sound public USA-Learn. www.ed.gov/pubs/SimpleThings/index.html policy, manages a state-of-the-art Internet-based information and communications system for the literacy field, produces and Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children's Read- disseminates knowledge about literacy. All publications, includ- ing Success. (1998). Washington, DC: National Academy Press. ing the Talk Time Handbook for English as a Second Language Written for parents, this book provides information on what (ESOL) practitioners, are available free of charge. [1775 I Street, kinds of language and literacy experiences to look for in pre- NW, Suite 730, Washington, DC 20006-2401; Phone 202 school and child care settings, what to look for in initial read- 233-2025; FAX 202 233-2050; E-mail ahartman@nifigov] ing instruction in kindergarten and the early grades, what to www.nifl.gov ask school boards, principals, elected officials, and other policy makers who make decisions regarding early reading instruc- Reading is Fundamental (RIF) develops and delivers tion, and whether their child is making progress in reading children's and family literacy programs that help prepare young related skills and early reading. It includes activities parents children for reading and motivate school-age children to read can do with their children. Available online at http:// regularly. Through a national network of teachers, parents, and bob.nap.edu/readingroom/books/sor/ Buffalo State State University of New York 'Thethrsityof Arizona Exceptional Education Department Agnelse Haury TENURE-TRACK ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Position Description: Teach courses and supervise students in an undergraduate site-based cross-categorical and/or graduate teacher preparation program. Teach and supervise students in one or more of the following master's-level concentrations: bilingual special education, early childhood special education, mild disabilities, seconthry/transitional special education, for CoUrt, severe disabilities, and/or severe emotional disturbances. Participate in departmental and college committees. Serve as adviser to undergraduate and iiterpreigition graduate students. Engage in scholarly activities. Required Qualifications: Earned doctorate or ABD in special education or related field (completion within one year). Successful teaching experience with July2001 individuals with special needs in elementary, middle, or secondary schools. Demonstration of extensive knowledge and expertise in special education. Premier Faculty Preferred Qualifications: Degree in special education. Certification in special education (or eligible for certification). Evidence of successful teaching SSuperiorc Train* experience at the post-secondary level. Record of research and/or publications. Record of effective research and/or teaching in instructional methods and 'The Longest-Runing Institute- curriculum practices in special education. Experience with collaborative models of service delivery. Experience in site-based teacher preparation. Experience ,J working with individuals with disabilities from diverse backgrounds. Si!,isiiiiE elsh Salary and benefits are competitive, commensurate with qualifications and experience. Benefits estimated at 30% of base salary on 10-month contract. Summer teaching appointments may be available for additional salary. INFORMATIQN To apply: Send a letter of application along with a vita, transcripts, and three letters of recommendation to: Dr. Judith Bondurant-Utz, Search 15201621-3686 Chair, Exceptional Education Department, Buffalo State College, Ketchum 110-C, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222-1095. [email protected] Review of applications will continue until the position is filled. Starting date is September 1, 2001. Biffalo State t's an tffirmative action, equal opportunity employer. 7he college serves nearly 11,090 students and offers 155 undergraduate and graduate programs 28 MARCH / A P R I L2 0 0 1 Z1 NABE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE ESEA Reauthorization on the Fast Track in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Bilingual Education in Jeopardy of Being Blockgranted R.Y_PAIR.LCJA_LQ.ER A ,_E si ,_NARE Although President Bush and the "Better Education for corresponding group of New Demo- Congress have only been in ses- Students and Teachers Act" crats in the House (Reps. Cal Dooley of sion two months, numerous Chairman Jeffords (R-VT) and Rank- CA and Tim Roemer of IN) also intro- Elementary and Secondary Education ing member Senator Kennedy are lead- duced their 3 R's legislation. The Act (ESEA) proposals specifically im- ing the Senate HELP committee to put "Three R's" bill aims at overhauling the pacting the Federal Bilingual Education together the BEST bill. The bill takes ESEA by combining and block-grant- Act (BEA) have been introduced in the many of the proposals from last year's S.2 ing more than 60 programs into five Senate and House of Representatives. bill and the non-controversial provisions performance-based grants. The pro- Although all the proposals acknowledge of the Bush proposal and shapes it into a posal also calls for boosting federal fund- the importance of providing federal bill that was voted out of the HELP com- ing by at least $35 billion over five years support to ensure limited English pro- mittee on March 8, 2000. Regarding bi- and would demand measurable results ficient (LEP) children receive a high lingual education, the BEST bill moves the for student achievement based on state quality education, many of the propos- BEA to Title III and continues the pro- standards through state testing. The 3 als would convert the current BEA into gram as a targeted R's plan formula a formula block grant program. competitive grant block-grants the program to help current programs The President's Plan schools ensure LEP under Title VII, "No Child Left Behind" children learn En- Manyof the the Federal Bilin- During his first week in office, Presi- glish and reach the gual Education Act dent Bush issued his education plan, same high academic proposals would and Foreign Lan- No Child Left Behind, for reauthoriz- standards expected convert the current guage Assistance ing the ESEA. Although President ofall children. The BEAinto a Program to the Bush's education proposal does not in- proposal includes states and allows clude actual legislative language, the strong accountabil- formula block grant the states to use the plan does provide an outline of the ity provisions re- program. money to imple- PreSident's priorities. President Bush quiring schools to ment benchmark proposed a new Title III, Moving Lirn- test LEP children measures to ensure ited English Proficient Students to English with English lan- LEP students mas- Fluency. The new Title would consoli- guage proficiency ter English. You date the current programs under Title tests on an annual basis to monitor stu- can see the entire piece of legislation at VII, Bilingual Education, Emergency dent progress in learning English. BEA www.senate.gov. Just scroll down and Immigrant and Foreign Language As- grantees would also need to conduct an type in S.303. sistance Program (FLAP) and formula annual, rather than biennial, evaluation block grant them to the states as a per- which will help hold projects accountable The Democratic Plan (S.7/H.R.340) formance-based grant to be used for pro- and determine the extent to which these The House/Senate Democratic Caucus, grams that ensure LEP children students are achieving to state academic led by Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and achieve English fluency within 3 years. standards. NABE supports the BEA as re- Dale Kildee (D-MI) in the House (H.R. If States fail to meet this objective, 10% ported out of the Senate Committee. To 340) and Senators Daschle and Kennedy of their administrative funds can be see the draft proposal of the BEST bill, visit introduced their education bill in the withheld. The Title stresses "master- www.senate.gov and click on at the Senate (S.7). Both Democratic bills ing English as quickly as possible." HELP committee webpage. maintain the focus of the Bilingual Edu- You can view the entire proposal on cation Act by maintaining it as a com- the Internet at www.ed.gov. Look for The 3 R's Plan (S.303/H.R. 345) petitive grant program, increase President Bush's Proposal, "Leave No Senator Lieberman (D-CT) joined by 10 accountability and streamline many of Child Behind." other original Senatcasponsors and a the requirements for numerous pro- t-A,.7,. NABE NEWS 29 grams. The proposals also call for in- The BEA's success also results from NABE Opposes Imposing a 3-Year Limit creased investments for programs serv- . its comprehensive scope, including sup- on the Time Schools can Offer ing poor and at-risk children. NABE port for teacher training, staff develop- Academic and Language Support supports both of these bills. You can . ment, research on best educational : Services to LEP Children. see the entire piece of legislation at practices, and the dissemination of in- LEP students come to school with di- www.senate.gov. Just scroll down and formation and materials. Each subpart : verse needs, and at different levels with type in S.7/HR340. of the BEA is critical to the Act's overall respect to language proficiency, literacy performance. Under this approach, in- : skills, and academic preparation. Man- . Timeline . service professional development is an . dating time limits on academic and Ian- President Bush has signaled that he allowed activity, but no resources would guage support programs that serve these wants to sign an ESEA bill by June be targeted to recruit teachers, to help : students would intrude on the school 2001. Given the bipartisan spirit re- teacher aides become certified as teach- districts' abilities to tailor effective re- garding education, both House and ers, to help graduate students develop as : search-based curricula to individual Senate authorizing committees/ are dili- . researchers and professors. Under the 3 . student needs and would compromise gently working towards/meeting this R's bill and the President's proposal, the the quality of instruction. In addition, deadline. The Senateillealth, Educa- consolidation of grants into a perfor- : claims that all children can learn aca- tion, Labor and Pensions Committee mance based formula grant would result demic English in three years is in di- (HELP) approved theT_BEST bill on in the loss of the: : rect opposition to the findings of March 8, 2001 withqiill'Senate floor I National Clearinghouse for Bilin- . credible research on the subject. Edu- consideration to beg.ni, Alpfil 28, 2001. gual Education (NCBE) cational reform must allow for local The House Education and (Workforce I Training for All Teachers Grants . flexibility in program design, recogniz- Committee alreadysckeauled field Bilingual Education Teachers and ing that children learn at different rates hearings for February_and-March. The Personnel Grants and that many require extra academic House Conrit)ee anticipates a con-i- II Bilingual Education Career Ladder support to help them achieve to high mittee marikupon an ESEA bill by April.\ Program : standards.Furthermore, mandating 28, 2001 and'House floor action to be- Graduate Fellowships . from a federal level to the local level the gin in late April. P\\Instructionai Materials Development amount of time students receive aca- t%cademic Excellence Awards 1 demic and language support services ChallengesiL\forflieBEA) Field-Initiated Research Grants directly contradicts the underlying NABE i'very-concerilab:out-propos- II System-wide Improvement and policy of local control. als that-woultt_ Comprehensive School Grants 1:<,---ock--tiant.the-BEA-into_aliii-mula I Program Enhancement Projects. NABE Opposes Restricting or based-program,to the states; Discouraging Use of Native Language 71 11 fl impose al3-year time limit on the Ii.addition, schools may not net their as a Tool for Academic Learning. 1 1t II I) amounIof time,an_LEP111" student may FAIISHARE due to the lack ofnational Schools must have the freedom and flex- receive-academic-aridt I language sup- infrastructure/accountability for counting ibility to use the tools (based on best prac- port seryices; students. The current national and tices and research) necessary to help LEP endfederalliaiWt-OLEP chilaren . state:infrastructure for collecting accurate . students reach high academic levels while 0 I 1 f .1 I \ h crve-access to academic content as data on the number ofLEP students must they are also learning English. The a 1 .1 they alsollearn English; ( be improved. Currently, states and local . House passed bill stresses programs that acadeinie jnd ianguagesup- educdtion agencies (LEAs) self-report the use only English to teach English as well pore\ services_until-a-parent-affirma--number of LEP students. The task of as discourage using "native language in- tively-requ-e-i-fr4.-- vice s (parent-7obtaining an accurate count of LEP stu- struction. We are therefore urging the opt-in); and : !dents becomes even more complicated Senate and House to oppose any language end current federaLpolicy_promot._factormg in the-mobility ofLEP1students, . that prohibits or discourages using the ing all children learning a second who often move between states school native language as a tool for academic language. districts-and-schools_Given dde Ilack of . learning. Schools must implement pro- acCuraterid felible-data, significant ob- grams that are consistent with best prac- NABE ppposes formula block grantingII stacles arise fOr sclrols to receive theiFfaii:--tites-and-sound educational research. the Bilingual Education,Act. share offederal support for LEP sthdents. I I `, As a competitive.prpgram, federal funds The bill doesilallolyv \for numbersibdsedon Parental Consent for LEP are awarded based on quality and need. the Census inforliriation. The informia-) Stiirents Served by the BEA. .11 Funding is concentrated for a number don/available through the CenstA prlor The BEA already requires schools to in- of year in sufficient amounts to effec- vides data on the number of holuseholds form parents if their child is receiving tuate-real-Fdda-tional-improvement.--As---that-speak-a-language-dther thanlEnglish. BEA funded services. Parents have an a block granted program, states would : This information is useful to couit the absolute right to remove their child from receive, at current funding level ($29_6_.____nui_erof language minorities,libut not . the BEA program upon request. The oflimited English new parental consent provisions place an FLAP)7as little as $75)per child. iSehool . oficient children in specific school dis- . undue procedural and paperwork bur- districts with 100 sticidepts would.reCeive triiCts. In addition, the data obtained from den on local districts in their efforts to as littleas,$7,500, an-amount that-is in- . the Census will)not provide an aCcurate serve those students who require some sufficient to establish or maintain a dis- count due to the persistent undercount- instruction in their native language. In Ltnct=-orschool-wide-program. ing of minoriqand.cliilaren addition we are concerned that LEP stu- 30 MARCH / A P R IL 2 0 0 1 dents will be denied or delayed impor- tant language and support services until a parent affirmatively requests such as- sistance. How to Contact NABE Urges Federal Support Your Elected Official for Programs Helping All Children Learn a Second Language. If you wish to be connected with your elected representative in Washington, DC by phone, you The 3R's and the President's proposal may reach the Senate Operator at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected with your Senator. solely focus on LEP students learning English. Although language is in- You can write to your Senators or House Member at: cluded to help LEP students learn En- Honorable Honorable glish as well as academic content, we U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Senate believe that in order to truly offer a Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20510 world-class education, federal support should also allow for helping all chil- If you wish to contact your Senator/Member electronically, you may do so on the Internet at: dren learn a second language. The cur- www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm or at www.house.gov. NABE urges you to use rent BEA recognizes that learning a the internet only as a last resort.It is more effective if you personally speak with your second language is an asset not only for Senator/Member or fax them a letter. the individual but also for the nation by awarding priority points for pro- NABE would like to thank all our Members in advance for all your efforts to ensure equity grams that help all children, regardless and educational excellence for LEP students. of the child's first language, learn a sec- ond language. Both the 3 R's and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Bush plan do not include the same in- James Jeffords (R-VT) Chairman Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Ranking Member centive to promote the learning of a Judd Gregg (R-NH) Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) second language. Bill Frist (R-TN) Tom Harkin (D-IA) Take Action Mike Enzi (R-WY) Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) It is very important that NABE mem- Tm Hutchinson (R-AR) Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) bers contact their Senators and speak John W. Warner (R-VA) Paul Wellstone (D-MN) with them directly. Urge them to: Christopher S. Bond (R-M0) Patty Murray (D-WA) Pat Roberts (R-KS) Jack Reed (D-RI) II Support reauthorizing The Bilin- gual Education Act, as a competi- Susan M. Collins (R-ME) John Edwards (D-NC) tive grant program that funds Jeff Sessions (R-AL) Hillary Clinton (D-NY) programs based on need and merit. Urge them to oppose an arbitrary House Education and Workforce Committee time limit of 3 years on the amount of time LEP students receive sup- John Boehner, Chairman, R-Ohio George Miller, D-California port.Last, urge them to maintain Thomas E. Petri, R-Wisconsin Tom Osborne, R-Nebraska federal policy that LEP children also (Ranking Minority Member) Marge Roukema, R-New Jersey learn academic subjects like math Dale Kildee, D-MI Ric Keller, R-Florida and reading as they learn English. Cass Ballenger, R-North Carolina Major R. Owens, New York IInvite your elected official to tour Peter Hoekstra, R-Michigan Donald M. Payne, New Jersey your school and meet the students Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-California Patsy T. Mink, Hawaii benefiting from bilingual education Michael N. Castle, R-Delaware Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey grants. Personalize the needs of the Sam Johnson, R-Texas Tim Roemer, Indiana students and how the proposed James C. Greenwood, R-Pennsylvania Robert C. Scott, Virginia changes would negatively impact Lindsey 0. Graham, R-South Carolina Lynn N. Rivers, Michigan their respective states. Mark E. Souder, R-Indiana Ruben Hinojosa, Texas IShare your feedback with NABE. Charlie Norwood, R-Georgia Carolyn McCarthy, New York Because of our regular contact with Bob Schaffer, R-Colorado John F. Tierney, Massachusetts Congressional offices in Washing- Fred Upton, R-Michigan Ron Kind, Wisconsin ton, DC, it important for the NABE Van Hilleary, R-Tennessee Loretta Sanchez, California staff to hear about your visits, espe- Vernon J. Ehlers, R-Michigan Harold E. Ford, Jr., Tennessee cially ifyour Member makes a com- Thomas G. Tancredo, R-Colorado Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio mitment to support/oppose a Ernie Fletcher, R-Kentucky Lynn C. Woolsey, California particular piece of legislation or if Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina David Wu, Oregon the Member raises specific concerns Johnny lsakson, R-Georgia Rush D. Holt, New Jersey about an issue of importance to our Judy Biggert, R-Illinois Hilda Solis, California children. Send an email to NABE's Todd Russell Platts, R-Pennsylvania Susan Davis, California Legislative Director, Patricia Loera Patrick J. Tiberi, R-Ohio Betty McCollum, Minnesota at [email protected]. NABE NEWS 31 1 NABE Issues Guiding Principles on Providing a High Quality Education for Limited English Proficient Students n February 1, 2001, the Na- million of them face the challenge of Well Trained Teachers tional Association for Bilin- learning math, science, and other aca- LEP children must be taught by teach- gual Education issued recom- demic subjects while they are learning ers who are qualified to address their mendations0 on providing America's lim- English. In fact, in many school districts, specific needs. Teachers must be trained ited English proficient (LEP) students these limited English proficient (LEP) in second language learning to help LEP with a high quality education. Educat- youngsters make up over 50% of the stu- children achieve to high standards. ing Language Minority Children: Guiding dent body. The majority of America's LEP stu- Principles on Providing High Quality Edu- As President George W. Bush and dents are taught by teachers who are nei- cation for America's Limited English .Profi- congressional leaders consider the best ther certified nor trained to address their dent Students contains the principles that means ofimproving our nation's schools, specific needs. The majority of teachers must be appliedin any educational set- NABE offers the following guiding report that they are not prepared to teach tingto ensure that LEP children will principles to help ensure the educational these children. Numerous studies con- achieve to the highest levels. success of LEP children. firm that there is a significant scarcity of The document, which was submit- teachers trained to teach LEP students. ted to Congress, President Bush and the The training and recruitment of quali- U.S. Secretary 'of Education, lists eight fied teachers of LEP students must be separate areas of recommended action in stepped-up to help address this shortage. the effort to improve education for the nation's rapidly growing LEP student Flexibility in Program Design In many school population. The areas include: account- Children learn at different rates and ability, technical assistance, teacher train- districts, limited many require extra academic support to ing, and parental involvement. English proficient help them achieve to high standards. NABE Board President, Joel (LEP) youngsters Educational reform must allow for local Gómez, referred to the document, as flexibility in program design. "an important step in what we hope will make up over 50% LEP students come to school with continue to be a positive working part- of the student body. diverse needs, and with varying levels of nership with Congress and the Admin- language proficiency, literacy skills, and istration." Commenting on President academic preparation. Mandating time George W. Bush's education plan, limits on programs that serve these stu- Delia Pompa NABE Executive Direc- dents intrudes on school districts' abili- tor added "NABE is glad to see lan- ties to tailor effective research-based guage-minority children clearly in focus curriculums and compromises the qual- in the Bush plan, and we are extremely Appropriate Services ity ofinstruction. School districts should pleased that the President has selected LEP children must be provided with the have the flexibility to choose from ap- as his Secretary of Education, someone opportunity to keep up with instruction proaches that respond to community who understands that the needs of these in content areas such as math, science and values and that work for the unique students must be addressed." Pompa reading while they are learning English. needs of these students. also stated that she looks forward to At present, 40% of limited English working with Congress and the Ad- proficient students receive no special ser- Increased and ministration to ensure that LEP stu- vices. This is an especially alarming fact, Targeted Investment dents are given the opportunity to considering the high dropout rate that To provide the best possible services to achieve to high academic standards continues to impact this rapidly growing LEP students, funding must be targeted while they are learning English. sector of the U.S. school-aged popula- to programs that demonstrate the high- tion. Programs must emphasize achieve- est quality and need. The NABE Principles ment to high standards while students are The success of programs that serve Language minority children representlearning English. And, additional funds LEP children depends on a number of the fastest-growing sector of the United must be made available to ensure that LEP tates-'-school-aged_population Over_4 kidsieceive_ade_quate services. (continued on page 42) 32 M A R C H/ A P R I L 2 0 0 1 40 vesting more in their future," said NABE NABE Joins United Education Executive Director, Delia Pompa. She also added that this is especially true for Community Challenging Congress America's language minority students whose numbers are increasing rapidly and and the White House to Dramatically who continue to be underserved. An overwhelming majority of the Increase Education Funding American people support the campaign, dubbed "Five Cents Makes Sense for Bolstered by Overwhelming Public Support, Five-Year Education." The results of a recent na- National Campaign Launched to Increase Federal Education tional poll conducted by an independent polling firm reveal that: Funding from Two Cents to Five Cents on the Dollar 80% ofthe public approves ofincreas- ing the federal investment in educa- tion from two cents to .at least five A coalition of the nation's leading edu- ward Kealy, Executive Director of CEF. cents on the dollar within five years. cation organizations launched a five-year "Support for education is bipartisan, con- I 81% approves of a "bold national national campaign to dramatically in- sistent, and strong. While we do not ar- commitment to improve educa- crease federal education funding. NABE gue that money alone will solve every tion" that is "similar to what the is a member of the 100-member non- education problem, it is clearly a critical country did to put a man on the partisan Committee for Education ingredient for educational success." moon or create the interstate high- Funding (CEF), the nation's largest coa- The education system currently faces way system." In fact, 85% of those lition of education organizations. CEF severe challenges, including: rising enroll- who said they approved of a "bold challenged Congress and the Bush Ad- ments in K-12 and higher education, national conunitment" would still ministration to raise the federal invest- more students from low-income families support such a funding increase ment in education to five cents on the seeking access to college, a shortage of even if the nation's economy takes dollar within five years. The current fed- well-prepared teachers, deteriorating a downturn. eral education investment is about two school facilities, school safety/discipline 68% of the public at-large supports cents on the dollar. This compares to 16 problems, and more students with spe- a "bold. national commitment" to cents for defense and 12 cents to pay in- cial needs at every level of education. education even if the nation's terest on the national debt. "We should have high expectations economy takes a downturn. "Investing in education is the top na- for our children, but we must also help I More Americans select education as tional priority for Americans," said Ed- them attain those goals. That means in- their top priority for how to use the What Five Cents Will Do for America's Students Listed below are some,eiaMples of what could be accomplished with a $70 billion increase over FY01 funding levels education receives at least 5 cents of each federal budget dollar. Provide for the full forty percent share of special education costs Provide universal preschool/early childhood education, $5 billion. promised in federal law forsTOre than 6 million students with Bring.the benefits of educational technOlogy to more schools and disabilitie's, $15.7 blllhn ',..claSsroorns,j(icluding postsecondary education, $2 billion. Increase aCcess to postseCdriarV education and meet 75% of stUdeht 'EXpand.teadintSkills and literacy programs and provide bilingual aid needsbbizistingte maximum Pell grant award to $10',006,.', edubatiOn ahdEnglish language acquisition programs for the 3.5 thereby serving nearly 2 million more students, $20 billion;.and . - students.with:limited English proficiency, $3.5 billion. expanding campus-based and state-based,grants, $10 billion'. repiir,-MOdernize and build over 6000 schools, $2 billion. Serve all disadvantaged children eligible for educatiorial-"Services Develop moi6 effective education practices by increasing education to meet high standards, an additional 5 million studeritS, at $1500 research to 2 peroent of total education budget, $1.8 billion. per student, $16 billion. Provide additional 750,000 students with afterschool activities, $1 Provide additional support for disadvantaged students to prepare billion. for and succeed in college, to strengthen higher education' :._Stengthen significantly math and science education to provide institutions, and for graduate education, $5 billion. Yoting...peoplet,vith better opportunities to succeed and Improve student achievement and teacher quality.-th_mh increasefitir competitiVeness in the world economy, $1 billion. reducing class size and providing more effective lege' Provid resources for other critical education programs preparation, teacher and principal recruitment, professional liTich-aiatatiorral-andadult education, impact aid, Indian development, and salary supplements in 9000 low performing iedutationtraria: safeand drug free schools, counseling, and schools, $8 billion. magnetsools$3;billion. 11$ NABE NEWS 33 current federal budget surplus than any other issue. Following is the rank-ordered list for how Americans MENNIMENE prioritize using the federal budget 781-932-1144 MANIMEN1111111MIIMIIIMI www.epsi-usa.com surplus: IIMIONIM Education25% INNENr Paying down the national Pir debt - 22% Educational" erformanceSystems, Inc..r. Healthcare - 20% Social Security - 16% Cutting taxes - 15% Defense 2% Forty-nine percent ofAmericans rank education as one of their top two pri- orities, and 68% rank education as LINKS one of their top three priorities. CEF is calling upon its millions of affili- ated members to contact their Members of Congress and the Bush Administra- tion in support of the "Five Cents Makes Sense for Education" campaign. CEF's TE challenge comes in advance of President Bush's budget request for the next fiscal year. The President's complete budget is not expected to be released until April. Founded in 1969, the nonpartisan Five Cents Makes Sense for Education Total Fiscal Year 2001 (FY01) U.S. De- partment ofEducation outlays are $39.3 billion in a total federal budget of $1.853 trillion. Therefore, in FY 01 only 2.12 cents of each federal dollar are now spent on education programs Based on the most recent Congres- Instructional strategy tools for... sional Budget Office estimates of the Improving reading & writing cost of maintaining current services five years into the future, total federal bud- Enhancing standards based planning get outlays would amount to $2.184 tril- Generating open-response questions lion in FY06. Five cents on the dollar for education would amount to $109.2 billion in FY06 or a $70 billion increase Coupled with staff development that is... over current spending of $39.3 billion. To move toward 5 cents of the fed- Immediate & effective eral budget for education in equal incre- Motivational & inspirational ments over the next five years would result in the following total spending for Entertaining & enlightening U.S. Education Department programs: II FY 2002 = $51.8 billion (2.70 cents) I FY 2003 = $64.9 billion (3.27 cents) II FY 2004 = $79.1 billion (3.85 cents) Visit us @ www.epsi-usa.com or call 781-932-1144 FY 2005 = $94.5 billion (4.42 cents) FY 200.6 = $109.2 hilliorL(5 0 cents) 34 M A R C H/ A P R IL 2 0 0 1 NABE NEWS BOOK REVIEWS Column Editor: Dr. Beti Leone, Fresno Unified School District, Fresno, CA Alienated Students Share Enlightening Stories REVIEW BY STERLING HENSON, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY STANISLAUS Dresser, Norine (1994). I Felt Like I ner of beef, rice, and corn. Before the meal, Gloria's family Was From Another Planet. Menlo Park, gives thanks to God, but Viji explains this is not Indian cus- CA:Addison-Wesley. 0-201- tom. When the meat is served, Viji tells Gloria she can't eat 86058-9. beef because cows are sacred in the.Hindu religion. Gloria's mother diplomatically substitutes chicken as a meat dish. This book is a collection offifteen re- Everyone felt uncomfortable at first, but Viji told them markable true stories written by im- something about her cultural background. In the end, Gloria migrant students. These stories were learned the importance of knowing about other peoples' cul- drawn from the personal experiences tures and the birthday party was a success. of the authors as they learned the En- glish language and the culture and Unit Four: The Hidden Meaning of Colors customs in the United States. Thcse stories were compiled by (The White Headband) Norine Dresser, a professor of English as a Second Language at When Minh first arrived in the United States from Vietnam, California State University, Los Angeles. The purpose of this the cultural differences caused him many problems. For ex- book is to help students understand some ofthe challenges faced ample, when his African-American friend Angela wore a white by cultural and linguistic minorities.It is recommended for headband, Minh thought she was mourning the death of a teaching writing in grades 4-8, but can also be read and enjoyed parent.In Vietnam, a white headband symbolizes gratitude by older students and adults. and thanks to the dead person. Wearing it allows others to feel Each poignant story in the text is part of a unit that in- sympathy. Using the few words he knew and pointing at her cludes the student's personal story concerning adjustment to headband, he tried to express sympathy for Angela. Angela life in the United States and suggested teaching strategies to didn't understand what Minh was trying to tell her, but found fostcr undcrstanding and empathy for people from diverse back- a Vietnamese student at school to interpret his meaning. After grounds. There are discussion questions, supplemental infor- the interpreter explained to Minh that no one was dead, and mation, and ideas for writing activities relating to each story. explained to Angela what Minh assumed the white headband indicated. Angela took offthe headband. Since he didn't know Unit One: Holidays (St. Patrick's Day) hairstyle fashions, Minh thought he made a fool of himself. This unit tells about the experiences of a young Cambodian Minh is still embarrassed by the incident. Angela and Minh girl narried Helen. The Communist invasion and subsequent still keep in touch by writing. starvation killed her parents and siblings. She endured many great hardships to escape to the United States. Arriving in the Unit Seven: Physical Contact (How Touching!) United States was one of the greatest moments of her life be- In Amy's Vietnamese-Chinese culture, physical contact be- cause it was so good to feel free and safe at last. tween the opposite sexes is forbidden. When Amy's fourth Helen was anxious to start school because it would be her grade class began practicing Mexican square dancing for Cinco first school experience. Her first day of school was Saint de Mayo, she had to make a difficult decision: Chinese culture Patrick's Day. She didn't know about the custom of wearing or American culture? green and was mercilessly pinched by the other students. The Amy's teacher selected Billy to be Amy's partner but Amy pinching incident made her feel unaccepted and afraid. Even- wouldn't touch Billy. At first Mrs. Garey was nice, helpful, tually the teacher realized Helen didn't know about thiscus- and understanding. After the second day she became angry at tom and intervened on her behalf. Years later, Helen looked Amy. From the beginning, Billy had been considerate and back on her first day in school with humor, but when it hap- understanding but now he, too, was angry. Amy began to cry pened, it was the most embarrassing day of her life. after Billy pushed her down and Mrs. Garey made her stand in the corner. She was very embarrassed and angry because ev- Unit Two: Food Taboos (The Birthday Party) eryone else.was having fun. This unit has topics relating to food, cultural taboos and reli- Amy decided to dance the next day. She hid her costume gious practices.Gloria's home culture is Mexican but her . so her parents wouldn't know about the dancing. Everyone friend Viji is from India. Gloria plans a birthday dinner party . was helpful and pleasant at the rehearsal the next day.It was for Viji. She and her mother make a traditional Mixiic,in dim sirand even holding Billy's hand felt comfortable to her. ctiff NABE NEws 35 Amy thought her parents wouldn't come to the perfor- . happy grito was a natural response to demonstrate his appre- mance, but she was shocked to see her parents in the audi- ciation. Tiffany looked back on the day she wore pajamas to ence watching her dance with Billy. Amy thought she was school with amusement, but she never wore those so-called in real trouble but they surprised her when they said, You pajamas to school again. dance very well! Her whole family had begun to accept Some of the stories were painful like Helen's St. Patrick's American culture. Day initiation into the custom of wearing green and Linh's first experience with milk, literally making him physically sick. Unit Nine: The Influence of Heredity All of the stories illustrate embarrassing life-turning moments (Everybody needs milk?) in these students' lives. In Vietnam people don't have fresh milk to drink. They drink Yet, almost all of the authors later thought the experiences evaporated milk occasionally and usually for medicinal pur- were worthwhile. They perceived the incidents to be worth- poses. Since Linh was born in Saigon, he and his siblings had while learning experiences. never had fresh milk. Many Asian people are short and petite I think Norine Dresser skillfully selected stories that real- due to a calcium deficiency. istically depict the challenges and problems encountered by At a dinner provided by the church responsible for Linh's people from cultures other than the dominant culture. Not family's move to Kentucky, fresh milk and a variety of deli- just immigrants arriving in the United States, but as Karina cious foods were served. There were other drinks available found, the interaction of cultural groups who have lived in the but Linh was embarrassed to ask for them. The food was salty United States for many generations.I like the format of the so he drank a whole cup of milk. Right away he felt sick and book because Norine Dresser provides suggestions for teach- visited the restroom several times. The church people looked ing about each unit. Her ideas are appropriate, sensitive, and confused and Linh didn't want to insult their hospitality, but easy to implement in the classroom. Her suggestions are struc- he told them he was not used to drinking fresh milk. tured so the teacher can easily involve the students in a variety After this most embarrassing incident, Linh's mother be- of active participation exercises. I especially like the "Cultural gan to serve milk to the family. They didn't like it right away, Background" section because the students are given examples but they became accustomed to it.Thanks to the church of how people are more the same than they are different. Ev- people, the family knows the benefits of milk and now they ery culture has a valuable story to tell and learning about hu- enjoy drinking it. man diversity strengthens our schools andcommunities. The "Learning More" section contains information about related Unit Fourteen: topics to facilitate opportunities for positive connections be- Females and Males (Sugar and Spice?) tween cultures. Jennifer is from Vietnam where her parents were raised ac- I appreciate the Teaching Tips section because this sec- cording to Chinese customs. In this culture, males are thought tion is insightful and thought provoking. This book will help to be more valuable than females. all students gain a better understanding of how to benefit from Having lived in America for ten years and recently gradu- the contributions of all people in our multicultural society.I ated from high school, Jennifer prefers to follow American cul- will keep this book as a valuable multicultural resource for my tural customs rather than Chinese customs. She.thinks everyone classroom. should be treated equally regardless ofsex, age or color. At home, In conclusion, comments and actions toward others who Jennifer and her sister are treated as second class, compared to are different are often based on ignorance and false assump- her two brothers. According to Chinese custom, girls should tions.Rather than being perceived as mistakes, multiple have only enough education to earn money for the family. For perspectives and opinions are interesting and valid.This boys, the more education they have, the better. book is a helpful tool for teachers to promote respect for Jennifer respects her family's beliefs but doesn't think she cultural and lingusitic diversity and appreciation for all cul- and her older sister Emma should be sacrificed for the family tures and languages. businesses. Since Emma left to attend college, Jennifer feels This book is a recommended text for the course EDUC like an unappreciated slave at home. She doesn't really care 4430: Cross-cultural Techniques for Teachers: Language and what her parents think or want anymore. Jennifer knows she'll Sociocultural Issues in School Settings, a requirement for the have to take care of herself because no one else will. What she CLAD and BCLAD in the Department of Teacher Educa- has accomplished is due to her own efforts. tion, California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, CA 95382. The future teachers who have read this text enthusi- Summary and Reflections astically recommend it to all teachers and parents. They are The stories in this book were at times painful, embarrassing, often astounded and touched by the stories of the experiences and even humorous. All of us have heard about people making of culturally and linguistically diverse students in classrooms inappropriate noises like Alex did when he slurped his soup. in the United States. Sometimes the person is able to laugh about the differences in their home culture and the culture of the dominant society, Sterling Henson is a student in the Multiple Subjects Credential Pro- but they vividly remember these moments. In Alex's case, gram, Department of Teacher Education, California State University, slurping soup wasn't funny because the incident made him Stanislaus, and is enrolled in the Crosscultural Techniques course taught feel embarrassed and out of place. Marisol's father was proud by Brenda Betts, Ph.D. of his daughter and moved by the musia performance, so a 36 MARCH / A P R IL 2 0 0 1 E.4 A Call for Papers and Presentations for NABE 2002 The 31th Annual Conference of the National Association for Bilingual Education will be held March 19-23, 2002, at the Philadelphia Convention Center in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition to inviting nationally and internationally recognized keynote and major speakers, NABE is soliciting presentations from the field for concurrent sessions. The NABE selection process will consider presentations related to research and practice in bilingual education (native language and ESL) in several areas including pedagogy, curriculum, assessment staff development, parental involvement and administration of programs. Furthermore, we encourage collaborative presentations that include universities and school districts, and teachers/professors and students. A panel of independent readers will be organized to rate the quality of the proposals. NABE will consider some of the accepted proposals for integration into the half-day and full-day special interest institutes that it offers, e.g., gifted and talented, early childhood, research and evaluation, and special education. The following represent priority topics of interest for the 2002 Call for Proposals: ACCOUNTABILITY LEADERSHIP IN Issues and solutions in standards based accountability, BILINGUAL EDUCATION statewide assessment practices, inclusion and accom- Examples of successful programs, innovations, commu- modation for LEP students, high-stakes testing. nity initiatives, reaching out to broader audiences, and re- framing bilingual education in the public eye. ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT Models, methods and materials for a world-class educa- LOW INCIDENCE POPULATIONS tion, including accessibility to technology, advanced Solutions to designing and delivering programs for placement courses, magnet schools, mathematics and limited English proficient students present in small science course links. numbers at the campus or school district level and/or serving recently arrived language groups (special interest DUAL LANGUAGE in programs using languages other than Spanish). Models, methods and materials for bilingual education programs with the goal of full bilingualism, including TEACHER RECRUITMENT community outreach efforts and staff development. AND PREPARATION LITERACY DEVELOPMENT Programs that address the critical shortage of bilingual teachers, including growing your own, exchange agree- Programs for early literacy, initial literacy in the native ments with other countries, and staff development language, use of children's literature in bilingual/ issues related to developing knowledge, sensitivity and multicultural classrooms, literacy development in a skills for working with language-minority students. second language. PLEASE NOTE: To avoid scheduling conflicts and to achieve broad participation in the conference, NABE will accept no more than two presentationsper person. 282 PROPOSAL PREPARATION GUIDELINES 1. PROPOSAL FORM (attached): NOTE: In order for the readers to 6. Conference registration material is Submit TWO (2) copies with all fairly judge the quality of a proposed automatically sent to current NABE items completed and proofread for presentation, proposals should clearly members. If any proposed presenter publication in program. indicate what the session will cover is not a current NABE member, and how; the title should reflect please attach a list of name(s) and 2. ABSTRACT: Must submit THREE what is to be done in the presenta- mailing address(es). (3) copies of a 300-word abstract of tion; and the appropriate type of the presentation for review by presentation should be selected. 7. Submit all proposals to: readers. Abstracts, except those for NABE 2002 symposia, should have NO author 3. POSTCARD: Must enclose a self- PROGRAM COMMITTEE identification or affiliation either in addressed stamped postcard to NABE National Office the title or in the body of the receive acknowledgment of receipt 1030 15th Street, NW, Suite 407 abstract in order to ensure anony- of your proposal. Washington, DC 20005-1503 mous review. Abstracts should be (202) 898-1829 typed on one 8-1/2" x 11" paper 4. NABE will accept and schedule no (one side only). All abstracts should more than two (2) presentations per ALL PROPOSALS MUST BE define the title or topic of the person. POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN presentation, objectives, methodol- MAY 25, 2001. ogy, significance, and other pertinent5. For presentations in languages information. At the top of the other than English, the title and the Notification of acceptance or page, state the title/topic of the 50-word description should be in rejection will be sent by October presentation and the type of the language of the presentation, 31, 2001. session. but the abstract must be in English. TYPES OF PRESENTATIONS WORKSHOPS (2 Hours): Intensive qualitative and quantitative research to the theory or practice of bilingual sessions in which participants from all disciplines are acceptable. education. Presentations describe, as develop methods or materials, The abstract should include the opposed to demonstrate, how design research studies, analyze main premise of the paper, a something was done. Descriptions research data, confront and solve summary of supporting evidence,of program design and implementa- actual teaching or research prob- and the conclusion. Presenters are tion; policies and procedures; and lems. Workshops MUST provide encouraged to use handouts and teacher preparation and develop- participants with the opportunity to audio-visual aids and to present a ment are among the suitable topics actively participate. Emphasis is on summary rather than reading a for Descriptive Reports. Time should providing hands-on experiences. prepared text. be allotted for audience questions Typically there is little lecturing; the and discussion. The abstract workshop leader structures the DEMONSTRATIONS (75 Min- should include description of the activity and guides the work of the utes): Presentations which show a topic to be covered. participants. The abstract should specific teaching or testing tech- include the goal of the work- nique and/or materials. After a brief SYMPOSIA (2 Hours): Panel shop, a summary of the theoreti- description underlying theory, the presentations which provide a forum cal background, and a descrip- session is devoted to demonstrating for a group of scholars, teachers, tion of activities to be conducted how something is done. Presenters administrators, politicians, or business during the workshop. are encouraged to use handouts and and government representatives to audio-visual aids and actively involve discuss specific pedagogical, policy, RESEARCH PAPERS (45 Minutes): participants. The abstract should or research issues from a variety of A description and/or discussion of include an explanation of the perspectives with alternative solu- research relating to the theory or purpose of the demonstration tions presented. Symposia allow for practice of bilingual education and and a description of what will be large group settings. The abstract the development of bilingualism. demonstrated and how it will be should include a description of Emphasis is on empirical research or done. the topic, along with the names, well-documented theoretical/ titles, affiliations and specific practical perspectives. Also accept- DESCRIPTIVE REPORTS (45 contributions to the symposium able are critical reviews of literature, Minutes): A description and/or of each of the presenters. The policy studies, well-documented discussion of something the pre- symposium should provide sufficient historical studies, critiques, etc. Both senter is doing or has done relating time for presentation and discussion. 182 Presentation Proposal Form for POSTMARK DEADLINE: MAY 25, 2001 PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT CAREFULLY NABE 2002 COMPLETE BOTH SIDES OF THIS FORM A. TITLE: (limited to 15 words), B. NAME OF PRESENTER ORGANIZATION STATE Member? First Last Yes No 2. 3. 4 5. NOTE: LISTING MORE THAN 3 PRESENTERS IS ACCEPTABLE ONLY FOR 2-HOUR SESSIONS C. DESCRIPTION 50-WORD DESCRIPTION FOR PUBLICATION IN THE PROGRAM: (MUST BE TYPED OR WRITTEN IN MANUSCRIPT. DESCRIPTIONS LONGER THAN 50 WORDS WILL BE EDITED PLEASE USE PRESENT TENSE) D. PLACE AN "X" BEFORE THE TYPE OF PRESENTATION SUBMITTED: [IDESCRIPTIVE REPORT (45 minutes) [ DEMONSTRATION (75 minutes) [ I RESEARCH PAPER (45 minutes) [ISYMPOSIUM (2 hours) [IWORKSHOP (2 hours) E. LANGUAGE(S) OF PRESENTATION: F. LANGUAGE GROUP(S) COVERED IN THE PRESENTATION: [IAll Language Groups [ISome Language Groups (specify): [IOne Language Groups (specify): CONTINUE ON REVERSE For Office Use OnlyID#. 1 2. reader # score reader # score P,,t1 I G. GRADE (circle as many as apply): Pre-K K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 College AdultAll H. PRESENTATION CLASSIFICATIONS TOPIC (check ONE): [I Art/Music [I Parental/Family Involvement [I Assessment/Evaluation [I Personnel (Supply/Demand/Preparation) [I Dual Language Program Design [] Education Reform [I Science [I Gifted/Talented Students [I Secondary Education [] Greater Societal Issues [I Social Studies [] Literacy [I Special Education [] Math [I Other (specify): I. SESSION SPONSOR (Check if applies): NABE SIG (Name of SIG and Chairperson): J. AUDIO-VISUAL EQUIPMENT ORDER: All rooms will be equipped with an overhead projector and screen and one corded podium microphone at no cost. Presenters needing other AV equipment must indicate on this form and submit payment prior to the conference. Requests for equipment made after May 25, 2001, cannot be guaranteed and may be charged at a higher rate. NOTE: NABE is no longer offering rental computer systems for use in presentations; if you need to use a computer as part of your presentation, you must bring one or personally make arrangements to rent one on site. [I VCR/Monitor ($60) [I CD Player ($40) [I Flip Chart ($25) [] Audio Cassette Player ($25) [I Slide Projector ($35) [I LCD Data Projector ONLY ($55) [I High-speed direct connection to Internet (info, to be specified in acceptance letter) [I Other: (SpecifyInformation on price will be included with acceptance letter): K. CONTACT PERSON (Mailing address of presenter to whom all correspondence should be sent): Print telephone number where you can be reached during the summer months. First name: Last name: Affiliation: Street: City: State: Zip: Work Telephone: ( ) Home Telephone ( ) Fax: ( ) E-mail: REMEMBER TO: submit three (3) copies of your presentation abstract AND attach a list of mailing addresses for those presenters who are NOT current members of NABE. RETURN PROPOSALS POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN May 25, 2001 TO: NABE 2002 PROGRAM COMMITTEE 1030 15th Street, NW, SUITE 470, WASHINGTON, DC 20005-1503 185 TAMALES PARA RICITOS DE ORO WATCH WHAT YOU SAY (continued from Page 26) (continued from Page 23) Children's Books Cited the presentation and admonished me for having brought "dis- Anonymous. (1977). Los Tres Osos y Bucks de Oro. Barcelona: Editorial Juventud. credit" to the Puerto Rico Department of Education. In fact, Cohen, 13. and Hogan, M. (Eds.)(1999). Walt Disney's Cinderella : A the caller promised that a letter would be writtcn to the Presi- Read-Aloud Storybook. dent of the Pennsylvania State University explaining what had Escardo, M. (1998). Los Tres Cerditos. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux happened and to strongly encourage him to rethink my stay at Galdone, P. ( 1996). Los Tres Osos. New York: Lectorum. the University. Needless to say, my advisor explained to the caller Hayes, S. (1986). Cenicienta y Otros Cuentos.Madrid: Altea. that this would have no effect as my research was well-grounded Louie, A. (1982) Yen Shen. New York: Philomel Books. in research and was not slanderous in any way. In fact, she re- Lowell, S. (1996). Los Tres PequeiiosJabalies_Flagstaff, AZ: Northland. minded the caller, there was something called academic free- Marshall, J. (1988). Ricitos Dorados y Los Tres Osos. New York: Dial Books for dom, which was to be protected. Young Readers. Yes, bilingual education is political and so is curriculum. Mata, M. (1993). Cabellos de Oro. Barcelona: La Galera. Depending on the political context of the school system from Scieszka, J. (1991). La Verdadera Historia de los Tres Cerditos. New York: Viking. with which one works, Curricular decisions are made which Souci, R. (1989).Los Huevos Parlantes. New York: Penguin. affect the lives of those involved; namely, the students and Terro, J. (1997). Abuelo y los Tres Osos. New York: Scholastic. teachers. When we, as students and teachers, use our voices to Trivizas, E. (1996). Los Tres Lobitos v el Cochino Feroz. Caracas: Edicones Ekare. challenge a curriculum or educational philosophy that we may Zemach. M. (1998). Los Tres Cerditos. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. find to be repressive or unjust, we must also be willing to ex- List of Cinderella books online at hitp://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/-dkbrown/ cinderella. h tml. pect those in power to feel threatened. After all, no one wants to lose the power that they hold so close to their hearts. References Bloom, B.S. (Ed.). (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of Rene An trop Gonzalez is an Associate Professor at Pennsylvania State educational goals: Handbook I, cognitive domain. New York ; Toronto: University. Longmans, Green. Edwards, C., and Springate, K. (1995). Encouraging creativity in early child- hood classrooms. ERIC Digest. ERIC Document 389474. References Algren de Guitierrez, E. (1987). The movement against teaching English in schools Fang, Z. (1999). Expanding the vista of emergent writing research: Implications of Puerto Rico. New York: University Press of America. for early childhood educators. Early Childhood EducationJournal, 26(3), 179-182. Gomez, R., Parker; R., Lara-Alecio, R., Gomez, L. (1996). Process versus Alvarez, M. (1986). Americanization in Puerto Rico: A critical assessment of the product writing with limited English proficient students. Bilingual Re- educational process. Unpublished master's thesis, California State Univer- search Journal, 20(2), 209-233. sity, Long Beach. Goodman, Y. (Ed.). (1990). How children construct literacy: Piagetian perspectives. Barreto, A. (1998). Colonialism: Political economy, language and ideology in Puerto Rico. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Union Institute, Revere Beach, Ohio. Jaramillo, J. (1996). Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and contributions to the Canino, M.J. (1981). An historical overview of the English language policy in Puerto development of constructivist curricula. Education, 117(1),133-140 Rico's educational system: 1898-1949. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Johnson, N., Giorgis, C., Bonomo, A., Franklin, A., King, J., and Pottle, P. Harvard University, Massachusetts. (1999). Literature and Writing. Reading Teacher, 53(3), 234-43. Cebollero, P.A. (1945). A school language policyfor Puerto Rico. San Juan: Baldrich. Lancia, P. (1997). Literary borrowing: Thee effects of Literature on Children's Writing. Reading Teacher, 50(6), 470-75. Chicago Praxis Project. (Undated worksheet). Six key Freirian principles. Martinez-Rolden, C. and LOpez-Robertson, J. (1999/2000). Initiating litera- Fox, A.L. (1924). American rule in Porto Rico. Unpublished master's thesis, ture circles in a first-grade bilingual classroom. The Reading Teacher, 53(4), University of Chicago, Illinois. 270-281. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum. Marzano, R. (1993). How classroom teachers approach the teaching of think- Gorman, M.B. (1973). 1.4nguage policy in Puerto Rican education. Unpublished ing. Theory Into Practice, 32(3), 154-60. doctoral dissertation, The American University, Washington, D.C. McMackin, M. (1998). Using narrative picture books to build awareness of expository text structure. Reading Horizons, 39(1), 7-20. Mendez-Bernal, E. (1997). Colonialism and Catholic schools in Puerto Rico. Un- published doctoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University, Uni- Moll, L. (1992). Bilingual classroom studies and community analysis: Some versity Park, PA. recent trends. Educational Researcher, 21(2), 20-24. Moll, L. (Ed.). (1990). Vygotsky and education: Instructional implications and applica- Muntaner, A. (1990). The language question in Puerto Rico: 1898-1988. Unpub- tions ofsociohistorical psychology. Cambridge, MA: CambridgeUniversity Press. lished doctoral dissertation, SUNY, Stony Brook. Moxley, R. Warash, B, Coffman, G., Brinton, K., and Concannon, K. (1997). Navarro, J.M. (1995). Creating tropical "Yankees": The "spiritual conquest" of Puerto Writing development using computers in a class of three-year-olds. Jour- Rico: 1898-1908. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chi- nal of Computing in Childhood Education, 8(2/3), 133-164. cago, Illinois. Pontecorvo, C., Orsolini, M., Burge, B., and Resnick, L. (Eds.). (1996). Negrem de Montilla, A. (1998). La americanizacidn en Puerto Rico y el sistenia de Children's Early Text Construction . Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. instruccidn priblica: 1900-1930. San Juan:University of Puerto Rico Press. Smith, F. (1988).Joining thc literacy club. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Osuna, J.J. (1949). A history of education in Puerto Rico. Rio Piedras: University Srnith, H. (1999). The linguistic ecology of a bilingual first grade: The child's of Puerto Rico Press. perspective. InternationalJournal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2(4), 268-281. Ryan, M. (1981). Puerto Rico's educational policy and its relation to political power: 1898-1976. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University. Traw, R. (1996). Large-scale assessment of skills in a whole language curriculum: Two districts' experiences...Puma/ of Educational Researrh, 89(6), 323-39. Silen, J.A. (1971). 14/e, the Puerto Rican people: A story of oppression and resistance. Vygotsky, L. (1962). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press. New York: Monthly Review Press. Yopp, R., and Yopp, H. (2000). Sharing informational text with young chil- Spring, J. (1994). Deculturalization and the stnigglefor equality: A brief history of the educa- dren. The Reading Teacher, 53(5), 410-423. tion of donmi,mated cultures in the United States. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. 6 NABE NEWS 41 TF1E PROMISE OF BILITERACY NABE ISSUES GUIDING PRINCPLES (continued from Page 10) (continued from Page 32) References important factors. Among these is the availability of enough August, D., & Hakuta, K. (Eds.) (1997). Improving schools for language minority sustained funding to effect real educational improvements. students. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Allocation of increased funds to programs must be based on Berzins, M. E. & Lopez, A. (2001). Starting off right: Planting the seeds for quality and need. This represents a targeted investment in the biliteracy. In Maria de la Luz Reyes & John J. HalcOn (Eds.). The Best for Our Children:Critical Perspectives on Literacy for Latino Students. (81-95). future of our children. Formula block grants, on the other New York: Teachers College Press. hand, diffuse total fiinding and compromise the ability ofmany Cummins, J.(1981). The role of primary language development in promoting school districts to adequately address the need ofLEP students. educational success for language minority students. In Schooling and lan- guage minority students: A theoretical framework. Evaluation, Dissemination Accountability and and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles. Appropriate Testing Freire, P., & Macedo, D. (1987). Literacy: Reading the word and the world. New LEP students must be included in accountability systems, and York: Bergin & Garvey. tests must be administered in an appropriate manner that yields Moll, L. & Dworin, J. (1996). Bilitcracy development in classrooms: Social dynamics and cultural possibilities. In, D. Hicks (Ed.) Discourse learning accurate and valid results. and schooling. New York: Cambridge University Press. LEP children have been regularly excluded from state and Nieto, S. (2001).Foreword.In Maria de la Luz Reyes & John J. HalcOn local education accountability systems. While important con- (Eds.). The Best for Our Children:Critical Perspectives on Literacy for Latino cerns continue to exist with respect to using high-stakes test- Students. (ix-xi). New York: Teachers College Press. ing in lieu of multiple-measures of academic success, the No Child Left Behind. (2000). http://[email protected]/issues/ common practice of "excusing" LEP students from account- index.html ability systems has led to many schools overlooking the needs Ramirez, J.D.,Yuen, S. D., & Ramey, D. R. (1991). Final report: Longitudi- of these children. To ensure their equal access to educational nal study of structured immersion strategy, early-exit, and late-exit transi- opportunities, LEP students must be included in all account- tional bilingual education programs for language minority children. (Ex- ecutive Summary. San Mateo, CA: Aguirre International. ability systems, with adequate provisions made to ensure that Reilly, R. W. (Mar. 15, 2000).Excelencia para todosExcellence for all: The the results of tests yield valid and meaningful data on the in- progress of Hispanic education and the challenges of a new century. Speech delievered struction of LEP students. at Bell Multicultural High School. Washington, D.C. Reyes, M. dc la Luz. (Nov. 1992). Challenging venerable assumptions: Lit- Parental Involvement eracy for linguistically diverse students. Harvard Educational Review.62, Parents of LEP students Must be allowed to take an informed (2), 427-446. role in their children's education. Reyes, M. de la Luz. (2001). Unleashing possibilities: Biliteracy in the pri- Most parents of LEP students are themselves limited En- mary grades. In Marla de la Luz Reyes & John J. HalcOn (Eds.). The Best for Our Children:Critical Perspectives on Literacy for Latino Students. (96- glish proficient.If they are to play an active role in their 121). New York: Teachers College Press. children's education, adequate accommodations must be made Reyes, M. de la Luz & Costanzo, L. (in press). On the threshold of Biliteracy: to ensure that they can participate fully in the educational pro- A first grader's personal journey. In Lourdes Soto (Ed.). Making a Differ- cess. Parent information initiatives must take into account the ence in the Lives of Bilingual/Bicultural Children.Peter Lang, Publisher. cultural and linguistic characteristics of LEP parents. Technical Assistance Technical assistance must be increased and include an empha- sis on serving LEP children. THE TRANSFER OF School districts with large LEP populations and those with SKILLS FROM SPANISH emerging numbers of LEP children face equally important challenges. Many teachers and districts are taking on the chal- TO ENGLISH lenge of providing LEP children with high quality instruction (continued from Page 12) for the first time. Technical assistance is paramount to their success. Fitzgerald, J. (1995). English-as-a-second-language reading instruction in the United States: A research review. Journal of Reading Behavior 27:115-152. Bilingualism Kendall, J., G. Lajeunesse, P. Chmilar, L. Shapson, and S.M. Shapson. (1987). Children of all language backgrounds must be offered the op- English reading skills of French immersion students in kindergarten and : portunity to learn more than one language. grades 1 and 2. Reading Research Quarterly 22(2):135-154. A tremendous opportunity exists for our nation to de- imenez, R.T., G.E. Garcia, and P.D. Pearson. (1995). Three children, two velop a necessary linguistic resource.Students in programs languages, and strategic reading: Case studies in bilingual/monolingual reading. American Educational Research Journal 32:31-61. such as dual language bilingual education achieve something of which most American adults can only dreamfluent bilin- imenez, R.T., G.E. Garcia, and P.D. Pearson. (1996). The reading strategies of bilingual Latina/o students who are successful English readers: Op- gualism. The growing interdependence within the interna- portunities and obstacles. Reading Research Quarterly 31(1):90-112. tional economy, and the increasing need for bilingual skills in Lambert, W.E., and G.R. Tucker. (1972). Bilingual education of children: The , the job market, supports the promotion of bilingualism as a t. Lambert experiment.11115Wley, MArNewburrHouse. sound investment-in-our nationls future. 42 M A R C H/ A P R IL 2 0 0 1 187 Guidelines for Article Submission toNABE NEWS General Editorial Policies guage Equity Issues, 202 E. Gowen Senda-copy ofyour reviewcpre ferably as a Word The NA BE News is published six times a year Philadelphia, PA19119. file ane-tilajl,46.13r. heti Leoni,Fresno, on a bi-monthly basis. We seek previously GA, leonicisne@earthliiikat. unpublished articles.Articles should focus Dr. Ji-Mei Chang, Editor-Asian/Pacific on the theory, research and/or practice of Americans Column, Associate Professor, San Submitsion Guidelines implementing quality bilingual education Jose State University, College of Education, All articles must conform to the publication programs, including dual language programs. Sweeney Hall, Room 204, 689 Erie Circle, guidelines of the Publication-Manual of the NABE invites manuscripts on a wide-range Milpitas, CA 95192. [email protected] American Psychological Asso-ciajtion (4th of topics related to support structures for edition). these programsfrom funding issues, paren- Dr. Ward Shimizu, Co-Editor-Asian/Pacific Print materials and electronic versions tal involvement, staff development, curricu- Americans Column, San Jose State Univer- should include a title page, with contact in- lum and instruction to legislative agendas, sity, 689 Erie Circle, San Jose, CA 95192. formationincluding mailing address and state initiatives, staff hiring/retention and telephone number.If available, authors personal reflectionsthat advance the Dr. Jon Allan Reyhner, Editor-Indigenous Bi- should provide fax numbers, and e-mail ad- knowledge and practice in the field. lingual Education Programs, Northern Ari- dress. NABE News prefers a reader-friendly zona State University, Associate Professor, Include a two to three sentence bio- style ofwriting that resonates well with com- Division of Bilingual Education, CEE, P.O. graphical reference that may include job title munity groups, parents, legislators, and es- box 5774, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5774. or highest degree carned, work affiliation pecially classroom teachers.Contributors [email protected] and/or research interest (not to exceed 50 should include reference to a theoretical base words). and cite related research, but the article Dr. Lucy Tse, Editor-Theory Into Practice Manuscripts and diskettes will not be should contain practical ideas or implications Column, Assistant Professor, Arizona State returned. Keep copies ofyour article or other for practice. University, Division of Curriculum and In- materials submitted. struction, College ofEducation, Tempe, AZ The editor of NABE News reserves the 85287-0208. [email protected] right to makc editorial changes needed to Types of Articles enhance the clarity of writing. The author Feature Articles: A feature article should Mr. Aurelio Montemayor, Editor-Parent/ will be consulted only in cases where the address the issue's theme (if identified), be Community Involvement, Interculltural De- change(s) is/are substantial. no longer than 2,000-4,000 words, includ- velopment Research Association, 5835 ing references and sidebars. Type/save your Callaghan Rd., Suite 350, San Antonio, TX manuscript as a Word document (6.0 or be- 78228. [email protected] Themes of Future NABE News issues: low) and attach it to an e-mail sent to [email protected] or mail a diskette to the General/Other Articles: Other articles, July/August NABE address. Please do not use running not addressing the announced NABE News Assessment Issues and Implementation Ideas heads or bold. Include contact information themes, are also sought and welcomed. They and a brief bio indicating name, title, affilia- should be relevant to current interests or is- September/October tion, and research interest. sues. They must be no longer than 1500 - Access to Technology: 1750 words. Promising Programs and Practice Articles for Regular Columns: NABE news publishes four regular columnsAd- Reviews: Reviews should describe and November/December ministration of Bilingual Education Col- evaluate recently published bilingual educa- Curriculum and Instruction in the umn, Asian/Pacific Americans Column, tion materials, such as professional books, Bilingual Early Childhood Classroom Indigenous Bilingual Education Column, curriculum guides, textbooks, computer and Theory Into Practice Column. Each programs, or videos. Reviews should be no January/February column has a column editor. These articles longer than 500-750 words. Include in your High School Prgrams for LEP Students are shorter in length, usually focus on one review: issue, elaborate on two to threemajor 1. a brief summary of the major compo- March/April points, and provide specifics for practice. nents or features of the material, with Increasing Support for Non-Academic Manuscripts should relate to the special fo- no evaluative comments Factors cus and be approximately 1500-2200 words 2. an evaluation of the features, indicating in length. They can be mailed to the NA13E how they are useful/helpful or not Copy is due two months in advance of the office, to the attention of the NABE News 3. if appropriate, a discussion of how the first month listed for the issue (for example, editor or mailed directly to the column edi- material ties in or responds to broader The deadline for the May/June issue is due tors as follows: issues in the field or to specific meth- March 1", for July/August it would be due odologies On May 1"). Advertisements should be sub- Ms. Mary Ramirez, Editor-Administration 4. an assessment as to whether the teacher/ mitted at least two months in advance of the of Bilingual Education Programs, Philadel- reader would want to use the material first month listed for the issue. phia Public Schools, Director-OfFice of Lan- and why (or why not) 188 NABE NEWS 43 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION o Tell us About MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION yourself. I am involved with bilingual O Membership Type (check one only) education as (check one): If renewing a current membership, please enter membership# here: 0 Administrator 0 College Instructor El Individual Membership $48 0 Consultant 0 Full-Time Student LiDiscounted Individual Membership $30 0 Paraprofessional O Parent: MUST NOT be a professional educator and MUST have a child currently enrolled in a bilingual 0 Parent/Community Member education/ESL program. 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April 30, 2001 Celebrate Dub de los Niiios, Diá de los Libros Celebrate the Week of the Young Child, Day of Books! Write NABE for ideas. May 25, 2001 Postmark deadlineNABE 2002 Call for Papers (See pages 37-40) May 31, 2001 Postmark deadline for returning ballotsNABE Board October 31, 2001 Receive proposal acceptance letters November 1, 2001 Postmark deadline for Dissertation Competition 190 I 116 SEMEN". , 3I ".111111111.1r NON-PROFIT ORG. Washington,NABENational1030Suite 47015th Association NEWS Street,D.C. 20005-4018 N.W. for Bilingual Education WASHINGTON,PERMIT DCNO.U.S. 4555 POSTAGE PAID Vj11 WhL"t 'A k(o, I I' What do you do when the standards leave your subject (ESL) behind? See page 8 California'E§ misleadin schools o 0 numbers &A-(2lirsoim11.11 0 chi drenremain bilingua education thEoopponents kr,;1 ifffLIG ti& Submit 0 entries 0 o Dissertation Competition What are the issues in standards implementation? Creating standards alone is necessary, but not sufficient to affect changes in teaching and learning. See Page 6 192 arc ilael ial sfif / 7tchyourma§§fortails comfre soon! 2V3 MESSAGE FROM THE NABE NEWS Table of Contents EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Delia Pompa When All Means All: Standards-Based Education Reform and English Language Learners 4 Dear NABE Members: The ESL Standards: Bridging the Academic Gap One.need only spend time in America's classrooms to understand that educa- for English Language Learners 8 tion is by nature a dynannc processone that includes mceting ever-loftier goals while addressing the rapidly changing needs of students. Use with Caution: California's Academic Performance Index is Misleading for Schools with The trend towards standards-based reform encapsulates this important fact and Large Numbers of English Learners 11 underscores what bilingual educators understand so well: that standardizing expectations does NOT mean standardizing instruction. Diversity of the Country's Hispanics Highlighted in U.S. Census Bureau Report 13 The current reauthorization ofthe federal Elementary and Secondary Educa- tion Act (ESEA), and the release of the respective Congressional and White Theory into Practice: How Many Children Remain House policy proposals, make the timing of this edition of the NA BE News in Bilingual Education "Too Long"? particularly appropriate. For the last three years (when the ESEA reauthoriza- Some Recent Data 15 tion process began), and especially since President George W. Bush came to office, NABE staff members have been working with Administration and Congressional leaders to ensure that the needs ofour students are adequately NABE Legislative Update: addressed. Around the States 18 The task has not always been easy. Many continue to equate providing equal Back to the Future: English Only Instruction access to educational opportunities with providing identical instruction. And, in the New Millennium 20 while we have made considerable headwayno longer is a discussion on the topic of instruction considered complete without factoring in the needs of Administration of Bilingual Education Programs: language minority and limited English proficient studentsmany of the old Educating the Workforce of a Global Society....22 misconceptions linger. Spanish Speaking Children You can count on NABE to continue to push this important effort at the and English Literacy 24 national level, and we hope this issue ofthe NABE News will help in your own efforts. Educating policy makers and other key players on the appropriate NABE Legislative Update: President Bush inclusion of LEP students in standards-based reform is critical to both our Releases Education Budget for FY2002 25 children's and our nation's success. This must remain a priority for us. After all, educational reform should be about helping childrenand allowing their Most Secondary Schools Overlook and true level ofachievement to show through. Underserve Immigrant Students According to New Urban Institute Report 26 I hope you enjoy this edition of the NABE News, and I look forward to your comments and insights on this and all other aspects of NABE's work. National Associations Pass Resolutions Supportive of Language Learners 28 Sincerely, Outstanding Dissertations of the Year Competition 36 Delia Pompa Executive Director Guidelines for Article Submission 39 Membership Application 40 NABE NEws 1 NABE EXECUTIVE NABE NEWS BOARD 2000-2001 President Published by the National Association for Bilingual Education Joel G6mez George Washington University Editor: Alicia Sosa, Ph.D. Institute for Education Policy Studies Design & Layout: Kieran Daly KDaddy Design 1709 North Roosevelt Street Arlington, VA 22205 p: (202) 467-0867/(202) 994-3306 f: (202) 467-4283 Volume 24 ofNABE NEWS will be published in 6 issues; publication dates are: Issue 1 09/15/00 Issue 3 01/15/01 Issue 5 05/15/01 Vice President Issue 2 11/15/00 Issue 4 03/15/01 Issue 6 07/15/01 Mary F. Jew Cupertino Union SD 10301 Vista Drive All advertising and copy material must be received in the NABE office TWO Cupertino, CA 95014 MONTHS prior to publication date to be considered for inclusion. p: (408) 252-3000 x426 f: (408) 255-8830 Secretary Josefina Villarnil Tinajero NABE NEWSADVERTISING University of Texas El Paso Display Advertising Rates (Black & White, Camera-Ready art) College of Education 500 W. University Avenue Full Page (7.4" x 10") $850 1/3-Page (4.75" x 4.75") $425 El Paso, TX 79968 2/3-Page (4.75" x 10") $700 1/3-Page (2.25" x 10") $425 p: (915) 747-5552 f: (915) 747-5755 Member-at-Large NABE NEWSREPRINT AND EDITORIAL POLICY Susan A. Garcia Executive Director Readers are welcome to reprint non-copyrighted articles which appear in NABE Sevilla At The IceHouse NEWS at no charge, provided proper credit is given both to the author(s) and to 1801 Wynkoop Street, Suite C-1 NABE NEWS as the source publication. Denver, CO 80202 p: (303) 298-7777 f: (303) 292-6868 All articles printed in NABE NEWS, unless written by an Association staffperson or Member-at-Large Susan Pien Hsu NABE New York City Board of Education The National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) is a tax-exempt, nonprofit 225-09 57th Avenue professional association founded in 1975 to address the educational needs oflanguage- Bayside, NY 11364 p: (718) 279-0090 f: (718) 279-8820 minority Americans. Parent Representative NATIONAL OFFICE: Aurelio M. Montemayor 1030 15th Street, N.W., Suite 470Washington, DC 20005-1503 IDRA (202) 898-1829FAX: (202) 789-2866 5835 Callaghan Rd. Suite 350 E-mail: [email protected]: www.nabe.org San Antonio, D( 78228 p: (210) 444-1710 f: (210) 444-1714 2 MAY /JUNE 2001 ISA ERMA4)02)UN RooKs E SydiOr BMIMYEBTIC/Nri B u t II 01111 0 I A oo,: : o o Aprêsguerre 1.2o, des chocolats ['RAN / \ DICCIF ."`Y I GMAIM Tlft.10,..\100 V IV 1-20 ItOPI 1)1(0 O Dictionary IN 2,102ratt ! _ 1,1 1 1 A 1. 1 A 12 L / It t.: : !, --' e ft. ,.014.1.4.,(?4,, , A _401,2 1,1J 0 121 4 It I -111V 11111110Tivati76i*- IF YOU'RE EVER DMATISFLIED WITH A PERMA-BOUND BOM FOR ANY REASON, WiE4LL REPLAGE IT. PERMA-BOUND VANDALIA ROAD + JACKSONVILLE9IL 6,410 GALL TOLL FREE:1-800-637-6581 OR GALL: 2,17-243-5451 TOLL FREE FAX: 1780011Si -1169,740RAW2111241-750,,0 -10 ; WEB SITE: www:perma-bound.cdmE7mAIL:liociks@permaTbourid:cOm:S..-!!k- iarr4- 47* WHEN ALL MEANS ALL Standards-Based Education Reform and English Language Learners KATE MENKEN, NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION The standards-based education the potential for standards to inform amended by the 1994 Improving reform movement is catalyzing instructional practice is being over- America's Schools Act, required states changes in instruction, assessment, cur- shadowed by an intense emphasis to adopt challenging academic content riculum, and programming in schools placed on high-stakes testing. and performance standards, and assess- and districts across the United States ments aligned with these (Riddle, 1999). changes that greatly impact English lan- This article explores the place cur- Goals 2000 and the ESEA have worked guage learners (ELLs, also known as rently held by ELLs within standards- together to set many ofthe principles of limited English proficient or LEP stu- based reform, and examines the standards-based reform, including the dents). The standards in standards- challenges that have surfaced as these re- expectation that all students will attain bascd reform identify what students forms make their way into classrooms high standards ofacademic excellence. should know and be able to do as they across the nation. In the wake of this federal legisla- progress through school. They are tion, efforts are being made to ensure meant to be anchors, aligning curricu- Standards as student attainment of the standards. lum, instruction, and assessment. The National Education Policy Standardized tests have become in- purpose of this article is to analyze the Standards and assessment are pivotal creasingly high stakes to ensure com- intersection between current educa- themes in current reform effortsand pliance is demonstrated through tion reform efforts driven by standards cut across much of the federal legisla- measurable student progress. Addi- and students who are ELLs. tion passed by Congress in recent years tionally, new efforts have been made to This analysis points to two main to improve the education ofall students. include ELLs in the same wide-scale challenges that have arisen thus far in the Six broad reform goals to improve edu- tests as those used to evaluate native implementation ofstandards in schools cation and raise student achievement by English speakers. By the completion where ELLs are present: the year 2000 were passed into law by ofthis 2000-2001 school year, each state I While many school districts have Congress in 1994 in the Goals 2000: must put into place an assessment sys- begun the process ofusing standards Educate America Act (U.S. Department tem that includes ELLs. Within this to guide teaching and learning, ef- ofEducation, 1994); these goals became developing framework ofaccountabil- forts to include ELLs have lagged the basis for the present standards. Goals ity to the standards and the emphasis on far behind. 2000 is aimed at all students and spe- inclusion of all students, performance I Too little attention has been paid to cifically includes students or children by English-language learners on assess- the complex proccss of imple- with limited English proficiency." ments (typically standardized tests) can menting standards in classrooms; Along with the passage of Goals greatly affect the positive or negative rather, the current focus is on ac- 2000, the Elementary and Secondary evaluation ofa teacher, school, district, countability. Within this context, Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as or state (Menken, 2000). 4 MAY / J U N E 2 0 0 1 What Do Standards Mean? Standards are divided into three types: content standards, peYbrmance standards, and opportunity-to-learn standards. Con- tent standards refer to what students The potentialfor standards to inform instructional should know, what schools should teach, practice is being overshadowed by an intense emphasis and what instruction should be about. PeOrmance standards identify what stu- placed on high-stakes testing. dents should be able to do to show they possess the skills and knowledge in the content standards. They answer the question: "How good is good enough?" (New Standards, 1997). The purpose other practitioners) are also interested expectations clear and measurable, they of the third type of standards, opportu- in the potential use of standards and as- also set high expectations for all students nity-to-learn standards, is to guarantee sessments to guide and inform instruc- including ELLs. As school systems "the level and availability of programs, tional practice.It seems the latter adopt standards with more rigorous ex- staff, and other resources sufficient to purpose is getting lost in the shuffle, pectations for the performance ofELLs meet challenging content and perfor- however. As found in Quality Counts than ever before, greater attention is mance standards" (McLaughlin & 2001, an exhaustive evaluation of stan- being paid to ensuring student attain- Shepard, 1995, p. 5). dards-based education reform con- ment of those standards. The National Academy ofEduca- ducted by Education Week: For students who are English lan- tion Panel on Standards-Based Educa- guage learners, the attainment of these tion Reform articulates the vision Indeed, no aspect ofthe standards-based rigorous academic standards is fully reli- driving the standards movement in the agenda has generated more debateor ant on the presence in our schools ofhigh- stirred more dismay among teachers following passage: quality programming, teachers, and all of than the heavy reliance on state tests the other resources necessary to meet to measure student learning and to dole Internationally competitive standards out rewards and penalties to schools their learning needs. Opportunity-to- for what American students should and students. "When we talk about learn standards for ELLs would offer a know and be able to do are expected standards-based reform in Chicago, framework that articulates what this en- to improve the substance of school and it's actually true everywhere, don't tails, and could be used as a lever to en- curricula and to increase the motiva- show me the standards documents. sure equity. However, these standards tion and effort of students, teachers, Show me what you test," says An- have not been created or adopted yet. and school systems (McLaughlin & thony S. Byrk, a professor of educa- Shepard, 1995, p. 7). Conversations about how to in- tion and sociology at the University clude ELLs in the content and perfor- of Chicago, "because the load-bear- mance standards are beginning to take The belief behind standards-based ing wall in all of this is not the stan- reform is that expectations for student dards documents, it's the assessments." place in most states and school districts. performance must be articulated and Forty-five states now compile report At present, all states have adopted con- made explicit, thereby providing a set cards on schools, and 27 rate school tent standards and about half have per- target that makes it easier to measure performance, primarily on the basis of formance standards (Blank, Manise, & growth. Standards offer a means to hold test scores. (Olsen, 2001: p. 15) Brathwaite, 1999). While a few states students, teachers, schools, districts, and have also created standards and curricu- The survey ofpublic school teach- states accountable for that growth. They lum frameworks for ELLs, others are ers conducted by Quality Counts indi- also guide instruction by making clear to only developing them nowand still cates that 70% feel standards have led to students and teachers what is expected; others have not yet begun. The stan- in this way, students can become more too much emphasis placed on wide-scale dards that have been developed for ELLs directly involved in their own learning assessments in teaching. The national vary greatly by state and school district, emphasis placed on tests to ensure stu- process, while teachers and others within both in the language of the actual stan- dent attainment ofthe standards that have the education community are better able dards and also in the ways the needs of to assist in the learning process. been set is currently outweighing the this population of students are addressed. Perspectives differ regarding the potential to use standards as an instruc- meaning of standards in implementa- tional tool. Examples of Standards for ELLs tion. For some (particularly politicians In 1997, the Teachers of English to and other policymakers), the primary Inclusion of Ells in Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) focus of standards and corresponding as- Standards-Based Reform organization produced ESL Standardsfor sessments is on the creation of a system Within the standards movement is aPre-K-12 Students. The development ofaccountability at state and local levels. strong emphasis on educational equity. of these standards was "motivated by a By contrast, others (e.g., teachers and Not only are standards intended to make desire to ensure educational equity and ,* NABE NEWS 5 opportunity for ELL students" have adopted standards that are closely differing instructional guides are pro- (Cummins, 2000, p.154). These stan- aligned to TESOL's ESL Standards. vided for each. dards set learning goals for ELLs that cen- The Texas Education Agency has ter on personal, social, and academic uses New Mexico and Texas taken a similar approach to that of New ofEnglish. As described in the examples The standards for English language learn- Mexico but has also created and adopted that follow, most states and districts have ers created by the states of New Mexico specific standards for Spanish language shaped their standards for ELLs prima- and Texas offer a different approach. arts. Their approach is described in the rily or at least partially on the TESOL While incorporating the TESOL stan- following explanation of how to imple- standards. dards, they are not based primarily on ment their English Language Arts Es- them. And, they also address home lan- sential Knowledge and Skills: Chicago Public Schools guage development. In New Mexico, The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has standards for ELLs are aligned to standards Students oflimited English proficiency created a set ofEnglish as a sccond lan- for native English speakers. As they write: (LEP) enrolled in Spanish Language guage (ESL) standards closely aligned to Arts and/or English as a Second Lan- TESOL's ESL standards. In their stan- At the time of the development of the guage will be expected to learn these same knowledge and skills through dards document, CPS states its vision as NM standards, the NM !State Depart- their native language, and students in follows: ment of Education] bilingual educa- tion unit was careful not to give thc English as a Second Language will ap- message that ESL students were held ply these skills at their proficiency level Students will learn to understand, in English (Texas Education Agency, speak, read, and write English fluently, to different standards than any other 1998b, p. 3). competently and proficiently in order student. The message is clear: ALL stu- to succeed academically and participate dents should be held to high standards Each English language arts standard for actively in the United States' social, (New Mexico State Department of economic, and political environment Education, 2000). elementary and middle grades students (Chicago Public Schools, 1999). corresponds to a Spanish language arts New Mexico identifies language arts as standard. In addition, the Texas standards Along with this general mission an umbrella category under which lie document encourages home language statement, CPS lists three goals that iden- English language arts (ELA) for native instruction for native speakers of other tify the elements of the English language English speakers, ESL, and language arts languages.In both Texas and New they feel students must possess in order for native speakers of other languages Mexico, ELLs are expected to attain the to succeed: (e.g., Spanish language arts [SLA] for identical standards to those set for native- 1. Use English to achieve in all aca- native Spanish speakers in bilingual edu- English speakers; however, they may do demic areas and settings, cation programs). so while using their native language. 2.Use English for all social and per- Aligned to New Mexico's language sonal purposes, and arts standards are strategies that each Issues in Standards 3.Tailor the English language for vari- school district has created for ESL and Implementation ous and specific purposes and uses for the different home languages being One of the primary findings from the (Chicago Public Schools, 1999). taught (M. Lopez, personal communi- implementation of standards across the cation, April 28, 2000). The New United States thus far has been that the Each goal is supported and further Mexico State Department ofEducation creation of standards alone is necessary, defined by several standards focused on makes it the responsibility of school dis- but not sufficient, to affect changes in English language acquisition. Like Chi- tricts to develop the means by which teaching and learning. Rather, attention cago, a number of districts (e.g., Red- ELLs will attain the standards that have must also be paid to the complex pro- wood City, CA and Oklahoma City, OK) been set. For example, while ELA and cess of standards implementation. One and states (e.g., New Jersey and Florida) ESL share a common core of standards, of the limits of standards is that they do not tell teachers how to help their stu- dents attain them. As Kate Nolan ex- plainedinherdiscussionof standards-based education reform at the conference of the Education Commis- "Show me what you test because the load-bearing sion of the States: wall in all of this is not the standards documents, Policies will not create change in the it's the assessments." classroom unless educators and Anthony S. Byrk,Unipersity of Chicago policymakers have a visceral under- standing of what a standardsdriven 9 classroom looks like (O'Brian, 1998). Standards do not offer guidance on the 6 MAY /JUNE2001 process of their implementation; there- cators implement TESOL's ESL stan- Rather than focusing on profes- fore, teachers themselves must translate dards. As part of this project, mem- sional development to foster the use of the language of the standards into in- bersof. TESOL'sStandards standards in instruction, the current fo- structional practice. This requires that Committee are currently working cus of the national conversation about teachers have a thorough understanding with several school districts to offer standards is on accountability. Standards ofstanclards and standards-driven teach- technical support in their implemen- are linked to high-stakes assessment that ing and learning. However, most teach- tation of standards. Through their holds students and their teachers ac- ers do not feel well prepared to use Standards, Assessment, and Instruction countable for student performance. standards in the classroom. The National initiative, the Northeast and Islands Unfortunately, districts and states are Assessment ofTitle I found, for example: Regional Educational Laboratory at moving to high-stakes assessment before Brown University also works with putting the necessary structures in place In 1998, only 37 percent of teachers in states and local districts serving ELLs to ensure that all students can actually [Title I] schools reported that they felt as they strive to implement standards meet the standards that have been set for very well prepared to implement state and meet the educational needs of their them; opportunity-to-learn standards or district curriculum and performance standards. This sense of preparedness diverse student populations. The are not the current focus. Standards hold is a key factor in predicting student out- Annenberg Institute for School Re- the potential to guide and dramatically comes, according to the [Longitudi- form, along with other organizations, improve the instruction and assessment nal Evaluation of School Change and focuses on the need to bring together of students who are English language Performance (LESCP)] study of 71 groups of educators to use standards as learners but, in order for these reform high-poverty Title I schools... The a lens through which to examine stu- efforts to be effective, it is critical that LESCP also found that district reform dent work collectively.This work every aspect of the process of standards policy had an influence on teachers' exemplifies how to make standards- implementation be considered. familiarity with standards-based reform driven instruction a reality. and their implementation of such re- form in their classroom. Teachers in References higher-reform districts were more Conclusion August, D., & Hakuta, K. (Eds.). (1997). Edu- cating language-minority children. Commit- likely than their peers in lower-reform It is clear that high-quality professional tee on Developing a Research Agenda on districts to be familiar with content and development aids in the process of the Education of Limited-English-Profi- performance standards and assessments standards implementation. However, cient and Bilingual Students by the Board and their curriculum was more likely far greater attention needs to be paid on Children, Youth, and Families, Na- to reflect the standards. (U.S. Depart- tional Research Council. Washington, ment of Education, Office of the to turning standards documents into DC: National Academy Press. Undersecretary Planning and Evalua- changes in practice. Although several Blank, R., Manise, J., & Brathwaite, B. (1999). tion Service, 1999, p.14) initiatives like the ones described State education indicators with a focus on Title above exist nationally, very little em- I. Washington, DC: Council of Chief These issues are not limited to Title I phasis has been placed upon the criti- State Schools Officers, Planning Evalua- teachers. In the School District ofPhila- tion Service of the U.S. Department of cal need for sustained professional Education. delphia, for example, academic content development to assist with the imple- Chicago Public Schools. (1999). ESL goals and standards were adopted in 1996; five mentation of standards: standards. Chicago, IL: Office of Language years later they are still working to con- and Cultural Education. nect standards for ELLs to classroom In 1998, public school teachers, regard- Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power, and peda- practice. less of the poverty level of their school, gogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Phila- The effective implementation of spent a limited amount of time on pro- delphia, PA: Multilingual Matters. standards requires extensive professional fessional development, although they Education Week (2001). Quality counts 2001: did focus on topics that supported development for teachers. The quota- A better balance. A special report by Edu- standards-based reform. Most teach- cation Week staff. [Online] Available: tion above from the National Assessment ers are not participating in intensive or http://www.edweek.org/sreports/qc01/ of Title I indicates that professional de- sustained trainingtwo essential char- [February 27, 2001] velopment and preparation for using acteristics of effective professional de- Gonzalez, J. & Darling-Hammond, L. (1997). standards positively impacts teachers' velopment. Given the relationship New concepts for new challenges: Professional ability to implement standards-based found between teacher preparedness development for teathers of immigrant youth. curriculum and, subsequently, improve and student achievement, this is a trou- Washington, DC: Centel:for Applied Lin- guistics. student performance. While a great deal bling finding...Over two-thirds (70%) of teachers in high-poverty H.R. 1804, 1994. (1994). Goals 2000: Edu- of additional research and further sup- cate America Act. 103'd Congress of the ports for practitioners are needed, a schools reported receiving less than 9 hours per year of professional devel- United States of America. number of national initiatives already opment related to content and perfor- Lachat, M. (1999). Standards, equity and cul- exist to help teachers implement stan- mance standards (U.S. Department of tural diversity. Providence, RI: The LAB at dards in their classrooms. Education, Office of the Brown University. TESOL, for example, has recently eilikilecretary Planning and Evalua- created a training manual to help edu- tion Service, 1999, p. 15). (continued on page3 4) 0 to NABE NEws 7 THE ESL STANDARDS Bridging the Academic Gap for English Language Learners DEBORAH J. SHORT, CENTER FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS In the early 1990s, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and standards. TESOL then decided to pursue the development other legislation that promoted high academic expectations of standards for English as a second language. A second task for all students encouraged a movement among professional edu- force was formed, and a conceptual framework that articu- cation associations to develop standards for specific academic lated TESOL's vision of effective education for ELLs was content areas. The intent was for these national standards to drafted. The framework calls on all educational personnel to serve as guidelines for state and local curriculum and assessment assume responsibility for ELLs and demands that schools pro- design and for the professional development of teachers. vide these students with access to all services, such as gifted and During this same period, the number of pre-K-12 stu- talented courses. The framework also lists principles of second dents from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds language acquisition and explains the benefits ofbilingualism enrolled in U.S. schools grew at nearly 10 times the rate of and the contribution of native language proficiency to the native-English-speaking students. However, English as a sec- development ofEnglish (TESOL, 1996). ond language (ESL) was not a federally designated content area for standards development. Instead, federal officials indicated ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students that other content areas, particularly English language arts, The ESL Standards and Assessment Project began officially in should address the needs ofEnglish language learners (ELLs). 1995 with a grass-roots effort involving 18 writing teams from Their rationale was that the content area standards were in- across the United States, some representing their state, others tended "for all students." Teachers of English to Speakers of representing an affiliate of TESOL or NABE (National Asso- Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) then established a task force ciation for Bilingual Education). For models, TESOL exam- to monitor the reform efforts and encourage professional ined content-area standards being developed in the United groups working on content area standards to accommodate States and the Australian ESL bandscales and planned standards ELLs. It became evident, however, that ELLs' language ac- for ESL that would accommodate the multiple program models quisition and academic needs were not being reflected in the (e.g., self-contained ESL, sheltered instruction, transitional content standards' drafts. For example, ELLs were not among bilingual education) used to educate ELLs in the United States. the students described in vignettes or learning scenarios, nor ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students (TESOL, 1997) was were teachers offered guidance on how to teach a content written and released for review and comment in 1996; feed- standard to students with limited proficiency in English. back was solicited from educators who had experience work- To ensure that ELLs would have access to effective edu- ing with linguistically and culturally diverse students and from di cational programs and the opportunity to reach high standards, representatives ofother content areas that were developing stan- ((t the task force produced The Access Brochure (TESOL, 1993), dards. The draft was revised and published by TESOL in 1997. an advocacy tool to help programs and schools examine and Nine ESL content standards are organized under threc adjust the opportunities they provide for ELLs to learn to high educational goals. They state what students should know and 8 MAY / JUNE 2001 4{14 be able to do as a result of ESL in- struction and set goals for students' social and academic language devel- ESL Standards opment and sociocultural compe- tence. The ESL standards take a Goal 1: To use English to communicate in social settings. functional approach to language learning and use and allow for maxi- Standard 1: Students will use English to participate in social interactions. mum flexibility in curriculum and Standard 2: Students will interact in, through, and with spoken and written English for program design. personal expression and enjoyment. What Do the ESL Standards Standard 3: Students will use learning strategies to extend their Mean for Students and communicative competence. Educators? Although the goals and standards may Goal 2: To use English to achieve academically in all content areas. look intuitive, they represent a pro- Standard 1: Students will use English to interact in the classroom. found shift in how English must be viewed in U.S. schools: English is no Standard 2: Students will use English to obtain, process, construct, and provide longerjust a subject. English skills must subject matter information in spoken and written form. be developed through ESL, English Standard 3: Students will use appropriate learning strategies to construct language arts, and all other content and apply academic knowledge. classes so that ELLs can learn the con- tent while they are acquiring English. Goal 3: To use English in socially and culturally appropriate ways. The ESL Standards guide teachers in new approaches for ELLs. Standard 1: Students will use appropriate language variety, register, and genre For the first goal, ELLs must use according to audience, purpose, and setting. English for social purposes. They need Standard 2: Students will use nonverbal communication appropriate to audience, to chat with peers and teachers and purpose, and setting. use English for their own enjoyment to read a magazine or watch a Standard 3: Students will use appropriate learning strategies to extend their movie. For the second goal, ELLs sociolinguistic and sociocultural competence. need to use English to achieve aca- demically. Once students exit bilin- gual or ESL programs, they find it difficult to succeed in subject area classes without knowledge gnettes are arranged in grade-level clusters (Pre-K-3,4-8, and of academic English. The ESL standards indicate the type of 9-12) to connect language learning with developmental learn- academic language proficiency that students need. The third ing. They describe instruction for beginning, intermediate, and goal emphasizes that ELLs need to be explicitly taught the advanced students. The needs of students with limited formal social and cultural norms associated with using English, such as schooling and learning disabilities are included as well. when to use formal or informal language, what gestures are The intent of the ESL Standards was to have individual appropriate, and when humor is acceptable. Each goal in- states or districts develop curricula based on the standards and cludes one standard that focuses on learning strategies to help describe their own proficiency levels and benchmarks of per- students extend their language development once they exit a formance. Standards implementation activities are very im- language support program. portant, because the standards reform movement in the United Each standard is explicated by descriptors and progress States has spurred widespread, high-stakes assessment. In many indicators. Descriptors are akin to curriculum objectives. states, all students must pass standardized tests in core content Progress indicators are assessable activities that teachers can areas for grade-level promotion or for high school graduation, incorporate into lessons to measure student growth toward after a period of exemption has passed. meeting a standard. Vignettes, written by practicing teachers, fiirther illustrate the standards and represent good pedagogical Implementing the ESL Standards practice. They call particular attention to ways that teachers State departments of education, local school districts, and can work effectively livith ELLs to help them meet the stan- teacher education institutions have been actively implement- dards. The vignettes depict a wide range of school environ- ing and disseminating the ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Stu- ments with ESL, bilingual, or content teachers, such as dents. To inform curriculum development, assessment self-contained ESL, sheltered content instruction, ESL classes practice, teacher education, and classroom implementation, in bilingual programs, regular grade-level classes in elemen- TESOL has developed companion products to the ESL Stan- tary schools, career internship classes, and more. dards. Managing the Assessment Process (TESOL, 1998) and Sce- The standards, descriptors, progress indicators, and vi- nariosfor ESL Standards-Based Assessment (TESOL, in press-a) k 4-5 NABE NEWS 9 establish the theoretical framework for assessment and offer Language educators need to collaborate more with con- exemplars and assessment tools for monitoring student progress tent-area colleagues, using the ESL Standards to illustrate how toward meeting the standards. Training Others to Use the ESL to build language development into content lessons. Given the Standards: A Professional Development Manual (Short et al., 2000) high-stakes testing programs in place across the United States, and Implementing the ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students it is imperative that ELLs receive the best content instruction Through Teacher Education (Snow, 2000) provide training ma- possible while they are learning English. The ESL Standards terials and practical information to enhance the professional can show content teachers the functional uses oflanguage that development ofpreservice and inservice teachers. School lead- can be developed through content topics and tasks. ers can increase their understanding of the ESL standards In addition, more textbook publishers must incorporate through the School Administrator's Guide to the ESL Standards the ESL standards in their materials. Similarly, test developers (TESOL, in press-b). A series ofclass- need to conduct linguistic reviews of room-focused books, Integrating the their test items and identify problem- ESL Standards into Classroom Practice atic areas such as overuse ofsynonyms (Agor, 2000; Irujo, 2000; Sarnway, and embedded questions. Subsequent 2000; Smallwood, 2000), offers the- "Although the goals and linguistic simplification of test items matic instructional units for teachers can lead to a more accurate demon- at different grade-level clusters dem- standards may look stration of ELLs' knowledge of the onstrating how to implement the ESL intuitive, they represent a content area being assessed. Scenarios standards. Finally, to help teachers profound shift in how for ESL Standards-based Assessment explain the ESL Standards to parents, (TESOL, in press-a) can be instru- the Parent Guide to the ESL Standards English must be viewed in mental in these efforts. for Pre-K-12 Students is available on U.S. Schools: English is Finally, ESL classes need to be- the Web (www.cal.org/eslstandards- no longer a subject." come more rigorous. It is vital to ac- parentguide.html). celerate ELLs' social and academic Other implementation activities English language development so include curriculum and professional they can master the grade-level con- development. Many states and districts tent knowledge that will enable them have developed or revised ESL or shel- to meet high standards and succeed tered content curricula based on the ESL Standards. Profes- on state and local assessments. The ESL Standards and assess- sional development for educators has been offered through ment scenarios can lead the way. conference sessions, workshops, and summer academies by TESOL and NABE and state and local education agencies. An Deborah J. Short, Ph.D., is Director of English Language and implementation database and electronic discussion list support Multicultural Education at the Centerfor Applied Linguistics (CAL). these activities, too (see www.catorg/eslstandards). She can be reached at CAL, using the information listed below. One of the most important accomplishments ofthe project has been the increased stature ofESL professionals in pre-K- This digest was prepared with funding from the U.S. Dept. of Educa- 12 school settings. This is a less visible achievement than the tion, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Li- brary of Education, under contract no. ED-99-00-0008. The opin- published products, but a significant one. Publication of the ions expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of standards opened many doors for dialogue with educators in ED, OERI, or NLE. other content areas about how best to help ELLs achieve aca- Permission to reprint this article was granted by ER1C/CLL Center demically. With the ESL Standards in hand, pre-K-12 ESL for Applied Linguistics, 4646 40th Street NW, Washington, DC 20016- and bilingual teachers have been able to show colleagues in 1859(202) 362-0700toll-free: (800)276-9834 email: [email protected] other disciplines what learning a second language means and www.cal.org/ericcll/ what learning content through a second language requires. References Future Directions . Agor, B. (Ed.). (2000). Integrating the ESL standards into classroom practice: While great strides have been made in improving educa- Grades 9-12. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. tional opportunities for ELLs in schools, there is still work to Irujo, S. (Ed.). (2000). Integrating the ESL standards into classroom practice: Grades 6-8. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. be done. There is a need for all preservice candidates in Samway, K.D. (Ed.). (2000). Integrating the ESL standards into classroom teacher training institutions not just those in ESL or bi- practice: Grades 3-5. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. lingual education certification programs to become fa- Short, D., Gómez, E., Cloud, N., Katz, A., Gottlieb, M., & Malone, miliar with the ESL standards and assessment scenarios as M. (2000). Training others to use the ESL standards: A professional part of their general education course work. These future development manual. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. teachers should learn about second language acquisition, ESL Smallwood, B.A. (Ed.). (2000). Integrating the ESL standards into class- methods especially for sheltered content instruction room practice: Grades pre-K-12. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. and appropriate alternative assessments that can accommo- date students' developing language proficiencies. (References continued on page 34) 10 MAY /J U N E 2 0 0 1 7:1 4,ti cational programs (Oakes, Gamoran, and Page, 1992), and grade retention and low tracked classes (Cuenca, 1991). In- creased dropout rates have also been re- ported (NCES, 1995). High stakes tests USEWITH have not adequately informed achieve- ment levels and participation rates of English Learners in standards based edu- cation. This article will report how California's Academic Performance In- dex (API), the state's accountability sys- CAUTION tem for all public schools, is misleading in design and misused in practice when applied to schools with large numbers California's Academic Performance ofEnglish Learners. API results have been used to assess Index is Misleading for Schools with instructional programs, guide school ac- countability goals, and determine the effectiveness of services provided to Large Numbers of English Learners English Learners. Therefore, close ex- amination of the chief components of PAUL A. GARCIA, the API is warranted to disentangle the educational value of a school account- FRESNO CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT, ability system that: failed to define large CALIFORNIA numbers of English Learners as significant_ subgroups, and required the inclusion of Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition (SAT-9) test scoresfor all English Learners. "We can whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all More critical, the narrow focus on the API obscures more fundamental ap- children whose schooling is of interest to us. We already know more proaches for increasing English Learner than we need to do that. Whether or not we do it mustfinally depend student achievement, namely, increas- on how wefeel about the fact we haven't so far. " ing access to a rigorous and challenging curriculum. Ronald Edmonds, 1979 Gross Omission of Large t has been more than 20 years since 2000) poses a daunting challenge for all Numbers of English Learners as IRonald Edmond's poignant remarks educators. However, the current reform Significant Subgroups made clear that factors, other than an in standards based education has ignored One of the central goals of the API is to informed body ofknowledge about stu- informed research to guide public policy lift achievement levels for all students by dent achievement, contribute to the and educational practices to improve the targeting "significant subgroups" at educational neglect oflanguage minor- academic achievement of English school sites where they number at least ity students. The achievement gap be- Learners. We know more than what we 100 students, or a minimum of 30 stu- tween English Learner and non-English are doing. dents representing 15 percent ofthe stu- Learner students continues to grow. For For example, over 70 years of re- dent population. The API formula example, in California, English Learn- search on testing has indicated that cul- suggests the achievement gap closes for ers in grades 3 through 8 had an average tural differences impact the low language minority students when schools score that equaled the 21 National Per- performance levels oflanguage minor- meet growth targets for significant sub- centile Rank in reading compared to ity students. Nonetheless, high-stakes groups, i.e. Latino, African American, over 54 for non-English Learners. Since tests, the guiding force of the current Asian, and socio-econounc disadvan- approximately 80 percent ofCalifornia's reform in public education (Linn, taged students. English Learners are not English Learners are Latino, the recent 2000), continues to cause language mi- defined as a significant subgroup, pre- call for intense .efforts to address the nority students to suffer deleterious ef- sumably because they fall within one of Latino student crisis with "unprec- fects due to the dispropbrtionate the identified ethnic groups. Yet all edented public will" (President's Advi- assignment to special education (U.S. Latino and Asian students are not neces- sory Commission on Educational Department of Education, 1993), re- sarily English Learners. Excellence for Hispanic Americans, medial ihstruction and vocational edu- Attributing the achievement levels 3to NABE NEws 11 of ethnic groups as reflective ofEnglish The Inclusion of All the opportunity to learn. Histori- Learners, characterizes the latter as a English Learner Students' cally, English Learners have not had ac- homogeneous monolithic student popu- Scores in API Calculations cess to grade level curriculum (Lau V. lation. Yet within the Asian ethnic group During the last two years, the API has .Nichols, 1974). Results of the spring alone, there are Vietnamese, Hmong, been comprised solely of SAT-9 test 2000 California Standards Test indicate Lao, and,Khmer language groups with scores. All English Learners are required large numbers ofEnglish Learners still diverse educational needs and unique to take the SAT-9 regardless ofyears of do not have access to California content historical experiences. Also, the level of enrollment or level ofEnglish language standards, for example, in mathematics. English language fluency may vary by proficiency. Among all California En- Intense focus on API scores has language group masking language bar- glish Learners in grades 5 through 11, masked the hidden neglect of English rier effects on student achievement. half the students scored in the first Learner student enrollment in eighth Achievement levels ofethnic groups may performance band (1-19) in reading. grade algebra and ninth grade geometry have little to do with ethnicity, but a lot Therefore, it is no surprise that exarni- classes. Results of the California Stan- to do with language. nation ofAPI results indicate schools with dards Test administered to students Another disturbing effect of cat- large numbers ofEnglish Learners expe- completing coursework in algebra in- egorizing English Learners within eth- rienced low API scores. For example, dicate wide disparities in the percent- nic group classifications, is the schools at the bottom fourth of age ofEnglish Learners (2 percent) and uncertainty about the number of stu- California's largest school districts had at non-English Learners (18 percent) tak- least half the stu- ing the test. Similarly, English Learners dent population were less likely to take the ninth grade classified as En- geometry test (less than 1 percent) than glish Learners non-English Learners (9 percent). Dis- (Long Beach, 50 parities in the percent of students tested ". .the narrow focus on the API percent; Los An- in algebra and geometry is evidence that obscures morefundamental approaches geles, 67 percent; large numbers oflanguage minority stu- for increasing English learner student Fresno, 75 per- dents do not have access to grade level cent; and Santa mathematics instruction. achievement..." Ana, 100 per- cent). The aver- Colvin (1921) Warned That age API score was Differential Learning 150 points lower Opportunities May Make Test dents excluded in API calculations. For in these schools than the rest of the schools Results Suspect. example, of schools with Hispanic or in the respective districts. The validity ofall mental testing rests on Asian students identified as significant Unfortunately, English Learners in- the ftmdamental assumption that those subgroups, 82 percent and 86 percent, structed in Spanish were required to tested have had a common opportunity respectively, met API growth targets. Yet take the SAT-9 when a more appropri- to learn skills, facts, principles and meth- at least 66,000 Latino and 19,000 Asian ate measure is the state authorized ods of procedure exemplified on the students were not factored into signifi- SABE/2 Spanish language standardized tests (Colvin, 1921). cant subgroups because their school rep- norm referenced test. Including English In addition, results of the Califor- resentation was less than 15 percent. Learners' test scores in API calculations nia Content Standards Test indicate a Moreover, schools that met growth and omitting SABE/2 results from large achievement gap between English targets for significant subgroups may not school accountability systems exagger- Learners and non-English Learners in necessarily close the achievement gap. ates the importance ofSAT-9. Not test- language arts and mathematics. On lan- API growth targets are determined by the ing students in the language of guage arts content standards, English percentage of students moving across es- instruction unfairly penalizes schools Learners in grades 4 through 11 had a tablished quintile marks (performance with bilingual programs. mean percent correct of 39 percent bands) on a high stakes test: 1-19, 20-39, compared to 58 percent for non-En- 40-59, 60-79, and 80-99. More than API Obscures Fundamental glish Learners. On mathematics content 65 percent of schools met API growth Approaches for Increasing standards, English Learners in grades 2 targets. However, moving students across Achievement of English through 7 had a mean percent correct performance bands does not necessarily Learners of 43 percent compared to 54 percent equate to closing the achievement gap. Perhaps the most serious defect of the for non-English Learners. The pending Many schools focused efforts to improve current California school accountabil- California High School Eit Exam, API scores by merely targeting students ity system is focus on high stakes testing based on language arts and lAihematics near the cutoff points for academic in- and the API has drawn attention away standards, may pose a seri6us barrier terventions (remedial reading classes, from a more fundamental and critical intersession, summer school). aspect of educating English Learners: (Continued on page 32) 12 MAY /JUNE2 001 Diversity of the Country's Hispanics Highlighted in U.S. Census Bureau Report "The country's Latino population is quite Other findings years old and only 5 percent were 65 diverse," said Roberto Ramirez, co-au- II Among Hispanics, 66 percent were or older; for non-Hispanic Whites, thor with Melissa Therrien of The His- : of Mexican origin; 14 percent were the corresponding proportions were panic Population in the United States: March of Central and South American ori- 24 percent and 14 percent. 2000, and accompanying detailed tables. gin; 9 percent were ofPuerto Rican Among Hispanic family house- "And this diversity is reflected in demo- origin; 4 percent were of Cuban ori- holds, those with Mexican house- graphic and socioeconomic differences gin; and the remaining 6 percent were holders were the most likely to have among people whose origins go back to other Hispanics. The country's over- five or more persons (36 percent). Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, other coun- all Latino population was close to 33 Hispanic family households, were tries in Central America and South million, or 12 percent of the total larger than their non-Hispanic America and Spain." population. White counterparts: 31 percent According to the 2000 CPS esti- OfLatino groups, Puerto Ricans and consisted of five or more persons, mates, 12.8 million Hispanics were for- other Hispanics were the most likely compared with 12 percent for fam- eign-born; of this number, 1 in 4 were to live in central cities of metropoli- ily households with non-Hispanic naturalized citizens. Among foreign-born tan areas 61 percent and 57 per- White householders. Hispanics, 43 percent entered the United cent, respectively. (These percentages The proportion ofHispanics who had States in the 1990s, while 27 percent en- were not statistically different.) attained at least a high school educa- tered before 1980. Although 74 percent Nearly half (46 percent) of all His- tion ranged from 73 percent for Cu- of those who entered the country before panics lived in central cities of met- bans and 72 percent for other 1970 had obtained citizenship by 2000, ropoli tan areas, compared with Hispanics to 51 percent for Mexi- only 7 percent of those who entered be- slightly more than one-fifth ofnon- cans. (The percentages for Cubans and tween 1990 and 2000 had become citi- Hispanic Whites (21 percent). other Hispanics were not statistically zen s. (The process of becoming a Hispanics generally are younger than different.) Overall, 57 percent of naturalized citizen usually requires five non-Hispanic Whites. Thirty-six Hispanics were high school graduates years of residence in the United States.) percent of Hispanics were under 18 compared with 88 percent of non- Hispanic Whites. Hispanics were more likely than Table 1. Overview of the Census non-Hispanic Whites to work in service occupations (19 percent ver- Percent of sus 12 perccnt) and almost twice as RACE Number total population likely to be employed as operators and laborers (22 percent versus 12 Total population 281,421,906 1 00.0 percent). Conversely, 14 percent of Hispanics were in managerial or pro- One race 274,595,678 97.6 fessional occupations, compared White 211,460,626 75.1 with 33 percent of non-Hispanic Black or African American 34,658,190 12.3 American Indian and Alaska Native 2,475,956 0.9 Whites; among Latino groups, Asian 10,242,998 3.6 Mexicans were the least likely to Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 398,835 0.1 work in managerial or professional Some other race 15,359,073 5.5 occupations (12 percent). Two or more races 6,826,228 2.4 Among Hispanic groups, Mexicans had the lowest proportion of full- HISPANIC ORIATINO time, year-round workers with an- Total population 281,421,906 100.0 nual earnings of $35,000 or more (21 Hispanic or Latino 35,305,818 12.5 percent). Overall, Hispanics were less Not Hispanic or Latino 246,116,088 87.5 likely than non-Hispanic Whites to Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Tables PL1 and PL2. have earnings of $35,000 or more (23 percent compared with 49 percent). C4, :06 NABE NEws 13 Diversity wait, Growing for 41131% Hispanics in ,eur, 1111", 7>" Florida 4r- r The U.S. Census Bureau's recently released new census data that showed growth and diversity among the Hispanics in Florida The data from the 2000 census indicate the following changes for the state of Florida Since the 1990s, the overall population grew by three million residents, or 23%. Statewide, the Hispanic population grew to 2 7 million, or by about 63%. The Hispanic population had spread throughout the state, no longer concentrated in the South The Hispanic population now accounts for 16% of the state population. The growth cannot be attributed only to growth in the Cuban population. Growth occurred because of people immigrating from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Columbia, and other Latin American countries. The report contains data for Latino groups and the entire Hispanic population on geographic distribution, age, nativity and citizenship status, family household size Census Data Show Diverse and marital status, educational attainment, employment status, occupation, earnings U.S. Population and poverty. The Census Bureau cautions that these The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data on each state's population, as well as data on estimates, collected in the March 2000 the composite U.S. population. The number of Hispanics in the U.S. increased by 58 Current Population Survey (CPS), should percent from 1990 to 2000, while the number of Asian Americans increased by 48 percent not be confused with Census 2000 results, in that time period. About 6.8 million respondents, or 2.4 percent of the population, identi- which are scheduled for release over the next three years. fied themselves as belonging to more than one race. Additionally, more than one third of Hispanics, nearly one third of African Americans, and nearly one fourth of Asian Americans Source: U.S. Census Bureau are under age 18. The release of this information has important implications for those Public Information Office involved with the education of diverse students. 301-457-3030 Date of Report: March 5, 2001 NCBE has added a link to the "USA Today" Census page to its website. This is available from NCBE at www.ncbe.gwu.edu/states/census.htm or from USA Today at www.usatoday.com/news/census/index.htm For other census news, visit the U.S. Census Bureau homepage at www.census.gov 24S1 14 MAY /J U N E 2 0 0 1 THEORY INTO PRACTICE Column Editor: Lucy Tse, Ph.D., Arizona State University How Many Children Remain in Bilingual Education "Too Long"? Some Recent Data Y_S TERFIE S.17LEJ.T.,.....U.N.LKERS.13..Y_O_E_SSASLIHER.N....C.AL I E.0 According to several observers, too many children stay in bilin- with inadequate preparation in their country of origin, and need gual classes too long. In two recent articles in the New York to acquire English as well as assimilate years of subject matter Times, Steinberg (2000) reported that "many students (take) six knowledge. Many studies, including the Board ofEducation re- years or more to exit bilingual programs... ," while Holloway port, have confirmed that those who come with more thorough (2000) reported that in New York, "many students remain in preparation in their first languagedo much better in acquiring bilingual education programs nine years or more." How many academic English (for a review, see Krashen, 1999). children stay in bilingual classes for more than six or nine years, because they have failed to acquire enough English to transfer to Texas regular classes? When Steinberg and Holloway use phrases such A recent report from the State of Texas (2000) provides data as "many children," how many is "many"? We examine here confirming these conclusions. Table Two presents the number three recent reports in an attempt to answer this question. The of children in Texas enrolled in bilingual education at each grade. results of all three are consistent: Few children remain in bilin- gual education after grade six. Table 2. New York City Number of Children Enrolled in The New York City Board ofEducation recently issued a report Bilingual Education Programs in Texas . on the progress ofEnglish learners in the New York City Schools. Most ofthe children studied in the report entered the city's schools Number in when thcy were young (65% at kindergarten, and 86% by grade Grade Bilingual Education 1). The report shows that for these children, only 14% were still Pre K 34,039 in bilingual education after six years and only 10% remained in 47,318 bilingual education after nine years. For children who speak Ko- Grade 1 50,066 rean, Chinese, and Russian, all were exited from bilingual edu- Grade 2 45,816 cation within five years. "Few," not "many" children fail to reach Grade 3 40,116 exit criteria after six or nine years. Grade 4 27,780 What about those who enter later? The Board ofEducation Grade 5 21,189 reported that after four years of high school, only 15% of those Grade 6 4,797 entering at grade nine had acquired enough English to do regular Grade 7 518 class work in English (the Board did not distinguish, however, Grade 8 290 between late-corners in bilingual education and those in ESL- Source: Stateof Texas (2000) only Programs). Late-comers face a daunting task: Many come Note that the number is substantially reduced after grade 4 and Table 1. drastically reduced after grade 5. Of course, this could simply be English Learners in Bilingual Education due to reduced services available as well as students leaving the (Those who beganatkindergarten and first grade.) state, but it is consistent with the view that children are acquiring English and moving out of special programs. Grade Total n Number in Bilingual Education Atter A significant percentage of children in the upper grades are 3 years 6 years 9 years latecomers, that is, they did not begin school in the United States in kindergarten or grade 1. For each grade, The State ofTexas (2000) 4,337 1,171 (27%) 586 (13.5%) 403 (9.3%) provides a count of the number ofchildren who have resided in the 694 263 (38%) 110 (16%) 85(12.2%) United States for three years or less time (in United States three years, two years, one year, one semester or less time). We can there- Total 5031 1,434 (28.5%) 696 (14%) 488 (10%) fore calculate the percentage ofrecent arrivals ofthe total number of Source: New York City Board at Education English learners at each grade, where a recent arrival is a student who - has beenin the United States three years or less. 20 NABE NEWS 15 Table 3. Table 4. Percent of Recent Arrivals among Number of English Learners, grades 5-8, English Learners at Each Grade Adjusted for Late Arrivals Percent of Actual Minus late Percent of Grade Recent Arrivals number arrivals Grade 1 5 22 Grade 5 21,189 minus 22% = 18,646 37% 6 25 Grade 6 4,797 minus 25% = 3598 7% 7 30 Grade 7 518 minus 30% = 363 1% 8 33 Grade 8 290 minus 33% = 194 less than 1% 9 45 10 36 11 37 taking the TAAS (Texas Assessment of Academic Skills) exami- 12 19 nation in Spanish. The TAAS is administered in Spanish to mea- sure the academic progress ofchildren in bilingual programs "who Recent Arrival: In the United States Three Years or Less Calculated from: State of Texas (2000), Appendix E, p. 46. receive academic instruction in Spanish while they are learning English" (page 6). As seen in Table 5, the number ofstudents who took the TAAS in Spanish declines each year after grade 3, and Table 3 presents the percent for recent arrivals. In each grade, very few took it in grade six. a substantial percentage ofstudents served is comprised ofrecent arrivals. The figures in the Table 2 underestimate the percentage Survey Results of late arrivals, however, because those who have been in the The results ofa survey given to approximately 5,756 "interested United States four years or longer were lumped together and are educators, parents, students" including 1,500 "district coordi- not included in this table. A tenth grader, for example, who came nators, bilingual directors, and bilingual coordinators" to the United States in grade five would not be considered a late (p.18),included in the Texas report, confirms the results of the corner according to this method of classification. above analysis. The question asked was: "How long, on average, Table 4 presents the number ofEnglish learners in Texas in do you think a limited English proficient student takes to be- grade 5 through 8, adjusted for the percentage of recent arrivals, come proficient enough in English to demonstrate academic taken from Table 2. It is thus a crude estimate of the number of progress meaningfully on a standardized test like TAAS?" The children still in bilingual education that started early. After grade modal (most popular) response was between three and four years five, the estimate of children who have been in the system for a (49%) and 77% felt it would take between three and six years long time but who are still in bilingual classes is only 7%. And (Table 6). Only 12% felt it would take longer than six years. after grade 8, practically no students are left in bilingual classes. These results are very close to the actual data on exiting bilingual Another way of estimating the percentage of children who programs, assuming that the ability to take the TAAS in English in successfully acquire English is to examine the number ofchildren roughly equivalent to being able to study in the mainstream. Defining Some Terms... An "early exit" bilingual program is one that exits students before input in the mainstream is comprehensible. Children are thus in a "submer- sion" or sink or swim situation when they leave bilingual education, for at lease part of the school day. A "gradual exit" bilingual program is one that exits students a few subjects at a time, as input in the mainstream becomes comprehensible. All instruction through the second language is comprehensible for students in a gradual exit program. Students in "late exit" and "heritage language" bilingual programs have acquired enough of the second language to do all class work in the mainstream but continue to build competence in the primary or heritage language. Heritage language programs differ from late exit programs in that they may include students who were never considered to be limited English proficient. The program described in Krashen (1996) combines gradual exit and heritage language features. To "languish" in a bilingual program means to fail to attain a high enough level of competence in the language of the mainstream in aperiod of time that observers judge to be too long. Students in late exit and heritage language programs are not languishing, and are typically doing a great deal of their schoolwork in the mainstream. Krashen, S. 1996. Under Attack: The Case Against Bilingual Education. Culver City: Language Education Associates. 209 16 MAY /J U N E 2 0 0 1 A r- Houston ISO Children in the Houston district who are not ready to take the Table 5. Number of Hispanic Children TAAS in English take the Reading Proficiency Test in Spanish. in Bilingual Educationwho Took the TAAS in Spanish Houston (2000) provided data on the number of bilingual edu- cation students taking this test in grades 3 through 9 (Table 7). Grade 3 18,737 Clearly, very few take the test after grade 5, and not all of Grade 4 11,879 Grade 7 5,303 these have been in the school system in the United States since Grade 6 602 early childhood: "Bilingual students in grades 6,7,8, and 9 con- sisted of limited English proficient students that have recently From: State of Texas (2000), Appendix G, p. 51 arrived into the country or have failed to meet criteria" (p.17). Unfortunately, we do not know how many latecomers were in the sample tested. Table 6. Conclusion Survey Question: How long, on the average, do you think Acquiring enough academic English to do regular class work is a limited English proficient student takes to become proficient quite an accomplishment: It means knowing enough English to enough in English to demonstrate academic progress understand story problems, read the text book, and write com- meaningfully on a standardized test like TAAS? positions and reports. The data presented here are consistent: Seventy one percent of English learners in bilingual education Estimate (Yrs.) who start school in New York by grade 1 achieve this in three years or less, and 86% do so within six years. In Texas, about 60% 1-2 years 641(11%) of those who started school in the United States early are no 3-4 years 2,824(49%) longer in bilingual education by the end ofgrade 4 and over 90% 5-6 years 1,595(28%) are exited by grade 5:In Houston, only a handful of bilingual 7-8 years 514(9%) 9+ years 182(3%) education students take the Reading Proficiency Test after grade five. It is important to point out that the studies examined here From: State of Texas (2000) utilized city and statewide samples oflarge numbers of children. This is not, in other words, an analysis of carefully preselected model programs. Clearly, there is little evidence that students "languish" in bilingual education. Table 7. Number of Children Taking the Reading Stephen F. Krashen, Ph.D., is professor ofEducation at the University Proficiency Test in English of Southern California.Dr. Krashen has published more than 225 papers and books and is the recipient of numerous awardsfrom National Grade Associationsfor the quality of his research and publications. 3 5,075 Acknowledgement 4 3,605 5 2,461 Stephen Krashen thanks Gisele Waters for comments and help on 6 372 various aspects of this paper. 7 68 8 61 References 9 10 Holloway, L. 2000. Levy Details Plan to Adjust Bilingual Class. New York Times, December 20, 2000. From: Houston (2000) Houston Independent School District. 2000. District effectiveness and compli- ance rePort: Multilingual program evaluation, 1999-2000. Krashen, S. 1999. Condemned without a trial: Bogus cnguments against bilingual education. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Publishing Company. 2.This, data allows us only to make a crude estimation of the number of children remaining in bilingual education: the data is cross-sectional, Krashen, S., Tse, L., & McQuillan, J. 1999. Heritage language development. not longitudinal, that is, it assumes that the number of children in Century City, CA: Language Education Associates. bilingual education in grade 1 in 1999 was the same as several years New York City Board of Education. 2000.Chancellor's Ell Education ago, which is probably not correct. The number of limited English Report. Division of Assessment and Accountability. http:// children tends to increase over time. In 1999 there were approxi- www.nycenet.edu. mately 50,000 English learners in grade 1 in Texas. If there were State of Texas. 2000. Study of possible expansion of the assessment system for 45,000 in 1994, the year the current fifth graders were in grade 1, the limited English proficient students. Students Assessment Division. http:// true percentage of early arrivals still in bilingual education would be www.tea.state.tx. about 41%, not the 37% given in table 3. The percentage given may thus underestimate the percentage remaining. Steinberg, J. 2000. In American education, bilingual means "Learn En- glish." New York Times, December 24. As noted in the text, the percentage in table 3 also ignore late arrivals who came to the United States more than three years ago, and thus may underestimate the number of late arrivals and therefore may over- Notes estimate the number of early arriving children still in bilingual educa- 1.Of course, staying in bilingual education i There are tre- tion. If we add 5%, for example, to the percent of recent arrivals in mendous advantages to continuing first language "development long . grade 5, the percentage of children still in bilingual education who after "transition" (Krashen, Tse and McQuillan, 1999). began early would decrease to 31% (21,189 minus 27% =15,468). 210 NABE NEWS 17 NABE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Around the States BY PATRICIA LOERA, ESQ., NABE LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR Arizona during the school day in bilingual/ESL pro- mersion programs for no more than a year. Arizona Voters Approve Proposition 203, grams. In addition, schools must allow par- All textbooks and other materials would Anti-Bilingual Education Ballot Initiative ents of children who speak little English be in English. Teachers would have to On November 7, 2000, Arizona voters the right to move their children into new teach in English and could communicate approved Proposition 203 by a margin of classes that emphasize instruction in En- with a student in their native language only 63% to 37%. Proposition 203 virtually glish rather than in their native language. when necessary. Parents could opt out of prohibits instruction in any language other Under the present system, about half the requirements. Zauner's proposal is than English in Arizona schools. Although of the 176,000 students enrolled in the bi- scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Edu- the proposition is modeled after lingual education program are proficient cation Committee in April. California's Proposition- 227- passed in enough to participate in an English-as-a- Critics of the proposals say Oregon 1998, the ArizOna measure is far more second-language program, where classes needs more bilingual education, not less. restrictive and punitive. in math and other subjects are taught in Senator Susan Castillo, D-Eugene, After the measure was approved; state English. These children also attend sepa- Oregon's only Hispanic lawmaker, said school superintendent Lisa. Graham rate English classes. The rest of the bilin- parents of non-native speakers tend td Keegan asked Attorney GeneralUanet gual students receive some instruction in support bilingual education. "I haven't Napolitano if school officials wouldwind English but their other courses are taught heard a groundswell ofLatino people say- up in legal hot water for not immediately mainly in their native languages. ing We need to do this," she said. Oregon scrapping their bilingual progranis. The new plan will cost an estimated schools enroll more than 43,000 students In a fornial-written opinion, Attor- $75 million beyond the $169 million the classified as limited English proficient. , ney General Napolitano said school dis- board now spends on bilingual and En, tricts have until the new school year to glish-language education. The new money Utah, implement the provision of Proposition will/be used largely to recruit and train Judgellpholds EnglisOnly Initiative 203 that scraps bilingual programs in fat- talented-teachers. The city has already set On March 5,,2001;--Utah Judge Ronald vor of one-year English immersion aside about $9 million for after-school and Nehring upheld the constitutionality of courses. Napolitano said that school of- weekend bilingual educationprograms. Initiative A, which declared English as the ficials who wait until next year are not In apolicy statement released by the official language for Utah. Initiative A likely to be subject to the provisionof New YOrk State Association for Bilin- passed in November 2000 with 67% of the initiative that subjects them to per- gualEdUcation, the Board expressedcon- the electorate supporting making English sonal liability for refusing to obey the cern with many aspects of the newly the official language of the state. new law. adopted policies regardinghilingual edu- The American Civil Liberties Union cation: Specifically, NYSABE is con- (ACLU) filed a suit to stop the measure Iowa cerned about :te following: a) the from being enacted. Judge Nehring noted English-Only Bill Introduced / necessary resources will not be invested in his decision that the initiative does not by State Senator in bilingual education programs; b) the ban communication in languages other On February 12, 2001, Iowa State Senator-*adoption of a three-year goal for exiting than English. "Government officials are Steve King introduced a bill to declare students from language support programs; free to communicate with clients and con- English the official language for Iowa. The and c) the renaming of the Office ofBi- stituents in any language." bill requires Iowa's government to conduct lingual Education to Office of English official business in English. Exceptions for Language Learners. Washington health and safety information and law en- OSPI releases annual report on bilingual forcement are included in the measure. Oregon education noting increased numbers in A similar bill passed the Senate last year Bill to Limit Services to LEP Children bilingual students and severe shortage of but was never considered in the State Introduced in State Legislature bilingual teachers. House chamber. State Rep. Cliff Zauner ofWoodburn and On Jan. 2, State Superintendent of Sen. Charles Starr of Hillsboro introduced Public Instruction, Dr. Terry Bergeson New York legislation to limit the type and time of released the 2001 report which states more New York City's Board of Education academic and language support services Washington students were enrolled in the unanimously approved an overhaul of the that limited English proficient children state's Limited English Proficiency (LEP) school system's bilingual education pro- (LEP) receive. Under the proposals, program during the 1999-2000 school gram. The 7-to-0 vote will require New 5B919 and HB2861, LEP students in Or- year than the previous year, but a shortage York-Gity-Sehools-to-infuse-more-English--egon-would-be taught-in-an En .sh_irn- ofadequately_trained teachers is making it 18 MAY / JUNE 2001 ;;', t4t, difficult to meet the demand for quality instruction. The annual report, prepared for Gov- ernor Locke and the Legislature, presents 781-932-1144 EMENIIIwww.epsi-usa.com research showing that students who are 111I11111 taught in both their primary language and mimmorIMI English do better academically over the PIRV long-term. "The problem is, most LEP Educational' etforinance SysteMS,LC.TM students in Washington receive little or no instruction in their primary language," said Bergeson. "The lack of qualified teachers who speak other languages and the sheer number of different languages spoken by students limit schools' ability to provide comprehensive instruction in LINKS both English and the primary language." About half of all LEP students are in kindergarten-grade 3 programs. Most students stay in the program for two years or less. About 10 percent stay in the pro- gram beyond five years. The report cites <;LNIE0, a number offactors influencing length of stay in theli?c\)gram, including the student's socioeconomic status, educa- tional background and mobility. Arnong the stlidy's findings: 4S, In_1999-.2000, 66,281 students were enrolled in bilingual or English as a Sec- ond Language (ESL) programs, a 6.7 Ui) Across the Curriculum percent increase over the previous year. Students spoke 159 different lan, guages, with Spanish spoken by 62 percent, more than all other languages combined. 0 185 ofWashington's 296 school dis- tricts (62.5 percent) had bilingual or ESL programs. D The more instruction students re- ceive in their primary language, the better their academic achievement over the long-term. Of the 2,556 staff providing instruc- Instructional strategy tools for... tion, 1,722 were instructional aides, Improving reading & writing more than double the number of834 teachers. More than halfofthese edu- Enhancing standards based planning cators had limited coursework in ei- Generating open-response questions ther ESL (English as a second language) or bilingual education. In response to the report issued, Rep- Coupled with staff development that is... resentatives Mary Skinner and Phyllis Immediate & effective Gutierrez Kenney introduced legislation, HR1399 to recruit and train instructional Motivational & inspirational staffto workwith students oflimited En- Entertaining & enlightening glish proficiency. For a copy of the full report, entided, "Educating Limited-English-Proficient Students in Washington State," call the Office of Superintendent of Public In- Visit us @ www.epsi-usa.corn or call 781-932-1144 struction at (888) 595-3276 or visit OSPI's website at www.k12.wa.us. t% 212 NABE NEws 19 Back to _re English Only Instruction in the New Millennium BY ALFREDO H. BENAVIDES, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY MAIN AND EVA MIDOBUCFIE, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY WEST Editors Note: This article revisits the original impetus for bilingual So it had all come to thisusing children to convince skeptics education, examines the many obstacles initially faced by this educa- because reason and research seemed to have failed. These tional program, and concludes with the disheartening thought: Despite thoughts, coupled with the children's poetic words, brought us the progress made, the lessons learned, the many research studiesmost back to how we felt at the beginning of the bilingual education important, the young lives whose futures are at stakethere are those movement in the United States. who remain unconvinced of the need or the merits of this program. De- spite the gloom, two seasoned educators conclude that this tragedy has a Past School Failures Provided Impetus for Change silver lining: Educators can use it as "a wake-up call" to re-think the Prior to the advent of bilingual education Hispanic children bilingual education that can be reconfigured in thefuture. were in an extremely poor condition academically. Mexican American children were even said to have experienced "a his- The young boy looked straight into the crowd with his head tory ofeducational neglect" (Carter, 1970; Manuel, 1965). This proudly held high. He gave a winning smile and began to speak in type of neglect had been a historical problem for Mexican flawless Spanish. American children in the United States. What compounded "Me llamo Ramôn" (pseudonym), he whispered into the mi- the problem even further was the fact that at that time in history crophone. "Estoy en el programa bilingiie y me gusta mucho porque mis no one was listening. maestras me pueden entender cuando les hablo de mis estudios. Y tambien Thirty-two years later, on a cold and wet Arizona evening in comprenden como soy. Puedo comunicarme en dos idiomas. ePor que me the year 2000, children were not faring any better. Again, no one quieren guitar esto que me hace tanto bien?" was listening to them. In many ways, the progress achieved dur- Confidently and effortlessly he switched into flawless En- ing the past 30 years was fleeting. We were failing to convince the glish. "My name is Rarn6n. I am in the bilingual program, and I voting public about how to humanely and fairly educate non- like it a lot because my teachers understand me when I speak to English speaking children. them about my studies. And they also understand how I am as a We even failed to convince many fellow educators in Ari- person. I can communicate in two languages. Why do people zona about the efficacy of bilingual instruction. Many of thcse want to take this away from me?" educators have not only remained unconvinced, but they have The crowd became quiet as it listened to children speak consciously and willingly worked against the interests of chil- about their support for bilingual education.Each had his or her dren, bilingual teachers, and minority communities. They also own story of success in their bilingual program. Many of us unconsciously joined many ofour leading politicians (who pub- professors, teachers, parents, children, and supporters of bilin- licly clamored for 'educational choice' for the majority commu- gual educationhad gathered at the Arizona State Capitol for a nity), by remaining silent on the issue where it concerned candlelight vigil protesting the proposed elimination,pfbfilin- minority children. This can only be interpreted as truly the gual-education-iti-Arizona, better known_as Proposition unkindestmt.ofall 20 MAY / JUNE 2001 .13; Facing Obstacles From the Start years ofexistence (Crawford, 1999). Notwithstanding these dif- Bilingual education was born ofa political process. It was a neces- ficult odds, bilingual educators and researchers have managed to sary political solution to one of the issues brought front and cen- create a tremendous body of educational-research literature in ter by the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement during the field oflanguage minority education. the late 1960s. It was supposed to dramatically improve the drop- While universities can be credited with helping to pro- out problem and lift the educational and ,ultimately, the eco- mote this production of knowledge, they must also take some nomic level of the Hispanic community. At least, that's the way of the blame for the initial slow response to the need in the some ofus remember it. That this goal has not quite been accom- field. Essentially, it is the university's role to create and disserni- plished is not the fault ofbilingual education or ofthe committed nate knowledge. Universities failed to do this in a timely and and courageous teachers who first took on this daunting task. No effective manner where it concerned bilingualeducation. Bi- one ever imagined the tremendous obstacles which this newborn- lingual education was never viewed with the same kind of en- field would have to confront. ergy, for example, as special These obstacles were mul- education, early childhood tiple and complex in nature and education, or other priorities compounded by the fact that so- ofthe moment. By contrast, bi- lutions often were not controlled lingual programs were often by bilingual educators or those marginalized and kept under- even remotely understanding of staffedeven if they brought bilingual education. First, there in much desired federal funds was the fact that the field had no for teacher preparation and money to essentially begin a na- materials development. The tional effort of this magnitude end result is that in the 60s and and, when Title VII did provide 70s, universities failed to pro- some initial fimding, it was very duce the academic scholars in scant (Crawford, 1999). When sufficient numbers to impact funding is inadequate it hurts any the bilingual field in a positive educational program. and effective manner. The lack of teachers also posed a huge problem in the be- Despite Research ginning, and it continues today. Evidence, Skeptics The shortage of well prepared Remain teachers is extremely crucial in Today's research suggests very understanding bilingual educa- boldly that students in English- tion. The initial lack ofbilingual Today's research suggests very only, and often, in ESL classes tcachers led to a demand that has boldly that students in English- do not achieve academically at always been, and continues to only, and often in ESL classes, do a commensurate rate as those be, very difficult to satisfy. Of- not achieve academically at a students in bilingual classrooms ten, this seemingly insatiable de- (Thomas and Collier, 1997; mand for bilingual education commensurate rate as those Ramirez and Yuen, 1991). teachers led to unqualified students in bilingual classrooms. Unfortunately, despite the teachers and unqualified colleges Thomas and Collier, 1997; many studies conducted over and universities preparing them. Ramirez and Yuen, 1991 the past 25 years on the effec- Teachers were often driven by tiveness of bilingual programs, 'marketability' rather than a recalcitrant and skeptical leg- desire to impact the field islators and policy makers have (Midobuche, 1998). The field not been convinced to pro- continued to be driven by the demand for more teachers. Where vide more resources for bilingual education. While many edu- bilingual teachers could not be produced quickly enough, or in cators have hedged their bets on a 'magic bullet' research study the number oflanguages needed, English as a Second Language to demonstrate conclusively the effectiveness ofbilingual edu- (ESL) teachers were hired and placed. This gave the field more cation, those in the field understand the issues and problems teachers, yet it restricted the use of bilingual methodology be- to be much more complex. Those of us who have long labored cause of the lack oflanguage skills on the part ofESL teachers. in this field no longer need to be convinced of the effective- Another large problem initially faced by bilingual education ness of bilingual instruction. and bilingual educators specifically, was the lack ofa knowledge base and credible basic research on language acquisition and meth- A Wake-Up Call odological effectiveness. Bilingual educators and researchers had These are only a very few of the problems faced by bilingual to practically start from scratch in creating the knowledge base. In educators in the early years. It is not our intent to provide a no small measure, some of this can be attributed to the lack of detailed analysis of the issues and the obstacles non-supporters university fimding and also to the fact that Title VII allocated less than one-halfofone percent ofits budget to research in its initial (continued on page 35) 't 21 4 NABE NEWS 21 ADMINISTRATION OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS Column Editor: Mary I. Ramirez, M.A. Educating the Workforce of a Global Society J.clu_iKaE "The creative leader knows that sharing this economy: cross-cultural sensitivity and guage use on the internet, reported that awe, amazement, and wonder with others in- awareness, and knowledge of more than . although English is the predominant Ian- vites them to participate in the dance." one language. : guage, 44% of internet communication, Dale Brubaker (1991-92, P. 7) Rosa Sugrafies, President of Iberia . occurs in languages other than English Tiles and Chair of the Hispanic Business (Carey & Laird, 1998). In April 1999, The process of creating a multilingual glo- Group of the Greater Miami Chamber of : American Airlines launched an on-flight bal workforce is a new phenomenon in Commerce, always reminds audiences magazine, Nexos, written in Spanish and this country. Universities, school districts, that in order to buy tiles she only needs ; Portuguese and available on national and communities at large, and businesses and dollars and English. However, when she international flights. If one were to take corporations are not prepared to handle wants to sell tiles, she needs to speak the the classified ads of The Miami Herald, one this new need for employees who are pro- language ofthe customer (Sugrafies, 2000). would invariably find that the majority of ficient in more than one language. Speak- In 1996, the Greater Miami Chamber of jobs advertised require knowledge ofEn- ing at The Heritage Language Conference, Commerce and the Cuban American . glish and another language. the renowned linguist Joshua Fishman National Council comisioned a study on Miami-Dade County has more for- stated, "Competence in languages other the need for bilingual and biliterate em- . eign owned banks than any other city in than English is desperately needed in the ployees (able to communicate not only the United States except New York. At United States. Our huge and varied lan- orally but also able to read and write in least 130 international corporations have guage resources have a definite role to play more than one language). In the ensuing their Latin American headquarters in in arriving at such competence" (Fishman, publication, The Economic Impact ofSpan- Miami. Approximately 129,000 Greater 1999). Traditionally bilingualism in the ish-Language Proficiency in Metropolitan Miami businesses have ties with countries United States has been valued for people Miami, Sandra H. Fradd reported that 96% south of Florida. Miami is home to more of privileged background, particularly if of employers surveyed in metropolitan Latin American owned businesses than any it was acquired through travel or in a fin- Miami indicated the need for a biliterate other U.S. metropolitan area (Boswell & ishing school in Europe. Yet, it has been workforce. Yet, only 2% of graduating Fradd, 2000). thought of as a negative ifit was acquired seniors in Miami-Dade County Pub- from one's immigrant parents or grand- lic Schools (M-DCPS) can be con- parents who insisted on maintaining the sidered biliterate. To that end, the home language. survey also revealed that Miami businesses are dependent on The Growing Importance a constant stream of of a Global Economy immigrants and em- Much is being written today as to the grow- ployees recruited ing importance ofa global economy. Even abroad to provide with the tremendous impact of interna- the bilingual work- tional development in many of our com- force for international munities, little is known about how business. globalization will affect the national Although moving at a economy or individual state and local relatively slow paceand economies. A movement on the part of with some reluctance on corporations away from traditional loca- the part of manythere tions and traditional ways of conducting is increasing recognition business characterizes globalization. It of the importance ofpro- moves the business arena into an interna- ficiency in English and tional forum as a means ofincreasing com- other languages in petitiveness and increasing the speed at order to achieve which business can be conducted. How- global economic ever, a new level of skills is required of interdependence. A those_w_ho_expect_to_be_a_p_art_ofthisglobal 1998 study of Ian- " 4 22 MAY /JUNE2001 21,5 A Mis-match Between Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) to join Change Has Occurred Need and Opportunity forces with Miami-Dade County Public Several changes have occurred as a result Regardless of the need, very limited Schools and private sector representatives of this reform effort. The number of progress has been made in the percentage to create awareness among students about schools offering dual language programs Ofstudents acquiring competence in a Ian- the need to become fluent in a language increased from 6 elementary schools to : page other than English. Although there other then English. The message is simple, 32 elementary, 6 middle and 3 senior high has been an increase in the number of stu- Miami-Dade County has joined the glo- schools in a two-year period. The per- dents studying foreign languages and on bal economy and future generations ofjob centage of students taking foreign language the diversity of languages studied at the seekers will need to be fluent not only in courses increased slightly from 15% to elementary level, schools that offer a for- English but in another language in order 16.17% in middle schools and from eign language provide only introductory to succeed and be competitive. To carry 34.2% to 35.57 in senior high. cxposure, without encouraging students that message throughout the community, Critics ofbilingual education and dual to apply their acquired language skills (Ox- the English Plus One Committee has been language programs are waging their wars ford, 1998). At the secondary level, many incorporated as one of the initiatives of across the country, starting with the pass- states, like Florida, do not require any for- the International Business Group of the ing of Proposition 227 in California in eign language credits as a graduation re- Chamber of Commerce. June 1997. On the other hand, Miami- quirement. In fact, we continue to find A five-minute video, cooperatively Dade County Public Schools, in response school personnel who strongly discourage developed by M-DCPS and the Cham- to an outcry from business and commu- students from enrolling in a foreign lan- ber, emphasizes the guage course on the basis that it "takes away need for biliteracy as from English." a need for the future As the Administrative Director ofthe economic develop- Division of Bilingual Education and ment of this area. In World Languages for Miami-Dade it, prominent busi- Fully bilingual Hispanics earn nearly County Public Schools, I am intrinsically ness and community $7,000 more per year than their involved in this issue since it is my re- leaders are inter- monolingual colleagues. sponsibility to create programs that pre- viewed as well as the (Boswell & Fradd, 2000) pare students to be linguisticallyprepared mayor of Miami- to meet the challenges of the global Dade. The video economy. Enrollment data of Miami- was senttoall Dade County Public SchOols' students schools with a letter taking foreign language courses during the from the Superin- 1999-2000 school year, indicates that only tendent directing principals to air it at nity leaders, is expanding programs in the 16.17% of middle school students and Back to School Night and at a faculty area oflanguages other than English. As a 35.57% ofsenior high school students are meeting. In addition, a cocktail/panel result of the need of a multilingual taking a foreign language course. When presentation ofbusiness leaders was held workforce, we are in a privileged posi- we take into account that by the time most for school site administrators and coun- tion. This privilege carries many respon- ofthese students graduate they would have selors where the message of the need for sibilities. Programs must be research- taken only two years offorcign languages, biliteracy was discussed. based, high quality in nature, and academi- we can understand why only 2% ofthem A second unique initiative to address cally very effective. In order to ensure that can be considered biliterate. this issue has been the expansion of dual our dual language programs are rated as While English maybe the official lan- language programs in a continuum from outstanding, it is our policy to expand cau- guage of Florida, a study released last year, kindergarten to grade 12. In the elemen- tiously and slowly, always evaluating what clearly indicates that Hispanics from the tary dual language program, students re- is working and what needs to be modi- Panhandle to the Keys who are fluent in ceive 1-2 hours of instruction in a fied. Parents are increasingly requesting English and Spanish earn more money than language other than English. Offered as a more dual language programs and in a va- those who speak only English. In Miami, voluntary enrollment program, parents riety of languages. For educators, that is the study found that fully bilingual His- choose whether to enroll their kinder- one of the best means of evaluating the panics earn nearly $7000 more per year garten student in the dual language track effectiveness ofa program. than their monolingual colleagues (Boswell or the all-English program. Schools & Fradd, 2000). phase-in a grade level each year enrolling Much Remains To Be Done first the students who start the program However, much remains to be done ifwe Taking Steps to Address in kindergarten. At the secondary level, are to truly provide opportunities for all the Disparity participating students have the option of students who so desire to graduate fully the disparity between the employers' taking a basic subject area course (e.g., bilingual and biliterate. Attitudes on the needs for a fully bilingual and biliterate Geography, Algebra) in a language other part of many administrators and teachers workforce and the apparent lack ofinter- than English in addition to a language need to be changed. Student achievement est and preparation on the part of the cur- course. In this way, students are not only must continue to show positive gains over rent generation ofstudents to develop those learning a language but also using the lan- skills, prompted the Greater Miami guage to learn. (Continued on page 33) 41.S, 216 NABE NEWS 23 Spanish Speaking Children and English Literacy Research Studies to Examine Factors GRACE BURKART, _ CENTER FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS ill-1,4,10.6-4, Thoi The acquisition of literacy by monolingual English- speaking children has been intensively studied, but comparatively little is known about how the process of acquiring literacy differs for monolingual and bilingual chil- dren. For example, does literacy in one language facilitate or hinder the acquisition of literacy in a second language? If the learning objective is to teach English literacy, should children begin learning to read and write in English, or are there some advantages to their acquiring literacy in their native language first? Knowing more about such matters could enhance our teaching of English literacy. Research Questions The National Institute of Child Health and Human Develop- ment and the Office ofEducational Research and Improvement tions including Chicago, Boston, New York, Washington, DC, of the Department ofEducation are funding a major initiative, El Paso, Los Angeles, and Puerto Rico. the Development of Early Literacy in Spanish-Speaking Chil- dren. This initiative addresses three questions: Environmental Factors (a) How do children whose first language is Spanish learn to Investigators will look at environmental factors that might affect read and write in English? the ease or difficulty oflearning to read, including especially the (b)Why do some Spanish-speaking children have difficulties instructional environment. Some of the children in the study acquiring English-language reading and writing skills? will be Spanish speakers who are taught to read first in Spanish (c)For which children whose first language is Spanish are which and are later transitioned to reading in English. Others will be instructional approaches and strategies most beneficial, at Spanish speakers for whom the learning of reading skills begins which stages ofreading and writing development, and under with instruction in English reading. For comparison, the investi- what conditions? gators will also study monolingual English speakers learning to read in English and monolingual Spanish speakers learning to read At the NABE Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, researchers in Spanish. who received grants under this initiative came together at an all- The home environment may also affect a child's acquisition day institute. For each of the several projects, the researchers de- ofEnglish literacy. Investigators will therefore look into such fac- scribed the design of their projects, the expected nature of the data tors as the patterns for the use ofEnglish and Spanish in the home to be collected, and the implications of the results. and the parents' attitudes toward schooling and the development ofliteracy skills. Collaborative Efforts Investigators are particularly interested in learning how skills One of the grantees funded by the initiative is the Center for that are acquired earlier in the process of learning to read may Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC, which will conduct a undergird the development of more dcmanding and sophisti- five-year program of research together with its collaborators cated skills. Another important question is how skills that are Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the Ameri- acquired when learning to read and write in Spanish can transfer can Institutes for Research. A major aim is to learn more about to English, thus accelerating and enhancing the acquisition of the factors that predict success as Spanish-speaking children learn English literacy. to read and write in English. Groups of children who will be studied during the course of Grace Burkart is Director of Social Services at the Centerfor Applied Lin-- the research will range from pre-kindergarten age to fifth grad- guistics in Washington, DC. She can be reached at (202) 362-0700. ersTand-therwill-be-studied-in-schools-in widely-scattGred-lesa- 24 MAY /JUNE 2001 e 217 NABE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE President Bush Releases Education Budget for FY2002 BY PATRICIA LOERA, NABE LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR Bilingual, Emergency ity to serve the increasingly diverse other things, funding at this level would Immigrant and FLAP American student body. In the past, im- allow for improved services to limited Consolidated and Frozen migrants settled primarily in urban areas English proficient students and ensure that For Title VII ofthe Federal Bilingual Edu- like New York City or Los Angeles. more disadvantaged children are ad- cation Act, the President proposes to con- However, in recent years, poultry pro- equately served under Title VII and Title I solidate the Bilingual Education, cessing plants, meat packing firms, and a of the Elementary and Secondary Educa- Emergency Immigrant and Foreign Lan- wide array ofother businesses are attract- tion Act. guage Assistance Program into "Bilingual ing immigrants to states like Georgia, Despite the increasing needs and and Immigrant Education State Grants" Iowa, Arkansas, North Carolina and challenges facing our educational system and requested $460 million for FY2002. Idaho. Often, these communities have and our nation, President Bush proposes According to the Education Depaiiii tent, little or no experience in helping immi- to level fund the majority programs that this proposed state grant would enable grant children and families integrate in a serve limited English proficient children. States to develop and implement a com- manner that will help them attain the NABE will continue to advocate in- prehensive statewide response to meet the American dream and bolster the future creased investment in education so that needs of their limited English proficient of our nation. all of our nation's students are provided and immigrant students. The budget re- To help meet these challenges, NABE an opportunity to succeed academically quest also freezes funding for this proposed proudly joined the Committee on Edu- and in life. program at last year's funding level. cation Funding in the "Five Cents Makes The Budget requests also includes: Sense for Education" campaign. Accord- Patricia Loera, Esquire, serves as NABE's Legislative Director. She monitors the progress III $459 million increase for Title I ing to a recent poll, 80% of the American Grants to Local Educational Agencies people supported the goal of increasing of bills in the legislature, provides analyses of of which $175 million is required to federal investment from the current allo- their impact, and collaborates with partner or- be spent on helping low performing cation ofjust two cents on the budget dol- ganizations to respond proactively. She can be schools. lar to a minimum of five cents. Among reached [email protected]. I $320 million to help States develop and implement annual reading and math tests for all students in grades 3-8 Table 1. Bilingual and Immigrant Education II $900 million for a new Reading First program to help States and LEAs (in millions) implement scientifically based read- 2002 Request ing instruction for children in kin- 2000 2001 dergarten through third grade. This Bilingual and Immigrant Education would replace the Reading and Lit- State Grants $460 eracy Grants program and would triple funding for reading instruction from Instructional Services $162.5 $180 $286 million to $900 million in 2002. Support Services 14.0 16 NABE Responds Proactively Professional Development 71.5 100 One of the greatest challenges facing the American educational system is address- Immigrant Education 150 150 ing the changing needs of emerging im- migrant populations. The dramatic Foreign Language Assistance 8 14 demographic changes that are taking place Total 406 460 460 in our nation are forcing school districts and communities to reevaluate their abil- . STS 21 NABENEWS 25 Most Secondary Schools Overlook and Underserve Immigrant Students According to New Urban Institute Report Two groups ofimmigrant teens are especially underserved, A crippling combination of according to the report. The first group, immigrant teens, en- ters the U.S. school system with significant education gaps. Many institutional barriers andalack are not fully literate in their native language, much less in English. The second group, students from language minority homes, has been in U.S. schools longer, but has yet to master basic language ofresources prevent secondary and literacy skills. While these students may be able to speak English well, their reading and writing skills often lag those of schools from meeting the their student peers. "These immigrant teens suffer extraordinarily high drop- educational needs ofa growing out rates, and are concentrated in high poverty schoolsusually urbanthat are ill-equipped to help them meet higher grade promotion standards established by states," notes co-author Ruiz- number of students with limited de-Velasco. The most severe challenges facing secondary schools are high- English proficiency (LEP), lighted in the report: shortages of trained teachers and relevant curriculum materials: organizational rigidity that hampers needed individualized instruction: a pervasive lack ofaccountability stan- according toa new Urban dards and incentives to improve students outcomes: and a huge knowledge gap in how to simultaneously build both language and Institute report. subject-matter learning among LEP immigrant students. The report is based on visits to schools in the five school districts that participated in the Program in Immigrant Educa- Washington, D.C. January 11, 2001Overlooked and Underserved: tion supported by the AndrewW. Mellon Foundation Researchers Immigrant Children in U.S. Secondary Schools, by Urban Institute observed classrooms: held focus groups: and interviewed teach- researchers Jorge Ruiz-de-Velasco and Michael Fix with Beatriz ers, school administrators, and project leaders about immigrant Chu Clewell, provides a national profile of these students, exam- education and school reform at their sites. ines their educational barriers, and offers educators and policymakers strategies to overcome those barriers. Profile Shows Need for Secondary School Reforms "School are critical institutions for immigrant integration," Drawing on national data from the U.S. Census and the U.S. said Fix. "But even though one in five students in U.S. schools is Department ofEducation's Schools and Staffing Survey, the re- the child ofan immigrant and more than 5 percent of all students port presents a national profile of immigrant secondary school in U.S. schools are not proficient in English, secondary schools students. The profile underscores the need for secondary school are largely unprcpared to work with these students." reforms and better targeting of resources to meet the needs of teen immigrant students. 26 MAY /J U N E 2 0 0 1 understanding to communicate effectively with these stu- dents. Suggested remedies include implementing profes- sional development programs for veteran teachers focused on making mainstream subject classes more accessible to stu- dents still learning English. Organizational Rigidity. The division of secondary schools into departments along university lines, the isolation of language development teachers, and the division of the day into 50-minute periods hamper needed individualized instruction for students with special learning needs. For ex- ample, the time allotted for learning is too short for students to master both the language and content needed to graduate. Suggested remedies include restructuring the secondary school schedule so that language and subject teachers have the opportunity to collaborate and to reorganize their use of classroom time. Lack of Accountability and Standards. Curriculum content standards for English language development programs Immigrant teen studcnts are: vary widely across states, schools, and even classrooms. Sec- A Growing Share of All K-12 Students. Children of ondary schools also lag behind elementary schools in creat- immigrants (foreign born or having a foreign-born parent) ing instructional strategies and curricula specially designed represent a sharply rising share ofall students in school, tri- to help LEP students meet new grade promotion and gradu- pling from 6.3 percent in 1970 to nearly 20 percent in 1997. ation standards. Suggested remedies include expanded de- IA Larger Share of Secondary School Students. For- velopment of strong curricular and student performance eign-born children represent a substantially larger share of standards for ESL (English as a Second Language) and bilin- the total secondary school population (5.7 percent) than of gual programs, which serve as gateways to secondary schools the primary school population (3.5 percent). mainstream curriculum. 0 Not Fully Fluent in English. As many as a quarter of all Knowledge Gaps. Reformers face wide knowledge gaps in foreign children are not fully fluent in English: about 75 per- how to simultaneously build both language and subject matter cent ofthose children are Hispanic and speak Spanish at home. learning among LEP students. Both types oflearning are nec- I Lacking LEP Instruction Resources. While more than essary for immigrant teens to graduate in the short time avail- three-quarters ofLEP elementary school students receive spe- able to reach that goal. The lack of reliable assessment cial English language development instruction, fewer than half instruments for LEP students is particularly troubling to teach- bfsecondary school LEP students receive such instruction. ers. Suggested remedies include more demonstration projects IExperiencing Sharp Increases in Poverty. Foreign on promising curricular models and more research that ad- born children have experienced sharp increases in poverty, dresses four broad areas: needs of understudied subpopula- from 17 percent in 1970 to almost 44 percent in 1995. tions; optimal ways to teach core subject material to LEP Linguistically, Ethnically, and Economically Isolated. students; educational and social effects oflinguistic isolation Children of Immigrants tend to be linguistically isolated in on students; and development ofrelevant assessment tools. schools as well as economically and ethnically segregated. Almost one-halfofall LEP children attend schools in which "Our finding suggest that policyrnakers need to target more 30 percent or more of the students are also LEP. Only 2 support to secondary schools in high-poverty districts with large percent ofnon-LEP students attend such schools. numbers ofliniited English proficiency immigrants," concluded Ruiz-de-Velasco. "A special focus should be increasing incen- Universal Strategies Suggested to Help tives for offering extended day and year services." Eliminate Barriers The challenges facing secondary schools are formidable but not Overlooked and Underserved: Immigrant Children in U.S. insurmountable, say the researchers. Most suggestions involve Secondary Schools, byJorge Ruiz-de- Velasco and Michael Fix with universal strategies that would improve schools for all students Beatriz Chu Clewell (Urban Institute Press, 2000) is available for and are drawn from the experience ofteachers and school leaders purchase online at www.unipress.org. For more information about in the Mellon Program for Immigrant Education (PRIME). the school districts that participated in the Program in Immigrant Educa- These barriers include the following items: suggested im- tion supported by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation, visit provements follow each barrier listed: www.cal.org/PRIME. The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpar- Limited Staff Capacity. Teachers ofmainstream subjects, tisan policy research and educational organization that examines the such as math or history, often lack training to work with social, economic, and governance challenges facing the nation. LEP students and often maintain that developing students' basic literacy skills is not part of their core task. Principals and counselors frequently lack laprige skills and cultural k1t 454 220 NABE NEWS 27 ers and other educators relates to increases in National Associations the diversity ofthe school populations; Whereas, teaching and learning are en- hanced by responding positively to indi- Pass Resolutions vidual differences; Whereas, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education supports Supportive of and encourages the acknowledgment of bilingual and multicultural issues by other disciplines; Whereas, educators and policyrnakers Language Learners should conduct research that investigates factors and solutions that contribute to the assessment oflinguistically diverse students; ver the past several years, NABE has been a Partner Organization to Whereas, university-based education many other organizations and associations. With these groups, we may programs and school or district-based pro- exchange publications, present at each other's conferences, publish fessional development programs should articles0 in our news magazines, or provide input and feedback in research efforts develop, support, and maintain a curricu- and in the development of productsincluding publications, surveys, and ques- lum that addresses ethical and political is- sues unique to bilingual and multicultural tionnaires. education; and At recently held conferences, several associations have passed resolutions sup- Whereas, the American Association of portive oflanguage learners. NABE wishes to acknowledge the advocacy efforts by Colleges for Teacher Education encour- the members and the leadership in action demonstrated by the executive boards of ages and supports teacher education pro- these associations. grams that respond to the linguistic needs By printing these resolutions, NABE wishes to: of children and the local community and recognizes the importance ofparental and a) assist with dissemination efforts to make these better knowndo reprint this community involvement. article and send it to your state associations and local school boards to study; Be it resolved that: b)review the key issues mentioned and use these in your discussion with other The American Association ofColleges for school leaders and in staffdevelopment; and Teacher Education will promote college c) make note that neither you nor other NABE members are facing these issues and university-based teacher education programs that recruit, train, and support alone. Through the efforts ofyour association and our collaboration with others teachers ofall subjects and grade levels who (many ofour members are also members of the associations listed below), we can can meet the needs of second language achieve more. learners; Alicia Sosa, Ph.D. Be it further resolved that: NABE News Editor The American Association ofColleges for Teacher Education recognizes the need for and is committed to working with its The American Association of population. In it, AACTE resolves to pro- members to produce more programs that Colleges of Teacher Education mote university-based teacher education educate teachers of second language learn- (AACTE) programs that recruit, support, and train ers through resources at the baccalaureate On March 21, 2001, The American As- teachers ofsecond language learners. Visit and post-baccalaureate level; sociation of Colleges for Teacher www.aacte.org/Multicultural/ Be it further resolved that: Education's Board ofDirectors endorsed bilingual_resolution.htm to learn The American Association ofColleges for the adoption ofa new AACTE resolution, more about this association. Teacher Education will support other sub- which addresses the preparation of all ject disciplines that address the issues of teachers for second language learners, Whereas, the American Association of bilingual and multicultural education; Resolution to Prepare Teachers for Colleges for Teacher Education recognizes Be it further resolved that: Second Language Learners. The reso- the need for more bilingual and English as The American Association ofColleges for lution acknowledges the need for addi- a Second Language teachers and other edu- Teacher Education supports the use and tional bilingual education, ESL, and cators to meet the needs of the increasing development ofstate and local assessments mainstream teachers to meet the needs of numbers of second language learners; in contcnt areas that take linguistic the-L-J,S.' s-in erea singly-dive r se sc-hool--.Whereas,-theneed-formorebiliriguatteach- strengths into account and are linked to 28 MAY / J U N E 2 0 0 1 224 standards oflearning expected of all stu- achieving schools, are laudable, and the increasingly have been concerned about dents; desire for accountability is understandable. the nature, uses, and abuses of standard- Be it further resolved that: However, high stakes tests often fail to as- ized testing. In fact, NCTE has passed The American Association ofColleges for sess accurately students' knowledge, un- numerous resolutions addressing these Teacher Education encourages teacher derstanding, and capability. Raising test concerns. Although NCTE continues to education programs to provide teachers scores does not improve education. be concerned about standardized testing, with the necessary skills and knowledge Therefore, the use of any single test in particularly high stakes testing at all lev- to help learners who come from diverse making important decisionssuch as els, we recognize that testing is a perva- cultural and linguistic backgrounds graduation, promotion, funding of sive feature of American education. achieve academic skills and English lan- schools, or employment and compensa- However, the practices surrounding high guage proficiency; tion of administrators and teachersis stakes testing vary dramatically from state Be it further resolved that: educationally unsound and unethical. to state. Some states, for example, have The American Association ofColleges for High stakes testing often harms stu- passed legislation requiring disclosure of Teacher Education will promote and sup- dents' daily experience of learning, dis- test forms and items. Other states insist port education programs that value and places more thoughtful and creative on secrecy and deny access to the test at seek parental and community involvement curriculum, diminishes the emotional the potential expense of students and in issues of educating linguistic minority well-being ofeducators and children, and teachers. It seems especially important, students; unfairly damages the life-chances of mem- then, that siandards of open practice that Be it further resolved that: bers ofvulnerable groups. We call on leg- allow for public scrutiny surrounding The American Association ofColleges for islators and policymakers to repeal laws and testing be developed and disseminated. Teacher Education encourages member policies that tie significant consequences A test taker's bill of rights would include institutions to provide appropriate re- to scores on single assessments. We fur- items such as: sources and carefully designed research- ther call on legislators and policyrnakers to 1 the right to insist that standardized based curriculum to address the needs of join with professional organizations to tests be adopted through an open, linguistically diverse students. develop better means of improving pub- public process that considers the de- lic education. sign and appropriateness of the test; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, 1 the right to know before the test date The National Council that NCTE invite other organizations to the form ofany given test; of Teachers of English (NCTE) support, publicize, and promote a recon- 1 the right to experience a challenging The governing board of NCTE has pro- sideration ofhigh stakes testing. curriculum that is not constrained by vided strong criticism of using high- any given test; stakes testing, usually one single measure Resolution on Developing 1 the right to know how the results of with strong consequencespromotion a Test Taker's Bill of Rights the test will be used; or graduationwith students not yet Background: Since the 1970s language 11 the right to arrange accommodations proficient in English. In 1998, the asso- and literacy professionals consistently and for documented learning differences ciation issued a resolution, "On Testing and Equitable Treatment of Students." The 1999 resolution called for the need to use multiple measures in student as- sessment and called for an action plan on how the association would promote this (to view, visit www.ncte.org/resolu- tions/highstakes1999.html). More recently on November 17, 2000, members of NCTE approved two new resolutions related to testing: Resolution on Utging Reconsideration of High Stakes Testing and Resolution on developing a Test Taker's Bill of Rights (visit www.ncte.org). Resolution RESOLVED, that the National Council of Teachers ofEnglish affirm the follow- ing statement: The efforts to improve the _- . - quality of education, especially in under- 222, NABE NEWS 29 and/or unforeseeable circumstances; and heritage celebrations and/or history designed to meet the language needs 1 the right to display competencies months. (1995, 2000) of American Indian/Alaska Native through various means; students 1 the right to an open process of re- B-10. American Indian/Alaska Instruction in treaty rights and tradi- view of test items and results; Native Education tional hunting, fishing, and gather- D the right to challenge test scores and The National Education Association rec- ing practices by American Indians/ have them changed if they are incor- ognizes that the complex and diverse Alaska Natives rect; and needs of American Indian/Alaska Native Assistance to affiliates in meeting the 1 the right to a process that corrects children require the direct involvement educational needs of American In- tests and/or individual items found to of parents/guardians, Native educators, dian/Alaska Native students be invalid or unreliable. tribal leaders, and other Native groups in k.Coordination with American Indian/ developing programs that preserve the rich Alaska Native organizations and con- Be it therefore RESOLVED, that heritage of their cultures. cerned agencies that promote the val- the National Council of Teachers ofEn- The Assoiation believes that fund- ues, heritage, language, culture, and glish, in conjunction with other profes- ing for American Indian/Alaska Native history ofthe American Indian/Alaska sional and public policy organizations and education must provide for improve- Native people learned societies, develop a Test Taker's ments. The Association supports the 1. Dissemination of information and Bill ofRights. movement toward self-determination by programs that include the values, heri- BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, American Indians/Alaska Natives pro- tage, language, culture, and history of that NCTE encourage decision-making vided that such programs are voluntary. American Indians/Alaska Natives groups at the district, state, and federal lev- Any termination of federal support as ei- rn.Control ofNative lands by American els to adopt a Test Taker's Bill ofRights in ther a direct or an indirect result of efforts Indians/Alaska Natives. (1976, 2000) order to protect students, parents, teach- to extend seff-determination is opposed. ers, and the general public. The Association believes in efforts B-11. Hispanic Education that provide for The National Education Association rec- a. Involvement and control of the edu- ognizes that the complex and diverse National Education cation ofAmerican Indian/Alaska Na- needs of Hispanic children require the Association (NEA) tive tudents by their parents/guardians, direct involvement ofHispanic educators, The following resolutions were passed at communities, and educators parents/guardians, and community lead- the 2000 conference. b.Opportunities for higher education ers in developing programs that meet the for all American Indian/Alaska Na- cultural, language, and learning character- B-7. Diversity tive students through direct govern- istics of these children. The National Education Association be- mental assistance in graduate and The Association believes in efforts lieves that a diverse society enriches all in- undergraduate programs that provide for dividuals. Similarities and differences c. Involvement of American Indians/ a. Programs establishing appropriate among races, ethnicity, color, national Alaska Natives in lobbying efforts for educational opportunitics for His- origin, language, geographic location, re- federal programs panic students ligion, gender, sexual orientation, age, d.Protection and maintenance of the b.Grants and scholarships for higher physical ability, size, occupation, and integrity of American Indian/Alaska education that will facilitate the re- marital, parental, or economic status form Native families and their tribal cul- cruitment, entry, and retention of the fabric of a society. tures so that, if a child has to be re- Hispanics The Association also believes that moved from his or her home, c. Recognition of Hispanic educators education should foster acceptance and placement should be determined by as role models appreciation for recognizing and valuing the child's tribe d.Hiring and promotion of Hispanic the qualities that pertain to people as indi- e.Recognition of American Indian/ educators at all levels of the education viduals or members ofdiverse populations. Alaska Native educators as role models profession The Association further believes in f. Involvement of American Indians/ e.The recruitment, training, and em- the importance of observances, programs, Alaska Natives in professional devel- ployment ofbilingual teachers, coun- and curricula that accurately portray and opment programs dealing with cul- selors, and other professional and recognize the roles, contributions, cul- tural pluralism and Native values support staff to meet the needs of tures, and history of these diverse groups g. American Indian/Alaska Native in- Hispanic students and individuals. volvement in developing multi-cul- f. English proficiency programs that are The Association encourages affiliates tural learning centers at higher designed to meet the language nceds and members to become part ofprograms education institutions of Hispanic students and observances that may include cultural h.English proficiency programs that are g. Dissemination of information and 30 MAY / J U N E 2 0 0 1 223 To have quality programs and to serve ESOL students appropriately on their way to mastery of English, instruction must Questions for Reflection take into account the different entry-level abilities in English that ESOL learners Have the associations you belong to passed resolutions have. Some learners come to school with oral and written skills; others do not. on these issues? Should they? Some ESOL students also come to the task oflearning English and learning con- tent through English already literate in Does your school district or university include these their native languages. These learners topics in their policies and guidelines? know what it means to be literate they know that they can use written forms of In professional development? language to learn more about the world, to convey information and receive in- formation from others, to establish and With whom can you share these resolutions? School maintain relationships with others, and psychologist? School librarian? to explore the perspectives of others. Lit- eracy in the native language correlates positively with the acquisition ofliteracy in a second language. programs that include the values, heri- e.Recognition of Asian and Pacific Is- Because, by definition, ESOL stu- tage, language, culture, and history of lander educators as role models. dents know and use at least one other lan- Hispanics. guage, they have acquired an intuitive The Association encourages opportuni- understanding ofthe general structural and The responsibility for developing and ties to preserve, promote, and perpetuate functional characteristics of language. implementing programs for Hispanic chil- Asian and Pacific Islander heritage and They bring this knowledge to the task of dren should be realized by state and local culture. (1979, 1997) second language learning. In addition, aca- agencies, regardless of the availability of demic instruction that includes the use of federal funds. (1972, 2000) ESOL student's' native languages, espe- Teachers of English to Speakers cially if they are literate in that language, B-12. Asian and Pacific of Other Languages (TESOL) . promoteslearners' academic achievement Islander Education The statement Native Language Support in while they are acquiring the English The National Education Association rec- the Acquisition of English as a Second Lan- needed to benefit fully from instruction ognizes that the complex and diverse guage (ESL), drafted from language in the through English. Native language literacy needs of Asian and Pacific Islander chil- ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students, abilities can assist ESOL students in En- dren require the development ofprograms was approved in December 1999 by the glish-medium classrooms to construct that preserve the rich heritage of their Board of Directors for use in TESOL's meaning from academic materials and ex- cultures. advocacy efforts. periences in English. And, in learning a The Association believes in efforts new language, students also learn more that provide for the: Native Language Support in the about their native tongue. This means that a. Preservice and continuing education Acquisition of English as a Second for ESOL learners the most effective en- of teachers Language (ESL) vironments for second language teaching b.Development of curriculum and in- Effective education for English as a sec- and learning are those that promote ESOL structional materials and programs, ond or other language (ESOL) students students' native language and literacy de- including English proficiency pro- includes the maintenance and promotion velopment as a foundation for English lan- grains that are designed to meet the of ESOL students' native languages in guage and academic development. language needs of Asian and Pacific school and community contexts. Both the In other words, native-language lit- Islander students academic achievement and the school eracy skills whether in English or an- c.Education of Asian and Pacific Is- completion ofESOL learners are signifi- other languageare necessary for lander adult refiigees candy enhanced when they are able to use successful second-language development. d.Dissemination of programs and in- their native languages to learn in school. Taken from ESL Standardsfor Pre-K- formation that include the values, In fact, full proficiency in the native lan- 12 Students (TESOL, 1997) heritage, language, culture, and his- guage (including literacy) facilitates sec- tory ofAsian and Pacific Islanders language development. eSSond 224 NABE NEWS 31 Edmunds, R. (1979).Effective schools for the urban poor. Educational USE WITH CAUTION Leadership, 37, 15-24. (continuedfrom Page 12) Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974). Linn, R. (2000). Assessments and accountability. Educational Researcher, 29, 2, 4-16, toward earning a high school diploma among English Learners National Center for Educational Statistics (1995). The condition of education who have not had the opportunity to master grade level content 1995 (NCES 95-2730). Washington DC: U.S. Department of Edu- standards. cation. It seems contradictory to emphasize a high-stakes test not tied to Oakes, J.; Gamoran, A.; & Page, RN. (1992). Curriculum differentia- curricular standards (SAT-9) as the primary determinant ofschool tion: Opportunities, outcomes, and meaning. In P.W. Jackson (ed.), accountability, yet not apply sanctions to schools that omit large Handbook of research on curriculum: A project of the American Educational numbers of students from having equal access to rigorous lan- Research Association, (pp.570-608). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. guage arts and mathematics content standards. Academic achieve- President'S Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic ment is a function of the opportunity to learn. Americans. (2000). Creating the Will: Hispanics Achieving Educational Excellence. A Report to the President of the United States, the Secretary of Conclusion Education, and the Nation. The inclusion of test scores of students with very low levels of U.S. Department of Education (1993). Fifteenth annual report to Congress on English language proficiency and differential opportunities to implementation of The Education of the Handicapped Act. Washington D.C: learn casts doubt on the integrity of the API and high stakes test- U.S. Department of Education. ing. The American Educational Research Association (2000) has cited guidelines for testing English Learner students with low levels ofEnglish language proficiency: OE MPLOYMENTPPORTUNITY If a student lacks mastery of thc language in which a test is given, then that test becomes, in part, a test of language proficiency. Unless a primary purpose of a test is to evaluate language profi- FRAMINGHAM ciency, it should not be used with students who cannot under- stand the instructions or the language itself. (AERA, 2000, p.2) PUBLIC SCHOOLS California's currently configured school accountability system focuses attention on high-stakes testing over the opportunity to Assistant Director of Bilingual Education learn. The absence of student outcome measures that are fair, appropriate, and inclusive make suspect the determination that English Learners are participating in standards based educational Master's degree in Bilingual Education or ESL; reform. Efforts to close the achievement gap by 2010 (President's Massachusetts certification as a Bilingual or ESL Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Teacher; five years teaching experience; bilingual/ Americans, 2000) will be unsuccessful without increased oppor- tunity to learn among English Learners. The use ofa single high multilingual skills preferred. 200 day work year; stakes test as the sole indicator ofschool performance and student salary range $65,000-70,000. achievement obscures more critical and fundamental aspects of standards based educational reform: equal access to a rigorous and challenging curriculum for all students. To ignore what we al- Please send letter of interest, resume and other ready know about student achievement and high-stakes testing is supporting documentation immediately to: to neglect the academic needs ofEnglish Learners and prove we Donald J. McCallion, Director, Human Resources, still do not have the national will to close the achievement gap. 14 Vernon St., Framingham MA 01701; Paul Garcia, M.A., is Administrative Analyst in the Office of Research, or Email: [email protected]. Evaluation and Assessment with the Fresno Unified School District andserves For job description, visit us at: as a district evaluatorfor two Title Vllgrants. His research interests include effects of high stakes testing on English Learners and the design of rigorous www.framingham.k12.ma.us/hr/hr.html. evaluations of servicesfor English Learners. You can write him at 709 N. Dewoff, Fresno, FA 93727 or at pagarci@fresno. k12.ca. us. References American Educational Research Association. (2000). Position statement NABE News invites school personnel to of the American Educational Research Association concerning high stakes testing in PreK-12 education., Educational Researcher, 29, 10, submit articles on promising or successful 24-25. programs for LEP students. The next three Colvin, S.S. (1921). Intelligence and its measurement. A symposium (IV). Journal of Educational Psychology, 12, 136-139. issues focus on: Cuenca, F. (1991). National testing: The national debate. (ASPIRA Issue technologyearly childhood high school Brief). Washington, DC: ASPIRA Association, Inc. (ERIC Docu- ment-Rep uetion-Se yic -No7E-13-3-41-755). m/A 32 MAY / J U N E 2 0 0 1 -275 EDUCATING THE WORKFORCE advantage it now enjoys. Today, Miami is still considered the most bilingual OF A GLOBAL SOCIETY city in the United States. Yet, (continuedfrom Page 23) if that is to remain a reality, we must instill in our youngsters the a period of years. The percent of students enrolled in foreign desire to be proficient in English language courses and/or taking basic subject courses in languages plus another language. We must other than English must increase dramatically. Finally, the busi- help them to understand that we ness community must report to us that the new graduates are able have grown and prospered be- to fill open positions because they are academically and linguisti- cause we are a crossroads of cally qualified. people, a point of connection The dream is a possible reality. Yet, it will take time. It will between two continents and require inquiries, open dialogue, and most important, it will cultures. We must be cognizant of the fact that our economy is take a paradigm shift that has not quite yet occurred. One day, intertwined with that of the rest of the world. perhaps not in my tenure, the School Board will decide that all The economic future of Miami-Dade depends in great part schools should offer, not mandate, just offer, dual language pro- on what we do with our children in terms of bilingualism. We grams for interested families. One day, probably not in my ten- should raise our youngsters as proud citizens of this great nation, ure, our community will wake up to the reality that a youngster capable of loving it and serving it. We must raise our children does not become literate in any language by mere exposure to the imbued with the best qualities of American culture and society: language at homethat it requires years of study, continuity of the English language, a sense ofresponsibility to the community, study, and application. One day, positively not in my tenure, we love of freedom, respect for the value of work and institutions, will be able to break down the barriers of prejudice and xeno- and a healthy patriotism. At the same time, we should raise them phobia and realize that the American experience is strengthened as cultured citizens instilled with the curiosity to learn about other and not weakened by people who can communicate effectively societies and cultures, proficient in more than one language, able in more than language. to communicate and practice their profession with equal skills in The School Board of Miami-Dade County is responding to English and any other language, and just as comfortable visiting the changing student population and the strong appeal from busi- friends and clients in Omaha, Nebraska as in Caracas, Venezuela. ness leaders to increase opportunities for students to become not This is the challenge Miami faces as a city ofthe future. This only bilingual but also biliterate. To that end, is has approved is notjust the school's challenge; it is our challenge. It belongs to all several initiatives over the last couple ofyears to ensure that stu- ofus: researchers, business partners, educators, and parents. We dents arc provided adequate programs that promote biliteracy. must instill that spark in our children, the desire to be proficient Thes include: in English Plus One. adopted a policy of offering options to parents; 1:0 opened the door for any school that wants to provide a dual Lourdes C. Rovira, M.A., is the Administrative Director, Division of language program. In fact the Superintendent is on a cam- Bilingual Education and World Languages in te Miami-Dade County paign to promote biliteracy; Public Schools. She can be reached at [email protected] or II authorized two conferences that focus solely on the impor- (305) 995-1945. tance oflanguages: Weaving the Fabric ofHispanic Heritage into our Learning and Multilingual Summit, Preparingfor Economic References Development. Funds are being spent on promoting these ini- Boswell, T. D., & Fradd, S. H. (February, 2000). Income patterns of tiatives. bilingual and English-only Hispanics in selected metropolitan areas. Creating Florida's Multilingual Global Work Force. Florida Department of Education, Tallahassee, Florida. Notwithstanding the national movement to eliminate bilin- Brubaker, D. (1991-92). The underpinnings of creative leadership. Na- gual education, M-DCPS is moving forward and thinking out- tional Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision Journal, 9, (1) side of the box in its efforts to set the pace for quality dual language 4-11 programs and other international education initiatives in part- Carey, A. R., & Laird, B. (1998, October).Internet snapshots. USA nerships with foreign governments. Today. P.1A. Many ofthese initiatives would not have been possible with- Fishman, J. (October, 1999). Heritage languagesA national resource.Key- note address at The Heritage Languages Conference, Long Beach, out the support and the demand ofbusiness and community lead- California. ers. Miami has been frequently referred as the "Capital of the Fradd, S. H. (1996).The economic impact of Spanish-language proficiency in Americas," as the financial center and the trade link to Central Metropolitan Miami. Miami, Fl.:Greater Miami Chamber of Com- and South America and the Caribbean. Miami is the cruise capi- merce and the Cuban American National Council. tal of the world. Our airport and seaport are one of the busiest in Oxford, R. L. (1998, fall/winter). Where is the United States headed with K-12 foreign language education? ERIC/CLL News Bulletin. Wash- the country. Miami is an important tourist destination and rap- ington, D.C.: Center for Applied Linguistics. idly becoming one of the leading health centers of choice for Sugraries, R. (2000).Personal communication.(President, Iberia Tiles people from abroad seeking medical care. and Chair, Hispanic Business Group, Greater Miami Chamber of If Miami is not able to provide the bilingual and biliterate Commerce, Miami, Fl.). workforce needed, our community witillve the competitive 22 6 NABE NEWS 33 THE ESL STANDARDS WHEN ALL MEANS ALL (continued from Page 10) (continuedfrom Page 7) Snow, M.A. (Ed.). (2000). Implementing the ESL standards for pre-K-12 McLaughlin, M., & Shepard, L. (1995). Improving education through students through teacher education. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. standards-based reform: A report by the national academy of education Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (1993). The access panel on standards-based education reform.Stanford: National Acad- brochure. Alexandria, VA: Author. emy of Education. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (1996). Promising Menken, K. (2000). What are the critical issues in wide-scale assessment futures. Alexandria, VA: Author. of English language learners? NCBE Issue Brief No. 6. (2000, Septem- ber). Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Educa- Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (1997). ESL tion. [Online] Available: http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/ncbcpubs/ standards for pre-K-12 students. Alexandria, VA: Author. issuebriefs/ib6.pdf Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (1998). Manag: New Mexico State Department of Education.(2000). Applying standards ing the assessment process: A framework for measuring student attainment of the to diverse populations: Bilingual education.[Online] Available: http:// ESL standards. Alexandria, VA: Author. www.cesdp.nmhu.edu/standards/diversity/bi.htm [2000, July 201. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (in press-a). New Standards. (1997). New standards performance standards. Pittsburgh, PA: Scenarios for ESL standards-based assessment. Alexandria, VA: Author. National Center on Education and the Economy and the University Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (in press-b). of Pittsburgh. School administrator's guide to the ESL standards. Alexandria, VA: Author. O'Brian, J. (1998). So you have standards...now what? Summary of the ECS National Forum, The Education Commission of the States. [Online] Available: http://www.ecs.org [2000, July 20]. Olsen, L. (2001). Finding the right mix. Quality counts 2001: A better bal- ance. A special report by Education Week staff. [Online] Available: http://www.edweek.org/sreports/qc01/ [February 27, 20011 First Hemispheric Riddle, W. (1999, October). Education for the disadvantaged: ESEA Title I reauthorization issues. Congressional Research Service Issue Brief. Wash- Conference on ington, DC: The Library of Congress. Texas Education Agency. (1998a). Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. Indigenous Bilingual Austin, TX: Author. Education Texas Education Agency. (1998b). Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills: Summary for Parents. Austin, TX: Author. Guatemala City, Guatemala U.S. Department of Education. (1994). The improving America's schools act of July 25-27, 2001 1994: Summary sheets. Washington, DC: Author. U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Undersecretary Planning and Evaluation Service. (1999). Promising results, continuing challenges: The First Hemispheric Conference on Indigenous The final report of the national assessment of Title I. Washington, DC: Bilingual Education will foster a dialogue among Author. policy-makers, practitioners, and researchers from Online Resources for Further Information about Standards-Based Re- countries throughout the Americas where bilingual form and ELLs Center for Applied Linguistics. http://www.cal.org/ eslstandards/ and indigenous issues impact upon society and the education system. The primary purpose is to promote Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory At Brown University (LAB). http://www.lab.brown.edu/public/ a sustainable exchange of pedagogical experiences, InitsStandards.taf?function=search methodologies, and policies that yield the structures, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. http://www.tesol.org/ programs, and materials needed to support effective assoc/k12standards/index.html bilingual and indigenous education in our U.S. Dcpartment of Education. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/IASA/newslet- hemisphere. ters/standards/ For additional information or to register for the Online Resources for Information conference, please go to www.worldlearning.org. about Standards Implementation To participate please contact: Annenberg Institute for School Reform. http://www.aisr.brown.edu/ In the United States: accountability/lswA/index.html Naoko Kamioka, World Learning Council for Basic Education. http://www.c-b-e.org/psi/psiintro.htm Tel. (202) 408-5420 Education Trust. http://www.edtrust.org/main/sip.asp E-mail:[email protected] Learning Research and Development Center. http://www.lrdc.pitt.edu/ about.htm In Guatemala: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McRel). José Angel Zapeta, World Learning/PAEBI http://www.mcreLorg/standards-benchmarks/index.asp Tel. (502) 366-2356 or 366-5451 Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory At Brown Uni- versity (LAB)/Center for Applied Linguistics. http://www.cal.org/ E-mail: [email protected] brownlab/ellstds.htm Philadelphia Education Fund. http://www.philaedfund.org/sIcweb/ index.htm 34 M A Y JU N E 227 / 2 0 0 1 ,e BACK TO THE FUTURE we are. One never fully gets used to expe- riencing the attacks and outright derision (continued frorn Page 21) felt during Proposition 203. Add valuable Yet, the students' questions and con- created for bilingual education. These cerns were very legitimate. Going back- resources to your should serve merely as a backdrop for the wards is not an option. We cannot go understanding ofbilingual education from back to the days when children were pun- the past and, perhaps, re-thinking of the library with back ished for speaking their native language bilingual education of the future. It is quite or when teachers refused to use the natu- issues of the clear that attempting to defend bilingual ral teaching tool at their disposallan- education against state initiatives such as guage. All of us who have struggled to Arizona's Proposition203and improve educational outcomes for this California's Proposition 227, financed by Bilingual segment of the American school system multi-millionaires with catchy slogans and must now renew our faith in the future. deep pockets, will not be easy in the fu- As true Americans we know that justice ture. Educating a citizenry that does not Research will eventually prevail. seem to want to be educated [about the needs of limited-English proficient chil- Alfredo Benavides, Ph.D., is Associate Pro- dren] will again pose frustrating problems Journal fessor in the College of Education, Arizona for bilingual educators. When we began State University-Main and can be reached our careers in bilingual education, we truly at [email protected] Midobuche, felt a calling. Although we did not initially Back issues of the Ph.D., is Assistant Professor, School of Edu- have the research to back us up, we perse- cation, Arizona State University. Send com- Bilingual Research Journal (BRJ) vered and helped to create that research. ments or inquiries regarding this paper to By all accounts it seems un-American to are available for purchase at [email protected]. discount now all that we have learned. considerable savings. The recent passage ofProposition 203 References Save $5.00 when you order as a in Arizona served as a second `wake-up Carter, T. P. (1970). Mexican Americans in call' for many teachers, parents, and other school: A history of educational neglect. Volume set: Volume 21 (Number educators concerned with fairness and New York, New York: College Entrance equity. The question that truly needs to Examination Board. 1-Winter of 1997; number 2&3 Crawford, J. (1999). Bilingual education: His- be asked now is "How many wake-up calls Spring and Summer of 1997; and do we need?" Even though we had been tory, politics, theory, and practice (4'h ed.). Los Angeles, California: Bilingual Educa- 4 Fall of 1997) or Volume 22 predicting that 203 would pass and have a tional Services, Inc. negative impact on children and the edu- Manuel, H. T. (1965). Spanish-speakipg chil- (Number 1 Winter of 1998; and cation community as a whole, people were dren of the southwest: their education & still incredulous when it did pass. Students the public welfare. Austin, Texas: Uni- Numbers 2. 3 & 4 Spring, versity of Texas Press. wept in our offices, simply wanting to Surrimer and Fall of 1998). understand why? "How", they implored Midobuche, E. (1998). From LEP to academic: of us, "could we be going backwards in Reflections on my twenty years in Title VII. Current members (individual The Bilingual Research Journal 22 (1), 49-63. the education of these children?" Being Ramirez, 5.; Pasta, D.; Yuen, S.; Billings, D. Y membership) pay $20.00; non- seasoned veterans of prior campaigns Ramey, D. (1991). Final report: Longitudi- against bilingual education, all we could nal Study of structured English immersion members pay $32.00 per set. offer was an understanding and sympa- strategy, early-exit and late-exit transitional thetic ear. We were comforted however, Bilingual educational programs for language minority children, Vol. I-BII. San Mateo, Other volume sets are also by the knowledge that many more true CA: Aguirre International. believers in bilingual education had just Thomas, W. P. & V. Collier (1997). School Effec- available for sale. Please inquire been created. Never believe, however, tiveness for Language Minority Students. Wash- that the passage of Proposition 203 did ington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bi- with the publications department. lingual Education not affect us, seasoned professionals that Send $20.00 or $32.00 per volume set ordered (prices include shipping and handling) to: Is it time to renewyour NABE NABE membership? Attn: Publications Department 1030 15th Street, N.W., Suite 470 Check your membership card! Washington, DC 20005-4018 ySS, 22a NABE NEWS 35 THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION OUTSTANDING DISSERTATIONS OF THE YEAR COMPETITION Guidelines for 2002 The following guidelines and accompanying explanation are abstract, then, must reflect concisely and accurately the re- provided to help insure the highest possible standards for search of the full dissertation. the competition and to make the competition as objective The following directions should be used in the prepara- as possible. tion of the abstract. a.Format. The abstract should include the following: 1. Who is eligible to enter the competition? 1.Title page A sample title page is attached to these The competition is open to those who have completed a guidelines. Please provide all the information requested. dissertation in the field of bilingual education between 1 One page in length. June 1998 and 1 August 2001. Competition is defined as: 2. LetterA letter, on university stationery, signed by (a)received the doctoral degree between the specified dates the chair of the dissertation committee, indicating OR that the dissertation meets one of the eligibility cri- (b)satisfactorily completed all the course work and the dis- teria, defined earlier in these guidelines. One page sertation between the dates specified and the disser- in length. tation is acceptable to the candidate's committee, but 3. Summary On a separate page, include a summary, the degree has not been conferred. approximately 150 words in length, in which you state A routine check is made with the chair of the dissertation com- in non-technical terms, the purpose and major find- mittee of the applicant to protect all competitors, the universi- ings of your study. Double-spaced, and one page in ties, and the National Association for Bilingual Education. length. Studies using any research approach (historical, experi- 4. Main report sectionYou should include the state- mental, survey, etc.) are eligible. ment of the problem; the purpose of the study; defi- nition of key terms; sampling techniques to include 2. What are the criteria to be used in size, description, etc. (if applicable); theoretical framework; main hypotheses; overview of analyses evaluating the dissertations? of data (if applicable); main findings and conclusions; Basically three criteria will be used to evaluate the disserta- and implications. The main report sections should tions: not exceed fifteen (15) pages in length, double- a.the appropriateness of the research approach used spaced. b.the scholarly quality of the dissertation 5. BibliographyInclude a complete reference to each c. the significance of its contribution to knowledge in the item cited in the dissertation abstract. References bilingual education field for items not used in the abstract should not be in- cluded. 3. What is the first deadline for the 6. AppendixIf the applicant requires additional space competition? in which to present details of a research instrument, The first deadline is September 7, 2001. By this date the -a theoretical point of view, or to elaborate on some chair of Outstanding Dissertations competition 2002 has to other vital point, an appendix may be included. Not receive six (6) copies of the dissertation abstract prepared to exceed (3) three pages, double-spaced. as directed by these guidelines. This is a very firm deadline. Any dissertation abstracts b.Length. The total abstract should not exceed twenty- received after this date will not be considered. five (25) typewritten, double-spaced, 8 1/2" x 11" pages, including all the sections mentioned above. 4. How should the dissertation abstracts be c.Writing StyleYour writing style should be clear, con- prepared? sistent, and concise. Particular care should be taken to For the first round of judging, the applicant's dissertation is insure that each table, chart and/or figure is adequately rated SOLEY upon the dissertation abstract submitted. This . explained. tie 36 MAY / J U N E 2 0 0 1 THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION OUTSTANDING DISSERTATIONS OF THE YEAR COMPETITION Guidelines for 2002 (continued) 5. How many copies of the dissertation October 30, 2001 abstract are required? Semifinalists send one copy of complete dissertation to chair Six (6) copies of the dissertation abstract should be sent, of the competition. FIRST CLASS MAIL, to: November 2, 2001 Dr. Josué M. Gonzalez, Director Members of the Panel of Judges convene to select 2002 Southwest Center for Education Equity and Language Diversity outstanding dissertations. (Formerly the Center for Bilingual Education and Research) Arizona State University November 5-9, 2001 PO Box 871511 Chair of the competition notifies three (3) finalists of results. Tempe, AZ 85287-1511 March 19-23, 2002 Winners are announced at NABE national conference in 6. What is the general procedure that will Philadelphia, PA. be used in the competition? The judging, generally speaking, will be in two phases. The 8. May I participate in the Outstanding first phase will use the dissertation abstracts as a basis. Dissertation competition 2002 if I The chair, of the competition, will send the abstracts to a participated in the 2001 Competition? Panel of Judges, who will be asked to judge/evaluate the Everyone who participated in the 2001 competition can par- abstracts. Each judge will be asked to submit, to the chair ticipate with the exception of the top three (3) winners, of the competition, a ranking of the top five (5) abstracts. assuming that the eligibility criteria as outlined earlier in the The chair of the competition will determine the top five Guidelines are met. (5) to seven (7) abstracts and will ask the writers to submit a copy of the complete dissertation, to be used as a basis for the second phase of the judging/evaluating process. 9. What recognition will be given to the The Panel ofJudges will convene to read, evaluate, and winners? rank the complete dissertations and will determine the top In effect, there will two types or levels of winners: three (3) dissertations. a.The semifinalistthe writers of the top five (5) to seven A schedule, which outlines the process in More detail, (7) dissertation abstracts, from which the three (3) fi- is included in the Important Dates section that follows. nalists may be selected, and b.The three (3) finaliststhe writers of the dissertations 7. What are the most important dates selected by the Panel of Judges as first, second and and deadlines? third place winners. The schedule below, in addition to providing important dates and All semifinalists will receive certificates of recognition deadlines, provides additional information about the process. from the National Association for Bilingual Education. April 30, 2001 The three (3) finalists will be recognized formally at a Announcements of competition and guidelines are sent to general session during the 31st Annual International Bilin- all ESEA Title VII Fellowship program directors, all directors gual-Bicultural Education Conference scheduled for March of ESEA Title VII centers and the National Clearinghouse on 19-23, 2002 in Philadelphia, PA. The National Association Bilingual Education, chairs of dissertation committees of will pay for travel expenses within the continental United previous participants, and so forth. States and per diem for one (1) day for the three (3) final- September 7, 2001 ists for Bilingual Education. Deadline for submission of six (6) copies of dissertation Those semifinalists who are present at the general ses- abstract by applicants to chair of competition. sion .mentioned above will also be recognized. In addition, the National Association for Bilingual Edu- September 14, 2001 cation will ask the National Clearinghouse on Bilingual Edu- Chair of the competition distributes abstracts to Panel of cation, the National Assessment and Dissertation Centers, Judges. the Materials Development Centers, and other similar or- October 8, 2001 ganizations/agencies to announce the winners in their bul- Panel of Judges members complete screening and advise letins/newsletters/journals/publications. chair of the competition of rankingseach identifies five top dissertation abstracts. 10. Who makes the final decision? October 15, 2001 All decisions by the Panel of Judges are final. Chair of the competition determines five (5) to seven (7) top abstracts and advises all entrants of the results. 64" NABE NEws 37 THENATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION OUTSTANDING DISSERTATIONS OF THE YEAR COMPETITION Title Page (Please type or print) _ 1. Name and Contact Information Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Office Phone: ( ) Fax: ( ) Home Phone: ( ) Email: 2.Title of dissertation in full: 3.Name and address of Institution granting degree: 4.Dissertation Committee Name of Comittee Chair: Institution address: Phone: ( ) 5.Committee Members (names only): (1) (2) (3) 6. Date on which doctoral degree was conferred: Day Month Year 7. If doctoral degree not yet conferred, date on which defense of completed dissertation was held: Day Month Year 38 MAY / JUNE 2001 Guidelines for Article Submission toNABE NEWS / / General Editorial Policies phia Public Schools, Director-Office of-Lan% reader would want-to use the material/ The NA BE News is published six times a yearguage Equity Issues, 202 E. Gowen Ave, and why,(ory liot) on a bi-monthly basis. We seek previously Philadelphia, PA19119: unpublished articles.Articles should focus Send a copy ofyour review, preferabl) as a Word I on the theory, research and/or practice of Dr. Ji-Mei Chang, Editor-Asian/Pacific Ameri- file in an e-mail to: Dr...Bett Leom,Fresno, implementing quality bilingual education cans Column, Associate Professor, San Jose CA, [email protected]. programs, including dual language programs. State University, College of Education, NABE invites manuscripts on a wide-range Sweeney Hall, Room 204, 689 Erie Circle, Submission Guidelines of topics related to support structures for these Milpitas, CA 95192. [email protected] All articles must conform to the publication programsfrom funding issues, parental in- guidelines of the Publication Manual of the volvement, staffdevelopment, curriculum and Dr..Ward Shimizu, Co-Editor-Asian/Pacific American Psychological Association (4th instruction to legislative agendas, state initia- Americans Colurrm, San Jose State Univer- edition). tives, staff hiring/retention and personal re- sity, 689 Erie Circle, San Jose, CA 95192. Print materials and electronic versions flectionsthat advance the knowledge and should include a title page, with contact in- practice in the field. Dr. Jon Allan Reyhner, Editor-Indigenous Bi- formationincluding mailing address and NABE News prefers a reader-friendly lingual Education Programs, Northern Arizona telephone number.If available, authors style of writing that resonates well with State University, Associate Professor, Division should provide fax numbers, and e-mail ad- community groups, parents, legislators, and of Bilingual Education, CEE, P.O. box 5774, dress. especially classroom teachers. Contributors Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5774. jonseyhner@nauiedu Include a two to three sentence bio- should include reference to a theoretical base graphical reference that may include job title and cite related research, but the article Dr. Lucy Tse, Editor-Theory Into Practice or highest degree earned, work affiliation and/ should contain practical ideas or implications Column, Assistant Professor, Arizona State or research interest (not to exceed 50 words). for practice. University, Division of Curriculum and In- Manuscripts and diskettes will not be struction, College ofEducation, Tempe, AZ returned. Keep copies ofyour article or other Types of Articles 85287-0208. [email protected] materials submitted. Feature Articles: A feature article should The editor of NA BE News reserves the address the issue's theme (ifidentified), be no Mr. Aurelio Montemayor, Editor-Parent/ right to make editorial changes needed to longer than 2,000-4,000 words, including Community Involvement, Interculltural De- enhance the clarity of writing. The author references and sidebars. Type/save your manu- velopment Research Association, 5835 will be consulted only in cases where the script as a Word document (6.0 or below) and Callaghan Rd., Suite 350, San Antonio, TX change(s) is/are substantial. attachittoan e-mailsentto 78228. [email protected] [email protected] or mail a diskette to the NABE address. Please do not use running General/Other Articles: Other articles, not Themes of Future NABE News issues: heads or bold. Include contact information addressing the announced NA BE News and a brief bio indicating name, title, affilia- themes, are also sought and welcomed. They September/October tion, and research interest. should be relevant to current interests or is- Access to Technology: sues. They must be no longer than 1500 - Promising Programs and Practice Articles for Regular Columns: NABE 1750 words. news publishes four regular columnsAd- November/December ministration of Bilingual Education Col- Reviews: Reviews should describe and Curriculum and Instruction in the umn, Asian/Pacific Americans Column, evaluate recently published bilingual educa- Bilingual Early Childhood Classroom Indigenous Bilingual Education Column, tion materials, such as professional books, and Theory Into Practice Column. Each curriculum guides, textbooks, computer pro- January/February column has a column editor.These ar- grams, or videos. Reviews should be no High School Prgrams for LEP Students ticles are shorter in length, usually focus longer than 500-750 words. Include in your on one issue, elaborate on two to three review: March/April major points, and provide specifics for prac- 1. a brief summary of the major compo- Increasing Support for Non-Academic tice. Manuscripts should relate to the spe- nents or features of the material, with Factors cial focus and be approximately 1500-2200 no evaluative comments words in length. They can be mailed to the 2. an evaluation of the features, indicating Copy is due two months in advance of the NABE office, to the attention of the how they are useful/helpful or not first month listed for the issue (for example, NABE News editor or mailed directly to 3. if appropriate, a discussion of how the The deadline for the July/August issue is due the column editors as follows: material ties in or responds to broader May 1", for September/October it would be issues in the field or to specific method- due On July 1"). Advertisements should be Ms. Mary Ramirez, Editor-Administration ologies submitted at least two months in advance of of Bilingual Education Programs, Philadel- 4. an assessment as to whcther the teacher/ the first month listed for the issue. 23,? NABE NEWS 39 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION 0 Tell us About MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION yourself. I am involved with bilingual O Membership Type'(check one only) education as (check one): If renewing a current membership, please enter membership# here: ci Administrator o College Instructor 0 Individual Membership $48 o Consultant D Full-Time Student 0 Discounted Individual Membership $30 o Paraprofessional O Parent: MUST NOT be a professional educator and MUST have a child currently enrolled in a bilingual o Parent/Community Member education/ESL program. A letter written on school stationery from either the teacher or a school ci Publisher Staff administrator must accompany this membership application. ci School Board Member O College/University Student: MUST NOT be professional educator and MUST be enrolled on FULL- ci Teacher TIME basis. A copy of an official college or university document showing current enrollment status must o Other accompany the NABE membership application. O Paraprofessional: MUST be working as an instructional aide in a public school system. A letter on I work in this type of school stationery from the supervising teacher or a school administrator must accompany the NABE membership application. organization (check one): o Commercial Organization O Discounted Membership for State Affiliate Members $43 o College/University Name of State Affiliate. o Local School District ci State Education Agency O Institutional Membership $125 o Other O Lifetime Membership $1000 I usually work with this level of Memberships are valid for one year from the date of processing, and include a one-year subscription to NABE student (check one): publications (except Lifetime: valid for life of member and includes lifetime subscription). Organizational o Early Childhood membership is non-voting; all other memberships are voting. Memberships are non-transferrable and may not O Elementary be refunded. Membership dues are non-refundable. O Secondary D Higher Education O Name and Address Information D Adult Mr. 0 Mrs. want to participate in the 0 Ms. 0 Dr. following Special Interest_ Last First Middle Group (check one): Preferred Mailing Address: CI Business 0 Home O Adult/Vocational Education Business Address: O Asian & Pacific Islanders O Critical Pedagogy Position- O Early Childhood Education Division. O Elementary Education O ESL in Bilingual Education Organization. O Gifted Education Parent Organization/School District: ci Higher Education ci Indigenous Bilingual Education Street Address: o Instructional Technology (D Language Policy City. State: Zip' o Making Connections: Phone: (_) Ext. 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TOTAL DUE SIGNATURE: DATE:_/_./ tr4 CS_Ma1it0:-NABE4030-15THSTREEINW,_SUlTE910,WASHINGTON, DC 20005-1503 NABE News May/June 2001 283 Upcoming NABE Activities May 251 2001 Postmark deadlineINABE 2002 Call torPapers Did you remember to mail yours? August/September 11:ook out tor ompetition tulles! NABE 2002 Student Essay Competition 0 INABE 2002 'Teacher of the tear (Competition September 079 2001 Deadline to receive terms and abstracts for 2002 Dissertation Competition October 319 2001 INABE mails acceptanceletters 23 4 MEMORANDUM To: Bilingual Educators From: NABE Executive Board and NABE Staff Date: Summer 2001 Best wishes for a pleasant and restful summer break. Replenish your strength and renew your enthusiasm for children and their needs. NABE NEWS The Miigazhie A bow Ethwation Volume 24, Issue No. 6 July/August 2001 Standards-based Assessment A Call for Accuracy, Appropriateness, Alignment, and Accomodation What iS needed for sucessful standards-based 'Er assessment and accountability? see page 8 4*-telhe*, Weaving assessment into the curriculum 'Zs see page 13 Including and serving LEP students in gifted education a case study see page 20 Key questions lead to program improvement and student ii learning see page 24 Need rmurcm and guiding princiRks fmr using ESL strartidards in a dual language seibing? a America can fulfill its p_ripcnise to help every child succeedThat's why NEA and NABE are working together for excellence in every public schoolWe're fighting for quality teachers, safe and modern schools, early childhood education, lifting up low-Reritoritning schools, lower dropi,out rates, and the resouroes needed to help all children achieve Parents and teachers know that by working together, we can make a difference from classrooms to capitals *A, \ i . i i.1I ill r : - et,"INT olun Ts! We needNABemembeilstovoknteer foNe tolwiingleadership positions in the association: (Special Interest Group (SIG) Chair 1SL in Bilingual Education Special InterestoGrJoup (SIGLChair Secondary Education lkoposal Readersior\ 4ConicurrentI Sessions (Read and rateapproximately 20-2513ropojal abstracts in your area(s)of expertise) Contribute my knbwledge/skills in other ways Go-Mac-Hai-AM Ss-o-nluramaitorAV) em ersp an'us iäionsa a sosiarte clwor (202) 898-1829 MESSAGE FROM THE NABE NEWS Table of Contents EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ,..5.-- Delia Pompa Standards for Bilingual and Dual-Language Classrooms 4 Dear NABE Members: Four 'A's Needed for Successful Standards-Based I hope those of you who are on summer recess are ableto use this time to Assessment and Accountability 8 replenish the energy that dri'ves you personally and professionally.Often sum- mer provides us the time to reflect on difficult issues we faceduring the school yearand more important, on our professional responseto these issues. Theory into Practice: Weaving Assessment Into a Standards-based Curriculum 13 NABE is proud to be your partner in the on-going effortto improve the education ofour children through responsible and frankdiscussions that will Administration of Bilingual Education Programs: help both educators and the public as a whole better addressthe needs of Multiple Paths to Literacy Lead Educators America's diverse student body. It is in this spirit that thecurrent issue of the - at Davis to Re-think Assessment 16 NABE News magazine has been devoted to the topic ofassessment. New provisions in the federal Elementary and SecondaryEducation Act spot- Bilingual References: Assessment light accountability and assessment as central componentsofour nation's edu- and Best Practices 19 cational system. While extensive research exists on testingas a whole, a great deal more is needed on specific areas such as: when doestesting in a second Assessment Issues and Other Considerations language yield accurate results; what accommodations areappropriate in sec- in Serving LEP Poor, and Other Historically ond language testing; how testing in languages other thanEnglish fits into Underrepresented Students in Gifted Education: accountability systems; and how to ensure the validity ofresultsuntil research is completed. These factors, coupled with the rapidlygrowing number of A Case Study 20 LEP students in U.S. schools, make the topic ofassessmentparticularly impor- tant for our chosen field and for the children whom we serve. Living Global Lessons: Sharing Stories that Reach Across the Divide 24 NABE supports the appropriate assessment of LEP pupilsassessmentthat can be used to hold schools and communities accountablefor the achievement' Issues in lndigeneous Bilingual Education: ofstudents and that helps provide feedback On individual studentperformance. In the same vein, we strongly oppose the Use of any onemeasure as the sole Maintaining the'Mother Language 28 evidence for making high-stakes decisions about a child'seducation. We recognize that a student's true performance requires multiplemeasures. Calling for a Stop In the Use of Native American Images and Nicknames as Sports Symbols 29 We hope that the articles in this publication will prove helpfulin your work and that you will share their content with colleagues whomyou think would Paper on Assessment Presented at benefit from the information they contain. ,,J AERA Annual Meeting 30 You can count on NABE to continue its work in partnershipwith Members of Congress, the Administration, a broad network of sisterorganizations, and NABE News Book Reviews: individuals like yourself. Together we must find the answersto the important Language Diversity and Education 31 questions that are implied in the assessment ofLEP children.We hope we can count on you to help us educate others at the local leveland that you will Easing the Rows to Hoe: The Presence continue to share your thoughts on this and other importanttopics through of "de facto" Bilingual Education in NABE's forums, publications, and conference workshops. Self-reported Cases of Second Language Sincerely, Acquisition 32 Assistance available to schools educating limited English proficient students 34 Delia Pompa Executive Director Guidelines for Article Submission 35 Membership Application 36 210 NABE NEWS 1 UBE EXECUTLIVE NABE NEWS BOARD 2000-2001 President Published by the National Association for Bilingual Education Joel G6mez George Washington University Editor: Alicia Sosa, Ph.D. Institute for Education Policy Studies Design & Layout: Kieran Daly KDaddy Design 1709 North Roosevelt Street Arlington, VA 22205 p (202) 467-0867/(202) 994-3306 f: (202) 467-4283 Volume 24 ofNABE NEWS will be published in 6 issues; publication dates are: Issue 1 09/15/00 Issue 3 01/15/01 Issue 5 05/15/01 Vice President Issue 2 11/15/00 Issue 4 03/15/01 Issue 6 07/15/01 Mary F. Jew Cupertino Union SD 10301 Vista Drive All advertising and copy material must be received in the NABE office TWO Cupertino, CA 95014 MONTHS prior to publication date to be considered for inclusion. p: (408) 252-3000 x426 f: (408) 255-8830 Secretary Josefina Villamil Tinajero NABE NEWS ADVERTISING University of Texas El Paso Display Advertising Rates (Black & White, Camera-Ready art) College of Education 500 W. University Avenue Full Page (7.4" x 10") $850 1/3-Page (4.75" x 4.75") $425 El Paso, TX 79968 2/3-Page (4.75" x 10") $700 1/3-Page (2.25" x 10") $425 p: (915) 747-5552 f: (915) 747-5755 NABE NEWS REPRINT AND EDITORIAL POLICY Member-at-Large Readers are welcome to reprint non-copyrighted articles which appear in NABE Susan A. Garcia Executive Director NEWS at no charge, provided proper credit is given both to the au thor(s) and to Sevilla At The IceHouse NABE NEWS as the source publication. 1801 Wynkoop Street, Suite C-1 Denver, CO 80202 All articles printed in NABE NEWS, unless written by an Association staffperson or p: (303) 298-7777 f: (303) 292-6868 NATIONAL OFFICE: Parent Representative 1030 15th Street, N.W., Suite 470Washington, DC 20005-1503 Aurelio M. Montemayor (202) 898-1829FAX: (202) 789-2866 IDRA 5835 Callaghan Rd. E-mail: [email protected]: www.nabe.org Suite 350 San Antonio, TX 78228 p: (210) 444-1710 f: (210) 444-1714 Delia Pompa, Executive Director 2 J U L Y /A U G U S T 2 0 0 1 Your guide Barney Berube This new resource offers aid and comfort to the ESL manager in U.S. rural and small urban communities. It describes how a small program of services can fit into the standards movement and how to staff J such a program. This volume will guide you through the challenges and offer the tools necessary to support an ESL program. It contains a wealth of suggestions for instruction, student assessment, program evaluation, parent and community involvement, and multimedia resources. : A practical and timely guide for the ESL Order No. 919, manager, this is a volume to use, to share, ISBN 0-939791-91-9. and to revisit often. $29.95 (members $21.95) s :4 I IsA A III i i IIIII A 111 U II II PA246 STANDARDSFOR BILINGUALAND DUAL-LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS JANET ORR, CENTER FOR EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION, THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY orty-nine of the fifty states have ultimately, to expect higher levels of order reasoning and problem solving can set content standards in key sub perfomiance by all students whether occur in any language. Using effective ject areas, such as: reading, lan- in their home language, the target lan- instructional strategies to deliver devel- gi age arts, mathematics, and science. guage or in English. Ideally, bilingual opmentally appropriate content will en- (Education Week, jan.11, 2001) These students should have access to all subject able students to build upon what they content standards guide administrators areas, i.e. history, mathematics, and sci- have learned. This new learning is then and teachers in the development of cur- ence in both the home language and tar- accessible to students in both languages riculum and the delivery ofinstruction. get language. Instruction in those used for instruction. Not only will use Generally, teachers support the use of subjects should reflect the same standards ofdevelopmentally appropriate instruc- standards and agree that content stan- expected for all students in the school tional strategies yield immediate ben- dards have transformed curriculum to and district, irrespective of the language efits, but they will help students gain the make learning more challenging for stu- of instruction. A common set of stan- standards more rapidly. dents. (Education Week, Jan. 11, 2001, dards for schools, districts, and states as- p.8) However, some teachers in bilin- sures that the instruction and curriculum State Standards Developed gual and dual language classrooms are for English Language Learners (ELLs) Forty-nine states have standards in En- concerned that their students may not instructed in a bilingual or dual language glish and mathematics; Iowa is the only achieve state standards. This article ex- classroom be identical to standards set state that charges its school districts with amines effective practices in bilingual for those students whose home language the establishment ofstandards. Any state, and dual language classrooms that move is English. This coimnon set of standards territory or district that receives Title I English language learners tbward meet- provides a framework that enables all funds must establish standards and an ac- ing and exceeding state standards. educators, students, and parents to main- countability system to determine how tain the same expectation toward meet- the standards are met. Why standards in content ing the standards. Title I requires States to meet the areas are important Not only do teachers need to main- following requirements related to stan- Standards are important in a bilingual or tain high expectations for all students, dards, assessments and school account- dual-language classroom because com- they also must reflect on how they teach. ability: mon standards prompt educators to set Developmentally appropriate instruc- II Content Standards - States are re- the same standards for all students and, tion aimed at standards that use higher quired to develop challenging con- 4 JULY/ AUGUST 2001 Mb a tent standards that describe what Not all states have a sufficient ELL English language arts; or students must know and be able to population to place the development of 4)applied or integrated with those do, in at least mathematics and read- standards in this subject area as one of from other content areas. ing or language arts. These high their priorities. Therefore, some states Because each option has distinct advan- standards apply to all students at- have adopted the ESL Standardsfor Pre- tages and disadvantages, school districts tending .Title I schools. Content K-12 Students produced by Teachers of have to weigh each one carefully before standards were to be in place by the English to Speakers of Other Languages implementation. 1997-98 school year. (TESOL, 1997) to complement their Using TESOL's ESL Standards, the D Performance Standard - States English language arts standards. These National Study for School Evaluation are also required to develop per- standards enable students who are learn- (NSSE), the research arm of regional formance standards for at least three ing English "to realize their personal, school accreditation committees, un- levels: partially proficient, profi- social, and long term career goals" dertook the development of a program cient, and advanced. While Title 1 (TESOL, p.1) and prepare them to at- evaluation guide for English as a second law required performance standards tain their state standards in English lan- language instruction in Pre-K-12 pro- to be in place by the 1997-98 school guage arts arid other subject areas. "The grams. The team of developers included year, many states received waivers ESL Standards describe the language members from TESOL's ESL Standards from the Department in order to skills necessary for social and academic and Assessment team, NABE members allow them to develop performance purposes." (TESOL, p. 1). They are not and staff; representatives of the Alliance standards in conjunction with their a substitute for English language arts stan- for Curriculum Reform (AC12), a rep- aligned assessments. (U.S. Depart- dards since the scope of the content is resentative of the ment of Education, February different for English language learners 2000). and native English speakers learning reading, writing, listening, speaking, and ESL and ELD Standards other literary/graphic representations. Some states are developing and imple- There are four options for states and menting standards in additional subject school districts using ESL Standards for areas. Eventually all subject areas will have instruction and assessment. Gottlieb standards at all grade levels. In two states (2000) has proposed a curricular frame- (New York and California) and several work that suggests that national ESL stan- major cities (such as Chicago and Phila- dards may be: delphia), large numbers of ELLs have 1) adopted as stated; made it imperative to develop English 2) amplified, reordered, or restated; as a second language (ESL) or English 3)adapted and aligned with those from Language Development (ELD) stan- dards. These standards offer a develop- mental approach to learning English that merges with the state's English language arts standards. They apply for ELL in- struction provided in a variety of class- room settings, such as bilingual, dual-language, pullout or inclusion in- struction. Developmentally appropriate instruction aimed at standards that use higher order reasoning and probOeh solving can occur in any language. -77.1 NABE NEws 5 National Education Association (NEA), velopment will support and create op- ESL Standards specifically address En- and experienced K-12 ESL/bilingual portunities for teachers to use instruc- glish language development, and not educators. NSSE plans to publish the tional strategies within an academically home language development, they do publication, Program Evaluation: ESL, challenging curriculum. not/would not specifically guide a bi- in the summer of2001. The content of Often, the first step toward change lingual teacher delivering literacy in- the guide is designed for use in a variety takes place at a faculty meeting or a school struction in a student's home language. ofprogram models wherever English is improvement committee meeting. However, teachers can readily apply the taught as a second language, i.e. ESL in- Here, school leaders share or investigate language development concepts, as well clusion, ESL pullout, transitional bilin- effective research. From this activity, as the domains (social language, academic gual, dual-language and immersion. staffdecide upon common strategies for language, and socio \cultural knowledge) There are rubrics for the national ESL implementation in district classrooms. to home language instruction. content standards and indicators of in- Faculties decide which implementation Content instruction in a bilingual structional and organizational effective- strategies work best for their students. or dual-language classroom follows the ness. These ESL/Bilingual program They may try one new strategy per content area standards developed by each specific indicators describe processes es- month or different teachers may try dif- state, even though the teacher delivers tablished in the school to raise the in- ferent strategies then report on effec- the content in a language other than En- structional standards for ELLs. In tiveness for their unique student glish. Organizing learning around clearly addition, NSSE has developed program population. When the faculty gets to- defined standards makes it easier for the evaluation guides for English Language gether again, they discuss the alignment students to connect their knowledge Arts and Foreign Languages and all other ofthe strategies to the standards and their base, developed in any language, to new subject areas; these provide a common effectiveness in their classes. At that content area learning. Various bilingual basis for the whole school to establish point, staffdecide whether to add those or dual-language delivery models avail- common learning goals for all students strategies that are most effective for all able support standards based instruction. across disciplines. students, including ELLs. A few examples follow: Another set of resources in the General education stand2rds may be D Arranging the content from implementation of standards-based in- used during ESL, bilingual and dual-lan- various subject areas around a struction for ELLs in K-12 programs is guage instruction. However, it is some- theme will enable the teacher the Promoting Excellence series. Its six times difficult to envision how those to reinforce content and vo- Guiding Principles capture the essence of standards work in the classroom with cabulary from various angles. an optimal environment for ELLs and some students who are not fluent En- For example, teach the social stud- shares best practices based on research glish speakers. Bilingual teachers can use ies lesson in English, focused on findings. Promoting Excellence School Im- the ESL Standards from TESOL or the growing fruit and selling it. The sci- provement Guide, the latest in the series, NSSE Program Evaluation: ESL to en- ence lesson, in Spanish, could fo- will be published in September 2001. sure that they are adequately addressing cus on the parts of a tree. The This tool helps school district teams col- the social, academic, and socio-cultural mathematics lesson, conducted in lect data on school programs that address domains (Goals 1, 2, 3) in their English Spanish, could focus on measuring the needs of English language learners. language development program. These height (ofa tree) and depth (that you Each guiding principle lists indicators of same domains should be "adequately" plant it). The Spanish reading les- school practices that research has shown addressed in their native language de- son and English reading lesson could to be successful. In addition, the Promot- velopment program, too, particularly if focus on literature, with content ing Excellence School Improvement .Guide the program is developmental delineates five levels ofimplementation or a two-way immer- that yields a profile on the implementa- sion program. tion ofbest practices for ELLs. Promoting Since the Excellence materials parallel state content standards or ESL Standards. imple enting a standards-based curriculum A standards-based curriculum imple- mented in all classrooms allows schools to move toward their goal of maintain- ing high standards for all students. Sys- tematic school improvement strategies paired with on-going professional de- 6 JULY/ AUGUST 2001 that would link the lessons and re- ported that 28 percent of the teachers tide, Goettlieb discusses how adminis- inforce vocabulary learned in the said that they had no training on how to trators and teachers can more fully uti- content lessons, such as: The Giv- implement state standards. Yet, profes- lize the information gained from ing Tree by Shel Silverstein, A Tree sional development is a key to linking standards-based assessment to guide is Nice by Janice Udry or a Spanish the standards with the needs students, in instruction. 0 language book about growing, such particular ELLs and students in bilin- as Una Semilla Nada Mas by Alma gual or dual-language classrooms. Janet Orr, M.A., is a researcher and tech- nical assistance provider with the Centerfor Equity and Excellence in Education, The George Washington Universit. Send com- ments or feedback on this article to The six guiding principles capture [email protected]. the essence of an optimal environment References and Resources for Ells and share beg practice Buchanan, Keith. (2001). School administrators' guide to the ESL standards. Alexandria,VA: based on research findings. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Retrieved March 20, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http:// www.tesol.org/assoc/k 2standards/re- sources/esladminguide.pdf Education Week. (2001). A better balance: Flor Ada. Teach the content of the Teachers may take the initiative to standards, tests, and the tools to succeed. lessonin the home language establish a support group with similar Seeking stability for standards-based edu- (through the Preview Technique, grade level or subject area interests that cation. Education Week, January 11, 2001, 20(17): 8-9. (This whole issue focuses on with the new material taught in can collaborate regularly to research and state standards and assessment across the English and the review/revision of discuss the implementation of success- nation.) the content done in the home lan- ful practices. Bilingual and ESL teach- Gottlieb, M. (2000). Standards-based, large- guage. ers need to collaborate with their grade scale assessment of ESOL students. In D The teacher can plan on teach- level or subject specific colleagues to as- M. A. Snow (Ed.). Implementing the ESL ing specific content areas in standards for pre-K-12 students through teacher sure that they draw on the same stan- education (pp. 167-186). Alexandria, VA: one language for one semester dards that grade or content area teachers Teachers of Eliglish to Speakers of Other and switching to the other lan- implement. Another possibility is to ask Languages. guage for the second semester. the administrator/principal for a coach Lachat, Mary. Ann. (1999). Standards, equity Since content is continually built that can visit on a regular basis to guide and cultural diversity. Providence, RI: The upon during each 'succeeding in- teachers in their implementation ofstan- Education Alliance, LAB'at BroWn Uni- structional opportunity, students versity. Retrieved March 20, 2001 from dards-based instruction. We all under-. the WorldWide Web: http:// will have an opportunity to experi- stand that a single in-service does not www.techmarketing.brtrc.com/ou/insti- ence the content and its underlying implement long-term change and that tutes/Equity_Resources/Standards, concepts innumerable times as they we need long-term change to align cur- _Equity,_and_Cultural_Diversity.pdf engage in school learning. riculum and instruction with the stan- Muirhead, Marilyn. (Ed.). (In press). Promot- dards. ing excellence school improvement guide. Ar- lington, VA: Center for Equity and Ex- Professional] Deveiopment cellence in Education, The George Wash- Opportunities Assessment of standards- ington University. (Information at: http:/ These instructional delivery models and based assessment /ceee.gwu.edu) the various strategies that teachers use to In tandem with reVitalizing instruction, TESOL. (1997). ESL standards for pre-K-12 stu- implement standards based instruction each state is in the process ofdeveloping dents. Alexandria, VA: Teachers of En- glish to Speakers of Other Languages take time to learn and incorporate into a plan to assess the performance of stu- (TESOL).(Informationat:hap:// every day practices. Professional devel- dents toward meeting state standards in www.tesol.org) opment opportunities should be avail- at least English and mathematics. These National Study of School Evaluation. (In able in each school to help teachers gain assessment processes dramatically impact press). Program evaluation:English as a sec- the strategies needed to implement a teachers. School districts that have ond language. Schaumburg, IL: Author. standards based instructional program. aligned curriculum with standards and (Information at: http://www.nsse.org) Recently Education Week (Jan. 11, 2001, teachers that have aligned instruction U.S. Department of Education, (February 2000) Overview_of Title I Assessment p. 8) undertook a telephone survey of with standards will be able to use the re- Fact Sheet, Retrieved April 20, 2001from teachers, Quality Counts 2001. It re- sults from assessments. In the next ar- the World Wide Web: http://www.ed.gov/ offices/OESE/saa/fact_sheet.html NABE NEws 7 56611. ed '292112u 3/ 34, 7 3 -7 13 44/ (5 I ss 1r 10 S-11 sS 5.15 BY MARGO GOTTLLIEB, ILLINOIS RESOURCE CENTER., IL in this era of standards-based educational reform, assess- Part 1: Features of Sound Assessment ment and accountability have become two powerful forces Accuracy that have a profound impact on school life. Educators who Accuracy lies in knowing the what (defining the parameters of work with English Language Learners (ELLs) must confront a domain or construct) and the why (identifying the purpose) the contradiction of honoring a state's mandate to include all for assessment. A Description ofStandards-based Assessment students in large-scale testing while maintaining the integrity for ELLs, presented on the following page, points to three of support services and commitment to sound educational primary purposes for assessment, lists their associated func- practices for their students. tions, and illustrates how different forms ofassessment are nec- This article explores elements oflarge-scale assessment essary to accurately describe student performance. that influence accountability for learning in K-12 settings The use of only one form of assessment cannot capture and examines how assessment systems specifically designed the wealth of information necessary for making educational for ELLs can offer enhanced ways of demonstrating student decisions at different points in time. Distinctions among the achievement. types of assessment help us distinguish how to use the infor- Accountability implies that the entire educational com- mation. At the same time, it is important to have data from munity takes responsibility for student learning. To justify multiple sources to gain a more comprehensive understand- decisions borne from assessment data, I propose that we, as ing ofthe total student. educators, must strive towards getting all As; that is, we must I> Screening measures produce data that allow us to make some insist on accuracy, appropriateness, and alignment as fowl-. preliminary decisions, such as-whether students meet eli- dations for assessment of ELLs. In addition to features of gibility requirements for support services or the extent sound assessment, we must recognize two other Asaccom- to which students would benefit from instruction in their modations and alternate assessmentas contributors to stan- native language. dards-based, large-scale efforts. Finally, we must challenge Formative measures are tied to classrooms and reflect in- schools, school districts, and states to create assessment sys- structional practices. Information gathered on a forma- tems that exemplify fairness, equity, and practicality for all tive basis is critical for informing teaching and learning students and educators. on an ongoing basis. Formative data, such as using run- 8 J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 1 A Description of Standards-based Assessment for English Language Learners TYPE OF ASSESSMENT MEASURE PURPOSE OF THE ASSESSMENT FUNCTION OF THE ASSESSMENT SCREENING MEASURES Set eligibility criteria for support services Determine students' language and academic and threshold or benchmark levels that trig- , proficiencies in English and their native lan- ger participation in large-scale assesSment guage FORMATIVE MEASURES Report classroom-based information, linked Determine student progress in language de- to standards, that complements large-scale velopment and academic achievement in assessment all content areas SUMMATIVE MEASURES Report individual, school, district, and state Determine student movement toward attain- information, anchored in standards, that dem- ment of content standards onstrates accountability for student learning ning records for monitoring literacy development or col- resentation of the student population, is critical to ensure that lecting oral and written language samples from the con- the assessment has a multicultural, rather than Anglo-centric, tent areas, provide us insight into the pace at which students orientation. In addition, variables unique to ELLs, such as are moving toward the attaininent ofcontent standards. their oral language proficiency and litetacy in their native lan- D Summative assessment offers Lis cumulative data, accrued guage and English, as well as years of Continuous schooling over a school year, for instance, in the form of summary inside and outside the United States Must be built into an sCores to determine'the movement of students towards assessment blueprint. In that way, the full range of the students' attainment ofstandards. linguistic and academic performance can be captured. Envisioning assessment as an iterative process is a more accurate description than confining assessment to a Single event. Ac- Alignment cordingly, there are four distinct phases to the assessment cycle: With accountability becoming the watchword of school re- a) planning; b) collecting and recording information; c) analyz- form, content standards have become the anchor for curricu- ing and interpreting information; and d) usitig information for lum, instruction, and assessment. Consequently, teachers and reporting and decision-making. It is critical that ELLs be con- administrators haVe been required to determine the extent of sidered and incorporated into each alignment or match among these es- stage, as outlined in the underlying sential elements. The introduction of principles of assessment (TESOL, national ESL standards (TESOL, 2001, 1998). 1997) has afforded schools, districts, We must insist and states the opportunity to extend Appropriateness on accuracy, standards-based efforts to classrooms We must be vigilant to ensure that the with our most recent ELL arrivals and developmental, cognitive, as well as appropriateness, to define the beginning stages of the linguistic and cultural characteristics and alignment developmental continuum that leads ofELLs be taken into account in the these students toward the attainment design ofassessments. Developmen- as foundations ofstate content standards. tal appropriatenesS refers to both the for assement Alignment is also necessary be- pedagogical practices of teachers and tween the provision of student sup- the type ofmaterials used by students. of Ells. port services and expected student For example, fifteen- year old ELLs, outcomes. How we assess ELLs must regardless of their educational back- correspond with the amount, type, groun ds, should engage in assessment and scope of services afforded them. activities that are reflective of teenage students and contain For example, for accountability purposes (not for initial place- artwork, graphs, or charts that depict the teenage world. ment decisions), the language ofassessment should mirror that In regards to the use ofinferential and higher level think- ofinstruction. Ifstudents' educational experiences in the con- ing in assessment, sophisticated and complex academic con- tent areas have been in their native language, assessment in the cepts can be readily represented visually, reducing the reliance native language should follow suit; conversely, ifschooling has on print, to enhance the cognitive involvement of students. been exclusively in English, state standards tied to that curricu- The third area ofappropriateness, linguistic and cultural rep- lum should be assessed in English. ett" NABE Niws 9 -t.P An extension of this notion applies to the relationship between formative A Checklist for Maximizing Inclusion and summative assessment. Formative assessment refers to the ongoing gather- of English Language Learners in ing and analysis of information in class- rooms whereas summative assessment Standards-Based, Large-Scale Assessment denotes an accumulation ofinformation over time that is sunimarized by a single PHASE 1: PLANNING FOR INCLUSION O Offer professional development for performance. These two types ofassess- O Form a Task Force of stakeholders, teachers and administrators involved ment must be complementary in order including bilingual, ESL, and in pilot and field testing of the to yield a comprehensive academic pro- classroom teachers, administrators materials file of students. and policy-makers, to oversee O Collect data under standard condi- One way to tie the classroom and policy, research, and practice related tions large-scale assessment is to develop stan- to the state and district level O Obtain feedback from administrators, dards-based rubrics that can be used by assessments teachers, and students teachers on a continuous basis and by the school district or state at a specified point O Determine the purpose(s) of the O Select anchor papers or exemplars for assessment and the uses of performance tasks by grade level in time. To illustrate this point are two assessment data clusters based on the criteria defined examples of statewide rubrics for ELLs, O Devise curriculum frameworks that in the rubrics used in formative and summative assess- align ESL standards and district ment, based on each state's Language Arts standards (as applicable) with state standards. Ilinois uses a focused-analytic PHASE 3: EVALUATING THE EFFECTS rubric in its direct writing assessment, content standards OF INCLUSION Create a universal blueprint for the Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in O Analyze data with provision for assessment of all students English (IMAGE), a literacy measure spe- desegregation for specific subpopu- cifically created for ELLs. It is directly O Analyze delivery of support services lations (in regards to language use, time, aligned and statistically linked with the Norm measures or criterion-reference and setting) so that assessment state's writing rubric for the general popu- the measures against the standards matches instruction lation, yet has a component, Language O Form committees and train members O Make provisions for assessment of Production, that addresses the acquisi- to score performance tasks; develop a language (language proficiency) and tion ofwriting proficiency unique to sec- procedure to establish inter-rater content (academic achievement) on ond language students. In addition to its agreement a formative and summative basis summative function, the rubric is made O Determine psychometric properties O Adopt, adapt, or ddvelop measures, available for uSe by teachers through con- (reliability, validity, fairness, and including standardized tests and tinuous professional development activi- practicality) of the assessment(s) performance tasks and rubrics, ties and has been incorporated into O Establish benchmarks (or cut-scores) according to the established blueprint supplementary classroom materials de- from the data and create designations O Convene a bias review panel to ensure veloped for ELLs. with performance definitions fairness and equity across groups Delaware, as part of the Portfolio O Produce a technical manual O Plan data analyses and research Assessment of Limited English PrOfi- studies to be conducted in tandem O Develop reporting forms at the cient Students (PALS) Project, is cur- with administration, such as using student, school, district, and state rently piloting a set offive-point, holistic accommodation strategies, equating levels rubrics that are developmental scales for of measures, and establishing inter- O Report results of research studies and ELLs. Alignment is assured by incorpo- rater agreement for interpreting determine their impact on the rating select criteria from the state's Lan- performance tasks assessment guage Arts standards into the highest O Identify ample number of students, O Construct an accountability formula levels ofperformance. For formative as- schools, and districts for sampling that reflects the relative weight of sessment, at three designated points in during pilot and field testing of each assessment within the system the year, teachers selected from a menu assessments O Offer professional development for of language functions and suggested administrators and teachers on the samples of student work for each stan- PHASE 2: IMPLEMENTING meaning of the results and the dard at four grade level clusters to design INCLUSIONARY PRACTICES implications for instruction of ELLs performance assessment. Teachers then Develop an administration manual O Prepare the assessment, teachers, and interpreted students' original work ac- with guidelines for teachers and administrators for system-wide cording to:these scales. For summative adminiStrators adoption assessment, a set ofstandard, secure tasks have been developed for benchmark II. ii .e.aa 10 JU L Y /AU G U S T 2 0 0 1 4411i grades, with the identical standards-based rubrics converted . bottom of the red liquid and put into mercury. The metal floats in the to task-specific scales to improve inter-rater agreement in . mercury. Which statement would be most correct based on the observa- scoring at the state level. tions? Having considered the features of accuracy, appropriate- . A. The density of the red liquid is less than the density of the mercury. ness, and alignment in our assessment practices, we have ac- B. The mass of the mercury must be greater than the mass of the red liquid. knowledged the essential elements ofvalidity. Equally . C. The volume of the red liquid must be less than the volume of the important, the use of accurate, appropriate measures that are mercury. aligned with standards, curriculum, and instruction will mini- . D. A larger metal object made of the same metal would sink in the mercury. mize bias in assessment. Having established the parameters of sound assessment for ELLs, we can now move forward to its systematic implementation. Liquid = 300 grams Solid metal object = Part2: Ompllementation of Soamd Assessment 50.4 grams Schools, school districts, and states are under tremendous pres- Solid metal object = sure to produce trend data that show improvement ofstudents' 50.4 grams Mercury academic performance over time. However, to include ELLs prematurely in state assessment that has been determined to be inaccurate, inappropriate, and invalid for these students only Below is the identical item that has been modified for ELLs. serves to increase the overall participation rate, producing re- The format of the item has been altered with a cluster of ac- sults that, more often than not, penalize both students and their commodations. schools. Admittedly, inclusion ofELLs is a goal of large-scale assessment programs, however, guidelines and policies need to Which statement would be most correct based on your observations? be developed and implemented rather than relying on an arbi- A. The density of the liquid is < the density of the mercury. trary ruling from key administrators. The checklist to the left B. The mass of the mercury is > the mass of the liquid. outlines a three-phased plan to maximize inclusionary prac- C. The volume of the liquid is < the volume of the mercury, tices for ELLs in large-scale assessment efforts. D. A larger metal object made of the same metal would sink in mercury. Accommodations In this instance, an illustration relays the same content informa- One response by states and school districts to the need ofguar- tion as the text (without over reliance on print), mathematical anteed inclusion ofELLs in large-scale assessment has been the symbols are substituted for phrases, and key scientific terms are introduction of accommodations. Accommodations refer to highlighted. Thus, ELLs have a greater opportunity ofaccessing the support provided students for a given testing event, either concepts they may have been taught without diminishing the through modification of the instrument or the testing proce- challenging content standard being addressed. Although research dure, to assist students gain access to the content (Butler & may inform us of the benefits of accommodations for some Stevens, 1997). Accommodations in which the setting or time ELLs, their applicability to the heterogeneous ELL population are modified, such as extended test taking time, small group or is suspect. Only through the development of alternate assess- individual administration, and a separate location for adminis- ment can we gain insight into the academic performance of tration, are the most common practices for ELLs in state assess- ELLs at all language proficiency levels. ment programs (Rivera, Stansfield, Scialdone, & Sharkey 2000). The use ofblanketed accommodations is questionable at Alternate Assessment best and research on the types or clusters ofaccommodations By definition, ELLs cannot yet meet state content standards in that are viable for ELLs has been limited (Abedi, 1999; English and thus qualify for support services. To assume their Kiplinger, Haug, & Abedi, 2000). Although accommoda- participation in state assessment efforts is fair and equitable, tions that have simply been retrofitted to an assessment that has then, is erroneous. As mentioned previously, accommoda- not heen conceptualized or normed on ELLs do not offset tions may serve those ELLs who have reached a benchmark validity issues, they may be a reasonable solution for students level of linguistic and academic proficiency. However, there who have reached a threshold level of English language and are other students, such as those with limited formal school- academic proficiency. ing, who are unable to profit from even adjusted test items. If Case in point is a released item from the 10th grade sci- those students and their teachers are to be held accountable for ence and technology section ofa state assessment. It illustrates learning and teaching, alternate assessment must be consid- how ELLs' understanding ofacademic content may be facili- ered as part ofa school district's or state's equation. tated through accommodations without compromising its Alternate assessment may be defined as the gathering of conceptual complexity. The unaltered item reads as follows: defensible datagenerated from standards-based measures designed for ELLsthat offers a viable means of document- Asolid metal object that has a mass of 50.4 grams is put into a red ing ELL student progress. It may range from the development liquid with a total mass of 300.0 grams. The metal object sinks to the of a specific test, performance tasks and rubrics, to a standard bottom of the red liquid. The same metal object is retrieved from the portfolio of evidence; irrespective of the type of assessment, NABE NEWS 11 however, there must be proven psychometric properties. A with accommodations that have been tested and researched combination of formative and summative measures may be on ELLs. The second benchmark signals the movement of included to extend implementation to everyday instructional ELLs into district or state assessment, again, based on a con- practices at the classroom level. stellation of factors, with the subsequent removal of both in- One such system is currently under development in Wis structional and assessment supports. consin. Groups of bilingual/ESL content specialists in Lan- Both classroom and large-scale assessment exist through- guage Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies analyzed the out the system. Classroom performance that is interpreted by performance indicators for each of the states content standards a standard scale honors everyday interactions between teach- using set criteria and, when necessary, converted them to al- ers and students, offers input from teachers into educational ternate performance indicators for ELLs. For each alternate decision-making, and recognizes formative assessment as a performance iridicator, alternate assessment activities/tasks contributor to accountability. were then suggested along with applicable data sources. An Ultimately, an assessment system which is built on multiple implementation guide was created that highlighted a five- indicators and relies on multiple data sources becomes more vi- point, focused-analytic rubric that addresses components of able and defensible than one that is devoted to a single measure. academic achievement. With the steady growth of linguistically and culturally di- Within a given time frame, classroom and bilingual/ESL verse students throughout the United States, it is imperative teachers working with ELLs at benchmark grades, collaborate that we reassess the large-scale, often high stakes, assessments in the collection of original student work in each content area. currently in vogue. We must demand accuracy, appropriate- Oral or written evidence in English or the student's native ness, and alignment of standards, curriculum, and instruction language, depending on instruction, become the products of with assessment. But to maximize achievement and account- performance assessment. The students' samples are interpreted ability, and claim all As for our students and our profession, we based on the rubric's descriptors and resulting scores, that cor- also must recognize the necessity of constructing a compre- respond to specified designations, are reported to the state. hensive assessment system for every school district and state. Extensive professional development about the instructional Until we build an inclusive network of complementary mea- assessment systemand on establishing inter-rater agreement sures that reflect who our students are and what they can do, among teachersis soon to be augmented by the compilation our educational enterprise is compromised. 0 of student exemplars at benchmark grade levels. A validation study is also underway for students participating in both alter- A/largo Gottlieb, Ph.D., is Director, Assessment and Evaluation, of nate assessment and accommodated state assessment. the Illinois Resource Center in Des Plaines. This article is an adap- tation of Getting Straight A's, keynote addresses she delivered at the Assessment Systems TEXTESOL 2000 and MATSOL 2001 Conferences. Margo An assessment system, defined as a network of interrelated can be contacted at [email protected]. measures built for inclusion ofELLs, must be designed with multiple purposes in mind. This vision of assessment must 'References include proficiency measures that inform us of students' lan- Abedi, J. (1999).The impact of students' background characteristics on accom- modation results for students with limited English proficiency.Paper pre- guage development, and content measures that relate the stu- sented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Re- dents' academic achievement. Both types ofinstrumeUts need search Association. Montreal, Canada. ERIC #ED431786. to be grounded in standards in order to ensure a seamless tran- Butler, F. A., & Stevens, R. (1997). Accommodation strategies for sition for students and their ultimate success in school. A frame- English Language Learners on large-scale assessments: Student work that includes the provision of multiple forms of characteristics and other considerations.CSE Thchnical Report 448. Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Stan- large-scale, standards-based assessment is shown below. 1 dards, and Student Testing (CRESST). ESL standards for Pre-K-12 students.(1997). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of An Inclusive Framework for Standards-based, Laige-Scale Assessment English to Speakers of Other Languages. for States and School Districts with English Language Learners Kiplinger, V. L.,Haug, C. A. & Abedi, J. (2000).Measuring mathnot readingon a math assessment: A language accommodations study of En- Benchmark 2 glish Language Learners and other special populations.Paper presented at the CCSSO Large-Scale Assessment Conference, Snowbird, Utah. ERIC #ED441813 Alternate Assessment District or State District or State Managing the assessment process: A framework for measuring student Assessment with Assessment attainment of the ESL standards.TESOL .Professional Papers #5. Accommodations (1998). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. The framework, which is representative of the second Rivera, C., Stansfield, C. W., Scialdone, L., & Sharkey, M. (2000).An language acquisition continuum, specifies two criticaijunc- analysis of state policies for the inclusion and accommodation of English turesnr hpnChrilfirkg The first Language Learners in state assessment programs during 1998-1999.Wash- point corresponds to ELLs' ington, DC: George 11i,c1,,gtn,,Univeriry,Centcr for Equity and participation in alternate assessment that has embedded lan- Excellence in Education. guage proficiency and academic indicators predictive of the Scenarios for ESL standards-based assessment.(2001). Alexandria, VA: Teach- students' readiness to move into district or state assessment ers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. 12 J U L Y / A U G U S T2 0 0 1 THEORY INTO PRACTICE Column Editor: Dr. Alicia Sosa, NABE Weaving Assessment Into a Standards-based Curriculum BY ANN KATZ,ARCASSOCIATES, CA Standards-based curriculum reform has dominated the educa- ing with other learners in rich contexts, current assessment prac- tional landscape for more than a decade now. This innovation has tice is characterized in richer, more complex ways. Such assess- refocused the talk about teaching and learning in classrooms across ment may be: the United States. Instead of focusing on which textbook to fol- D authentic: tasks are drawn from students' instructional low or methodology to employ, we have moved to a more funda- context mental analysis ofinstructional content. What should our students D dynamic: tasks may be complex, requiring several steps; be learning? What should those textbooks contain? How can learning may be demonstrated through extended responses methodology serve what is being taught? While this shift in focus or explanations bodes well for education in general and serves as the underpin- D individual and group: learning may be demonstrated in ning for many school-wide reform efforts, the standards-based individual as well as group performances education movement has for the most part ignored the needs of D multiple: learning may be demonstrated through more English Language Learners (GOmez, 2000). than one source and on more than one occasion In 1997, TESOL released its ESL standards for grades pre-K D standards-based: learning is measured against specific in- to 12 to ensure that English language learners would be included structional targets tied to standards. in the smndards-based curriculum reform movement. While this The framework for assessment that shapes the practices por- effort has brought ESL and English language learners into the trayed in this book situates assessment and instruction within the conversation around what students should know and be able to broader context of teaching and learning and positions the ESL do, now the topic has shifted to asking how well students should standards as a focal point. Figure 1 shows the linkage across in- know what they know and how much of this knowledge they can struction, assessment and standards. demonstrate. Demands for accountability are pushing schools and programs to explore whether what they do is having an effect on Figure 1. The Context for Instruction and Assessment the students they serve. Schools must show that learning is taking place. Yet ,as with the standards movement, little thought has gone into identifying and selecting assessments suitable for En- glish language learners. In many cases, our learners face assess- ments given only in English and often not aligned to the content ESL specified in state and district standards. Standards for Pre-K--12 More recently, as an outgrowth of the ESL Standards work, Students TESOL released Scenarios for ESL Standards-Based Assessment (2001). One of the few assessment resources focused on the needs of English language learners, the Scenarios provide a variety of useful tools for weaving assessment into classrooms serving En- glish Language Learners. The first section sets out a conceptual framework that articu- According to this model, each component serves a purpose lates the relationship between instruction and assessment and how in designing enriched educational experiences for our students. standardsESL, math, reading, or social studies, for example Both are necessary for the well-designed classroom. can provide the focus for both. Classroom based examples illustrate how this framework can be implemented in a range of contexts, The Assessment Process from bilingual elementary classrooms to pull-out ESL sessions. It is useful to remember that while we often think about assess- Sprinkled throughout the book are examples ofassessment instru- ment in terms of specific tests or performance tasks, such a per- ments, teacher planning tools, and scoring rubrics. Following are spective ignores its broader function. We need to consider why strategies that will serve bilingual educators well. we collect assessment information. What is our purpose? Who is our audience? What stake- Conceptual ha mark holders are interested in our results? Granted, many of us give The approach to assessment draws heavily from recent changes in tests because we are required to do so, and many of those assess- assessment practice. Just as instruction has been influenced by ment are inappropriate for English language learners because they current thinking about teaching and learning that envisions learn- ignore the language proficiency levels ofstudents taking the tests ers as active participants in constructing knowledge and interact- or cultural mismatches between our learners and the content of ,S 250 NA BE NEWS 13 Figure 2: The Assessment Cycle Planning assessments identifying purposes and audiences ---de-vising a time line for data collection and analysis /selecting standards and instructional /strategies /setting performance levels or benchmarks designing or selecting performance/ proficiency/commercially developed, nationally norm-referenced tests-and tasks Using information for reporting and modifying and/or selecting rubrics decision making modifying instructional plan Collecting and recording information sharing student progress with using journals and feedback forms students and parents conferencing with students creating additional program support using performance tasks and for English language learners assessment documents administering commercially developed, nationally norm- referenced tests observing students and maintaining Analyzing and interpreting information anecdotal records applying standards to information collected interpreting scores for students, classes( programs, districts, and states judging performances using scales and rubrics__ examining progress across time with multiple assessments using a data management system * Note that each phase of the assessment cycle is composed of a set of activities. the test. However, assessment that is meaningful and useful can tion, centers on implementing the plan. During this phase, stu- provide a rational basis for decision making at every level ofschool- dents complete tasks, take tests, and engage in a variety of activi- ing. Assessment information can help us decide, for example, ties. The teacher's role is to document student performances by whether the students in our classrooms are making adequate collecting and recording information about those performances. progress toward attaiMng standards. It helps us determine what This could entail observing students and recording those obser- services our students need in order to gain access to the core vations via anecdotal records or an observation rating sheet or curriculum and to succeed in the classroom. collecting a variety of student writing. Ensuring that assessment information is meaningfI.il and useful In the third phase, Analyzing and Interpreting Assess- requires more than picking the best test available. It entails creating ment Information, teachers process the information collected. a well-thought-out assessment plan. Figure 2 sets out a four-phase They may score student essays using a rating scale orjudge a per- assessment cycle that is the heart ofthe assessment process proposed formance against a checklist. They may interpret scores from a in the Scenarios for creating sound assessment plans. variety of tests to discern patterns of achievement, both for indi- The first phase of the process, Planning Assessments, is viduals as well as for groups of students. Teachers may also engage perhaps the most critical since well-thought out plans offer teach- other members ofthe classroom community in carrying out these ers a better chance ofactually implementing their assessment ideas. kinds of activities. For example, student peers may rate other Planning activities can include, for example, setting out timelines students' performances in an activity, such as a debate, or review for incorporating a variety of assessment tools across a period of one another's writing in peer editing sessions. instruction. Another key activity is determining the focus ofin- The last phase, Using Information for Reporting and struction and selecting appropriate materials and instructional Decision Making, reminds us that we don't collect assessment strategies to assist students in achieving those objectives. information just because testing is part ofwhat we do. We collect The second phase, Collecting and Recording Inforyiii assessment information to do something with it, to fulfill a pur- 14 J U L Y / A U G U S T2 0 0 1 g5I pose for assessment articulated in the first phase of the assessment monitored on a regular basis, cycle when we plan the lesson and envision how we can engage yet Ms. Hurtado has a work- our students in classroom activities to deepen their learning. One load that is realistic and doable. purpose for assessment may be to examine the effectiveness of She reviews these records instruction. Teachers may use information about student learn- monthly and transfers informa- ing to sharpen their lesson plans or to reteach segments that stu- tion from them to a more for- dents may not yet have mastered. Phase four activities also include mal checklist. For another reporting out assessment information to members of the school collecting and recording tool, communityother teachers, parents, supervisors, and the stu- Ms. Hurtado and the class have dents themselves. designed a classroom checklist that embodies class-generated cri- The Scenarios teria for an excellent book talk. The heart of the document consists of a series of scenarios that As students present their book talks to the class, Ms. Hurtado fills translate the framework for assessment into practice. Assessment out one of these checklists and includes it in the monthly records ideas for each ESL standard are provided within the context of for each student. classrooms serving English language learners. These classroom as- Ms. Hurtado reviews her anecdotal records and other assess- sessment "stories" span the K-1 2 grade levels, each offering a glimpse ment data on a regular basis to note progress for each student and of how a teacher might approach the task of assessing student discern specific skills that may be needed by all or many students. progress toward specific instructional objectives tied to standards. Ifshe finds, for example, that a number of students are struggling The intent is to provide educators with ideas to spark innovation to give reasons when starting a sentence such as "I like this book rather than to be a recipe book for imitation. Assessment activities because...", she can design a mini lesson to address this skill. are embedded within the four-phase assessment cycle in order to Ms. Hurtado shares assessment information with a range of highlight the purposefulness ofassessment practices within an as- stakeholders at her school. She makes sure parents and students sessment plan. To give you a sense ofwhat these assessment stories are up to date on their progress. She shares results with other are like, the following are some examples ofassessment activities teachers, for example, the reading specialist, if extra assistance or and tools drawn from one ofthe elementary level scenarios. enrichment is needed.Her assessment data also guide her in de- This scenario takes place in a second grade bilingual class- ciding whether or not a speCific lesson or activity has been effec- room. Most students are at the intermediate level ofEnglish lan- tive or if it needs to be modified or retaught. It is useful to guage proficiency and both English and Spanish are the languages remember that while assessment data help us monitor student of instruction. The teacher, Ms. Hurtado, is a native speaker of progress, they can also provide us with insight into the effective- Spanish, and learned English after moving to the United States ness of our teaching. from Mexico as a teenager. The standard addressed is Goal I , Standard 2: To use English to communicate in social settings: Students Conclusion will interact in, through, and with spoken and written English for per- This scenario illustrates how well planned assessment practices sonal expression and enjoyment. In this scenario, the focus for in- can be woven into classroom instructional activities to help us struction is on reading and oral communication.. collect information useful for decision making, not only within For this lesson, Ms. Hurtado has identified several English the classroom but at all levels of schooling. Teachers must care- language objectives from her district to guide her planning of fully consider the steps they can take to ensure that their students instruction and assessment for a unit that will continue all year. develop the skills and knowledge necessary for success in school. Among other things, she wants her students to be able to: As teachers learn a variety of assessment approaches and design D talk with peers about their favorite books and characters; plans for collecting information about student performances, they D ask questions of peers and adults about books and library become better able to gauge their students' progress throughout procedures; and the school year. Ongoing assessment in the classroom can provide D present information to the whole class about a favorite book. information that will assist us in making decisions about instruc- She will utilize weekly visits to the library to help students tion that will improve our students' educational opportunities achieve these objectives over time. She has divided the class into and provide us with meaningful documentation ofwhat students four heterogeneous groups so that students have an opportunity know and can do. 0 to talk about books in small groups. Among the activities she envisions at the library, students will look for books to check out, Anne Katz led the team that developed the assessment guidelines in and they will occasionally listen to the librarian read a story. Par- conjunction with the ESL Standards project. As a Senior Research ents will also be invited to read stories in Spanish and English. Associate for ARC Associates in Oakland, CA, she has worked on a Every month, students will share their books with the whole class variety of research and evaluation projects connected with the education in a book talk. To facilitate inlplementation of these ideas, Ms. of linguistically and culturally diverse students.Formerly, she taught Hurtado has created a monthly plan for the library visits. The ESL in Brazil and the US. following figure shows her plan for collecting data to document student progress toward the instructional objectives. References Ms. Hurtado can use this plan to keep track of student Gomez, E. (2000). "A History of the ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Stu- progress throughout the year as she collects assessment data utiliz- dents," In Snow, M.A. (Ed.) Implementing the ESL Standards for Pre- ing several collecting and recording tools. For example, she writes K-12 Students Through Teacher Education. Alexandria, VA: TESOL anecdotal records during the weekly library visits on a clipboard. TESOL (1997) ESL standards for pre-K-12 students. Alexandria, VA: Author Note that according to the plan, she only observes one of the four TESOL (2001)Scenarios for ESL Standards-Based Assessment. Alexandria, groups each week during the month. In this way, students are VA: Author 11.9' NABE NEWS 15 A ADMINISTRATION OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS Column Editor: Mary I. Ramirez, MA. Multiple Paths to Literacy Lead Educators at Davis to Re-think Assessment BY: ELIZABETH ARNOT-HOPFFER, DAVIS BILINGUAL MAGNET SCHOOL, TUCSON, AZAND PATIkICK.H._SMITH,__LINIYERSIDAD_DE_LAS_AMERICAS,Y_uEBLA,_MEXICO_ "The Davis community has raised test scores in which children were allowed to study many of whose families have chosen the because it is not in the business of raising test in their first language. In 1981, in response school's dual language program hoping scores. Rather, the greatest pride comes from to a federal desegregation lawsuit, Davis their children will regain Spanish and re- raising bilingual and biliterate children, frilly became a bilingual magnet school, at- vitalize their Latino heritage. About half capable of understanding the world and confi- tended by children ofneighborhood fami- of the students qualify for free- or re- dent of their place in it." lies and ethnic majority children from duced-school lunch programs. other parts ofTucson. Barrio students, who The Davis faculty consists of 12 class- Following decades of one-size-fits-all make up about 35% of the student popu- room teachers: two per grade level plus schooling for language niinority children, lation, are mostly from Spanish-dominant two subject area specialists for art and mu- educators at Davis Bilingual Magnet homes, although almost all begin school sic. With support from federal desegre- School in Tucson, Arizona have em- with considerable knowledge ofEnglish gation funds, there are also full-time braced dual language education as most and Spanish. Magnet students constitute instructional aides in each classroom, as appropriate for meeting the cognitive and well as a full-time exceptional education linguistic needs of students. Since 1993, teacher, librarian, curriculum specialist, successful dual language instruction at and counselor on staff All faculty, staff Davis has meant rejecting the idea ofstan- and administration are bilingual and 71% dardization of children, teachers, cur- of the classroom teachers hold an IV1A de- riculum, communities, families, and of a Because at Davis gre.e or higher. Three are currently en- single path to biliteracy. More recently, it rolled in doctoral programs. Most have has also meant examining the wisdom of teachers are in the taken academic courses in both languages state mandated standardized testing for business of raising and 65% have taught in a dual language children as young as first gtade. It means children, not test scores, program for more than five years, mean- practicing a wholesale commitment to we asked teachers to ing that the Davis faculty is unusually well- additive bilingual education thtough trained and experienced even for a dual school-designed programs thatlike lan- reflect on why they language program (Smith, 2000). Like guageare ever evolving. think the dual language most magnet schools, the student body and program at Davis is so faculty are quite stable. The School's History This was not always the case..Founded in successful. El Programa de Inmersinn en 1901 in the heart of one of Tucson's old- Dos Idiomas: Dual Language est Mexican American barrios, Davis has Education at Davis served families of Barrio Anita and sur- Between 1981 and 1993, a maintenance rounding neighborhoods, most ofwhom bilingual education program was in place have been speakers ofminority languages: at Davis in which teachers were expected mainly Spanish, but also Chinese, Tohono approximately 65% of the student popu- to use Spanish as a vehicle for instruction O'odham, and Yaqui. Despite the mul- lation, and most begi6 school as monolin- 50% of the time and English 50% of the tilingual nature of the populationand gual or dominant speakers of English. time. By the mid 1980s Davis parents and in keeping with Arizona lawDavis was About 70% of the sdhool's 230 students teachers began to question this model as it a monolingual English school for the first are of Latino heritage, approximately 20% became obvious that students who entered eight decades of its existence. It was also are European-American, 6% are African- the prograin dominant in Spanish exited one of the poorest schools in Tucson. Not American, and 4% are of Native Ameri- in fifth grade bilingual and biliterate, but surprisingly, the dropout and failure rates can heritage. The largest single group of that students who entered the program at Davis far exceeded those at wealthier, students at Davis is cOmprised of third and dominant in English made less progress European-American-dominated schools, fourth generation Mexican-Americans, toward becoming productive bilinguals, 16 JULY/ AUGUST 2001 tas 2.13 although most could understand Spanish quite well (Brittain, 1991). Table 1. During the 1993-94 academic year, Distribution of Minority and Majority Languages of Instruction the school decided to implement a new model, oirrently referred to as the Dual GRADE DAVIS DL PROGRAM Language Immersion program, "El 100-0 Programa de Inrnersión en Dos Idiomas." At 1 100-0 Davis, all students, regardless oflanguage 2 85-15 background, receive instruction exclu- 3 70-30 sively through Spanish during their first 4 70-30 two years (K-1), with an increase in En- 5 70-30 glish as the language of instruction in sub- sequent years, but without exceeding a ratio of 70% Spanish and 30% English, as of 2000, despite receiving most of their ofsuccess in the DL program at Davis (See shown in Table 1. schooling in Spanish. also Arnot-Hopffer et al., 2001): As in most U.S. public schools, stu- Success on standardized measures D Recognition that Spanish and English dents and teachers at Davis work in the presents an interesting situation for Davis are not socially equal, accompanied context of increased public demand for educators who do not believe in them. by pedagogy that privileges Spanish accountability, associated with high scores For example, this spring teachers sup- (see program model above) on standardized measures of academic ported parents of first grade-students D Successful efforts to raise the status of achievement. Although many Davis edu- who opted to keep their children home Spanish, the minority language at cators are critical of the validity of stan- from school rather than have them take Davis dardized measures for minority students, the Stanford 9 Achievement Test. Yet, as D Close links with Spanish-speakers and and for second language learners in par- several teachers have observed, even Latino culture in Tucson ticular, they recognize that continued pa- though test results indicate that instruc- D Collegiality among faculty rental and district support for the DL tion at the school is generally Very effec- D CommitMent to biliteracy for all stu- program is at least partially contingent on tive, this is of little benefit for planning. dents high test scores. In 1999 the first genera- Because at Davis School teadhers are in D Small school and class size tion of Davis students to coMplete kin- the business of raising children, not test D Parental involvement that contributes dergarten. through fifth grade under the scores, we asked teachers to reflect on to a strong school "family" dual language model scored at or above why they think the dual language pro- the district and national averages in all cat- gram at Davis is successful. Las Woos egories of the Stanford 9 standardized de los Estudiantes: achievement test (Moll & Gonzalez, Las Maestros: Davis Students Share 2000). And 100% of Davis third graders Some Dmplications for Their Success met or exceeded the state standard in En- Successful Practice We have also gained important insights by glish reading on the Arizona Instrmnentfor The teachers with whom we met talked listening to students who are learning in Measuring Standards (AIMS) in the spring specifically about the following indicators this dual language program. We learned that children who feel confident enough to take risks gain greater access to their second language. We also learned that stu- dents as young as second grade are keenly aware of their own second language pro- ficiency and biliteracy, as well as the pro- ficiency of their classmates. We observed that, given the opportunity to explain their personal theories, students demonstrated knowledge of orthographic conventions so valued by schools, as well as differences inphonological,syntactic,and metalinguistic form (Arnot-Hopffer & Smith, 2001). Listening closely to the voices of stu- dents has helped us to understand that multiple paths to biliteracy exist, rather than a single path that all children must follow. An important lesson to remember when considering curriculum and read- t 254 NABE NEws 17 ing programs that promise uniform munity is readily apparent, Davis fami- Patrick H. Smith, Ph.D., teaches applied lin-. progress, is the understanding that there lies, students, and educators continue to guistics in the Department of Languages at the are multiple paths to biliteracy. This helps learn language through social interactions Universidad de las Americas-Puebla in Cholula, Davis teachers provide students with mul- that transcend classroom limits (Poveda, Mexico. His research focuses on the contribu- tiple ways to demonstrate success in the 2000). Recognizing the lower status of tions ofminority-languagefamilies and commu- dual language program. minority languages outside the school, the nities to bilingual schooling in Mexico and the By listening to students, we have also community privileges Spanish as part of United States. learned that development of second lan- the collective effort to promOte second guage literacy is most sensibly viewed as a language acquisition for all students. References process tliat necessarily takes place over In this supportive environment, Davis Arnot-Hopffcr, E., Carmichael, C. M., Murphy, E., Valle, A., Gonzalez, N., Poveda, A., & time. To use the metaphor of a foot race, students do well on standardized tests. Smith, P. H. (2001). Raise a child, not a test becoming a highly proficient reader and However, because the Davis community score:Perspectives on bilingual eduaition at Davis writer in one's second language is more understands the difference between real Bilingual Magnet School. Unpublished manu- like a marathon than a sprint. Because our learning and preparing children to take script, Davis Bilingual Magnet School, Uni- versity of Arizona ultimate goal is to help learners become tests and because it is a community in Arnot-Hopffer, E., & Smith, P. H. (2001, Feb- confident and eventually academically which colleagues, parents, and adminis- ruary). Everywhere but the swimming pool: Stu- competent reader/writers in their second trators will not allow highly motivated, dent perspectives on biliteracy development in a language, we need to question the wis- well prepared bilingual teachers to become dual language program.Paper presented at dom of evaluative measures that demand the 30'h Annual Conference of the National mere test-preparation technicianshigh Association for Bilingual Education. Phoe- students show uniform early competence. test scores are regarded as icing on the cake. nix, AZ. The challenge for DL teachers, then, is to Or, as a fourth-grade student put it, "la Brittain, F. (1991).Effects of maintenance bi- look at all students as capable oflong-term salsa en la tostada." The Davis community lingual/bicultural education on fully English success in becoming biliterate. Listening has raised test scores because it is not in proficient students. Journal of Educational Issues of Language Minority Students, 8, 125- to students helps Davis teachers provide the business ofraising test scores. Rather, 146. the conditions to achieve this goal. the greatest pride comes from raising bi- Brittain, F. (1999, August 16).Bilingual ed fans, lingual and biliterate children fully capable foes should work together.Guest Com- Lessons Learned ofunderstanding the world and confident ment, The Arizona Daily Star, p. A13. Today, after two decades of bilingual of their place in it. 0 Moll, L. C. & Gonzalez, N. (2000).Language schooling in which all children study con- ideology and biliteracy development: A longitu- dinal analysis qf learning through dual language tent via both Spanish and English, Davis Elizabeth Arnot-Hopffir is the Bilivual Cur- schooling.Progress Report, Year 1.Submitted Bilingual Magnet School is recognized riculum Specialist and a Spanish reading teacher to the Spencer Foundation. locally as "a national treasure" (Brittain, at Davis Bilingual Magnet School in Titcson, Poveda, A. (2000).Transforming the repressenta- 1999), an example of what bilingual edu- Arizona. Ms. Arnot-Hopffir has worked as a tions of schooling: a case study. Unpublished cation programs can achieve given ad- bilingual classroom and resource teacherfor Tuc- master's thesis, University of Arizona. equate human and financial resources. son Unified School District and as a Bilingual Smith, P. H. (2000). Community as resource for minority language learning: A case study of Span- Teacher Educator at the University ofArizona. Embedded in a culturally and linguistically ish-English dual language schooling.Unpub-. rich ambiente in which children and adults She is a doctoral student ofLanguage, Reading, lished doctoral dissertation, University of nurture each other, and a sense of coin- and Culture at the University of Arizona. Arizona. .. ftimmi 18 JULY/AUGUST 2001, R fre-ces Assessment and Best Practices Educational Regionai Lab Resources The Department ofEducation's Office for'Civil Rights has re- leased The Use ofTests When Making High-Stakes Decisionsfor Balancing Local Assessment with Statewide Testing: Building a Students, a resource guide for educators and policy-makers on Program That Meets Students Needs, written by Stanley the issue of tests as part of high-stakes decision-making for stu- Rabinowitz and Sri Ananda. dents. It provides instructions on how to provide tests for special This knowledge briefdelineates the role oflocal assessment in the needs students with legal rights, such as students with disabilities multitude of statewide, high-stakes assessment. Eight steps that or limited English proficiency. The guidance is available by call- ensure the most efficient and effective implementation oflocal ing the Office for Civil Rights at 1-800-421-3481 or on their assessments are. presented. For more information about this web page, wWw.ed.gov/offices/OCR. knowledge brief, contact WestEd by: visiting their Web site at WestEd.org; calling 415-565-3000 or 1-877-4WestEd; or http://research.cse.ucla.edu/ writing to 730 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA 94107-1242. Reports and publications from ALL national Research and De- velopment Centers funded through the U.S. Department of Eight Questions You Should Ask Bjore Implementing Standards- Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement Based Education at the Local Level written by Robert J. Marzano. are now accessible through this website. This publication outlines important considerations for state-level education policy makers, district administrators and teachers re- The Role of Classroom Assessment in Teaching and Learning sponsible for helping design and implement academic standards. written by Lorrie A. Shepard, University of Colorado This eight-page photocopied document is both a practical and a Boulder. This report develops a framework for understanding a thought-provoking outline to the standards-writing and imple- reformed view ofassessment, where assessment plays an integral mentation process. Available online in PDF and Text formats. role in teaching and learning. The author explains how class- Hard copies available for $5.00 (includes shipping and handling) room assessment practices must be transformed in two ways: in by contacting McREL at 303-337-0990 or [email protected] the content and character ofassessment and in the gathering, use, and view ofassessment information. This report is available for Making Assessment Work for Everyone: How to Build on Stu- $8.80 by contacting [email protected] or calling 202-362-0700. dent Strengths written by Patricia Kusirno, Melissa G. Ritter, Kathleen Busick, Chris Ferguson, Elise Trumbull, and An Analysis of State Policies for the Inclusion and Guillermo Solano-Flores. Accomodation of English Language Learners in State This publication contains eight sections; each provides informa- Assessment Programs during 1998-1999. tion, suggestions; and opportunities to try out key ideas. In addi- Rivera, Stansfield, Scialdone, and Sharkey's Report (2000)de- tion, there are activities to use with students and reflective scribes and analyzes state inclusion and accomodation policies exercises. Brief vignettes bring to life the challenges of equitable for limited English proficient students two years prior to the assessment and enable readers to look over the shoulders ofedu- deadline for the implementation of the requirements estab- cators who have developed strategies and tips for success. This lished under the Improving America's Schools Act. This act book is intended to be helpful both to individual readers and for stressed the necessity for all states to establish standard-based use as part of a professional development program. It may be tested sytems and to include LEP students in those systems. The downloaded at: http://www.sedl.org/pubs/d05. For a $20.00 study was funded by the Office of Bilingual Education and print copy, contact SEDL at 1-800-476-6861 or http:// Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA), a division of the U.S. www.sedl.org/pubs/catalog/items/d05.html Department of Education. Copies of the report may be or- dered from the Center for Equity and Excellence in Education ($18, includes shipping). Contact terry Hunter at (703) 528- 3588 or [email protected] to order. lag NAB,E NEWS 19 Assessment Issues and Other Considerations in Serving LEP, Poor, and Other Historically Underrepresented Students in Gifted Education: A Case Study BY JAIME CASTELLANO, SCHOOLDIS.IgIci_OF P_ALM_REACI-j C_OU_NTY.,..ELO111).A. The reasons for under-representation of certain student African-American, Hispanic, Haitian,LEP,and those students eli- groups from gifted education are well documented. gible for free and reduced lunch. An organized effort by the school Under-representation persists despite the fact that gifted district to address these issues was under way. children can be found in every racial, ethnic, economic, and TO this end, each of the district's five executive directors linguistic group (Stephens & Karnes, 2000; Castellano, 1998). selected two elementary schools from each of their geographic The identification ofgifted characteristics, and criteria used to areas to serve as Pilot Schools for gifted education. Pilot Schools identify and evaluate student potential, lies at the bottom of the were selected,on the basis ofhigh numbers ofpoor and minority problem. This probleM is most evident in the assessment phase students. In addition, selected schools had a history oflow-test of students enrolled in programs educating the gifted and tal- performance, high percentage ofat-risk students, high mobility ented. During the early years of gifted programs, the majority rates, and higb teacher turnover. All are further classified as Title of participants consisted of White students who attained the I schools. Table I identifies each of the schools by area, ethnicity, needed IQ score that assured their entrance and subsequent percentage of LEP students, and percentage ofstudents receiving participatiOn.IQscores continue to serve as an exclusionary free or reduced lunch. measure shutting out large percentages of the poor, and other culturally and linguistically diverse students. Ulti- mately this practice exacerbates issues Table 1. Gifted Education Program Pilot Schools: 1999-2000 of inequity and often eliminates any Schools % African % Hispanic % LEP % Low SES opportunity of gifted placement for American Free/Reduced Lunch many of these students. In January of1999, the District's De- Area 1 partment ofExceptional Student Educa- Plumosa 45.19% 15.01% 18.90% 66.72% Forest Park 56.71% 10.53% 32.70% 71.86% tion submitted a report to the School Board ofPalm Beach County, Florida en- Area 2 titled,Equity andExcellence: Nurturing and Rolling Green 52.64% 28.28% 43.60% 82.94% Developing Academic Talent in All Students. Barton 60.47% 28.51% 46.50% 90.59% The plan addressed the concerns found in Area 3 a complaint issued by the United States Palmetto 9.53% 67.73% 52.10% 84.11% Department for Civil Rights, and the rec- Westward 80.17% 5.91% 17.60% 81.71% ommendations included were ones that resulted from a comprehensive review Area 4 Pahokee 72.15% 24.88% 18.90% 94.92% and evaluatiOn of the district's gifted pro- Rosenwald 69.56% 28.32% 14.90% 94.56% gram by a renowned group ofgifted edu- cation experts. The directive was clear: to Area 5 identify, evaluate, and serve historically Lake Park 76.26% 3.65% 29.90% 89.02% West Riviera 92.55% 2.63% 7.70% 83.73% underrepresented students in gifted edu- cation. For Palm Beach County this meant 20 J U L Y /A U G U S T 2 0 0 1 a 7 Table 2. Plan B Matrix for Pilot Schools Table 3. Otis-Lennon School Abilities Test: Administered in Pilot Schools (K-2) Test Scores 3 Points 4 'joints 5 Points Reading Achievement 60-77 78-89 90-99 1998-1999 2000 OLSAT Pilot School Screening: (K-5) Screening: (K-2) Math Achievement 60-77 78-89 90-99 Forest Park 13 116 Gifted Behavioral Checklist 2.5 to 3.4 3.5 to 4.4 4.5 to 5.0 Plumosa 16 124 Classroom Performance Barton 17 64 (Avg. of last 4 Quarters) Rolling Green 6 75 Reading Grade C(S) B(VS) A(E) Palmetto 27 136 Math Grade C(S) B(VS) A(E) Westward 18 83 Pahokee 19 28 IQ Test by a Rosenwald 12 71 Licensed Psychologist 114-118 119-123 124Above Lake Park 14 75 TOTALS West Riviera 20 130 Assessment Considerations and dividing it by the total number of items checked deter- The District was legally required to use the matrix in Table 2 as mined its place on the matrix. If the characteristic was deemed per their Special Programs and Procedures Manual for Exceptional unobservable, it was not calculated in the total. Students, which has been in effect since 1995. However, one change was made. Students of participating Pilot Schools who Dees (Concerns) had scored 21 points, prior to the administration of an IQ test, The adjustments made to the matrix for the Pilot Schools did, in were determined eligible for the school's new gifted program, fact, increase the number of students eligible for gifted educa- and thus exempt from the IQ testing experience. Components tion. However, many issues were discussed, debated, and scruti- of the Plan B Matrix for students enrolled in the Pilot Schools are nized throughout the planning, preparation, and implementation listed in Table 2. of the Pilot School program. For example: Prior to using the matrix for eligibility purposes every stu- 1. Arguably, the Otis-Lennon School Abilities Test(OLSAT)is dent in grades K-2 of the pilot schools not considered by many to be an ap- was screened with the Otis-Lennon propriate screening instrument to School Abilities Test (OLSAT). The idea identify potential candidates from was to develop a talent pool ofstudents poor, minority, and other culturally for further evaluation. The OLSAT Qualitatively different and linguistically diverse student does have its critics; however, the populations for gifted education. Fur- instruction refers to those commitment to purchase this instru- thermore, many of the testing coor- inent had been made. The Ravens Stan- learning experiences that dinators indicated the importance of dard Matrices, a non-verbal measure of reflect the development of having additional adults present ddr- cognitive ability, was administered to critical and creative thinking ing the actual testing of kindergarten, LEP students. The screening accom- skills, content acceleration, first, and second grade students, as they plished its goal of identifying a talent and affective education. are not well versed in taking standard- pool (see Table 3) by using a standard ized tests. Nonetheless, as seen in Table score of 100 on any of the OLSAT 3, it did provide each school with a subtests, or a score of 90% on the substantial talent pool of students to Ravens. The evidence in Table 3 clearly further consider. shows a dramatic difference when results were compared to the 7.The Ravens Standard Matrices was administered to kindergat- previous year when no screening instrument was administered. ten students who were identified as possible candidates and Students that made it through the screening were further who were also limited English proficient (LEP). This prac- evaluated with the math and reading subtests (22-25) of the tice was contrary to the information found in the test ad- Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement, or the' Kaufman Test of ministration manual. As a result, many kindergarten students Educational Achievement(K-TEA).The results (percentile ranks) were eliminated for consideration. were then placed accordingly on the matrix, and the respective 3. Communication between teachers who share LEP students, number ofpoints was awarded. The gifted characteristics check- in most cases between the .ESOL and regular education list used was one specific to historically underrepresented stu- teacher, was inconsistent in some of the Pilot Schools. If the dents. The calculated score received after44 *nag a ded the totals student's ESOL teacher made a nomination, they were re- 258 NABE NEWS 21 sponsible for completing the appropriate gifted characteris- full-time and part-time models to consider, each with its own set tics checklist. In some instances, the regular (all-English) edu- of advantages and disadvantages. Important considerations in cation teacher did not agree and the result was altered, thus choosing a delivery model include funding, total number ofpar- potentially affecting the matrix score. ticipating students, space, personnel, and a commitment to meet- ing their specialized needs. Camicaphom and Ilnstnoction The gifted education program model used in the pilot schools To meet the special needs of students enrolled in the pilot pro- was the resource room model. It was chosen because ofconsider- gram model, qualitatively different instruction was planned. ing the criteria stated above and serves students who have not Qualitatively different instruction re- been served in existing gifted programs. fers to those learning experiences that The pilot program model addresses reflect the development of critical and specific academic strengths and pro- creative thinking skills, content accel- vides an opportunity for students to eration, and affective education. Mere work part-time with their academic quantity ofwork is not desired. Addi- One of the primary peers and may include multi-age tionally, four major variables were em- objectives of a parent grouping. Enrichment and acceleration phasized: are provided for gifted resource room involvement program is to 1. Basic Emphasis: A gifted students to support their curriculum student's ability to master course encourge involvement by program. content with ease is one consid- providing opportunities for eration in placing the student at an active involvement. Povfessionall Development appropriate instructional level. and Trainhq Within each grade, a student is en- The goals of the teacher-training com- couraged to master course con- ponent were to develop and enhance tent at an accelerated pace that is teacher characteristics conducive to the appropriate for that student. learning to be done by the gifted and to Grade level and/or subject matter acceleration may be a com- foster the understanding and preparedness or skill level not nec- ponent ofa gifted student's program when appropriate. essarily synonymous with giftedness, especially as our target stu- 2.Cognitive Emphasis: This component stresses the critical dent populations are those that have been historically excluded. thinking skills. Analysis is the breaking down ofinformation Teachers of the pilot schools received a full complement into its elements; determining relationships, seeing interac- of training opportunities. Teachers of the gifted serving stu- tions. Synthesis is the putting together of elements and parts dents in other program delivery models did so, as well. For to form a structure. This can include a communication, a example, resource room teachers attended a full day of training production ofa plan, a set ofabstract relations, or a produc- that focused on strategies, scheduling students, and the state and tion of a product. Evaluation includes making quantitative district policies. and qualitative judgments using standards ofappraisal. Another training was specific to implementing the resource 3.Creative Emphasis: This component stresses variety, dif- room model with gifted students. On a larger scale, for each of ferent approaches, imagination, and unique ideas. Fluency, the past two summers, a five-day summer institute was offered flexibility, originality, elaboration, and divergent thinking that covered an array ofissuesin gifted education. Gifted courses ( are components commonly associated with creativity. for achieving Florida endorsement in gifted education have been 4. Affective Emphasis: Affective education is concerned with offered for the past three years. At the completion of the 2001 the personal development of the students through which the school year, over 200 teachers had completed classes leading to individual can gain insight into the most appropriate way to gifted endorsement, and approximately 40 of the teachers are think and act in various situations. Emotional growth, social from the pilot schools. The district provides continued assistance justice, aesthetic awareness, and conceptual moral growth to the pilot schools in the screening and evaluation process. Dis- are all parts of the affective emphasis. trict staff also works with the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) contact at each school in the administration of achieve- These variables were woven into the students' yearly program to ment tests. They assist the teachers ofgifted in the planning and varying degrees. There may be lessons when one area is empha- scheduling of students for instruction. Meetings and periodic sized, but generally, the variables are correlated into a compre- training was also held with principals, area resource teachers, psy- n give prnsrrn . chologists and school contact personnel. Prop= iVilodeD Parent [Involvement Program models to meet the needs of gifted students can be as The gifted education program ofany school district has a respon- varied as a district's creativity allows them to be. There are both sibility of sharing with parents' information that is important to 22 JU L Y/ AU G U S T 2 0 0 1 259 the overall development of their children. Information can be shared through written correspondence or by convening meet- Table 4. Students Identified ings. Whatever the form, it is imperative that the communica- for Gifted Education Program by Pilot School tion be in the native language of the parents. One of the primary (as of April 2001) objectives of a parent involvement program is to encourage in- volvement by providing opportunities for active participation. School Total For example, they can assist with the development of a parent handbook or brochure, in Spanish, to help other parents in nur- Forest Park Elementary* turing gifted potential at home. Plumosa Elementary 21 As part of Palm Beach County's commitment to include, Barton Elementary 50 more historically underrepresented students in gifted education a brochure and letter outlining procedures for nomination, Rolling Green 40 screening, and eligibility was sent to all parents of students in Palmetto 100 kindergarten through the eighth grade (100,000). The brochure Westward 38 and letter were translated in Spanish, Creole, and Portuguese. As Pahokee 32 a result, the district's gifted education administrative team fielded Rosenwald 12 phone calls and other correspondences conducted or sent in other languages, in record numbers. Lake Park 31 West Riviera 67 The Bottom Line Totals 391 The process for admission into a program for the gifted is a com- plex task, at best. Across the country theories, approaches, guide- *Forest Park Elementary was dropped as a pilot school midway through the year. lines, and plans vary, but as more students who are poor, minority, and culturally and linguistically diverse enter our schools, it is imperative to have programs in place to iden- uity and access paid off. Over 391 students have gone through a tify and educate our most gifted, and/or comprehensive nomination, screening, and thsting process to be- those that demonstrate the strongest po- come eligible for gifted education. It is very likely that these tential. If we don't, the personal and students would have never had the opportunity if not for the human loss as so many fail to realize decision to impact those participating schools. In the process, the their talents will be a'sad indictment pilot gifted programs have transformed the schools themselves, ofour shortcomings as educators. Yet, moving from the stereotype ofhavMg students who cannot learn, this can serve as the impetus we need to one with a program that offers hope and encouragement to to double our efforts to provide ev- their most able students. eryone a chance to excel. This is par- ticularly true for students Summary found in our most poverty It is often said that youth is the greatest natural resource ofa great stricken and economi- nation. Through the gifted program, the preparation ofyouth as cally disadvantaged productive citizens and critical thinkers ensures that the future of communities, the country is in good hands. Times are also changing. Educators such as those are beginning to realize that the collaboration and promotion of found in the inclusionary identification practices in gifted education, results pilot schools. in a win-win situation. What other program is best suited to Most of the stu- represent diversity in terms ofintelligence, language, and ethnicity dents found in the par- than gifted education? 0 ticipating pilot schools share a background that is in vast contrast Jaime Castellano is the Director of Special Programs in the Miami Dade to those White, middle or upper- School District. He also serves as the Chair of the Gifted and Talented middle class students. This does not NABE Special Interest Group. necessarily mean that they are not eli- .gible for public school programs Befeirences serving gifted students. We have Castellano, J.A. (1998). Identifying and assessing gifted and talented bilin- proven that in our efforts to include gual Hispanic students. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service, No. Ed 423 104). more underrepresented students in Stephens, K.R. & Karnes, F.A. (2000). State definitions for the gifted and our own gifted programs. The num- talented revisited. Exceptional Children, 66(2), 219-238. bers in Table 4 demonstrate that our hard work and commitment to eq-. 2G0 NABE NEWS 23 7 z , Sharing Stories/that Reach Across the IYiTideic-- ?/ BY MICHELE MEYERS, BEECHVIEW ,LLEMENTARY oCHOOL; NORMA JEAN SASS, _IDEECITIVIEW ELEMENTARY S _CF-.71OOL;..AN1)._,BAKBAKA,..CHEINIc'-f)IRECTLOI-ENRMINGTON ZUBLIC SCHOOLS, MA) our years ago Beeehview Elementary notes that children need strong English theprograinyvere.acceffed. Su elfin ter- 11- was home to aniewcornercenter. This . speaking models as well as native language est'Contliliuted to the success of thcpro- newcomencenter included twelve chil- speakers to make the most academic and gram, as the parents wete.activelyL._ involved r" ------...----. -dren pew/to the United States who among language gains. Based on this research, the /.and supportive. thenispbke nine different languages, none . idea emerged to develop a program, whithy . In keeping with the multiage philoso- of Which was English. These newcomer combined English-speaking students With phy, a heterogeneous grouping ofchildren ...children were in grades three through five non-English speaking students in a was preferred. Another needed aspect was --7 and Wereibussed to Beechview from other multiage classroom. student balance. Balance was needed be- ( scho-ols in-the-dislfict. They were to re- We discovered that much was needed tween the grades and between English and main in this program for one year, before . to get a multiage program off the ground, non-English speaking students: returning.to their home school. Although let alone to add zero-English sstudents. I.Two-thirds English-speaking and we hatrat'tJpted to serve newcomers in Considering both multiage research and one-third zero-English speakers, and -----anisolatedprogram, two main concerns bilingual research, we forged a novelpro- 2.Approximately halfof the class being 'Soon became evident:`\ gram, which considered many.elemeiits. fourth-graders and half-fifth graders. -.._ _.>------t _ j1 . How to provide more positive lan- Factors we considered for a successful pro- 3.Total class size,is typically 36 students. / guage models for the newcomer chil- . gram were: dren (English learners) and -7-- --- D staffing This mix of students can result in benefits How to spread the vast cultural ir\scheduling for both English learners and English knowledge from the newcomer stu- D collaborative planning time Speakers. The English learners have many dents throughout the school. D stafftraining English speaking and cultural models. The D p*nt communication and information English speakers gain a global perspective The Question Soon Arose: . D ;physical space and knowledge of a yiiriety of cultures. e Do This setter? The life skills ofcaring'for others, celebrat- Through ah,exarnination of some of the As wg examined staffing, we decided that ing diversity through a global community, research on milltiage and bilingual educa- the irogram would be co-taught by two and demonstrating self-confidence are all tion, we knew\ about the great promise .--teaChers, one having a bilingual endorse- dominant distinctives of the program. for multiage groupings. Academic growth ment. They would also have the added Although our three years ofresearch of students in this,type of programs had support of a bilingual para-professional. lined up with the larger body of research been documented in earlier research .t Collaboration and cooperation between related to academic gains, it was slightly (Anderson and Pavan; 1993) as producing the teachers became essential; soon the better than what is currentleflected in --- equal or better results than in same grade!teachers knew they needed to volunteer the research. Beechview's\muffiage/ classrooms. Research On student affe to work with one another. Joint planning multicultural fourth graders tended to from multiage programs Was\ even mo,re time and similar philosophies were also make reading gains that exceeded other supportive, showing greater positive a'tti- . required. Staff development and visita- fourth graders, while this special tudes from students in this of envi- tions to multiage classrooms helped to program's fifth graders generally retained tYpe( ronment. In addition, the practice of\).shape the vision. gains similar to other fifth graders. What loopingin which students remainwith Parental communication and infor- was most dramatic were the many psy- a teacher for two yearshad shown \mation became essential because we were chosocial asp.ects that far exceeded what benefits to students. Two major benefits offering the program as a choice option. the research had indicated. Data was col- arc: teachers, students and parents build Parents had the opportunity to attend a lected for each of the three years of pro- strong relationships, and teachers start the meeting about the multiage/multicultural gram implementation. Results from year knowing children's strengths (Educa- classroom to determine the suitability of . student surveys completed with project tion Update, March, 1998). Furthermbre, the program for their 'child. Only students participants reflected a consistent differ- the research from bilingual education of parents who wei:e2highly,interested in nce tiin.Ide_s__ related-to-diversity kd 24 J U L Y / A U G U S T2 0 0 1 26 TABLE 1. Beechview Student Survey Comparison 4'h and 5th Grade Multiage Group Vs "Control" 1998 - 1999 1999 - 2000 TOTAL 1997- 1998- 1999- TOTAL Traditional classes 1998 1999 2000 Multiage/ "Control" Multicultural 97/98, 98/99, 99/00 Traditional Classrooms Control Multiage/Multicultural Classes 4th Grade 5. Grade 4. Grade 5' Grade Totals for two years Combined Combined Combined Multiage totals Difference Strongly Strongly Strongly Strongly 4.15" Multiage Multiage Multiage for three years agree or agree or agree agree or N=52 4/5 grades 4/5 grades 4/5 grades N=92 agree agree or agree agree N=31 N=29 N=32 Survey Questions N=16 N=13 N=10 N=13 1.I enjoy coming to school each day. 9/16 6/13 5/10 3/13 23/52 = 44% 19/31 15/29 15/32 49/92 = 53% + 9% 2. Ilike my teachers 16/16 13/13 10/10 11/13 50/52 = 96% 30/31 29/29 28/32 87/92 = 95% (-1%) 3. Ilike working with the other students in my classroom. 11/16 9/13 8/10 6/13 34/52 = 65% 26/31 20/29 25/32 71/92 = 77% + 12% 4. Ifeel comfortable working with students different from me. (e.g. boy/girl; German/ American/Asian; older/younger)11/16 11/13 5/10 5/13 32/52 = 62% 24/31 22/29 24/32 70/92 = 76% + 14% 5.I know a lot about other countries. 10/16 10/13 0/10 2/13 22/52 = 42% 14/31 20/29 16/32 50/92 = 54% + 12% 6. Ilike the way we learn in my classroom. 10/16 12/13 10/10 10/13 42/52 = 81% 22/31 22/29 24/32 68/92 = 74% (-7%) 7. Ilike to play with new classmates as well as old friends. 12/16 11/13 8/10 12/13 43/52 = 83% 26/31 23/29 26/32 75/92 = 82% (-1%) 8. Ilike to work with both boys and girls in cooperative group activities. 7/16 7/13 5/10 3/13 22/52 = 42% 17/31 14/29 20/32 51/92 = 55% + 13% 9.I am friends with people from countries around the world. 14/16 13/13 4/10 6/13 37/52 = 71% 29/31 27/29 29/32 85/92 = 92% + 21% 10.1 play with all kids 6/16 12/13 4/10 4/13 26/52 = 50% 17/31 18/29 16/32 51/92 = 55% + 5% cooperation when compared with atti- mother came to the United States( with takes deliberate steps to integrate such a tudes of non-participating students (See Vera's dad to follow shortly with the two child. Teachers talk a lot about coopera- , Table 1). daughters. "Shortly" turned out to be tion, being a family, and sharing/personal three years later. Vera had been,separated_,- _ Sfdries,t_,. which provide a forum for the Affirming Three from her mother for three years;licriiiin children to open up,to telling their own Characteristics: Carhig, a shelter for a part of that time. The re- stories?Ifyou're,g6ingto build a commu- c_ . Diversity, Seig-Cofidence union with her mother finally occurred Mty, chilaren need an invitation to bring-- Teachers' anecdotal evidence further af- although dad continued to be absent. Vera . bothfifact and "baggage" Mtolag-a-ss- c--- firmed three areas that are the focus ofthis had little formal education, but we deter- room community their-,total selves, and article: caring for others, celebrating di- mined she saw much of war, abuse and not just their acadefiiic needs. Teachers versity and building in self-confidence. neglect. All of these experiences are for- encourage this personal link to academic Personal stories from the teachers that eign to most Farmington children. Vera's content through studying cultures. Fam- demonstrate all three characteristics follow. needs were great; she had no English lan- . ily member speakers who tell cultural back- guage and low social and academic skills. ground are commonly present, and Vera: Caring for Others She quickly lost the initial hospitality of perhaps more important, they tell personal Vera arrived from Yugoslavia, where she others by stealing and being generally an- stories. Such stories bring vividness and ; had lived withther_momwho-v-vas_from----d)ying to others. immediacy to what might otherwise be Albanfa and her dad from Yugoslavia. Her . Tlie'multiage/multicultural classroom. fantasies or literature. kt, 2.6 NABE NEWS 25 ' .7" ___- _ 'N.----' It isflifficult toknow another's story....,- Very nervous and afraid. Wifh §iiiita Were has le-arned key Japanese phrases to facili- and-not be-kind_td theni;to honor-dirid.,-the-principal, the bilingUal coordinatotate working with the Japanese volunteer ) ./. -respect their-'experience. There s great'---Sh-8ta's parents, andas is oftenfrue ofjapa- . parents. I emphasis. on helping One/another. This nese children, ainaison from-the-father's Another spotlight culture this year was r_-{r ..-, '....--, . occurs in a variety ofways but buddies are corporation. Oncelthe children realize a that of Germany. As part of this thematic encouraged, as well as a concern for what nerstnclent1 lasI arnyer '-cr ,,t heir i excitement unit, German parents were invited to dis- each can do to help each other. Time to and-cunosfty,are piqued, and they cheer cuss the Gemian way oflife; food is always ...._,_ _.,..,2 brainstorm ways to ..z- when he enters the a part ofthe spotlighted culture. Shota vis help,and buddy with classroom. They ited a German restaurant and ordered his others is framed as a Cfininediately ,ineal in German, as well as took part in challenge and some- r-jr \4onii'd him and want---:-...writing and performinga play spoken all thing that the chil- hini >to, b'e hi their in German. This past year, teachers spot- Consideiing both 0 v dren themselves take mulnage research group, be,his buddy_ lighted the cultures of Albania, France, on as a fun project. /and have join '7Iraq, Germany and Japan. Spanish is a part Often there is a link and bilinguajl research, ofthe elementary curriculum for all fourth of a newcomer we fqiged a novel After the official and fifth gradestudents. through language / program. announcement, we needs to an English- go around and in- Shannon, Building Self- speaking buddy, but troduce ourselves confidence the natural evolu- with our name and Shannon\ entered the multiage/multi- cul- tion ofbuddies hap- heritage. Hearing tural\ classroom in May as a/4th grader. She ), pens to mutual gain. Often children IInd the array ofvaried backgrounds and wit- quickly estklished herselfas an attendance great satisfaction from their finding some . nessing the community in which their problem after-inissmg 47 days over her novel way to explain something'T another child is being welcomed seems to com- fourth grade-yeSiTtIcuses ranged from newcomer child. Genuine friendshipsare fort the parents and the student. When stomachaches to iniom keeping her at forged which both native English speaker Shota-aitives for his first full day, Shota is home. She was ve2Y shy and would never and newcomer students truly enjoy. met with a friendship circlecomprised ask or answer a question. She looked ner- At one point with Vera, the teachers ofseveral studerits who help him with the vous and wotild visibly shake, her voice had a classroom meeting and sat down and daily routines;s,it with him at lunch, and quivering,When she needed to ask the -talked about Vera's harsh and unique ex- play with him\at recess. Within one teache0 question. She was very depen- periences while Vera visited another room. month, by the end of May, Shota felt com- dent on one friend, and if the friend was Once students gained a greater understand- fortable enough that he desired to partici- absentt Shannon keptto herself and ingjof Vera's background, compassion pate in an overnigh seemed very un- einerged from the 4th/5th graders. From camping trip. comfortable. Be- tben on, kids volunteered to be her part- Shota was able?io cause of her late ner, overlooked her annoying behaviors, begin his fifth grade arrival to the new- and would often assist her on classroom di- year in the newcomer comer class, she rections and projects. The offshoot of this class because he "When yomprovide was allowed to en- , is that we have a happier Vera. Her behav- started one month opportuntnes for ter the following iors have improved, and she smiles more before last year's end- children and adults to year. By the fol- often now. Her main helper last year was ing. He began this shaie stories, lowing yearfifth Amy, who used to be rather bossy and un- year when Japanese gradeShannon understanding and cooperative. Now she volunteers to part- culture was in the began to blossom; it ner with Vera. So, growth in kindness has spotlight and the Japa- acceptance will Was her year! She occurred for Amy, as well as the growth nese mothers made follow." Roberto became a buddy to that's occurred for Vera. sushi, taught origami, Chene (2000) a student from Pa- and dressed the chil- kistan, Fatin, and a Mote, a Neveconiev's ArvaD dren in kimonos. great friendship Celebrating Diversity One of the parapro- developed. Shan- NeN'Vcomer children enter the multiage/ fessionals taught them non enjoyed help- _multicultural program when they arrive a little Japanese and some ofthe geography ing Fatin and had to ask questions on Fatin's to this country and enroll in the Int-hpre niirin behalf Soon Shannon developed a cer- Farmington School system's bilingual pro- the media center, despite knowing little : tain confidence and took leadership on gram. It was Apritwery late in the school English. The school environment is most . another person's behalf. Shannon became year, when Shos"tood in the hall, new to accepting ofdifferences and celebrates di--_,m6feAcomfortable in_the'classroothlancl- America and neW;to Beechview, looking versity. The media.specialist, for instr,--- her studene,ledlOals became related to , 2 00 1 -4> lcIS ti asking-question-andoming more as- sertive in the classroom. From there, Sh- annon was better able to reach out to other girls in the classroom anci'd7elop more 781-932-1144 MININomimiwww.epsi-usa.com friendships. She' would initiatsharing MINIIIMI111111, "- stories from her weekend and family trips. 1111111 She took a lead performance-in the schooh, PInv play and remained poised and'confident Educational' erformanceSystems, Inc..r. in front ofan all-school audiencrat- tendance improved; tearfulness and comfort disappeared and friendships were\:. apparent. Shannon tooka leaderShip role as a member of the school cer(viCe'suad. Now as a sixth grader, she returns ohr LINKS-Espatiol own to visit with her fonner teachers dis- playing unusual confidencefor a student\ who less than two years ago could barely speak in the school day. Her mother tinues.to report Shannon's continuedr suc-q. cess and involvement at the middle school. NT8 Summary Many benefits accrue to.all students in this multiage/multicUltural\ 1 N.elen7tary pro- gram. Englishnative, akers enjoy the helping-buddy relatiOhships, the cross- , cultural exposure and-friendships, while fourth graders seem \to benefit academi- A Tr'avés del Curriculo cally in reading. Older\ students seeni to remain on par academic\ally Withp\-eer'sN, growth, while according to\ reportsrom teachers, newcomers seem to gr-o-w mo under this condition. The newcomers have greater exposure to the English lan- guage and especially the nuances of oral language. Teachers think they know stu- dents better and parents are more appre--- ciative of the cross-cultural learniffg and Helps Spanish speaking students struggling in their contributions they can make. All students native language write well-organized paragraphs. value the social-emotional learning and friendships that come more naturally un- Helps ESL special education students transition from der this newer format. Our two dominant concerns ofpro- writing in Spanish to English. viding more positive language models for newcomers and the spreading of the vast Helps Spanish speaking ESL general education students cultural knowledge throughout the school write well-organized paragraphs and essays in English. community have been addressed. Roberto Chene, nationally renowned diversity Helps English speaking students who are learning speaker, said recently when visiting Spanish, write persuasive paragraphs and essays in Farmington Schools, that when you pro- vide opportunities for children and adults Spanish. to share stories, understanding and accep- tance will follow. Getting to know one another in this way results in everyone leav- Visit us @ www.epsi-usa.com or call 781-932-1144 ----Ling the experience enriched. 0 264 NABE NEWS 27 ISSUES IN INDIGENEOUS BILINGUAL EDUCATION Column Editor: Dr. Jon Reyhner, Northern Arizona University, AZ Maintaining the Mother Language BY W SAKIESIEWA GILBEKT.,_NDA.T.HERN_AgIZONA The Arizona Daily Sun ran an article about Navajo children had even a passive Similar findings of language loss the Flagstaff Unified School District knowledge of the Navajo language. among my Hopi people of Arizona have implementing a bilingual magnet school Evangeline Parsons Yazzie (1994) been a major concern. In 1997, the Hopi starting next fall. This dual language pro- further supports the fact that the main Tribe's Cultural Preservation Office gram will start at the kindergarten level, reason why Navajo children are shying conducted a survey to determine the with one class having Spanish and English away from speaking the Navajo language current level of Hopi language profi- Speakers and the other Navajo and English is because of what she calls the ciency among the adults and children liv- Speakers with the goal that the school will ing on the Hopi reservation. While the teach students whose native language is results revealed that everyone over the Spanish, Navajo or English. This got me age of 60 was proficient in the Hopi lan- to thinking about the proficiency level of guage, only 8% between the ages of 2 the Navajo students in their first language, and 19 indicated that they spoke the and I found that only about 10% of the Hopi language and 80% indicated that Navajo students who are enrolled in the English was the first language,they learned FlagstaffSchool District speak Navajo. "They must revert to speak as a child in the home. Ninety- I believe that children WhO lack pro- to the traditional ways three percent indicated that English was ficiency in their mother language who en- of teaching language the main language they spoke after they ter formal schooling are at a disadvantage through the clan of the entered school. Although these statistics because learning another language such as give us a clear indication that even among the English language is' easier if students child'sfamily." the Hopi people, the younger genera- haVe first language skills that they can trans- tion is not being taught their mother lan- fer over to the second language. My con- guage, 90% of those surveyed indicated cei-n is with those students who are neither that the Hopi language should be taught proficient in English nr their first lan-i in the home. guage. Unfortunately, in many cases, these students can fall through the cracks ofour The Role of the Clan educational system. What can we do to I strongly feel that if the Hopi, like the help build the child's first language? Whose "intergenerational" mechanisms, which Navajo, are to take serious consideration responsibility is it? Is it the educational underlie the shift from Navajo to the for maintaining the language, they must system or is it the responsibility of the English language. She found that Navajo revert back to the traditional ways ofteach- home/conimunity? children viewed Navajo as being a less ing language through the clan ofthe prestigious language to speak. Unfortu- family. One reason children are losing their Navajo Langnage Attrition nately, most children, when spoken to mother language is that parents ofthis gen- A major concern among the Navajo is in Navajo, are reluctant to respond back eration are themselves monolingual speak- the fact that their children are not speak- and used one-word answers or answered ers of the English language. Ever since ing their first (Dine) language. Accord- in English. James Crawford (1995) fur- Indian children were taken to attend gov- ing to Agnes and Wayne Holm (1995), ther states that for those school age Na- eminent boarding schools, parents in one the Navajo language is seriously endan- vajo students between the ages of 5-17, way or another have been affected by gered as a child language. In his study, English-only speakers rose from 11.8% forced assimilation into the dominant Paul Platero (1992) found that half of to 28.4%. Based upon these figures, he culture's ways of life, which included the children in Headstart programs on further states that the number ofmono- speakingEnglish. Over time, the English- -7- the Navajo Nation have been identified llngual cnglish spPak,s has mnre tbnn only policy alienated them from their cul- as monolingual speakers of the English doubled. With these alarming figures, tural roots. Being physically punished for language. Furthermore, Wayne Holm one may ask if there is anything we could speaking the Mother language was a com- (1992), who conducted a similar study, do to help maintain the Navajo language mon occurrence in most classrooms, which argues the point that only 38% of the in schools? led to devaluing their own language and de- 28 Juiv/AuGu,s-r 2001 26 5 stroyed their self-concept and pride. dren. Thus, in some cases, we might have ing the younger generation. The clans of I vividly recall an incident in my to rely on our grandparents to help restore the family are a necessity in maintaining early schooling when my friend and I and maintain the mother language among the language. were caught talking Hopi in class. Our our young children. After all, education punishment came in a form of having to starts in the home. Note place our hands on a table and having them Joshua Fishman (1991) states that we There are a number of sources for good advice hit with a ruler. Definitely, this occur- cannot "save" a language by teaching it on how to keep indigenous languages alive. The rence got me to think about who I was more, or even more effectively. He fur- Teaching Indigenous Languages web site at http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/ lar/TIL.html has and question the importance of my cul- ther argues that if we are to reverse the links to a variety of information, including the tural identity and my Mother language. current level ofspeakers ofindigenous lan- Guidelines for Strengthening Indigenous Languages Although the physical mark has long since guages, then we must look for assistance adopted by the Assembly of Alaska Native Edu- cators on February 6, 2001. faded, an everlasting scar still exists deep from the home. Although the home is an within my heart. excellent place to teach the Navajo lan- References Unfortunately, this "skipped" genera- guage and culture, and ifwe as indigenous Crawford, J. (1995). Endangered Native Ameri- tion (our parents) has suffered the conse- people are to maintain our language, I be- can languages: What is to be done, and why? quences, and is unable to pass the Mother lieve that the ultimate responsibility lies The Bilingual Research Journal,19(1), 17-38. language on to their own children. Fur- with the "clan" or the extended family. Fishman, J. (1991). Reversing language shift: Theo- thermore, many of young children today Former president John F. Kennedy retical and empirical foundations of assistance to threatened languages. Clevedon, UK: Multi- are not taught their Mother language by once said "ask not what your country can lingual Matters. their immediate parents. Instead, their do for you, ask what you can do for your Holm, A. & Holm, W. (1995). Navajo language grandparents teach them. Many children country." I challenge every person not to education: Retrospect and prospects. The are sent to live with their grandparents so ask the question what's in it for me, but Bilingual Research Journal, 19(1), 141-67 that they can learn the language and culture instead ask what he or she can do for the Holm, W. (1992) Preliminary analysiS of com- parative data for the Navajo immersioh of the people. Yazzie (1995) states that one children? I am advocating that iflanguages programs. Ms. On file, Ft. Defiance Elemen- on the major reasons for loss of the Navajo of indigenous people such as the Navajo tary School, Ft. Defiance, AZ. language is ale gap between parents who and Hopi are to survive into the next gen- Platero, P. (1992). Navajo Hcadstart language are NatiVe speakers and their children Who eratiOns, we must take control of our own study. Ms.On file, Navajo Division of Edu- are not. This gap needs to be narrowed so destiny. We must return our teaching of . cation,. WindoW Rock, AZ. that the yotinger generation of tomorrow our language back to the traditional ways. Yazzie, E. P. (1995). A study of reasons for Navajo language attrition as perceived by Navajo speaking will grow up to be bilingual and can, in We need to include the "grass-roots" parents. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, turn, pass orrthe language to their own chil- peoPle (grandparents and elders) in teach- Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ. Calling for a Stop in the Use of Native Amerc Images and Nicknames as Sports Symbols Washington, DC On April 16, 2001, the U.S. Commission on I Even the use of symbols purported to be positive ones, are Civil Rights issued a statement calling for an end to the use of not accurate representations. These are romantic stereotypes Native American images and team names by non-Native schools. that give a distorted view of the past. These false portrayals The Conarnission believes that such use is insensitive and should be end up not being positive because they prevent non-Native avoided. In addition, some Native American and civil rights advo- Americans from understanding the true historical and Cul- cates maintain that these mascots [the use ofsuch images] may vio- tural experiences of American Indians. late anti-discrimination laws. They view the mascots and their performances, logos, and/or names as disrespectful and offensive to. The statement concludes with the assertion that the fight to American Indians and others who are offended by such stereotyp- eliminate Indian nicknames and images is not trivial. The Com- ing, especially in light of the long history of forced assimilation that mission continues to work to eliminate obstacles confronted by American Indian people have endured in this country. Native Americans: poverty, education, housing, and health. At The Commission further elaborated, noting that: the same time, it believes that the elimination of stereotypes will "The stereotyping ofrninority groupswhen promoted by make room for education about real IndiAn people, current Na- our public educational institutionsteach all students that tive American issues, and the rich variety of American Indian stereotyping is acceptable, a dangerous lesson in a diverse cultures in our country. society. Schools have a responsibility to educate their stu- To view and download the document, visit http:// dents; they should not use their influence to perpetuate mis- www.usccr.gov and select statements, then topic. representations of any culture or people.", t. NABE NEWS 29 tt.A trO 26'6 sion to Jae slightly esier than the simplified language version ofthe assessment. PaperonAssessment Other analyses, including ANOVA, followed by pairwise comparisions of the tesdets, showed no significant differences Presented at AERA in the scores of non-LEP students across the two item types. Among the 40 items administered in Annual Meeting both regular and simplified format, iteth difficulty did not vary consistently in fa- vor ofeither format. Qualitative analysis Abstract threat to score comparability and to de- of items that displayed significant differ- Charlene Rivera, The George Washing- termine their usefulness for LEP students. ences in P values was not informative, since ton University-Center for Equity and the differences were typically very small. Excellence in Education, and Charles Study Deeign For LEP students, there was one sig- Stansfield, Second Language Testing, This study examined the effects oflinguis- nificant difference in student means, and Inc., presented the paper, "The Effects tic simplification offourth and sixth grade it favored the regular version. However, of Linguistic Simplification of Science science tests items on a state assessment.. the LEP analyses lacked statistical power Test Items on Performance of Limited At each grade level, four experimental 10- due tosmall sample sixe and the low reli- English Proficient and Monolingual En- item testlets were included on an opera- ability of the testlets for this sample. glish-Speaking Students," at the Annual tional sstate-wide assessment. Two testlets Meeting of the American Educational contained regular field test items, but in a Summary Research Association. linguistically simplified condition. The The results ofthis study show that linguis- testlets were randomly assigned to LEP and tic simplification is not helpful to non- Rationale non-LEP students through the spiraling LEP students who receive it. Therefore, The use of accomodations has been of test booklets. the results provide evidence that linguis- widely proposed as a means of including tic simplification is not a threat to score English language learners (ELLs) or lim- -Resuits comparability. ited English Proficient (LEP) students in For non-LEP sfidents: In four t-Test analy- Other studies should now examine state and district-wide assessments. ses ofthe differences in means for each cor- the issue ofthe usefulness oflinguistic sim- However, very little experimental re- responding testlet, three ofthe mean score plification for LEP students taking formal search has been done on specific comparisons were not significantly differ- and high-stakes assessments in subject ar- accomodations to determine if they are a ent. The fourth showed the regular ver- eas other than science. 0 Add valuable resources to your library with back issues of the S rfc Back issues of the Bilingual Research Journal (BRJ) are available for purchase at considerable savings. Save $5.00 when you order as a Volume set: Volume 22 (Number 1 Winter of 1998; and Numbers 2, 3 & 4 Spring, Summer and Fall of 1998), Volume 23 (1999), and Volume 24 (2000). Current members (individual membership) pay $20.00; non-members pay $32.00 per set. Other volume sets are also available for sale. Send $20.00 or $'32.00 per volurne set ordered (prices include shipping 2nrl tn: NABE, Attn:Publications Department, 1030 15th Street, N.W., Suite 470, Washington, DC 20005-1503 Want to subscribe to the BRJ? Please inquire with the publications department. 30 J U L Y / A U G U S T2 0 0 1 26 7 NABE NEWS BOOK REVIEWS Column Editor: Dr. Beti Leone, Fresno Unified School District, Fresno, CA Language Diversity and Education REVIEW BY SANDRA ACOSTA, 'TREASURER, TEXAS ASSOCIATION FOR BILINGUAL EDUCATION, TX Language Diversity and Education In the first and last chapters, Corson examines language re- LANGUAGE Author: David Corson, searchstarting from its origins rooted in positivist philosophy, DIVERSITY Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, including those theorists who have shaped its evolution, to cur- University of Toronto rent trends toward natural language and its contextualization, and AND ISBN 08058-3449 (2001) including extra linguistic elements, and ethnographic commu- EDUCATION 253pp Paperback nication. For each of these, he marks their impact on the field of Highly Recommended applied linguistics. Two trends in particular caught my interest. Publisher: Laurence Erlbaum Associates,. The first was the effect on instructional practice and instructional 1=AVII)CORSON Publishers ([email protected]) delivery when researchers identify patterns and norms ofEnglish learning students in the course of their research. These patterns and norms create stereotypes, even in supportive environments, "For most everyday human purposes, power is exerted through which are deleterious to communication in the classroom and to verbal channels: Language is the vehicle for identifying, manipu- student progress. The second trend was the movement in re- lating, and changing power relations between people." The cen- search and applied linguistics, towards a more anthropological tral theme to Corson's latest book is the power of language as a point of view. Thus, individuals are studied as microcosms of cultural and social force and the challenge that language diversity their families, of their communities, of their cultures. Ultimately -brings to educational policy and practice. For example, he notes each individual's personal language and the worldview it reflects, is a composite of those strictures. _ that the discourse nonns that culturally different students bring to school are not valued and are often misunderstood by teachers In the central chapters, the author identifies and discusses when the signs used by students are similar to familiar the major areas oflanguage diversity: standard and non-standard signs but carry different meanings." That is, the teacher and stu- varieties of language, different cultural discourse norms, bilin- dents may be speaking in the same language but do not share a gual and English as a Second Language (ESL) education, and dis- common linguistic platform. While research may support com- course norms that vary by gender. The author makes a compelling munication among students as an integral component of the in- argument for the relationship between language and social jus- structional process and oral language development, when the tice. He writes about linguistic capital, language games, the im- teacher's discourse pattern is the only acceptable model, then portance of critical literacy and the development of oral language "teacher talk" monopolizes real class time, which translates into in secondary students. Corson does not limit his review to re- less time for "student talk". search based on student learning; he examines also the systematic Another example ofunequal prestige is the deference to one bias of institu tions and individuals employed by them in favor of language over another. Corson cites the 1996 study by Rebecca standard language as defined by its speakers, the middle class. Freeman conducted at the Oyster Bilingual School in Washington, Using a textbook format, each chapter documents support- D.C. At the time, the school had an exemplary dual language pro- ing research and ends with Discussion Starter Questions, which gram [that continues today]. As a community, it supported the highlight key points. An extensive bibliography has been included. philosophy oflanguage-as-a-resource versus language-as-a-prob- The writing style is clear, jargon-free, and concise. The author lem. Still, there was a difference between ideal and practice. The provides an extensive bibliography. rule was that English-dominant teachers were to speak only in En- In the end, Corson concludes that, "activities of theory- glish and that Spanish-dominant teachers were to speak only in building, research, and policy-making that ignore the voices of Spanish. Code switching occurred only among the Spanish-domi- sectional interests can do a great deal of harm. Their distance nant teachers. Since the Spanish-dominant teachers also spoke from the reality of different worldviewsand from the many English, and in Washington, D.C., English is the majority lan- sign systems that grow out of different sociocultural conditions guage, this minor infraction would be understandable given the and interestsplaces a severely disabling constraint on what those circumstances. Yet it is significant since minority language erosion activities can reveal or achieve. Their findings are inevitably dis- has been documented over a period ofyears in Canada for French torted, which jeopardizes hopes for emancipatory reform." speakers living in English speaking Canada even when the minor- A great read! 0 ity language had instructional support. Corson predicts a similar phenomenon in the United States. Interestingly no such erosion Sandra Acosta is an educator from Texas, where she has served as a has been noted among Celtic speakers in England, to which he bilingual teacher and administratorfor many years. Sandra is also very attributes the widespread support of the Celtic language outside of activity with the Texas Association for Bilingual Education and on the England in the larger Celtic-speaking community. local planning committeefor NABE conferences held in Houston, Texas. 28 8 NABENEWS 31 Easing the Rows to Hoe The Presence of "de facto" Bilingual Education in Self-reported Cases of Second Language Acquisition BY FRANCISCO RAMOS AND STEPHEN KRASHEN, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY "By the end of my _first school year, I was among the top students. A lie-examination of Subjects Of course, with my limited English, I had gone back two grades." The purpose of the present article is to show how the case histo- De la Pecia (1991, p. 19) ries of De la Pefia's subjects actually reaffirm the value ofbilin- gual education and of primary language development. In order One of the most frequently heard arguments against bilingual to do so, we re-examined those individuals featured in the book, education is that many immigrants have done well without it. for whom enough background information was provided in the Some individual cases exemplifying this assertion were presented narrative. A brief description of the subjects follows. in De la Peria's book,Democracy or Babel? The Case for Official English(1991). In it, he describes the English acquisition pro- I Fernando, the author of the book, grew up in Mexico, cesses ofimmigrants to the United States, contending that they where he attended school until grade five. When he came to learned English by being totally "immersed" in it, without bilin- the United States, he was placed in a 3rd grade English class- gual education. room. His mother is bilingual. Therefore, she probably However, contrary to his assertions, De la Pefia's book con- helped him at home with his homework. In addition, be- tains numerous examples that confirm the importance of the un- fore his arrival, he had achieved a certain degree ofliteracy in derlying principles ofbilingual education and of the contributions Spanish. The background knowledge obtained in Spanish in ofwell developed primary language skills to second language ac- Mexico helped him when he was schooled in the US. He quisition (Krashen, 1996; Tse, 1997; Ramos & Krashen, 1997). In attended East L.A. College, Occidental College, where he fact, while it is true that De la Pei-la's subjects were not physically majored in Latin American affairs, and Southwestern Uni- present in classrooms in the United States where instruction was versity Law School before becoming a teacher. delivered in their primary language, they all provide clear examples Cynthia came to the United States from Hong Kong when ofwhat has been calleddefactobilingual education (Krashen, 1996; she was 12. She had already studied English in a British Krashen, 1999; Ramos & Krashen, 1997). This phenomenon oc- school for six years. She was enrolled in the eighth grade curs when individuals experience a strong educational background and helped her brother, who worked in a liquor store. She irione's first language (including subject matter knowledge, which graduated from high school, enrolled at Berkeley, obtained makes second language input more comprehensible, and literacy a job with a brokerage firm and currently works as an in- development to an independent and fluent level, which transfers vestment analyst. to the second language) that facilitates second language acquisition (Krashen, 1996). These experiences are the essential features of I Stephen arrived in the United States in his mid-20s. He quality bilingual programs. already spoke two languages (German and Hungarian). He got a job washing dishes in a restaurant while staying with a Hungarian family. After a year, he went to Oklahoma, where he worked in the oil fields and tried to finish high school by "...the case histories of De la Peas subjects actually reaffirm tl 32 JULY/ AUGUST 200 1 night. His English teacher helped him with private lessons ing to the United States. Although Stephen did not speak in English every day for several months. He enrolled at a English on his arrival, he knew German and Hungarian. college in Missouri, where lie was the only foreigner and Going through the language acquisition process in two lan- raised the curiosity of his,college friends. He is now a writer guages was probably helpful in his acquisition ofEnglish. and has published 21 books. In addition to good literacy skills in their primary language, D Mai arrived in the US from Vietnam in 1975. She had stud- some ofthe subjects had the advantage ofhaving studied English ied English in Vietnam and had worked with Americans before arriving in the United States, which certainly accelerated there. As soon as she arnved in the US, she found a job with and eased their second language acquisition process. This is a the American Red Cross and acted as a language broker for luxury that many immigrants don't have. In fact, many of the her family. In order to improve her English, she enrolled in immigrants we deal with today don't have access to sources of English classes, watched television and read books in En- comprehensible input in English at all, and they have limited glish. Although she already had a degree in social work from primary language literacy development. This makes their second Vietnam, she underwent professional retraining, which in- language acquisition process considerably more difficult than the cluded taking classes at the university. simplistic notion, advocated by De la Pefia, that anybody can acquire a language by being immersed in it.Interestingly, the D Rosa Maria came to the United States in 1960. She had author hiinselfacknowledged these differences when talking about married her husband, an American citizen, in Mexico in the plight of poor uneducated Vietnamese immigrants to the 1959. She had taken a few English courses, although she United States: "people coming up from the bottom have the hadn't completed high school. Once in California, her hardest row to hoe" (pp. 7071). husband spoke to her in English, although she answered Immigrants like the ones portrayed in De la Peria's book in Spanish. English was the language used to relate to neigh- provide powerful evidence that the features hypothesized to be bors, friends and in-laws. She enrolled in night school characteristic ofgood programs, primary language development and summer schOol for the first two years of her stay in the and comprehensible input in a second language (Krashen, 1996), US in order to improve her English. She earned a are, in fact, correct. This was clear even for De la Pefia himself. bachelor's degree in child development as well as two In spite of his declared opposition to bilingual education, he in- teaching credentials. advertently acknowledged its benefits while describing the fac- tor that most helped his father learn English after he immigrated Presence of !Important Factors to the United States. "He learned a lot ofEnglish in this class These subjects had three very important factors in common: which was not a grammar or composition classbut one in re- 1.They were all schooled in their countries oforigin for frigeration. (Since he already knew the subject, he could focus on a significant number of years. Fernando had attended the words, so it was an English course for him)" (p. 21). school until 5th grade, Cynthia until the 8th grade, Mai had Nothwistanding De la Pefia's assertion, his father obtained his a degree in social work, and Ana Maria had attended high subject matter knowledge through his primary language. 0 school in Mexico, although she hadn't graduated. Francisco Ramos, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the TESOL De- 2.They all had sources ofcomprehensible input in En- partment at Florida International University.Stephen Krashen, Ph.D. glish. \XThen Fernando arrived in the United States, he is the authorofCondemned without a Trial: Bogus Arguments was placed in the 3rd grade, although he was a 5th grader in Against Bilingual Education (1999; Heinemann), and Under At- Mexico. Therefore, he probably knew all the subject mat- tack: The Case Against Bilingual Education (1996: Language Edu- ter that was taught in that grade, and had an easier time in cation Associates.) class. Mai had already worked with Americans in Hong References Kong. Cynthia's brother was already living in the United De la Pella, F.(1991).Democracy or Babel? The case for official English. States when she arrived. Stephen's teacher in the United Washington D.C.:U.S. English. States tutored him in English individually for a few months, Krashen, S.(1996).Under attack:The case against bilingual education,Culver City, CA: Language Education Associates. and Rosa Maria received help in English from her Ameri- Krashen, S.(1999). Condemned without a trial: Bogus arguments against bilin- can husband. gual education,Culver City, CA: Language Education Associates. 3.Most of them had had experiences with other lan- Ramos, F. & Krashen, S.(1997).Succcss without bilingual education? Some European cases of de facto bilingual education.CABE Newslet- guages. Fernando's mother was bilingual, both Cynthia ter,20, 6. and Mai had studied English in Hong Kong and Vietnam, Tse, L. (1997, December 17). A bilingual helping hand.Los Angeles Times. respectively, and Rosa Maria took English classes before corn- CA: Los Angeles. ilue of bngual education and primary language development." etha t NABE NEWS 33 Assistance available to schools educating Are limited English you a proficient students NABE AUSTIN Building on its past efforts to Schools Study is a unique project because identify schools that have been highly suc- it shows how limited English proficient cessful in educating students with limited students can experience academic success member? English proficiency, the Texas Education and meet the state's standards, as measured Agency recently released a user's guide and by the Texas Assessment of Academic prepared a training video designed to help Skills. This study is testimonial to the If not, sign up today! school districts educate this growing stu- premise that all children can learn, as it dent population. points out the essential features of seven The number oflimited English pro- effective and quality bilingual education Fill out the form ficient (LEP) students in Texas public programs." schools increased from 479,576 in 1995- Oscar M. Cirdenas, senior manager 96 to 570,603 in 2000-2001. This in- and principal investigator for the study, on page 36. crease means that a growing number of said, "The study and the new resource districts will be required to provide assis- tools are being shared with school admin- tance to these youngsters. istrators to assist in program design, imple- Start enjoying all The new resource tools offer useful in- mentation and enhancement as they strive formation to district officials as they de- to improve the education of all students. velop bilingual and English as a second The educator guide profiles the essential the benefits of language programs or refine existing of- features and effective instructional prac- ferings for students ofspecial populations. tices that can help every child demonstrate The study called "The Texas Suc- exemplary performance in reading and cessful Schools Study: Quality Education other foundation curriculum subjects." membership and for Limited English Proficient Students;" The original study can be found at the "Educator User Guide for Adminis- www.tea.state.tx.us/tsss/. The seven trators and Educational Personnel," and a schools profiled are: Campestre Elemen- help ensure equal 45-minute training video for principals tary School, Socorro Independent School and teachers builds on research that ex- District; Castafieda Elementary School, amined seven highly successful schools. Brownsville ISD; Kelly Elementary opportunities for all Each ofthe schools had 40 percent or more School, Hidalgo ISD; La Encantada El- LEP students, 50 percent or more eco- ementary School, San Benito Consoli- nomically disadvantaged students and had dated ISD; Scott Elementary School, our students. no students given exemptions from the Roma ISD; and Bowie and Clover el- Texas Assessment ofAcademic Skills exam ementary schools, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo in the 1996-97 school year. ISD. The study was a collaborative project The successful schools study was re- between the TEA, the seven schools and leased in August. It profiles programs, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. policies and instructional practices of these The guide can also be found on the Questions? seven schools and documents the success website at www.tea.state.tx.us/ they had educating LEP students between program.eval/guide.html. The train- Give us a call at 1994-95 and 1998-99. The study was con- ing video will air on T-STAR, the ducted as part of the commissioner's edu- Agency's satellite network, early this faii. (202) 898-1829 cational research initiatives in 1999. For more information about all as- In his introduction in the new train- pects of the successful schools study and ing video, Commissioner of Education the supplementary materials, call (512) Jim Nelson said, "The Texas Successful 463-9714. la 41b 34 lupe/ AUGUST 2001 2711 BUMS ntOS hT AMC 31111b[dUnCIM tqa NAIBIJ NEWS General Editorial Policies phia Public Schools, Director-Office of Lln- .reader would-want to use themalteri/al The NABE News is published six times a year guage Equity Issues, 202 E. Gowen Ave, and why (or why not) on a bi-monthly basis. We seek previously Philadelphia, PA19119. unpublished articles.Articles should focus Send a copy ofyour review, preferably as a Word on the theory, research and/or practice of Dr. Ji-Mei Chang, Editor-Asian/Pacific Ameri- file in an e-mail, to: Dr. Beti-Leoni,Fresno, implementing quality bilingual education cans Column, Associate Professor, San Jose CA, [email protected]. programs, including dual language programs. State University, College of Education, NAI3E invites manuscripts on a wide-range Sweeney Hall, Room 204, 689 Erie Circle, Submission Guidelines oftopics related to support structures for these Milpitas, CA 95192. [email protected] All articles must conform to the publication programsfrom funding issues, parental in- guidelines of the Publication Manual of the volvement, staffdevelopment, curriculum and Dr. Ward Shimizu, Co-Editor-Asian/Pacific American Psychological Association (4th instruction to legislative agendas, state initia- Americans Column, San Jose State Univer- edition). tives, staff hiring/retention and personal re- sity, 689 Erie Circle, San Jose, CA 95192. Print materials and electronic versions flectionsthat advance the knowledge and should include a title page, with contact practice in the field. Dr. Jon Allan Reyhner, Editor-Indigenous Bi- informationincluding mailing address NABE News prefers a reader-friendly lingual Education Programs, Northern Arizona and telephone number.If available, au- style of writing that resonates well with State University, Associate Professor, Division thors should provide fax numbers, and e- community groups, parents, legislators, and of Bilingual Education, CEE, P.O. box 5774, mail address. especially classroom teachers. Contributors Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5774. [email protected] Include a two to three sentence bio- should include reference to a theoretical base graphical reference that may include job title and cite related research, but the article Dr. Lucy Tse, Editor-Theory Into Practice or highest degree earned, work affiliation and/ should contain practical ideas or implications Column, Assistant Professor, Arizona State or research interest (not to exceed 50 words). for practice. University, Division of Curriculum and In- Manuscripts and diskettes will not be struction, College ofEducation, Tempe, AZ returned. Keep copies ofyour article or other Types of Articles 85287-0208. [email protected] materials submitted. Feature Articles: A feature article should The editor of NABE News reserves the address the issue's theme (ifidentified), be no Mr. Aurelio Montemayor, Editor-Parent/ right to make editorial changes needed to longer than 2,000-4,000 words, including Community Involvement, lnterculltural De- enhance the clarity of writing. The author references and sidebars. Type/save your manu- velopment Research Association, 5835 will be consulted only in cases where the script as a Word document (6.0 or below) and Callaghan Rd., Suite 350, San Antonio, TX change(s) is/are substantial. attach ittoan e-mailsentto 78228. [email protected] [email protected] or mail a diskette to the NABE address.Please do not use running General/Other Articles: Other articles, not Themes of Future NABE News issues: heads or bold. Include contact information addressing the announced NABE News and a brief bio indicating name, title, affilia- themes, are also sought and welcomed. They September/October tion, and research interest. should be relevant to current interests or is- Access to Technology: sues. They must be no longer than 1500 - Promising Programs and Practice Articles for Regular Columns: NA13E 1750 words. news publishes four regular columnsAd- November/December ministration of Bilingual Education Col- Reviews: Reviews should describe and Curriculum and Instruction in the umn, Asian/Pacific Americans Column, evaluate recently published bilingual educa- Bilingual Early Childhood Classroom Indigenous Bilingual Education Column, tion materials, such as professional books, and Theory Into Practice Column. Each curriculum guides, textbooks, computer pro- January/February column has a column editor.These ar- grams, or videos.Reviews Should be no High School Prgrams for LEP Students ticles are shorter in length, usually focus longer than 500-750 words. Include in your on one issue, elaborate on two to three review: March/April major points, and provide specifics for prac- 1. a brief summary of the major compo- Increasing Support for Non-Academic tice. Manuscripts should relate to the spe- nents or features of the material, with Factors cial focus and be approximately 1500-2200 no evaluative comments words in length. They can be mailed to the an evaluation of the features, indicating Copy is due two months in advance of the NABE office, to the attention of thc how they are useful/helpful or not first month listed for the issue (for example, IVABE News editor or mailed directly to 3. if appropriate, a discussion of how the The deadline for the July/August issue is due the column editors as follows: material ties in or responds to broader May 1", for September/October it would be issues in the field or to specific method- due On July 1"). Advertisements should be Ms. Mary Ramirez, Editor-Administration ologies submitted at least two months in advance of of Bilingual Education Programs, Philadel- 4. an assessment as to whether the teacher/ the first month listed for the issue. 7Z. NABE NEWS 35 NATBONAL ASS COATOON FOR BILEINGUAL EDUCATION Ten us About MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION yourseit. 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