Making ctions ConneLanguage, Literacy, Learning Albuquerque Public Schools Language and Cultural Equity Enhancing Core Reading Programs in the Bilingual Classroom by Susan López In January, LCE Resource Teachers Elia María STARTING OUT … Romero and Susan López facilitated a “Biliteracy The first day of the academy began with a Academy” focused on strategies for the session for the teachers only. The entire day implementation of the core reading program in was spent in an interactive discussion that a bilingual/dual language provided teachers with classroom. This event background, methods, was hosted by Eugene and strategies for Spanish Field Elementary and and English literacy, was attended by teachers and a conversation and from Eugene Field and reflection on appropriate Coronado elementaries. pedagogy. There was an Since the district now in-depth dialogue about requires all schools to core reading programs, utilize a core reading their place in bilingual program, the goal of the classrooms, and the academy was to provide strategies that should be on-site professional used to facilitate biliteracy development to address the Here, Eugene Field students brainstorm adjectives describing a snowman. using these programs. strategies and collaborative planning needed for There are certain non-negotiable components of academic success of bilingual students using a a successful dual language program: separation core reading program. This week-long academy of languages for meaningful instruction, avoiding included both theory and practice, providing translation when reading and writing, and a participants with the opportunity to observe the minimum of 50% to 90% of the daily instruction theories and strategies in a classroom setting in the “target” language (Spanish, in this case). and the impact they have on students. Teachers must balance these components with fidelity to the requirements of the core reading Also in this issue... program. Along with ensuring that the program has the non-negotiable components in place, ❖ Creating Success for a School and its Students the quality of instruction, including the best approaches and methods, is critical. The best ❖ El uso de las nueve estrategias de practice for bilingual students is the eclectic Marzano en la clase de matemáticas... approach, which includes: the global approach ❖ Making Classroom Studies Real: (which assumes that students learn to read A Chaco Canyon Project best when reading begins with natural and ❖ Collaborating for the Educational meaningful text for students to listen to, look at, Success of the Students We Share and memorize by sight), the analytic approach (an approach that begins with a word then ❖ Making More Connections! analyzes it and breaks it down into parts), and —continued on page 10 — ◆ March 2010 ◆ Two Powerful Ideas—Creating Success for a School and its Students by Greg Hansen This year marks the forty-year anniversary of ♦ turning over responsibility for students' learning School on Wheels, an alternative high school to the students as they become more adept at that is well known as a place of empowerment constructing knowledge and utilizing strategies by themselves; for students who were often unsuccessful, disengaged, or actively resisting their previous ♦ encouraging students to see each other as resources; and schooling. What accounts for their success, and what can be learned from it? ♦ teachers talking to each other about practice, sharing what they know, observing each other, and collaborating in planning, implementing, and Two simple, powerful ideas that Principal Felipe evaluating curriculum. Perea asks his teachers to uphold offer a clue: ♦ Treat the students with respect and School on Wheels teachers offer some ideas on high regard. the two guiding ideas they support. They reflect ♦ Raise expectations of academic on the students and their teaching: achievement for them. There are probably a lot more, but here are a few So what does it mean to respect students and of the projects our team has worked on with our hold them in high regard? And what does it look students: like to effectively raise academic expectations ♦ For the past 3 years, students have presented an for students? Certainly the answers would vary, activity at the ABQ-Bernalillo County Children's depending on who is asked. From the voices of Water Festival (each year at least 125 kids the teachers and students, a picture of what have participated in this activity); in addition, respect and raised expectations looks like at students acted as reporters and photographers for this festival and they wrote articles that were School on Wheels emerges: published in the ABQ Journal and on the ABQ Water Utility Authority's website. RE S PECT I S …: ♦ For the past 9 years, students installed and ♦ reflecting on one’s thinking, assumptions and monitor every month two Bosque Ecosystem beliefs about the students and the community; Monitoring Project sites and the Rio Grande as ♦ constructing learning with students, tapping into part of their science curriculum. their knowledge and experience, and rejecting ♦ In 2005, students designed and installed a 3000 the idea that we are saving students from a square foot xeriscape garden by harnessing the “culture of poverty” or any other perceived help of over 150 volunteers from the school deficit creating an inability to learn; community. ♦ acknowledging the language, life ways, and ♦ In the past few years students have presented cultural literacy of students and revamping their learning experiences at local, state, and Euro-centric curriculum so that it is inclusive and national educational conferences including the culturally and socially relevant; and Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and ♦ speaking to students honestly and without Native Americans in Science, North American sarcasm, derision, or in a way that places the Association of Environmental Education, and the teacher above the students or damages the Coalition of Essential Schools conferences. forming of healthy relationships. ♦ Last year, students invited and trained 20 Rio Grande students in water quality monitoring techniques in partnership with Amigos Bravos RAI S ING EXPECTATI O N S MEAN S … and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department as ♦ matching support to the level of expectations. part of the "Acequia Monitoring and OutReach" Instructional support (scaffolding, differentiated (AMOR) project. instruction, etc.) increases as the curriculum becomes more challenging rather than ♦ Students are beginning an oral history project on considering these strategies to be remedial the 40 years of our school's existence where they (“They won’t get that help in college”); will interview former members of our school community. —continued on page 3— 2 ◆ Making Connections—March ‘10 ◆ —continued from page 2— ♦ Eight years ago, More student diversity would help students were critical in us do that even more; I think that the creation of our Child is a growth area for us. Development Center, a —Jim Silva partnership with the City of ABQ that continues to this day. And finally, the following —Vince Case excerpts from paragraphs written by School on Wheels students describe their I think that at SOW we try our best to empower our experience with the school and how it has made students by giving them a voice in the classroom. I a difference in their lives: try to show them that they should be proud because they have chosen an "This school is my family; everyone helps out, listens education. Many of the and participates. There are no fights before, after, or students had given up in during school because that’s how well we get along..." the past, but they chose to —Jasmine Sosa come back and that shows “If I hadn’t had the chance to be in this school, I a lot of strength. We try to would be a drop out because I always would ask provide a supportive and myself: why bother being at school if I always try, respectful environment and end up a failure?” where relationships are the —Andres Zambrano key. We know our students and our students’ families. We are a community. “In comparison to regular high school, I think the —Marisol Fraga teachers here are more focused on us than themselves.” —Heberth Vicente We’re not in the business of fixing kids down here. The students are beautiful. If we see them as broken, “La comparación de las escuelas regulares a esta escuela es el respeto y la comunicación de los maestros it becomes a mindset of “they have to be like me in a los alumnos que les importa tu bienestar y que salgas order to make it”. Then you have the “us vs. them” adelante con los estudios y como ser humano.” dynamic. We don’t do that. What we try and do is —Ruth Elias form healthy relationships. That means the learning is two-way. Instead of trying to get the students “I came to School on Wheels because I was a drop to change themselves, we work at creating honest out and really behind on credits…If it wasn’t for dialog. We have to get over our fears about being School on Wheels I would be wandering the streets real, about seeing the students for who they are and of Belen a drop out, and a loser.” about building relationships with them that don’t —Vincent Vallejos place us on a pedestal above them. “I came to School on Wheels so I can finish school, ... We don’t disparage them. We don’t use sarcastic graduate and go to college… it was my last chance comments or try to shame them. They have had for school.” enough of that. And they get on us too – the honesty —Britney Rose Gallegos works both ways. The kids will tell me if I am not “If it was not for School on Wheels I would most likely being real with them. I consider that an honor be in trouble and not proving that I have the ability because it tells me they see me as worth the effort.