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CREATING EDUCATIONAL EQUITY FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS WITH DISABILITIES Presented April 27, 2015 at the Minority Student Achievement Network Institute by Members of the ESOL and Special Education Departments of Arlington County, Virginia, Public Schools AGENDA ● Welcome and Introductions ● Objectives ● Warm-Up ● Historical Overview ● Language Acquisition Considerations: BICS, CALP ● Equity Warrior: ESOL Resource Teacher ● Collaboration with Stakeholders ● Teachers, Administrators, Families ● Reflection and Q&A OBJECTIVES Participants will be able to… ● Articulate a consensus definition of “educational equity” and identify other categories of equity ● Identify the negative, compounding effects of inequity on students who fall into multiple categories OBJECTIVES, continued… •Use data to inform culturally competent instruction •Understand the difference between Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency, and how language differences affect classroom learning. •Gather ideas on how to create environments in which dually-identified students can succeed academically and socially WARM-UP What is educational equity? Turn and talk ● How do you define educational equity? ● What are some of the barriers for culturally and linguistically diverse students? How about for students with disabilities? HISTORICAL OVERVIEW Observation Targeted Solution Findings Question Research OBSERVATION ELLs weren’t moving through the system as rapidly as expected In many cases, those experiencing academic, learning, and/or socio-emotional difficulties were not receiving the services they needed QUESTION What obstacles stood in the way of students receiving these services? RESEARCH A Case Study approach was taken to gather information about the various reasons and possible solutions FINDINGS The district’s ESL program and Student Services Programs, including Special Education, were not communicating systematically. TARGETED SOLUTION Improve communication between ESL, Student Services and Special Education throughout the district. FORGING A NEW SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION ESL, Special Education, and Student Services ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Numerous challenges are involved in making sound educational decisions about English language learners who are experiencing academic difficulties. NECESSARY FIRST STEPS • Appoint liaisons • Encourage regular communication • Provide staff development to ESL and Special Education teachers • Jointly examine issues affecting referral and identification ACTIONS TAKEN • Formation of Multicultural Assessment Team • Formation of System-wide Committees of ESL and Special Education Teachers • Joint professional development at the school and system levels for teachers, administrators, student services staff Language Development Social and Cultural Processes Cognitive Development Academic Development Language Acquisition for School, by Virginia P. Collier, 1994 INTERVENTION TOOLS Collaboration to develop: • The Educational Checklist and Suggested Adaptations: An Intervention Guide for Second Language Learners Experiencing Academic Difficulty • Bridge Manual: Supporting Sound Decision Making for English Language Learners Experiencing Academic Difficulty FROM IDENTIFICATION TO INSTRUCTION A new paradigm focusing on instruction of English Learners already identified as eligible for special education services: Dually-Identified students The Bridge Team Concept The common misperception that Special Education trumps ESL Instruction U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division American with Disabilities Act & U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights ESEA Dually-Identified students have the right to both services MEET THE ESOL RESOURCE TEACHER A DAY IN THE LIFE… Advocate for culturally and linguistically diverse students Promote cultural pluralism Use cross-cultural communication Demonstrate culturally courageous leadership Challenge institutional biases Implement culturally responsive teaching SOCIAL vs. ACADEMIC LANGUAGE: BICS and CALP Activity: What type of language? a. My name is __________________ (insert your name in blank). b. I am thirsty. May I please have a drink of water? c. After we finished school in June, my family spent our summer vacation visiting relatives in Eritrea. d. Worms are called decomposers. They have a special job, which is to eat leaves, grass, and other things in nature to help break them down into smaller pieces. We are going to study worms more closely by making a compost bag. e. Your math homework sheet is a review of everything we have learned so far this year: working long-division problems with double-digit divisors, calculating the area and perimeter of various quadrilaterals, working with fractions and decimals, and calculating averages. Questions/Discussion Topics 1. Which of the above items represented BICS communication? CALP? 2. Why were the CALP items more difficult to translate, even with many years of instruction in a second language? 3. Teachers often hear students making comments such as those in (a), (b), or (c), and then dismiss language as a potential cause when those same students display difficulties in class. Why do you think this is the case? 4. Imagine that you are a student whose teacher has just spoken the words seen in either (d) or (e), but you are not proficient in the English language. Brainstorm a list of things your teacher could do to help you understand what was being said. 5. How does this activity help you to better understand the needs of an ELL student? “Most students in a second language environment can acquire conversational proficiency in two to three years. These language learners appear to be fluent speakers of the second language. However, students who have acquired only a conversational and not an academic level of proficiency have difficulty when trying to understand and communicate about cognitively complex concepts in the target language, especially in academic contexts.” (Herrera, S. & Murry, K., 2011) Advocate for Students of Color ● Initiate contact with stakeholders ● Increase communication among student’s team Promote Diversity and Individuality ● Know students’ cultural background ● Learn about them ● Celebrate their uniqueness ● Support them to embrace and understand their disability Use Cross-Cultural Communication ● Demonstrate cultural knowledge and sensitivity ● Communicate with parents so that they can support their child’s learning Build Courageous Leadership ● Help all students feel important ● Go the extra mile ● Challenge norms ● Address examples of cultural oppression Be an Equity Warrior ESOL Resource Teacher ● Support culturallyresponsive teaching ● Encourage L1 growth ● Implement instructional practices based on language and disability needs ● Teach students to selfadvocate COLLABORATING WITH TEACHERS ATTENDING MEETINGS IS KEY Involved Informed Identity COLLABORATION/ RELATION P= Professional A= Accept the Advice and Expertise C= Consult on Constant Basis T= Trust Your Resource DELIVERY T= Testing and Evaluating I= Individual Support P=Pull Out S= Small Group COLLABORATING WITH ADMINISTRATORS Ranked #1 Middle School in Virginia in the 2015 NICHE Rankings “…Americans…show…how an enlightened regard for themselves constantly prompts them to assist each other, and inclines them willingly to sacrifice a portion of their time and property to the state.” Alexis de Tocqueville - Democracy in America When you act to further the interests of others, you ultimately serve your own self-interest. HELP ADMINISTRATORS HELP STUDENTS INITIATIVES SHOULD BE • Data-driven • Research-based • Designed to address accountability requirements Title III of NCLB requires that each school district in Virginia meet three Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives relating to Limited English Proficiency students AMAO 2 – Attainment of English proficiency The number of LEP students becoming proficient in English will increase by 19% over last year, based on their performance on the ACCESS test IN-HOUSE BRIDGE TEAM • What is it? • Who participates? • When does it meet? • What is its overarching mission? WHAT IS THE BRIDGE TEAM? Bridge between Special Education and ESOL teachers and the rest of the school community WHO IS ON THE BRIDGE TEAM? – Representative from the Special Education Dept. – Representative from the ESOL Dept. – ESOL Resource Teacher – Administrator with Special Education oversight – Administrator with ESOL oversight WHEN DOES THE BRIDGE TEAM MEET? • Meetings – Bi-weekly at beginning of year – Monthly thereafter – As the need arises BRIDGE TEAM MISSION • To facilitate communication among the professionals serving dually-identified students, and to explore ways in which service delivery can be improved to foster greater achievement. • To work at each school to create opportunities to strengthen services that directly affect the students identified for Special Education and ESOL services. Departments of Justice and Department of Education Release Joint Guidance to Ensure English Learner Students Have Equal Access to a HighQuality Education On January 7, 2015, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice issued a joint guidance reminding states, school districts and schools of their obligations under federal law to ensure that English learner students have equal access to a high-quality education and the opportunity to achieve their full academic potential. Disability Discrimination The Educational Opportunities Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department addresses disability discrimination in several ways, including through its existing desegregation cases and its English Language Learner (ELL) matters. …The Section ensures that dually identified ELL and special education students receive all services to which they are entitled. A MOMENT TO REFLECT Think about what you know… PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREATED BY BRIDGE TEAM • • • • 6-week workshop series Voluntary (incentive = re-certification credits) In-house and guest speakers Opportunities to discuss and collaborate on addressing current challenges • Practical strategies that could be taken back to the classroom the next day TOPICS • Differentiation – Parts 1 and 2 • Teaching Reading in the Content Areas • Explicit Instruction of Academic Language • Crafting Content and Language Objectives • Reflective Practice and Formative Assessment COLLABORATING WITH FAMILIES Professor, Harvard Law School Areas of specialization include law and education Advocate for members of racial and religious minorities and for women, children, and persons with disabilities Making All the Difference, Martha Minow: With both bilingual and special education, schools struggle to deal with children defined as “different” without stigmatizing them. Both programs raise the same question: when does treating people differently emphasize their differences and stigmatize or hinder them on that basis? And when does treating people the same become insensitive to their difference and likely to stigmatize or hinder them on that basis? Making All the Difference, Martha Minow: The problem of inequality can be exacerbated both by treating members of minority groups the same as members of the majority and by treating the two groups differently. [Does] nondiscrimination mean giving individuals the opportunity to assimilate or accommodating their differences through special programs? WHAT DO YOU THINK? Does academic equity mean giving dually identified students the opportunity to assimilate? Or does it mean… Accommodating their differences through special programs? WORKING WITH PARENTS • Choosing between sheltered instruction or general education • Choosing between the “Least Restrictive Environment“ and self-contained classes BUILD RELATIONSHIPS SO YOU CAN… Assist Interpret Guide Reassure THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO COMMUNICATE IS THAT YOU… • Have shared goals • Value honesty and candor • Respect differences of opinion and culture I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. REFLECTION and Q&A Thank You! • Francesca Reilly-McDonnell – [email protected] • Melissa Cuba – [email protected] • Pam Lockridge – [email protected] • Susan Harrison – [email protected]