.lf.

IHE JOUR.\AL OFTHE COALITION OF ESSENTIAL SCHOOLS

Innoiation in Education

( [ ASSROOM PRACTICF

| N(,11*11 |AN GUA(,1 | 1 \1{\1 liA IN F%1·NIl\1 SCI{()01 5

liORACEVOTUMF 19 "2 WINTER 2009

Africa. and some of the Caribbean nations are coming here with sketchy educa-tions. Their math skills are outrageously bad. It's a big concern for city of NewYork. and all while schools rushed to do better on tests. to produce better data orhave our finds cut,

Working with students who have had little experience with school. other educatorsrefleet on the work they do a% ar:ademic ac'cujturators. North Kansas Cin- HighSchoors Sara Boyd says. -Even in high school. most of the time w·ith manv of ourstudents, were teaching how to do school. For a lot of our students. everythingabout be ing here is new and we t(·ach them how to be successful in school. help themdevelop an ac·ademic vocabulary and learn what expectations are." Sara Newman.principal nfel,·ven-war old Brooklyn I nternationai High School. which servesthret· hundred ninth through twelfth graders from fortv - four countries. agrees."Our situdents arc· often age appropriate for high school but don-t have the edu-eational background that you'd expect with a ninth grader. We make sure thatthey learn not only the language but also the stuff that thev don't know. We havehad kids who didn't know how to count-we had a student two years ago whor.oulln't count lo teen. Or kids are. able to read basically but have not learned towrite: liecause· they came irom schools where role memorization is all that counts.Kids 1 ('ll stories of beingin classes of sixty students. Obviously. they need toIi:arn new ways of learning. so we focus on melacognitive matters. Kids need toIi:arn Tnori: than social language-they have to acquire academic language. Andwi: don't have much time. just four years to get all ofthis dorie. -

In Paterson, New.1(·rsey's Charles J. Riley #g, an elementarv school serving kindergartrn through eighth graders with high concentrations of Arab ie, Spanish. and

Turkish speaking students. Sky(· Bayram teaches bilingual Turkish-English math.and ESL. reading. She is from Paterson'sTurkish-speaking community and feelsthat her c:urine:rticm to her students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds factorsprominently in twrstudents' success. -1 amadirect bridge tothe families;ind r.hildren. Knowing the language, being familiar with culture. customs. andreligion makes il 90 much easier for people.- Bayram also feels personal responsj -bilily as a community rolr model. "The Turki.Kh community is forty to fifty yearsold in ihis area. hut there are not enough representatives in enough professions.We ric:ed mor(· 7'tirkish-spcakingteachers. doc:tors. firefighters. and engineers.I rrinind the. kids that once they achieve success. they need corne back and help.I'lwv hear it fi·om me, from their parents. and they're experiencing it-I camebark. I never forgot that there wasacommunity that I could assist."

flavingti·,1('11('1·5 Wht) Sill:It·(· fh<'11·Illig,listic'allii Cuitili·alherilagescan also easeaponi i It<,ii 1,+Ii·(le,i unrhildreii raised iii non English speaking homes: the need10;wt aw,1 -bruler- for their families. helping parents and other adults navigatethe !(nglish speakingworici. Brooklvii Init·rnational principal Sara Newman

Sk,i, /fromm find studm 1, n f Charles J. Riley #9 in Paterson. N.J.

observes. -Kids arent adults. but they're often asked by schools and the rest ofthe world to ust: what English they have to figure things out with their families.a nci i 0% a lot ril' pressure ici put on a kid. They do not have the background andvocabulary, but they're dealing willi illness. with finance. And sometimes. kidshavi· (·rnotional or other problem.s in school: we work hard to find translators oni jur stail' or eis(·,4 here sci wi· don't have to put any students in the position oftalkingal)(,ut hi tri 41·11' with his family and teachers."

Schools arc fincling ways in take students out of the role of broker or translator invarious ways.Oakland's ASCEND hired two community representatives, Spanishii inci Mic·n Mpre,kers, to interact with Ihe school population'.9 two main languagegroup.4. Bronx I tile.rnational offers ESL classes forparents asa way for the parentcommunity to act as resources for (:ach other and to help parents attain theirown English profiric·ncy. Sara Newman adds thai it's crucial to support literacyi n slude ills' native languages ast hey progress toward English proficiency. -Oneleacheruses Romeo andjutiet everyyear. so when the staff' I ravels or talks tol'amiii r.s. we try to 64't copies of it-we now have itin thirty different languages.We've clon<' the Karrit· w it h An ne Fmnk: The Diar- g a Young Girl. It -s important top 1·(Ir 1(1(1 +Ilp,)01·1 Ill:[Irria|K ill liler;lilli'(' in native [aliguages so students cali talk; 11 1(in lt· al)(ilit what th(·\'re I car ing allci keepupt ht irskills." Similarly. BronxI iiI(·17 illit) 11;1| iN [i|an ing, 1'01· its first graduating student<' port folios in 7005·1 ) 17'41,ir(· 41(.1,1011.stration of native language competency.

8

interncitzontit (·ebratz,Mn (11 Piler*un.N.J's Ch,irleJ j R,ley *19

1.imi [){.Ipit writes.-Wheri instruction is stripped of children's cultural legacies,thi·ri they are forced to believe that the world and al] the good things in it werecreate:d by others. This leaves students; further alienated from the school and its

instiuctional goals, and more likely to view themselves as inadequate." All of theschools profiled in this issue of Horace devote significant time and resources tomaking fludents' cultures integral to schoollife byteachjng multiculturally,rele.brating students' heritages by hosting potluck meals. art shows. danceperfornianres. and poetry recitals. and byinviting families to participate intheIii'(· 01' the school. all w·ith th(· message that they value who students are andwhere they are froni.

Perhaps the conrept c j f unanxious expeclation is the most resonant link betweenI he research literature on (reat ing the best conditions for minority languagestudc:nis and the practices that support student ]earningin Essential schools.

I'lic best methods," for creating second language academic success. writesUniversity 01' Southern California language and reading expert Stephen D. Krashen."are therefore those that supply 'comprehensible input' in low' anxiety situations,c(intaining message.s i hal st Udents really want to hear. These methods do not forcet·irly pic,thirtic,ii in Iheseccinci language. but allow students toprodurewhen they are'n·ady.' 17·(·(ignizing th:at improvenwnl conies from supplying co trimunicative andc·,inprehensil,le input. anc| not from forringand cori·ectingproduction."

As with al! other impor·tant development and learning. each student enters intoEnglish in his or her own idiosyncratic ways. Bronx Internationals Shael Polakow-Suransky underscores this. saying, -We're buildinga school community whereEnglish is the pri mary language. but kids make the choice for themselves whento make the sh j ft from their native language to English. Some kids do it imme-diately. Some need two or three months. And some need two years. The phe-nomenon of getting past yoursilent period and starting to take risks depends onyour personality. your family. and the community of other students that surroundy (Al. But it ean't bit rushed. However inconvenient. students need time totransform

themselves int,3 multilingual learners.

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Profutug Imle·m ticitu: uuit w rlit 2'rli.pdu htate. <l'lli'pns:er.pdf

Iii}H+U:I·· 10 UlANK 2003

D O

-

Dr)S .AND Do©rs KITH REFUGEE STUDENTS

u Ilave. highs:andards

o Be Ilexible

o Ask Rtudent questionx about past. homecountrief;. etc.

o Research studi·nt s homeland

41<, l i t i c· 8. ed 11 ( :a t i o n a 1 88¥s t e rn, l a nguage . et c. )

o Incorporate student's experiences

o Share inforrnation pertinent to student'sirogres.4 with colleagues

o iii·:id picture i,rink. te elass

0 161· a variety of group configurations andseating patterns to enrourage conversation

}'11·, 24*Urh Ut Al,(flt,1 1 ·• 4

111(· 1 1111, d \.1,11:,i. 1*flt,fer '1fi·11($ u .3

DO NOT

o Assume literacv in the student's native language

o Assume student is monolingual

o Assume students from the same country will

his automatically befriend each other

o Assume all school-related roles are the same

across cultures. expectations of teachers andstudents can vary widely from place to place

o Assume students will quickly· share personalstories into lessons

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11 Wi\TER 2003

ASSEss]%(, %'tilli\(; BiLI\GU.Al.It

ArI) Al:f HENTICALLY: INTERN,\TIONAL (.C)VVI-\ITY

SCH Of)/. Ar D ·\1.-\ S

|n 2001-2002. its first year of existence. the International Community School(ICS), whip:h st·rvi:6300 kindergarten through fifth graders in the predominantlyimino Fruilvali· rieighborhood of Oakland. Cali fornia, felt assessment pressurefrorri several djfferent directions. ICS had to demonstrate that students were

learning m writi· well. and it needed to measure students' Spanish and Englishliti·rac:y skills in its bilingual and sheltered English programs (classes whereEnglish isthe. primary language of instruction). The ICS teachers also wanted toiriffirm the.jr own prdagogy go that they could best prepare students for the nextgrade and eventually formiddle schoc)]. w'here fewer bilingual classes exist andrrit,Ht student, ari· fully immersed in English. Finally. the school had to respond10 „uiside calls for aerountability. ehperially from Oakland s district requirementm dc:nionstrate that the civil and educational rights of their Spanish-speakingBlurirrits wi·ri· lieing met.

.Waitew. i, f (mA·/ail i/- /nn,rmmiwi Crimmuna,·School

Toaddri:ss 111<·i ,· multiple lit eracv assessment conce.rns. ICS principal Janie NaranjoIlail and tic 1(15 foundingstaff chose to use the Authenlic Literan'Assessment

System (ALAS). rollabi,ratively created by Eugene Garcia. former Dean of the.U n ive rsity of California at Berkeley School of Education (and current Dean ofthr Arizona State University College of Education). other Berkeley researchers.:1111 trachers. In t ht· classroom, ALASis a two·day proress. Teachers read prompts:ilowd 1().siud[·ills: Studems dist'uss the prompts in sinall grou}mand create graphic1)·gallii.('1·S (('fignitive: maps. forrxample) to record theirlhoughts. The folloi, ingday. Ntu(Irtils list• their notes to write responses to questions. demonstratingthrlitericy skills 'hal thrv havt· been working on in class. Teachers then meet in

12

grade level groups and score student writing accordingto a rubric that evaluatestopic, organization. style and voice. and use of conventions on a fourteen-tierscale. The process is similar in English and Spanish. with differences emergingprimarily in the area of conventions. Sheltered English classes do the.ALASthree times ina year and bilingual classes tackle the ALAS three times each inEnglish and Spanish.

ICS teachers worked collaboratively with an ALAS coach to modi fy the rubric inbe.veral cycles to meet their own expec'tations and the Oakland district standards.an{J they reviewed their students' ALAS results in professional developmentHessions with other Bay Area teachers and U.C. Berkeley staff. Commenting onthe professional development aspect of the ALAS process. |CSS 2001 -2002 ALAScoarh (:arolina Serna says. "Not only does the ALAS give an assessment o f stu-dc:nt writing, bilt it hejps the teacher be reflective about her teaching." TeachersInvt:sled signifirant time in preparing for. administering. scoring. and reflectingon Al AS. w·hic·h sometimes was tough in ICS's start-up year. but thev feel thatt}ie vi·Kults werf' well worth the investment. ICS teachers believe that it allows

stud(nts li, demonstrate theirliteracy skills in ways that less tailored -off the shelfassessrnents would not. ALAS's detailed rubric, which teachers refined over the

s lirrirn prin preparation fort heschool's secondyear. alsohelps teachersident*what thrir students need to work on. and they can correspondingly fine-tune theirrurriculum. Fourth grade hili ngual English - Spanish teacher Raquel Rodriguez-lones says, "Ofall i,fthi. evaluation., we do. this is the most ours. The rubric is reallylit·lpful to show ourselves and th(: students what their next steps will be and Iknow they'll build on their skills when they leave my class because we use ALASsehorilwide." ICS principal Janie Naranjo- Hall agrees. noting. "We can look specif-ic:ally at what st,id<·rits know about topic and organization and we can analyze howthrir commonalitirs. language. and culture lead to these patterns. It gives us moreinsight into writers as individuals." Cornmenting on how the ALAS demonstratedwriting improve ment. coach Carr,lina Sernasays. -Even though last year was the114 ·gin n i rig, because there was strong commitment on the part of teachers. we saw-improve:nwnt toward benchmarks at all grade levels. Some grades reached andexec.(: decl the·jr goals--improvement was especially dramatic in the bilingualsecond and third grade classroom.4."

1(:S's experience wilh Al.AS drmonstral{·s thestrength of an assessment givenMever·al lirmis a year. in the languages of instruction and based on classroomcurriculum, that corresponds to school-and district-wide standards and thatallows teachers to evaluate collaboratively. ICS students' exhibition of literacyprogress on the ALAS has helped its teachers refine their curriculum to continueto Iwl 1, t hei t· students reach or maini ain high levels of liter:i·v and multilingualisrn.

13

4 ORKI\(, WITH CLI-Tl RALLY -\\D

1-1\Glls-fIC-#1.1.Y DikERSE FAMILIES

Deborah A. Bruns. faculty member at Southern Illinois University. and RobertM. Corso, researcher/educator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.anajyzed research and current best practices in the realm of w·orking with studentsand families from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Though their workfo<:uses on early childhood education. their strategies also benefit school peoplewho seek to build strong conriertions to families of older students. I n this excerptfrorri -Workingwith Culturally and Linguistic:ally Diverse Families. Bruns andCorso offer th: following suggestions for creating the best conditions for studentand farnily sue(.·ehs:

Characteristics of the family system are often heavily in fluenced by a family.scull u ral value. s and beliefs. For example. researchers have found that. in some(:ultures, the family unit includes extended family members or clans coinposedof several housch(ilda of relatives with a commitment to a family-based supportrir.lwork, while other families tend to focus on the immediate family and utilizeext(· 1·nal support networks. Knowledge and understanding of the variety of familystrtic:lures and systems increase the professional's ability to respond to the family'sr)(:(:ds. In turn, respect for the diverse systems of family organization enhances:i professionals effective.ness.

Familic·s are more likely to develop r ffective working relationships with profes-si(mals thfy trusi. Yet.this relationship may be forged in d ifferent ways. Some|:Imilifis may prefer a more formal relationship with early education professionals,while others m:,v prefer a more informal. friendly relationship. In some cultures.the iather may be considered the head of the household and. therefore. maybe

responsible for rnaking decisions for the rest () f the family. In other cultures,the old{,41 female· member of the house hold may hold the position of authority.Resparehers in the early education field suggest lhat these issues need to beconsicir:red on a family-by-family basis. because intra-group differences are asgreat as inter groupilifferences. Awarenessof fhesedifferencesinrreases thelikelihood of buildingeffective relationships.

11

Cross-cultural differences in communication may also affect professional-family relationships. For example. researchers note that if professionalsassume a domjnant role in conversations. the submissive role in which the familv

is placed may be a source of tension and may result in family members with-holding information. Communication of this type may be particularly offensive1 0 sorrie families from traditional Hispanic. Native American. and Asian back-ground.s. As discussed in the literature. knowledge of issues related to the useof translators and jnterpreters is important for early education professionalsbecause (.ommunicating with linguistic:ally diverse families often requires indi-viduals fluent in the family's primary language to explain or clarify informationrf:lated m programs and sen'ires.

It is als(, critiral to maintain open, ingoing communication with families fromdiverse linguistic. backgrounds. This communication may tak<' the form of home-program notehooks. oral exchanges. or other modes of communication based oneach family's preferences.

E. florts should lie maile to hi re bicultural and bilingual staff to i ncrease an orga -nization'+ ability to create trust between families and pro fessionals. However.rei('arc.hers note thai what is even more essential is to hire staff who e mbrace

diversity as an asset and demonstrate a willingness to learn about the experiencesarid t racliti(ins of individuals whose backgrounds are different from their own,By recruitingsuch individuals, early childhood programs will substantiallyenhance their ahility to work with families from diverse cultural backgrounds.

1 11, 12'

It is important to (.n(·i),irage the participation of community leaders as "culturalguides" to facilitair communic:ation and understanding between professionalsa rid farri i lies. The literature describes several roles these individuals can play:

o Provide professionals with insights concerning community beliefs, values.and ecimmunication style.

o Offii· families information about programs and services in a culturally sensitiveand responsive manner.

o Art as facilitators to bring families and professionals closer together to reachdesired out(:orn(·;.

Examples of (·aill u ral guides include community leaders, members of the clergy.and b,isiness leaders who are from the familys cultural group or who speak theFamily's primary language.

]5

4

The final strategy addresses the need for ongoing evaluation of early childhoodprograms that serve diverse families. Evaluation can take several forms. such as

as,king families to complete surveys or sharinginformation through face-to- faceor phone interviews. Early education professionals may also participate in programimprovement activities by conducting a needs assessment to identify areas fortrainingand then self-evaluating their knowledge and skills in those areas.With col laboration from bicultural/bilingual staff and cultural guides. informationcan be collected in ways that match families' preferences. In turn. early educationprofess ionals can use this information to improve their programsand theirinteractions with families.

111}H·'(il

HIC. (.Ii·.t! ingliouse on E.lemt',inffrd,i firmi:/hh'di·ersit,/

.fl:,St,ralk r,i,·1,1

MARK YOUR ALENDARS FOR

FALL FORUM 2003

NOVEMBER 13-15 IN COLUMBUS. OHIO

Joiliteachers. education leaders. part·nts, and students from around the world to

exchange 81 rategies a nd learn about innovations in school design. classroc,m

practice. leadership, and community connections.

For more details. visit: www.essentialschools.org

16 WI N 1 1 It 2003

11,· righ t tri rhink 18 perhaps the most fundamental

of all human rights. One thinks ina language.andi, niv whr.rj fine isable /0 think in one'sprimary|arigija/. it 146 fjoh£,bli: 10<:orisider (ineself v.hole and

authi'mir. l'hi· Imtory of languageinthe UnitedStates iA lilli:red with muntless legaJ and politicalmani'uven aimed at limiting ith people from their

right to prexi:rve thi:i r pri mary language. Throughthe igth und e.arly goth rent,ines. EuropeantrnmiKi·ants werr forced to forget their tongues.

Thi·· 1'('c·ame monolingual English speakers.1'11, 11,·w immignints. mostly from Latin America andAsia. have witnessed the mime legal and pmlitical

mam:uvering. 111 i.s lime: againal bilingual eduration.

Ann hilingual iniliativ(:Hwere recrntiv approvi·<1in m:veral states. prornising that bv forcing stu

drnts m he irrimersed in the Engli,th language.

1}1,·ir I.i,glish compelrn#·i· a rid + adrmic perForrnarn·i· wi,illd qi,jekly liI,prnve. But reality has

provi·ri f holw· promise.s false. In the 2000- 2001

9'hoid year in (.2,1 i forni., alone. 1.3,)1.849 chi ld ren

i:,iled ti, ht· pr,imot,·d li) fluent English profirwnry a failitreratrof 92%.arc:(,rdingtothestand:irds 8,·11 i.v t he Hame promoters tifthr English

Only legislation. Asa resuit of ar) inrreas,inginter{1(71:ndent and glob;,1 culttire. English language 1,·arners will cnnt inui· to ix? a large presencein schools. m s,ime slates more than others.

Sticvv·,sful programs.,411(·11 as dual immersion,

1:1], mto studentx' primary language skills andknowledgn.. nurturinganci c'nrichingtheschool'srulture to everv(in(·'; benefit. Siudents' right to

think- thus to read and wric,·-·in tht·ir primary1:ingitage rwidem. ultime,tcly. in the caparity anc]political will Ihal e(111('atort, deploy to daily enactillis right iii ilw wholi· school.

1,(·:idingl'(11·Equity andAchirvt·ment 1 )(•sign ((.12.S ilegion,il Center)C 6,1 le·gr , if |(dtic-al i,}11. S an J,im· Slate U nivernity

Data from theyear 2000 United StateR Census tell

us that nearlv eighteen percent of U.S. residentsspeak languages other than English at home.More than half of that group sel f-repon Englishfluency. and most among the remainder reportsignificant English competence. We al]--schools.families. children. uitimately. each one of us-

need supportive public opinion and policyenvironments to be able to continue this trend

toward multilingualism.

fhis issue of Horace looks at schools and com-

munities that are committed to helping studentshold onto their ] inguistie heritage asthey learnti) use their minds powerfully in English. Like

so much else in education that's worth doing.multilinguistic teachingand learn ingtakesskill. understanding. hard work. and. mostrif all. lime. Thank you to the schools that let

me see what happens inside their bilingualanti E.SI. classrooms. I'minawe o f yourwork.

and grateful.

On another note: we work hard to keep the website's resources up 10 date-the first issue of thisyears volume of Homce."School Design: Elementsof Smallness Create Conditions for Success." is

online already. To find it. and past issues ofHomc e from 1 988 o nward, d ic k the Horace butto non the site's home page, www.essentialschools.org.A sperial thanks to CES National's Cisco Orozco.who keeps the site timely and transforms printmaterial. speeches (including Teel SizerandGovernor Howard Dean's addresses at the 2002

Fail Forum)and moreintointernet-accessible

re,iources. If you haven't already or recently,take some time to explore CES's online world.

t.

Homer Editor

1

INE (,HOWING \LMBERS OF LIMITED ENGLISH

PROFICIF.\1 STZ 1}k\'IS. 1991-2002

Each year, the United States Department of Education-s Office of English LanguageAcquisition. Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement for LimitedEnglish Proficient Students issues data from its Survey of the States. These data.published by The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition.demonstrate the acceleration of the numberof Limited English Proficient (LEP)students not only in those states thal have a history of linguistic and culturaldiversity. but also in a large group of additional states that have experiencednotable· increases in immigration over the past decade.

NUMBER OF LEP STUDENTS, 2001-2002

r

_»*r

..3 »,5.Ac

4'' 'ilit '':* 4

LEI' POPULATION GROWTH, 1992-2002

H <18 14:1

.>100. 000

20.000-100.000

5.000-20.000

<5.000

: )Mal

- ili 6%

>200%

100%-200%

50%-100%

<50%

M 1 7 1 KH 2,)03

.

NATIONWIDE LEP ENROLLMENT & TOTAL K-12 ENROLLMENT. 1991-2002

Y P. Ak

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

1991-92

92-93

93-94

94-95

95-96

96-97

97-98

98 --99

99-00

00-01

OI--02

Nan·r

TOTAI. K-j2 ENROLLMENT

43.134.517

44.144.939

45,443.389

47.745,835

47.582.665

46.714.980

44.023.969

4 6,153.2 th

47.3.5 6,089

47.665,483

48.296,777

GROWTH

SINCE199/

3%

5%

J'%

10%

8%

7%

7%

10%

11%

12%

LIP ENROLLMENT

2.430.712

2.735.952

3.037.922

3,184.696

3.228.799

3.452.073

3,470.268

3.540.673

4.416.580

4,584.946

4.747,763

13%

25%

31%

33 %

42%

43%

46%

82%

89%

95%

GROWTH

SINCE 1991

LEP

K-12

91-92 92-93 93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 0]-02

lilli( \(:1

MOST COMMONLY SPOKEN LANGUAGES NATIONWIDE

English

Spanish

Vietnamese

I nong

Haitian CreoleKc>rean

Arabic

Chinese. Cantonese

Russian

Tagaltig

18

Chinese. unspecijjed

NavajoKhmer

PortugueseUrdu

Chinese, Mandarin

Serbo-Croatian

Lao

japanese

WINTER 200

W'HERE TO GO FOR MORE

Funded by the U.S. Dep@nment of Education-s Office of English Language Acquisition. LanguageEnhancement. and Academic Achievement for LEP Students. the NCELA is a guide to the widerange of federal services for language minority .students and a huge. w·eli··organized resource forlaripage learning re.search. data, policies, and teaching strategies. Some highlights: up-to-the-miriute national and slate/terntorial demographic: information. an excellent glossar,y. a vast languageand education links Bection. and a classroom resources area.

CAL'% mission is "to promote and improve the teachingand learningof languages. identifyandsolve problems related m language and culture. and serve asa resource for information aboutlanguage and culture.- Its website does that splendidjy. featuringextensive information for Englishlanguage teachers. CAL. is a good first stop when you're researching ESL/bilingual teaching andlearning topirs; its links to databases. CAL-run services and outside links offeran multi-per-spective. current panorama oi just about anythingyou'd need to know.

''

Ajoint project of the National Ass{Xiation for Bilingual Education. Boston College. and the Northeastand Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University. Portraits of Success presenlsdi:tailed profiles of seven distinct schools that are examples of successful bil ingual education.Earh profilt· include a des,criplion of the school's bilingual program. student outcomes. communityr,·sponMe. program funding. and contact information. The. web ,;itr also contains a helpful annotatedInlilic,graphy of researr:h on elf,·t:live bil ingual practices.

1111 1, 11 1:\11 -114!, PH R\11

The Internet Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) Journal isa menthly web publicationfratairing contributions from teachers worldwide talking about what works for them in the classroom. Thelournal is an immensely practical and well-organized resource, and its emphasis on classroom practicemakes it mmwdiatch- rekevatil tor tearfiers plarmmg ressonsand fouting lur rilectlve strategies tSrpreHH,ing prillili·,3,M. Ibm'I miss Inching t ith mques 9,<·tion. fullof ideasand solutions. Forteailiersmle,·esk·d in cont rilmting icle·,is or artic·les. see the site fora clear and detailed milimission process.

It. ('!1 14

tri -Bilingual Education." Education Week presents a concise summary of the history of and debatesabout bilingual education. ESI-programs. and other related initiatives. The page includes linkstri relevant research. a wide spectrum of concerned organizations. and Education Week articleson Ei,glish language learning. ICs a useful destination if you seek a broad overview of the bilingual/}St.landscape.

Journalist jameN Craw ford draws on his long career of reporting on English language learningmatters ti, showcase rewearch, pohcy analysis. articles. and books (his own and those bv otherauthors). all with a definite bias ti,ward promoting bilingual education and arguingagainst the1,0 11<: wh and prartice.b associated with the English Only movement Crawford's work and collectedin f 'irrnal jon i a great way to learn more about the many influences on language learning policy.The si,e pa rt icu |a rly assist 8 t h ose w·hi, are i nterested in understanding recent language policy-ri,lati·d legislative and judicial drriions and theire ffects, wanting to know more about the English ·Onlyrifivpment. and 57·eking more information about endangered Native American and other languages.

l'hi· Urban InSt i luti· cleh(·ribes itself as -a non part isan economicand social policy researchurgan izat lori- for 'u Ni·d i,n u rl,an issues. a nd 111 scope extends far beyond language pedagogy issues.Wi hin il M ri·st,i,rees. the site presents a rich research section on immigration-related research.slatistirs. and fitiliry analysis. immens,·ly helpfulto anyone working for the benefit of new}yarrivedimmigrants and their familles-thai ls. the majority of English language learners. The UrbanIrt,it it ute's other fraiurid information also contributes lo making sense of the factors in the lives

of mai j> prt,1,1,· fi·om urban and/or economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

''!I

A p r,11{·1< sic,Iial ass ticiattoii iii' 14.000 English language educators. TESOL helps new and veteran['ES()1, trailic:r,Ihri,ug}i it.5 variouspithlications. Circulationofemploymentopportunitiesandilliriual,Ymvt·rition.OtlierTES()1. memberxeivicesincludeaccesstoemailgroups focusedaround4,nializ(·i] trier(·st,i a nci opportumt ws to apply for awards and grants. The TESOL. website features:i Ii.wful list of worldwide '11(SC)|. related meetings, conventionsandolherevents and collec-11(inM „f n:Itiorial and , 111(·rnati,inal TESOL advocacy newK.

20

£$*LISH LANGL.AGE TLACHING STR_ATEGIES:

IDEAS fl(81 ASCEND

Larissa Adam teaches fifth grade Spanish-English bilingual students at ASCEND(A School Cultivating Excellence. Nurturing Diversity). an Oakland. Cali forniakindergarten through eighth grade school. Adam suggests several strategies forcreating fruitful learning settings with English language learners.

o Ilf, a lot of fieldwork. in order to develop vocabulary, students have to beexposed to mar,y things. We studied landforms and took a trip to Yosemite.When the student,% read about granite. they know what granite is now: thatmakes 11 more- a|ive.

o Use. multiple strategies to deve.]op romprehension. Pictures and visualizationshelp interpret texts.

o Focus on thematic Jearning. with guiding questions. We make sure that everything in th(: (:lass centers around a core theme. That'.s important for ELLs-theycari attain a much greater English vocabulary when they're immersed in a subject.

o Be physical. When kids have no English at all. try immersion in Total Physical8(·sporisc: to develop a basic vocabulary. (For more about Total PhysicalResponse. see www.tpr world.com.)

As Adam shared these ihoughts, she noted. -I'hee strategies that I use with ELLsare the sam(· things that Ithinkworks foralllearners."This observation placesthe emphasis properly: minority language students are cross-curricular learners.expanding their minds in both English and their nat jve languages in a[] areas.

2l

I'HE SKIN 'fliAT WE SPEAK:

f 11(JLGHT h ON I.A\GLAGE AND CULTURE IN

-

THE CLASSROOM

Exploring the connections between language. race. identity.and s chool success. The Skin Thal We Speak's thirteen essays

THAT \A/ delve into how speakers of -nonstandard- English-mostly' SPEAK 1 varieties of African - American dialects, or Ebonics-view

themselves. how schools have often perpetuated theeducat jorial inequities of African American and otherchildren. and how educators can create the best frame-

w'ork.s to honorstudents'language and identity.

1 he collection starts with personal stories from JoanneKilgour Dowdy and Ernie Smith. who examine how one'sdialect leads peers. teachers. and others to make negative

assurriptions about one's academic abilities and desire to be a part of one's com-munity and how "code switching/"orlearningand usinga di fferent dialect. canaffect thi,s(· perreptions. Delpit's -No Kinda Sense"offers a parental and peda-gogic·al persper.live on rocle switching's effects. Dedpit describes her daughters;trans,fer from a inajority Whitt· to majority-African American elementary schoolaMi how #he rapidly moved from using standard English to using Ebonics. Delpit'sinquiry intowhy the r('verse rare·ly happens-why children with Af'rican Americansperch pattern.s don t generally code switch into academic English with equal ease

illl,rninates what schools can do to embrace culture, and how the resultingacceptance helps Mudents tomoveintonew realms oflanguage.

|lw mibs«itent F.Fisaya examine various soc·jo|inguistic concepts relevant to speakersof El,or,ir.sand other English dialects. Judith Baker's "Trilingualism" offers apractiral Lic· rp{·(live on helpingstudents move among the languages of thecomri,unity, clic:ol. and the workplace. Victoria Purcell .Cates' "'...As Soon AsShe Opencil Her Mouth!'" descrilic·s how a school puts a kindergartenerand hisnonliterite family at a steep disadvantage due to misconceptions sparked by thechild's mother's Appalachian English dialect. This case study compels us to con-sic|(·r (hr 1,('Mt (and worst) ways to work with non-literate students and families.

1 Irrh Kohl and Shwail) Mracham's conchici ingpieces look at teachertalk, examininghow trach(·rs' language influences their abilities in the classroom. Meachams

stild.y 01' two Airic·an Anirrican women's progress toward becoming teachers lucidlydemonstrates the complex interaction between rare. lantruage. and as.siimptions

on the part 01' parents. staicirrits. and {)therleachers.

771,· Skin 771:1 N''c SpeciA· provorativelv challrngrs rraders to reflect on the varietiest) f 1(nglish aiici the e fle(·1 of combi ned bialles about race and language.

22

I'llk LONG H-\LL: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

The Long Haul. one of our all-time favorite books. is an

finFMI auto-biography of Myles Horton. who. through his High-a dI 10610* 1 lander Folk School in New Market. Tennessee. helped

train Martin Luther King. Jr.. Rosa Parks. Eleanor Roosevelt.and Pete Seeger. It is one of the few books we give to staff

merribers and friends. This book pills education goals--------- into a broader perspective of social change-you have to think big. to think of goals that are li fe-long. goals that

wont Inhibit growth but nurture it.

///*/1|11*d!!1 The book is important on mariv different levels:"if you listen to people and work from w'hat they tell you.

within a few days their ideas get bigger and bi ger...you just continue to build onpri,ple's own experience: it is the. basis for theirlearning." What can we do differ-ently in the (:lassroom ifwi: believe in this?

"Stretching people's minds is part of educating. but alw·ays in termsi,fa derni,(:ratic goal. Thal incan.iyou have to trust people-s ability to develop theircapacity for working collectively to solve their own problems.

7 came to realize that things had to be done through organizations.I knew that prople as individuals would remain powerless, but if they could getlogrther through organizat ions. they could have power. provided they use theirorganizatic, m and not be used by them."

if Martin Luther King. Jr. and Eleanor Roosevelt can learn from Myles H orton.So call we.

FALL FoRUM 2002

SPEECH TRANSCRIPTS Now AVAILABLE!

( .lic, rk n 1 Howard I) an and l'ed'Stzer A speeettes ortwww.,·st(·titi;,Ischools.org. The Fall Forum 2002

participant list and program ide:re also available.

2!2

WHY DON'T THEY I.P.ARN ENGI.ISH?Sk.PAP,ATING FACT FROM FALLACY IN

TH t. C.S.LANG CAGE D E BATE

I hrough a syrithesiss of' recerti researchand individual. personal stories.Lucy Tse:r·ori r·ixilv. effieic: ntly, and lucidly dehunkspers,iltent. wideMpread misconceptionsal)(ilit Imrn,grants' language use patterns inthe i'nitt·c] Stan·s. Contrary to thi' perceptions thal have ful:if·d rei·ent anti-bilinguali-(lii(·ation initiatives in Californiaand

r].Sf·wher,·. 7'se demonstrates that on the

hole. adult immigrants and their childrenlearn English rapidly. But as they do. theyInxi· farility wit.h hi·ritage languages use. oftenplillirig family and communily connectionsal risk. i'se· argues for pursuingdual goalsof -irnproving English-language educationand fost (·ring bilingualism;ind suggestssprcific· sirati:gies and approaches. Thispin phasis on both the best ways for immi

grant groups to Ic.arn"WHY DON'T English and maintain theirTHEY LEARN Iii:ritage language feels

refirshing. remindingusSop. roting Fa(* thai wr m:ed 1 0 t reasurebem fellagy In*h. U 5 Lorquego

multilingualism. The pr(iblcm. then. is not that

LucyTse immigrants:irrn'llearn-ing English. Rather. many

11,·w immigrant roinmunities face the

Manw thi·(·al of herilage language loss111&11 previcitivgent·rationsol'immigrants('11(ilirc'(1. 'lic· 1'('11}inds lic that it's possible1(} benefit li'(int learning English without

Arri·; I perNA)11,11 :ind familial loss.

24

MYTHS AND RFALITIES:

BEST PRACTICES FOR LANGUAGE

MINORITY STUDENTS

Mv immigrant grandparents were throwninto school with kids who spoke Englishand they survived. Wh.v can't kids do thatic,day?- Some broadly held beliefs aboutlanguage learning persist and stronglyinfluence policy and pedagogy. despite whatmanv language researchers agree are thebest wavm for students to learn English andother academic subjects. A frths and Realities.

organized entirely around such miscon-ceptions. reports conclusions from recent

research about languageMYTHS learningclearly and acces-

REA[.ITIES sibly while arguing for the--- need to give minority

Sm '-Cl<../Le„:r*li M,molin Snolvii language students the

opportunity to become-%7/. literate in theirfirst lan-

,rua#re so that they can.•-..i-

use that strength to masteracademics in English. Though brief. thebook is dense with research and covers a

far reaching terrain, debunking miscon-

ceptions about demographics, enrollment.native language learning. second languageacquisition. placement. assessment. pro-gramming. staffing. and involving parentsand community members. Interspet·Bedscenarios that describe teaching situationswith ESLstudents ])rovide breathing roomand linie for reflection. Myths and Realities

concisely guides educators to the best waysto hel p language minoritv st,idelits succeed.

(A School Cultivating Excellence.Nurturing Diversity)

Public school serving grades k-83709 e. i:th street

Oakland. California 94606

Pul,1 ie school serving grades <g- 124.9 Hathush Avenue ExtensionBrowklyn. New York 1,201

11(;RE .ABOUT SCHOOLS

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Public school serving grades K-5

2825 International Blvd

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Public school serving grades 9-123,7 East 67th St

New York. New York 10021

NORTH KANSASC:11&

{ f 1 f. [ 1%(toi

Public school servinggrades 9-12620 E 23rd Avenue

Nonh Kansas City, Missouri 64116

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Public school servinggrades 7-126631 North Bosworth

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WIN!18 2003

r

1.ANCLAGL 1-EARNING TERMINOLOGY:KEY (.00(.EFIS FOR SHARED L\[)ERSTANDING

BILINGUAL

A person fluent in two lanifuages.

BILINGL·ALF.DULATION

&5*0 crinducted in two languages for the purpose of maintaining native language skills andbuilding on those skills for English language learning.

DI.AL- I.ANGUAG}. OR. BILINGUAL IMMERSION

Aeademic· programs in which there :s an equal balance of English-proficient students and Englishlinguage learners wh#, collaborate to learn in both languages. Also described as two-wavLijingual education

KN Al.JSM LANC;.AC,F f,KVI.f)PMENT <ELD)

Educan,in for Em#Ah language learners that involves integration of content area material withlanguage development.

P Nrn.]SH AS A SECON[) 3.ANGUACK CKSL)14·dagi,Ky f<Ir Englih language learners conducted primarily in English for the purpose of lan-guage ai·quintion and cross- currifular learmng.

1.NG!.I+H FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES (ESOL)

Functionally the s:imi· as the term -ESL." the term ESOLdoesn't assume that English is neces-

Harily a ·sludent'ssectind languagi, (deppnding on her background. it may be. forexample. thethird language she has acquired).

ENG.[SH LANGUA{,1 [.BARNI:M(ELL)

Astudent whi, has learned some English but is not yet fully proficient. English language learner(·ari be use:il similarly as lirnited English proficient (sre below), but many educators prefer ELLbecause it describes a stud¢:lit's abilities rather than his limits.

MI.RITAGE. LANGUAGE

Non EngliNh languages Hpokrn in the United States. often used interchangeably with native language.

1.1MIT},I) ENGLISH ]'8(11·1(.IF:N'l (T.F. p)

A itudi·nt whii knows lil,le or some English but is not yet fluent.

[,ANG[:AGE MINORITY STUDENTS

j'}i is lei m 64·rwi·ally des(:ribes students from h(imes where languages other than English are spoken.wilhoul conitnenting(in their level of English proficiency.

*litl:TERI<I) EN{,1.ISH INSTRI[('TION

hmlructinn i!11.nglish for non-nativespeakersthat inlegratescontent area material withlangliagr develimpment and instruction.

SIIKNI I,ERIOI)

A pa: ·speaking s age at the s art o flearning a new language iii which students typically begin togather informalion about a new language before attempting to produce it.

r}ACHING KNG[.]%11 1-n hi'EAKERS OF{)111):R I.AN{:WAGES (13.SOI.)

(iriwral description,if the prnic'HAimiand practice of tent·hing English to tionnative speakers.

26

CLASSROOM PRACTICE:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARN}.RS IN ESSENTIAL SCHOOLS

FEATURES

1.anguag,· Diversity in Essential Schools.

1 1 Dos and Don'ts with Refugee Students.

12 Assessing Writing Bilinguallyand Authentically: International CommuninSchool and ALAS.

14 Working with Culturally and Linguistic:;ally Diverse Families.

17 The Growing Numbers of Limited English Proficient Students. 1991-2002

19 Where to Go for More: Resources for Learning More about LanguageMinority Students

2 1 English Langwage Teaching Strat egics: Iciras from ASCEND,

REA D THIS. Recommended Books

22 /be Sk·i:n '/hat We Speak. Thoughts on Language und Culture in the Classroom,

23 7he Long //au/. An Altiobiographyby Myles Horton. with judith Kohl andHerbert H. Kohl.

24 lf//1 )· 1)<in't '/her Learn English? Separciting P'act /9·om Fallacrin the U.S.Unguage Debate by Lucy Tse. and M.rths and Realities: Best Practices for/,ungriage MinorityS'tkidents by Katharine Davies Samway and Denjse MeKeon,

2,5 More. About the Schools: Guide lo Schools Featured in this Issue

26 language Learning Terminology: Key Concepts for Shared Understanding

27 l it,ract· I,11(1 111(· Coalitiori of Ess('lilial Schools

1

//OR.·10/':1\D THE COALIT[0\

01 ESS} 11 1.AI. SCHOOLS

11 0 rn{:€. the quarterly journal of the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES). is pub-lished by CES National. located in Oakland, California. CES is a national networkof schools and centers engaged in redesigning schools and teaching practicesto create equitable, personalized. student centered. intellectually rich schools.Interested schools are invited to participate In this network bs affiliating withCKS National. More information about the schools in the network. the CES

Common Principles. arid affillation is available on the CES National web site atwww.essentialschools.org.

SLBSCRIPTIO\

Subscriptions to Homer are: a benefit of affiliation with CESNational. Unaffiliated

in.titutions. schools. and individuals may purchase an annual subscription for$35 by calli ng 1 - BOO -62 HORACE,

//()81('/ c)\11#F

Visit the CES National web silt· al www.essentialsrhools.orgto read past Horaceissues from i <)88 throughthr present. And Horace wants to hear about yourexperiences and reactions to this and past issues. Go to www.essentialschools.organd join CES Iriterarlive for follow - up discussions. or email Jill Davidson. Horaceeditor. al jdavidson@essentials(·hools.org.

lili. NEXT ISSUE

//fircice's next issue. on leadership, focuses on leading for equity. If you wouldl ike to cont ribitte questions. 1 houghts. or your own experiences, contact Jill

p:,64' 12,r a liroad ,;eni,(· Of whais coming up. We welcome book review sugges-Davidson at jdavidson@essentialschools.org. And see our t hemes on the next

lion.q. c·{,illril),11 i(ms. and ideas for future issues.

CESNational

1814 Franklin Street. Suite 700Oakland, California 94612

27

flfECO,\I.illf)N

C) 1 1·. S S }·. A 11 .,\ 1/ SCI I () 01.5

f balition

CESNational | * t:lrY1814 Franklin Street, Suite 700 Oakland, California 94612

phone 510.433.1451 fax 510.433.1455viwviessentialschools.org

4

Non-Probt Org. 1,U.S. Postage

PAIDOakland. CA

Permit No. 2142

1<$61.1%11 1.A\GLAGE

1.5.AR\F.RS IN EssE\TIAL SCHOOLS

in this issue. H urnce focuses on several Coalition .schools that help studentsnavigate the dual chall enge of Ii·arning English while mastering mathematics.thi, Hc:jenee:a. the arts. and hurnanities. These schools-in New York City. Chicago.Patertion. Nr·w jersey. Oakland. California. and North Kansas City. Missouri-share rommitments to create the best conditions forstudent learningacross thecurriculum and withinth. sphere of English language acquisition. Despite differ-ences in localr. studerit age groups. and approaches to second language acquisition,educator,% at these schools agree that Coalition practices and values-knowingindividual students well. focusing on equity among all students, and askingtudents to demonstrate mastery in specific. authentic ways-work well tosupport language minority students to achieve academ j cally and pe rsonally.

While the prc.wner cil language mint,rity students-students whose primarylanguage is riot English--has been a factor in United States schools for centuries,

idc:nlifying ard agree.irigon the be·,d ways to teach such students continues tochallenge· polic:yinakers. schools. and communities. Most recently, this tensionhas relic,unded briween advocates of English· Only policies. who suggest. accordingto the U.S. English 14, undation. inc.. that -learning English quickly and learningi t wil h English speaking peers is the best way for English learners to get aheadarademically anc] soc:ially." and advocates of bilingual education. such as theNational Assorialion fur Bilingual Education. which maintains. "not only dochildren iii well- drsign (·d bilingtia| programs acquire academic English as well(,r hettri· than chilcirc·ri in Englisli-Only programs butthey domuchbetter inacademic: content sube(:ts such as math and science."

FederiiI legislation. inc·luding the 1968 Bilingual Education Act. mandates thatschools offer equal opportunities for language minority students. States andcommunities developed bilingual programs-in which studenls learn aerogs the

Aul}Ji·(7 ai·(·ab tint}i in 1·'.iglisti 11!ici'tlk·11·lierlicigri liwigliage--and'Eliglisti aha 57:cond'1.angitage (1·.SL) programs (or prograins with similar names:and intentions)

in H·hic·h stlici(·111#; pal·tiri]mir primarily ill English with .specialized Englishlailguage Klipport. Schools choose briween ESL and bilingual services forvaried

!11,1/ 4,

reasons: for example. a schof,1 without a sufficiently high concentration of a par-tir:ular language group to build a bilingual program may take an ESL approach.while another school may use both methods. Local and state policies also drivesc·boots' approaches. Referenda against bilingual education in Cali fornia (1998).Arizona (wooo). and Massachusetts (2002) have focused national attention on

deep disagreements about the best strategies to serve minority language studentsand their communities.

According to the United States Department of Education-s Office of English1.anguage Ac·quisition, Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement forl imited English Profic·tent Students. the percentage of limited English proficient(LEP) stildents (rirolled in kindergarten through twelfth grade nationwide from1,)91- 1,)(,4 through 2001 -'2002 hats increased 95%. from 2.430.712 students to4,747·763 students. During the same decade. the overall school-aged populationhas ine.reased 12%.(Foradd

itional statistical informa

lion about limited English

proficient studerlis inUnited States schools. see.

"The Crowing Numbers of

1.irnited Er,gliKh Profiriem

Students. i 99 1 2002" pages17· 18.) Many, but not all.of th{.Ac: sturicnisare re('{:nt

immigrants: asignificantpercentage ol' Englishlangilage· learners (1'.1.LB) arehorn in the Un itc'd States

ta familic:.9 thai (lon't speakEnglish ;it home.

Schoots in cornnitinities

natio tiwide have experi-e n (·rd th (· (: ifects(,f this

rapid increase. NorthKancits City High School.a O)alition school in Noilh

Kan:,as (:itv. Missouri.

represents the scof)(· andIii\(·1·Kil¥Of langllag<'

2

flin- Nguneri. North Kansa s Cur /ligh School 2002 graduate

minoritystudents. Sara Boyd. veteran North Kansas City ELL teacher reports.' There were twenty-five ELL students in the high school ten vears ago. mostlyVietnamese .speakers. Now there are '40 ELL students. We have thirty-oneSpanish speakers. seventeen Sudanese. twenty-five Bosnian Serbs. twenty-twoKurds. and ten Vietnamee. Our school has students from twenty-four differentcountrie.s. including France. Sierra Leone. Somalia. India, Russia. Iran. Micro-nessia. Liberia. and Poland. who speak eighteen di fferent languages.- The schoolhali responded to this rapid growth by quadrupling its EL.L teaching staff withinaderade. and Bovd and other North Kansas City staff members anticipatecontinued expansion.

North Kansas Cit¥ High School takes an ESL approach ratherthan attemptingtooffer biling,ial classes to such a d iverse group: they aim to support students asthey attain or ma jntain age-appropriate. grade -level academic performance acrossthe subject areasin English. A valuable strategy for the ELL staff iscollaborationwith non ESL teachers within subject area classrooms: Boyd co-teaches WorldI listorv wit h a general curricillum instructor. -We have ten ESL kids in the classand kerp the sarne pace and class curriculum as the other students. I support notrin]¥ t}ic· 1.Si. students but everyone. I bring a lot visual elements to the learning10 unrjerscore the language· intensive discussions. 1 do review- sessionsand both1<Sl. andrion ES!. kids attend. It'sgoodforourkidstoomix with American kids.to work on projects together. The immersion works for our kids."

Manhattan International High School. founded in ic)93 and located inthe JuliaIlic:hman E.ducational Complex, is devoted to w'orki ng with newly arrived i mmi -grana who are in the process of learning English. William Ling. ManhattanInternational's principal, observes that his 315 students. who .speak fifty-twoclifirn'nt language.sand come from thirty-six different nations. thrive in an:11 mospherc· where te.achers know them well. Manhattan International staffm (·mhers for·us on huilrlinga strong. supportive. and safe school culture. "Wehave: a snmilc:r. nicirc· intimate environment," Ling describes. -Whilestudents areelivers(·. thry're all iminigrants. and this creates unity-they're all here because theywaril in learii English and get a good education. And we have a school culturethal's:11 pracc with its(flf. Nothingtolerated that is racist or sexist: thereare no1 hi·(:911 A. Stili!(·111.sand teachers can conrentratr on their jobs, teachingand learn

ing. 11-s very mr.Ilow, very peac:eful. Kicks concentrate on learning. not watchingI lieir Imi·ks. Th('v have extended contact with adults in a work environment. Our peri-odis are longer. sci Icarning is less nished. We are: project-oriented and activities-hased. All of those things cornli ine to p:,y attention to student nec:ds. Havingsitici('rits Ic,1,71 at a pace tlizit'< nicire comfortable fur them provides more support."

3

New York City s Bronx International High School. now in its second vear. servesa similar population as Marlhattan International. Principal Shae] Polakow-Suranskvc<,neurs that a student-as-worker oriented curriculum creates fertile conditions

itjr English ac.quisition. "Our curriculum js project-based and kids have some-thing important and meaningful to learn about.- Polakow-Suransky says. -Itsreally supportive for language development. Kids need to talk with each otherand interact on multiple levels. The· use their language skills much more thanif they werr in teacher-centered classrooms. If kids are in a context w·here theyne,·dtouse English to engage with each other. it will be more important andmeaningful tr, them, e.spec:ially iftheir academic w·ork is important and meaningful.Wi· try to figur,· out in science and social studies and math how to create assign-ments thal rnake kids want to use language and communicate with each other. We11(in': 1,·11 thi:rn what language to use. but eventually kids are pulled toward English.

XI,an htu (hi 1. P'u n /.I ng Zhu,ig. u nd ) u,ig /,in tuork with h umanities teacher Lam £'mngelista

At Manhattan I rilern:illorial SchooL F.arth Scienceteacher Vinnie Tangredi co-teachesDrigrins :ind Perspectives. wilh Global Studies iracher Michael Soet and Englishtracher A iny Sch nabr.1. The team works with Level I students. new to the school;mci at the slart of their English language acquisition, Tangred i values projects,*uch:is studying rnaps. in which students dr.nionstrate understandingof mapki·yx ancl k·gencis and knowkclge· of longiture and latitude by siudyinglocal subwayinaps. U.S. and wor],1 maps, and constructing a map of a section of Central Park.I';ingi·<·cli says, "I try to touch as many modalities as I can. and working on projectsin groups gives stitil(·lits reasons to read and write and speak together." (For morestrategirs for worki ng w it h ELI. students. see -English [.ariguage Teaching Strategies:M(·as fr m ASCEND.- p. 21)

Amy Schnabe]. one of Tangred}'s teaching partners. emphasizes the powerfulinfluence English Language Learners have on each other as they learn to integrateEnglish both socially and academically. "At this stage in their lives. they-re sostrongly influenced by their peers. For non-English speakers. they learn theirfirst words in the cafeteria. After their silent period-a month or so-their firstwords are. Oh my GodN " While social interaction gets students minds and mouthsgoing jn the direction of English acquisition. thev need sustained. focusedacademic work in English to master using the language academically. Schnabelvalues the synthesis ofthesocialandacademicuses of English. -It transfers intothe dassroom. By sitting in groups and read ing together. they can work on proj-r(:ts with scirni:one reading at a higher level. Within the cia.ssroom. they learn somui·h from e.ach other:

Schools lili. Manhattan International depend on heterogeneity. crearing situationsin which studerits learn from each other. Larissa Adam, a fifth grade bilingualSpanish English teache:r at ASCEND. a kindergarten through eighth grade schoolin its scrond year of operation in Oakland. California. also employs studentdiversity as atearhing 1.04 -In my class. we have kids who have arrived in theI inited States last month and kids who were born here but didn't start to learn

1<nglish until kindergarten. And they work together readinga text and discussingit among themselves. They come up with their own questions at their own levelsand help each other to huild meaning. At my previous school, we were mandatedto iplit the Aludents i mohomogenous groups strictly according to their Englishproficiency, and it did ri't work well. Those kids lost the opportunity to use eachritheras language mod(·Is."

H rn,i,kh·,1 Interna tional High Sch<3 1'.0 11'\,n <hng Chen und Ed en jeon Coll d orate on humanitues pri)p·t·t

5

But even a.s they rely on th pedagogical results of diversity teamed with studentcentered curricula. teachers of language minority students struggle with the

benefits of separating them in various ways-in bilingual or ESL settings-fromthe overall student population. Bronx International principal Shael Polakow-Suransky articulates this concern. "I believe: deeply in heterogeneity. but I-mrunning a school that pulls out ESL kids. What 1 have learned is that these kidsare so heterogeneous on their own--there's no sense of anything missing. Rather.it's a gift to give them space to develop who they are. These are kids who can dodjffer(:rit things but share a common need. And there's a particular commonali-ty arnong them that helps us greatly-because they are newly arrived here. theseare.students who haven't had to experience bad schooling in New York City forn inf years. They're less cynical and the.v really believe that learningand educa-tion will help thi:m.

At North Karisas Citi High School, where new j mmigrants sit side by side withnativi· English zpeak ers, Eli u-achi r Sara Boyd observes. -The majority of ourstuderils di, w·ellin English immersion with support. We have. students who hardlyskip a bc:at arademically. even if they dont speak much English. If you hare a%111(1(:nl rorning in from Haiti. she might have basic English proficiency withhighly advanced math and science skills. To keep her from learning [math andsc:ience] at her level with English- speaking students might hinder her adjust-went and learningand progress toward college."

I.arigitage· acquisition researc:hers agree that first· languageliteracy and proii-ciency hilgely inffuences the ral· and degree of second -language mastery. Stanfordprof-('ss,i r Kimi i Hakula writes, -The native language and the second languageat·e fornplementary rather than mutually exclusive. Further. native languageproficiency is a powerful predic·tor cif the rapidity of second language development."I lakul a al so writ es, in agreement with the overall body of recent research onla nguage learning. "'111(' alta iii ment of age appropriate levels of performance inth<· second language can take four to seven years." Students who. for a variety ofreasons. arc not fully literate in their first language may need more time to learnEnglish. Therelcire, schools with young ESL populations or older students withinminplete cducations fare ac·ute challenges. panicularly in accountability climatesIlial dernand thai all slitclents perform well in Englishon high· stakes tests.

Wil| jam Ling. Manhattan International'sprincipal. describes thelension that1 hi pi·(·sentw. " If a kid comes to us with good skills iii her native language. shesliould be able to handle working in English in the academic content areas withthe kitici of,Sti j)I,iiI'l wc·give. But I worry th:it we haventserved kids who have lit-, 1,11.¥ ihilt ..in M< It. 11'.9 11,11.1 bi l'it„I pe„plc .,11„ Intill 111< titty. And tile ituinlict01'kids w o conw fi·om ('(ilintrit·, with economic. political, and social upheaval.with int<'i·i·lipted 01· Iicirdlication is increasing. Youngprople from Yemen. West

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