Best Counseling Practices for Addressing the Needs of

Long Term English Learners

June 28, 2013

New English Language Development and Common Core

State Standards Institute

Introductions

Julio VillalobosAcademic Coordinator, Gilroy High School

Gilroy Unified School District(408) 843-4715

Julio.Villalobos@gusd.k12.ca.us

Lorena TaribaMultilingual Programs Coordinator

Santa Clara County Office of Education (408) 453-6859

lorena_tariba@sccoe.org

Shift Happens! Instructional Shifts to Support ELs in the CCSS Classroom

2

Gilroy Unified School District Challenges

Title of Presentation

GUSD Strategies to Improve Achievement of EL’s: District Focus

2009-2012

Gilroy High School Student Services

How Does GHS Student Services Promote EL Success?

The Mission of the Gilroy High School Academic Coordinators is to support equal opportunities for all students in the areas of academics, career planning and personal/ social development.  Through conscientious collaboration with students, their families, staff and the community, we are dedicated to serve as educational advocates by providing relevant and current information and resources to

guide students towards their life goals. 

Improving Middle & High Schools Articulation

Rationale for Placement Articulation of Incoming 9th Grade ELs at GUSD:•Middle School and High School Course Pathways for ELs varied from site to site. Core and intervention curriculum was not well-aligned from one level to the other.

•EL students in ELD levels 1 & 2 were clustered into 1 or 2 classes at the High School level and no specific support was provided for students in Levels 3 &4 who were mainstreamed.

•Middle school EL students in intervention classes did not experience the same support at the HS since they were placed according to the courses that High schools had available.

Gilroy High School Student Services

Protocol for Placement of Incoming 9th grade EL

StudentsPurpose:•Improve articulation for successful transition of EL students to high schools •Monitor needs and strategically place EL students in the appropriate classes, in order to ensure student academic success and motivation •Establish timely and proactive agreements to facilitate the drafting of master schedule, course offerings and make adjustments based on EL student needs and graduation goals

Transition Placement Team

Teacher on Special

Assignment for ELs &

Data Specialist

Teacher on Special

Assignment for ELs &

Data Specialist

Timeline

Counseling Services at GHS

Guidance for School Curriculum Access– Designed to facilitate the systematic delivery of guidance

lessons or activities to every student, through classroom instruction, group activities and parent workshops.

Individual Student Planning– Designed to help individual students establish personal

goals and develop future plans. All counselors coordinate activities that help all students plan, monitor and manage their own learning.

– Includes targeted CELDT and CST Goal Setting Conferences for EL students to understand the role of their test scores in their ability to access higher education and reach Reclassification.

Maximizing Individual Student Planning

Individual/Group Advisement Priorities:• Test Score review, interpretation, analysis &

goal setting (CELDT scores, CST’s, CAHSEE)• Graduation and College Entrance

Requirements• Course selection & Class scheduling• Financial Aid and Scholarships• 4-year plans• Review of academic plans (IEP’s, SST, 504’s)

Responsive Counseling Services

Responsive Services: activities to meet

students immediate needs through counseling, consultation and referrals such as:– Individual/Small Group Counseling (MST)– Referral to programs & community

agencies– Parent/Student/Teacher Collaborations

Improvement Resulting from MS to HS Planned Transition

for ELs• A District Work Group was convened to work on

EL curriculum and course articulation between MS and HS and revise their pathway

• Building of Master Schedules for appropriate EL placement is now proactive and more responsive to the needs of Long Term ELs

Improvement (cont.)• Building of the EL students’ 4-year graduation

plans starts earlier with the incoming freshman

• Intervention plans start right after 9th graders start high school

• Placement process includes middle school teachers feedback on course placement and individual EL student needs

Improvement (cont.)

• Prevents high schools from misplacing EL students who were reclassified during the spring semester