Immigration and Urban School Districts How do you

Immigration and Urban School Districts: How do you meet the needs of “all” students? Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro, Ph. D Research and Policy Associate CUBE Annual Conference October 2014

4 th Grade General Education Teacher of ELLs “I went to a [EL] transition classroom, and now there’s a red flag next to my name. I guess now I’m an ineffective teacher? I keep getting letters from the district saying, ‘You’ve been recognized as an outstanding teacher’…But now because I teach English-language learners who ‘transition in, ’ my scores drop, and I get a flag next to my name. I’m scared to teach in the fourth grade. I’m scared I might lose my job if I teach an [EL] transition grade level, because I’m scared my scores are going to drop, and I’m going to get fired because there’s probably going to be no growth. ” Linda Darling-Hammond (2013) Getting Teacher Evaluation Right

Challenges and Opportunities l l Federal and state policies intended to enhance teacher quality, standardize achievement, and intensify accountability with little regard for educating today’s range of linguistically and culturally diverse students Opportunity with the Common Core and increased language and literacy demands— Language, literacy, and content area teaching are the shared responsibility of both bilingual/ESL specialists and general education teachers.

Policy Brief Series: Linguistic and Culturally Responsive Teacher Preparation 1. 2. 3. Demographic data and research to illustrate the rise of diversity within the Illinois student body and how it contrasts with the largely white, female, and monolingual workforce Growing scholarly consensus on the specified knowledge and skills all teachers need to be linguistically responsive Comprehensive Illinois policy agenda to promote linguistic and cultural competence throughout the teaching profession

Immigration and Today’s Students l l Students from immigrant families will account for ALL the projected growth in the student population from 2005 -2020—largely Latino and Asian African American and White student populations in IL have declined 1 -of-4 children in IL have one foreign-born parent 88% of IL children born to immigrants are U. S. citizens Fry, R. (2008). The Role of Schools in English Language Learner Achievement Gap. Washington, D. C. : Pew Hispanic Center. Census American Community Survey 2011

% of Illinois Students Considered Low-Income a. 15% b. 25% c. 49% e. Over 50% *Children of foreign-born parents account for 33% of all Illinois children in low-income families Low-income: receive public aid, live in foster care, or eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. ISBE 2012 Condition of Education Report.

2012 ELLs in Illinois Total ELLs in Illinois (2012): 207, 417 % of Illinois students who were ELL: 9. 9% % of Chicago Public School students who were or are identified as ELL: 34%* 66% of ELL students are outside of Chicago Analysis: Latino Policy Forum Sources: Illinois State Board of Education. Bilingual Education Programs and English Language Learners in Illinois SY 2012 Statistical Report. ( 2013). “Chicago suburbs” includes the collar counties of Cook, Kane, Lake, Dupage and Will. http: //www. isbe. state. il. us/research/pdfs/ell_program_stat_report 10. pdf *Gwynee, Julia, Amber Stitziel Pareja, Stacy B. Ehrlich, and Elaine Allensworth (2012) “What Matters for Staying on Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools: A Focus on English Language Learners. ”

Increase in ELLs in Illinois, 2004 -2012 l Percent Change from 2004 to 2012: l Illinois: +24% l Chicago: -3% l Non-Chicago: +61% ANALYSIS: Latino Policy Forum Sources: Illinois State Board of Education (2004) “Illinois Bilingual Education Programs, ” Illinois State Board of Education (2012) “Bilingual Education Programs and English Language Learners in Illinois. ”

ELL Growth in Illinois Map Created by Carlos Lopez February 2014 Latino Policy Forum ISBE “ 2005 ELL Student Statistical Report”, ISBE “ 2012 Bilingual Education Programs and ELLs in Illinois

Counties with New Presence of ELLs from 2005 to 2012 26 Counties have a new presence of ELL students Map by Carlos Lopez Source: Illinois State Board of Education, ELL Student Statistical Reports Analysis: Latino Policy Forum

Illinois ELLs by Grades, 2012 Analysis: Latino Policy Forum Source: Illinois State Board of Education, Bilingual Education Programs and English Language Learners in Illinois SY 2012 Statistical Report. http: //isbe. net/research/pdfs/ell_program_stat_report 11. pdf

Illinois ELLs Pre. K-3 rd Grade, 2012 Reasons for exit of ELL program in 2012: 64. 3% exited and attained proficiency in the English language (transitioned) 35. 4% exited but did not attain proficiency - exited from program at parent request - transferred to another district - graduated high school - exited for other reasons - dropped out PK K 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 0 20000 40000 Analysis: Latino Policy Forum Source: Illinois State Board of Education, Bilingual Education Programs and English Language Learners in Illinois SY 2012 Statistical Report. http: //isbe. net/research/pdfs/ell_program_stat_report 11. pdf (p. 11)

Today’s Illinois Teachers % of Illinois Teachers who are White: a. b. c. d. 60% 70% 80% 90% Illinois State Board of Education “Educator Supply and Demand in Illinois: 2011 Annual Report” Boser, U. (2011). Teacher diversity matters: A state-by-state analysis of teachers of color. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress.

Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students and Common Core: Higher Academic Expectations l ALL teachers are language teachers l Little mention of ELLs and second language acquisition l Bilingualism and biliteracy are not prioritized as part of the definition of college and career success.

Common Core and Language-Focused Mathematics Excerpts from Margo Gottlieb and Gisela Ernst. Slavit (2013), Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms: Promoting Content and Language Learning. Sage publications: Thousand Oaks, CA

Word/Phrase Level “T: How do we find out mean? That’s another one of those multi-meaning words isn’t it? Am I talking about an attitude when I’m talking about the mean for numbers? S: No T: Whether someone is nice or mean— S: No T: What am I talking about…I’m looking for the mean value…” *Ernst-Slavit and Mason (2011) as quoted by Gottlieb and Ernst-Slavit (2013) “Academic Language: A Foundation for Academic Success in Mathematics” p. 11

Challenges of Word Problems l Same pronoun is used to refer to different subjects Suppose you and three friends buy a large pizza. You each pay with a $5 bill. The pizza costs $12. 75. You will also pay $0. 83 tax on the pizza. How much change will you and your friends get? *Houghton Mifflin’s Math Central, 2001, p. 287, as quoted by Gottlieb and Ernst-Slavit (2013) “Academic Language: A Foundation for Academic Success in Mathematics” p. 8

Complex Sentence Structures Prepositions 6 divided by 12 is ½ (or 0. 5). 6 divided into 12 is 2. l l On Saturday, 203 children came to the swimming pool. On Sunday, 128 children came. How many more children came to the pool on Saturday than on Sunday? *Excerpt from Gottlieb and Ernst-Slavit (2013) “Academic Language: A Foundation for Academic Success in Mathematics” p. 12

“We Real Cool” By Gwendolyn Brooks The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon.

What is Linguistically Responsive Instruction? l Understanding the Difference between Social versus Academic Language. l Intentional language development across the four domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing l Understanding Language transfer.

Examples of Spanish Cognates for Fractions Unit English Spanish Convert Denominator Double Equivalent Fraction Mixed Multiple Numerator Package Quadruple Rational Triple Convertir Denominador Doble Equivalente Fraccion Mixto Multiple Numerador Paquete Cuadruple Racional Triple *Excerpt from Ernst-Slavit, Gottlieb and Slavit (2013) “Who Needs Fractions? ” Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms. Promoting Content and Language Learning. p. 93

“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow. ” ― John Dewey (1944)

Policy Recommendations (1) (2) Implement teaching standards to influence pre-service coursework specific to educating linguistically and culturally diverse students. Implement pre- and in-service preparation guidelines so the standards influence the entire profession. *Building alignment from preparation to practice.

Pre-Service l Establish policies and guidelines for l how certification exams and performance assessments reflect the linguistic and cultural standards. Establish the same for exam evaluators. l field experiences that include linguistic and culturally diverse settings. l work with higher education institutions to attract faculty with expertise in linguistic and culturally diverse students and communities.

In-Service l Establish policies and guidelines for: l how the standards will influence content for ongoing professional development for in-service teachers. l the design and implementation of a supplemental observational rubric for teacher evaluations built around the standards. l school- and district-level collaboration for educating linguistic and culturally diverse students. This goal includes leadership that prioritizes and has expertise on linguistic and culturally diverse students to influence decision-making.

Conclusion l The foundation for teacher effectiveness is how well they are prepared to teach the children who are in front of them. l All educators – teacher, principals, service providers – need the same important training: they must be prepared to build on the cultural, linguistic, familial, and community influences their students bring to the classroom.

Guiding Questions for Small Groups l How is language and literacy development being addressed in your district? l What policies are in place to address the burgeoning future student diversity— particularly ELLs?

Contact Information Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro, Ph. D Research and Policy Associate Latino Policy Forum rvnavarro@latinopolicyforum. org Thank you to the Joyce Foundation for making this work possible.