Building a data driven and instructionally sound foundation
for English Language Learners in the BPS
Office of English Language Learners
May 2013
Agenda
Goal: To present and discuss the foundational
structures that support the education of
English Language Learners in the BPS.
• A legal foundation
• A data driven approach
• An instructional vision & strategy
• Building a bilingual foundation
2
A legal foundation
Successor Agreement
The Successor Agreement replaces and supersedes the
Settlement Agreement entered into by the United States and the
District on October 1, 2010.
Paragraph 23
The agreement demonstrates that BPS leaders and the federal
government believe the district has made great progress in
servicing students learning English and that a plan is in place that
enables students to learn English to access academic content
and meet and exceed the targets of the district's five-year
strategic plan, the Acceleration Agenda.
BPS Press Release
4
Fundamental Rights
The Agreement continues to impress upon the
importance of fundamental rights for ELLs:
 The District shall provide all ELLs with appropriate services
consisting of ESL and SEI content instruction.
ELLs do not need to change schools in order to receive these
services.
ELLs are entitled to continue attending their current school
through the final grade offered by the school while receiving ELL
services.
ELLs are not forced to choose between schools they desire and
the receipt of services.
Paragraphs 32 and 36
5
Notable Constants
 Differing ESL instructional times contingent upon ELD
ELD Levels 1 and 2
2.5 hours per day
ELD Level 3
1 hour per day
ELD levels 4 and 5
2.5 hours per week
 Classrooms enrolling ELLs must be staffed by
teachers who are trained in Categories 1, 2, and 4.
 ESL teachers must possess an ESL license.
 Reasonable assurances are not offered to newly
hired content instructors without Category training
or ESL license.
6
Programming

For K2-5, ELLs with ELD levels 1-3 are allowed to be
grouped together for ESL instruction:
•Implement different grouping models derived
from data based results and best instructional
practices.
•Aligned with Common Core Standards and
WIDA.
•Concurrently allows more flexible and fiscally
efficient scheduling options for schools.
Paragraph 41
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Curriculum and Instruction
 Develop instructional models and classroom
observation tools for ESL and SEI instruction and offer
training on these models.
Paragraph 43
 District shall update its ESL curriculum to be aligned
with WIDA and provide training on new standards.
Paragraph 50
 Ensure that employees who evaluate staff are
trained in cultural awareness and best practices
and an abridged version of Categories 1, 2, and 4.
-Aligned with MADESE’s RETELL training.
Paragraph 60
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Promoting Academic Language
 The District is charged to provide supplemental SEI training.
-SIOP training will be implemented to satisfy this
requirement.
Paragraph 52
 SEI teachers will emphasize building academic language
aligned with Complex Text training.
-Blend academic language with relative content
instruction.
-Explicitly teach academic language relative to the
subject matter.
-Deconstruct complex sentences.
Paragraph 44
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Special Education
The Successor Agreement clearly states that SPED ELLs
are entitled to both SPED and ELL services in a manner
appropriate to each individual student’s needs:
No ELL shall be denied ELL services solely due to the nature or
severity of the student’s disability, and no ELL shall be denied
SPED services due to his or her ELL status.
SPED services do not trump ELL services and vice versa.
Schools are required to factor in the needs of SPED ELL students
in building school capacity, including those in substantially
separate placements.
Paragraph 66
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Modifications to ELL Services for ELLsWD
All SPED ELL students are entitled to appropriate ESL
services contingent upon their ELD level:
No modifications or deviations to ESL can be implemented
unless determined necessary by the IEP team that includes a staff
member who is knowledgeable about ELL needs and services.
Under no circumstances can ESL be denied entirely, unless, in
rare cases, the student’s disability is so severe that it would be
unreasonable to expect that the student will ever be capable of
using or understanding language, i.e. Carter School or Horace
Mann School for the Deaf.
Paragraph 67
Any accommodation for or modification to ESL must be
included in the IEP along with the basis for such modification
determined necessary.
Paragraph 74(a)
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Compensatory Services
 All ELL students within the compensation group are
provided access to one or more compensatory
services programs.
 ELLSEA Summer Program
 OELL After School Program
Paragraph 77
 Reporting requirement regarding the number of
applicants, acceptances, rejections, and
participants in compensatory service programs.
Paragraph 80
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Tracking the Performance of ELLs
 Academic progress of FLEPs will be monitored by OELL and
the LAT Facilitator for 2 years to determine whether additional
services are necessary.
Paragraph 31
 Students who Opt Out of ELL services are flagged on the
teacher’s roster and monitored by OELL for at least two
reviews per semester.
Paragraph 35
 The District is charged with conducting a longitudinal study:
-Measure program effectiveness,
-Evaluate the achievement of ELLs v non-ELLs,
-Analyze a cohort of students by school and program,
and
-Results of study will inform future program decisions
Paragraph 96
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Finalizing
a Settlement
Agreement
that could be
Tested Process
for addressing
capacity
implemented
challenges successfully in the BPS
“Our collaboration with the Boston Public Schools is a great example.
When administrators from the Boston Public Schools joined forces with
attorneys at the Civil Rights Division and in the Office for Civil Rights at
the Department of Education…we were able to ensure that nearly all
8,500 students who were not getting any ELL services were receiving
some services – all in less than a year. Had we not worked
collaboratively, many of these students would likely remain without
services, and funds spent best on students would have been tied up in
litigation. Instead, Boston reached an interim agreement with us in
October 2010, and are executing a comprehensive successor
agreement today. This model agreement ensures meaningful
remedies for ELLs and their parents in almost every aspect of the
District’s ELL program, including identification, instruction, teacher
qualifications, special education, advanced learning opportunities,
and parent communications.”
Thomas E. Perez Assistant Attorney General, April 2012
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A data driven approach
Are ELLs receiving ESL and SEI instruction from qualified teachers?
Are ELL/FLEP students developing content knowledge, language and
literacy skills?
Elementary
BPS
homeroom
data
ELE Teacher Data
Secondary
BPS course
schedule
data
ELE
programmatic
data
Are ELL students
receiving ESL
and SEI services
from qualified
teachers?
Assessment
data
Are students
developing
knowledge and
skills?
Theory of action for using data to improve ELL
outcomes
17
What research shows
The Mauricio Gaston Institute for
Latino Community Development
and Public Policy (2011) found
that: “the command of English
required to pass standardized
tests designed for English
proficient students, such as the
MCAS, far exceeds the levels of
English proficiency represented
by MEPA Levels 1–3, and to
some extent 4.”
English Proficiency is the strongest
predictor of academic achievement for
ELLs in BPS. (Uriarte et al., 2011)
18
What have we learned about interpreting academic
performance for ELLs in the BPS?
MCAS testing relies strongly on academic English as
demonstrated by reading comprehension and academic
writing.
The mastery of English necessary to pass MCAS, exceeds the level
of academic English mastered by ELLs performing at MEPA
levels 1, 2, and 3.
Conclusion: As ELLs achieve mastery of academic English
demonstrated by reaching MEPA Levels 4 & 5, they are able
to demonstrate:
• Mastery of the academic discourse of a discipline:
mathematics, science, literature and social studies
• Engage in the learning context—reading and writing—of the
discipline from the beginning differentiated by ELD level
• Demonstrate proficiency in MCAS assessments
19
Making Progress in learning English, as measured by
Spring 2012 MEPA
20
MCAS ELA by MEPA levels
21
MCAS Math by MEPA levels
22
FLEPs MCAS performance
23
ELL and BPS Graduation Rate
24
What can we expect for ELLs in the BPS?
•
All ELLs scoring at MEPA level 1-3 should be able to demonstrate
progress acquiring academic English.
 indicator: MEPA progress attainment for students who scored L1-3 in
prior year
•
All ELLs scoring at MEPA level 4 should have acquired some
academic English and can demonstrate enough content knowledge
to be expected to score Needs Improvement on MCAS.
 indicator: % NI+P+A on MCAS
•
All ELLs scoring MEPA level 5 should have mastered the academic
English necessary to demonstrate content knowledge and can be
expected to score Proficient or Advanced on MCAS.
 indicator: % P+A on MCAS
25
Research Agenda
After a period of gains on MCAS ELA, BPS FLEP performance in elementary grades
has started to plateau. Why? What can we learn from these students academic
trajectory?
How do we evaluate the impact of PD and integrate SIOP, 3Ls and curriculum maps
to produce a district wide PD path?
26
An instructional vision & strategy
Guiding principles to accelerate instruction for ELLs
In order to accelerate the instruction of ELLs, students
must be taught content, language and literacy
simultaneously, independent of the student’s ELD
level.
Integrating the teaching and learning of both subject
matter and language is a way to accelerate
Integration is consistent with the notion that language
is learned through meaningful context.
The decontextualized and sequential approach is
insufficient for ELLs to succeed in the general
education classroom without support.
28
Building school capacity and transforming
practice at the school level
School
teams:
principal, ESL
teachers, SEI
teachers, SIFE
teachers,
content area
teachers, LAT
facilitator
District
personnel:
Literacy
coaches,
OELL staff,
other district
capacity
builders
On-site support
for school sites:,
classroom
observation
feedback ,
lesson demo,
team debrief,
data review,
planning support
Re-Visioning
ESL
Instruction
with
Common
Core Shifts
PD Learning Objectives:
1. Learn how to choose and deconstruct complex text, incorporate
academic language, and map curriculum.
2. Support teaching of complex texts and tasks with a focus on
thematic units aligned to the CCSS and differentiated with WIDA
standards
3. Explore text selection, integration of content into lessons and
framing “Big Ideas” and questions that inform as well as assess
student progress.
BPS OELL Literacy Initiatives for SY2012-2013
Key initiatives:
•
SIOP- Sheltered Instruction Observational Protocol
•
3 “Ls” ELLs Need- Language, Literacy and Learning
•
K2-5 ESL Curriculum Maps using Reach and National
Geographic Materials
Aligning instruction to:
• Common Core State Standards
and Instructional Shifts
• WIDA English Language
Development Standards
30
K2-5 Implementation of ESL Curriculum Maps SY 2012-2013
.
Building a bilingual foundation
Bilingual Agenda
Develop (at least) 3 additional dual-language
programs over three years.
• There are 4 dual-language programs currently,
• The goal is to implement 3 additional programs that
may include:
 Two-way bilingual programs
 One way world language immersion programs
 Heritage language programs
33
Bilingual Agenda
Develop (at least) 3 additional dual-language
programs over three years.
• There are 4 dual-language programs currently,
• The goal is to implement 3 additional programs that
may include:
 Two-way bilingual programs
 One way world language immersion programs
 Heritage language programs
34
Dual Language Programs
Two-way (bilingual) programs enroll a
balance of native English speakers and
native speakers of the partner
language.
World language immersion, language
immersion or one-way immersion enroll
native English speakers.
Developmental or maintenance bilingual
programs enroll primarily students who
are native speakers of the partner
language.
Heritage language programs enroll
students who are dominant in English
but whose parents, grandparents, or
other ancestors spoke the partner
language.
35
PRE-Texts develops avid and creative
readers by using classic literature as a
prompt for making art.
The arts become vehicles for academic learning to promote
passionate engagement for teachers and students in all grade
levels and socio-economic environments.
An effective approach to
Common Core Standards through
Complex Texts
Through art-making workshops, we train teachers
to be facilitators for students’ close reading and
ownership of challenging texts
Using texts as prompts for making art develops…
•reading & interpretative skills
•confidence in speaking & thinking in a target language
•motivation to read & write
•critical thinking skills
•creativity
•mutual admiration
After School Programming
1. 866 Students in
Cohort One
2. Site Coordinators
3. Teachers
4. CBOs
1. 875 Students in
Cohort Two
1. Cohort Three
2. Site Coordinators
2. Site Coordinators
3. Teachers
4. CBOs
Summer and Heritage Program
ELL Summer Program
Summer Heritage Academies

A more diverse and equitable
summer experience for ELL
students entering 2nd through 8th
grades. All ELD levels (1,2,3,4,5).

Continue the existing Spanish
Heritage Academy for BPS
students grades 3rd through 5th
during a 5-week program.

5-week ESL, Math and
enrichment program to prepare
students for the upcoming school
year.

Pilot for an additional language
Heritage Academy (Haitian
Creole or Vietnamese) in one
selected site (YOFES or VIET-AID).

Enrichment specialties will be offered daily and
field trips every Friday.

Family engagement through a collaboration with
the Children’s Museum to offer family workshops
around school readiness
3
9
Summer Programming & Heritage Academies
ELL Summer Program
Test new curricular methodologies as the frontier for core
curriculum
Provide compensatory services to all ELL students (Settlement
Agreement, 2012, para. 77 – 81).
Enrich summer learning through a variety of enrichment
activities
Summer Heritage Academies
Provide Spanish / other language instruction and improve
native language ability through the study of classic literature.
Support and celebrate cultural identity through music, dance
and a range of artistic activities with an intellectual focus.
Affirm cultural backgrounds by introducing students to classic
literature.
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