1. High Schools Literacy: English Language Learners June 2008 Maria Santos Office of English Language Learners

2. English Language Learners: demographics There are over five million ELLs in the United States. This number has risen by 57% over the past ten years. Six in ten qualify for free and reduced lunch. Eighth-grade ELLs’ scores on reading and mathematics tests are less than half of those of their English speaking peers. Students from households which speak a language other than English at home lag twenty points behind in high school graduation rates. Educating English Language Learners: Building Teacher Capacity, Roundtable Report, National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, 2008.

3. ELLs are a very diverse subgroup Immigrants with parallel schooling Newcomers Student with Interrupted Formal Education Long-term ELLs Special Education ELLs Former ELLs

4. What ELLs know and can do Literacy in native language Competencies in subject matter Level of English language proficiency Emergent bilinguals Cross cultural competencies

5.  Rigorous and aligned to local, state and national standards  Native language support and development  ESL through content  Academic language focus  Literacy development  Vocabulary development  Accessible to all through scaffolding  Quality interactions  Technology integration Rigorous curriculum and instruction

6. Assessment and accountability >Diagnostic  English proficiency  Literacy in the native language  Content knowledge- mathematics, science and social sciences >Periodic  English language arts  Subject matter  English language development  Native language arts >Formative in multiple modalities >Summative >Accommodations >Accountability measures, rewards and consequences

7. All secondary educators >Second language acquisition >Second language academic literacy instruction >Cross-cultural context and connection >Content-based instruction while developing academic language >Vocabulary development >Purposeful scaffolding for access and language production >Selection and use of appropriate materials Literacy specialists ESL Teachers Teacher quality and professional development

8. >Transition into a new schooling culture >Transition into a new culture >Environments that are safe, supportive and connected to the broader school community >Mindful of the contributions that students and families from diverse cultures and experiences make to the school >Libraries in native languages in the school >Language use and celebrations >ESL for families >College and career guidance Student and family supports

9. Stakeholder engagement Community based organizations Feeder schools Universities and community colleges Adult education centers Welcome centers

10. Research informed policy Professional development for school leaders School leadership teams >ELL Literacy Institute >Secondary academic literacy development-QTEL Language allocation policy Focus on strengthening the instructional core Leadership and governance

11. Flexible scheduling and grouping during the day >Purposeful homogeneous and/or heterogeneous grouping >Thematic or integrated learning >Block scheduling Extended-day hours and Saturday academies Individualized graduation plans Newcomer or SIFE programs or academies Small class size Break the silos >Collaborative teaching >Collegial planning - ESL specialist with content teacher Organization and structure

12. Resources for sustainability Resources targeted to improvement areas such as production of academic language (oral and/or written) Strong guidance Academic interventions - technology enriched Dedicated fiscal resources for staffing and extended day Dedicated resources and time for collaborations between subject area teachers and ELL specialists

13. FOR MORE INFORMATION Maria Santos 212.374.6072 oell@schools.nyc.gov http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/ELL