Making the Most of Proposition 58 Patricia Gándara, UCLA January 12, 2017

The Opportunity To provide bilingual instruction for as many students as want it To break down the isolation of so many of our Latino English learners (now Emergent Bilinguals) To develop BILITERACY in our students Proposition 58 was designed to work hand in hand with Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)

Benefits of Bilingualism Cognitive: “Better learners” (e.g., Ellen Bialystock et al) Socio-emotional: Stronger self concept (e.g. A. Portes & L. Hao, 1998) Family cohesion (C. Feliciano, 2001; R. Rumbaut, 2001) Social Adjustment: fewer behavioral issues (A. Portes & R. Rumbaut, 2001) Educational and Economic benefits

But it is hard to maintain bilingualism In the absence of formal schooling Second generation usually understands the language, but increasingly responds in English and loses vocabulary Third generation: It disappears! Bilingualism is fragile! And few parents are able (have the time) to provide instruction in reading, writing, and literature in the home Strong bilingualism requires formal education and can occur in developmental bilingual programs or dual immersion

Developing Biliteracy Research shows that while there are benefits to simply being bilingual, the greatest benefits come from being biliterate: reading, writing, and knowing the literature of both languages. Children of immigrants who develop biliteracy tend to: Drop out of school at lower rates Go to college at higher rates; Latinos go to 4 year colleges a higher rates Earn more in their jobs Have higher status jobs

Breaking Down Isolation (In Dual Immersion) Spanish speaking EL students are among the most isolated of all students in our schools Latino students in California attend schools that are more than 80% non-white, mostly other Latinos This means they often lack opportunities to have friends who are native English speakers Having a friend who is a native English speaker is a major predictor of learning English well and quickly

Working hand in hand with LCFF ELs generate funds from LCFF, they deserve to have at least a portion of the funds spent specifically on their needs 20 families at a grade level; 30 at a school can begin the process to request a bilingual/dual language program Schools must respond to parents’ requests Parents are to be partners in the process – deciding what kind of program they want ELAC’s can play important role in monitoring resources from LCFF for these programs through the LCAPs

Knowing the Options Transitional Bilingual Education: Not focused on literacy but helps to transition to English Developmental Bilingual Education: Focused on developing literacy in both languages, may go all the way to high school One way Dual Immersion: English speaking students taught a second language Two-way Dual Immersion: English speaking and Spanish speaking students achieve biliteracy in both languages

Valentino & Reardon, 2015 AERA All are significantly positive except for early exit bilingual (relative to the average of 0). Dual Immersion grows significantly faster than English Plus No significant difference between Maintenance Bilingual and English Plus Bilingual Early Exit grows significantly more slowly than English Plus Interpret: Gain X sd’s more or less from 2nd to 8th grade than the average student in the state (who gains 0).

The Challenges Insufficient numbers of bilingual teachers in the schools, though in reality we really don’t know how many we have Insufficient information for parents about the benefits of the different programs Insufficient infrastructure in the state to support the development of new programs

Decline in bilingual teachers

Insufficient teachers? Thousands of bilingual teachers who are not currently in bilingual programs Thousands of teachers and other school personnel who could be bilingual teachers 125,000 holders of the Seal of Biliteracy just since 2012 We need a census!! And they will all require support and incentives

Insufficient information? The state needs to lead in providing information for districts directed to parents about the benefits and what to expect of bilingual programs. Districts need to start getting information to schools and parents to inform them of the potential opportunities and benefits ELACs and DELACs need to be informed of their potentially POWERFUL roles

Insufficient Infrastructure? Bilingual teacher preparation programs have closed – IHEs need support to re-open and expand Professional development geared to bilingual instruction needs to be ramped up and brought into core of professional development for all EL teachers Spanish (and other) language assessment needs to be brought into the accountability system; schools need to receive credit for Spanish (and other) language development

California should be the national leader in bilingual education We have more Emergent Bilingual students than any other state We have more linguistic resources than any other state We are a more inclusive state than most others (but you might be surprised where else they are moving forward) We understand the gifts that immigrants bring to us– including their languages– and we understand that they cannot be taken for granted.