The Internship Experience Thomas Romero EDLPS 601 University of Washington

Rural Washington-Benton County East of Yakima and Klickitat counties Located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the Columbia, Snake and Yakima rivers Ranching and dry-land farming made up the bulk of its economy in the 1800s Today, it is the ninth most densely populated county in the state with 103 persons per square mile due to its nuclear-related and other research and development industries However there are still rural areas where agriculture is the principal economy Rural Washington-Benton County

School District Demographics Student Demographics Enrollment October 2014 Student Count 1,501 May 2015 Student Count 1,467 Gender (October 2014) Male 784 52.2% Female 717 47.8% Race/Ethnicity (October 2014) Hispanic / Latino of any race(s) 628 41.8% American Indian / Alaskan Native 8 0.5% Asian 6 0.4% Black / African American 5 0.3% White 808 53.8% Two or More Races 46 3.1% Special Programs Free or Reduced-Price Meals (May 2015) 919 62.6% Special Education (May 2015) 218 14.9% Transitional Bilingual (May 2015) 291 19.8% Migrant (May 2015) 217 14.8% Section 504 (May 2015) 12 0.8% Foster Care (May 2015) 13 0.9% School District Demographics

Shifting District Demographics Over Time Academic Year Bilingual Enrollment 1998-1999 5.9% 2000-2001 7.6% 2002-2003 6.4% 2004-2005 8.5% 2006-2007 11.9% 2008-2009 11.3% 2010-2011 14.4% 2012-2013 16.1% 2014-2015 19.8% Currently at the Primary Building (K-2) the bilingual student enrollment is 30.1%

Other Contributing Factors Identified for School Improve since 2013 AYP Cells Special Education and Transitional Bilingual Required to submit Annual Measure of Achievement Objectives Improvement (AMAO) Plan by OSPI’s Bilingual and Title III Offices New Administrative Leadership at the District and Building Level

Current Role District K-12 Bilingual Instructional Coach and Migrant Program Advocate Activities Involved Promote the Alignment of the District’s Bilingual and Title III Programs Provide Technical Support to the district director with the development and articulation of the District’s AMAO Improvement Plan Facilitate and communicate K-12 students enrolled in the State Transitional Bilingual Instructional Program and their language development levels to all district personnel

Current Role District K-12 Bilingual Instructional Coach and Migrant Program Advocate Activities Involved Provide staff development on the English Language Development Standards district-wide Provide professional development and coaching for teachers working with identified students Advice and assist with the Washington State Language Development Testing (ELPA 21) Assist district director with required program reporting

Proposed Project Overview Problem of Practice Due to the shortage of trained Bilingual and ESL professionals; small rural districts may not have access to staff whom may have experience and expertise in program development and implementation to best impact the language and academic development. Furthermore often district leaders are under the state pressure to provide research-based models to best serve bilingual/ELL students as required under the District AMAO and School Improvement Plans.

Conceptual Framework

Theory of Action The district leaders with the assistance of an consulting instructional coach trained in the discipline of Bilingual/ELL Education can identify a research based alternative model of instruction for their elementary K-3 bilingual classrooms, and also support the existing ELL teachers at the Intermediate School, Middle School, and High School to increase language development and support across the district.

Action Steps for Instructional Coach Assess current resources and staff assigned to program Establish systematic district-wide process for communicating with district staff students in program and their language levels Establish a coaching cycle in bilingual classrooms to provide modeling, and support of research based instruction Meet on regularly with program staff to align and articulate program goals and identify program model

Action Steps for Instructional Coach Establish a district wide task force to develop district AMAO Improvement plan Train district staff on the Washington State English Language Proficiency Levels Provide professional development opportunities for bilingual and mainstream teachers at the elementary level Evaluate and assess if program goals were met, and set new targets for up-coming academic year.

Instructional Models Traditional Choices Models for Language Instruction from OSPI Bilingual Education Office Dual Language Transitional Bilingual Model Alternative Instructional Model Sheltered English Pull-out/Push-in

An Alternative Approach A Translanguaging Model based upon Garcia’s (2013, 2014) premise of a dynamic language base of English and Spanish which validates the students schema and provides a broad platform for learning Language Learning is not departmentalized into English and Spanish Learning Components Language is used as a tool for teaching and moves fluidly from L1 to L2 and vice versa

An Alternative Approach Intentionally using Jimenez’s (2015) TRANSLATE strategy for literacy instruction Use of ELP Standards as anchors for learning tied to the English Language Arts and Math Practices, of the Common Core, and to the Science Practices of the Next Generation Science Standards Using a coaching instructional model