Successful ESL Co- Teaching Anne Ogburn and Judy Hill Hillandale Elementary School Henderson County Public Schools

History of Inclusion at Hillandale In our 5 th year Initially started in K-2 with six inclusion classes Expanded the following year to 3-5 with six more classes Started clustering students for the inclusion classes in the third year Inclusion plus pullouts A total of 4 different ESL teachers and 18 different classroom teachers have participated in inclusion over the 5-year period!

What Does Inclusion Look Like?

Inclusion by Any Other Name: What Is It? Inclusion also known as push-in, team teaching, co-teaching. Co-teaching best exemplifies the ideal: an ESL teacher and a classroom teacher as partners with flexible, interchangeable roles. Co-teachers share students, classroom space, resources, instructional time, and planning. Inclusion can take many forms, but co-teaching is how it’s most effective!

How are Co-teachers Like Sportscasters? The classroom teacher is the play- by-play guy, and the ESL teacher is the color commentator! Kevin Weis

What Inclusion is Not Not a pull-out in the classroom! Not an in-class translation service! Not the ESL teacher functioning as a classroom assistant! Not one teacher sitting and watching or doing paperwork while the other teacher provides all the instruction! Not “disposable time”! Remember: Inclusion is often how LEP students receive ESL services. Make it count!

Making ESL Co-teaching Work The 3 P’sPersonalitiesPlanningPerseverance

Personalities Willing and compatible partners Similar teaching philosophies and styles Flexible, willing to take risks, innovative Able to think “on the feet” Committed to inclusion idea and LEP students Tolerant of noise

Planning Most difficult part of co-teaching Be creative (daily in-class check-in, long- range, weekly sessions). Both co-teachers need to thoroughly know the curriculum. Invest in more planning time as programs start or new teachers are added. Planning becomes automatic over time.

Perseverance Understand that inclusion is to some degree experimental. It evolves. Continually assess what is going on. Ask “Is this working for the kids?” Be willing to get rid of elements that are not working.

Inclusion Kids High intermediate-high to advanced proficiency levels Clustered Strong, native English-speaking role models Limit “problem” students. Not the best program for newcomers or lower levels of proficiency

Is Inclusion Worth It? A main benefit is LEP students seeing natural dialogue and interaction between teachers. Co-teachers can make learning strategies and higher- order thinking skills “visible”. ESL teachers can more easily modify classroom instruction and model appropriate ESL teaching strategies. LEP students benefit from interaction with native English-speaking peers. Because instruction is shared, co-teachers have the ability to experiment with and implement new teaching practices. Teachers grow professionally. Anecdotal evidence suggests that kids in inclusion classes may achieve more.

NC Average Rates of Growth GradeReading Pre 3 rd to 3 rd rd to 4 th th to 5 th 4.6 Reading EOG Growth Reading GradeAll StudentsESL Inclusion 3 rd th th

NC Average Rates of Growth GradeMath Pre 3 rd to 3 rd rd to 4 th th to 5 th 7.4 Math EOG Growth Math GradeAll StudentsESL Inclusion 3 rd th th

Goal 1: At least 90 % of Hillandale students will be on grade level in reading, and each of Hillandale’s student subgroups will demonstrate adequate yearly progress in order for our school to qualify for a high growth standard. SACS Indicators: 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 14, 20, 21, 23, 24 Title I School wide Component (s): #2, #4, #8, #9 Strategies Resources Required Timeline Persons Responsible Means of Evaluation Hillandale teachers will utilize the following instructional models to meet the SCS, grade level reading competencies: K-5: Continue ESL Inclusion model of instruction into targeted classrooms. K-5: Targeted, newcomer pullout for ESL students.

ESL Inclusion allows ESL teachers to work in classrooms, along side the regular classroom teacher, by enriching lessons with English Language strategies. HCPS Elementary School test data shows that all students, not just LEP, participating in ESL Inclusion Classrooms are scoring higher on NC EOG tests.