1. English Learner Strategic Plan

2. Delaware’s demographics are changing
Delaware will be the nation's 14th-most racially and ethnically diverse state by 2060, with New Castle County in the top 6 percent. (USA Today, November 2, 2014)
Since 1997 Delaware has experienced a 433.3% increase in the number of English Learner students
Today more than 11,000 English Learner students attend Delaware schools representing more than 100 different languages
Federal law requires programs to support English language acquisition

3. EL enrollment in Delaware schools

4. Mission puts Delaware EL students ahead
“The State of Delaware is committed to empowering every English Learner to be successful in college, career and life. Every English Learner will engage in the highest-quality education to prepare them with the linguistic, cultural and academic skills necessary for the 21st century.”

5. Guiding Coalition Develops Recommendations
A Guiding Coalition consisting of various stakeholders including parents, community representatives, district subject matter experts, and DDOE employees have developed the recommendations known as the "English Learner Strategic Plan."  The group is confident that the plan will move Delaware forward in improving outcomes for this growing population. 

6. Established timeline for success
January-June 2016
EL Strategic Plan Guiding Coalition develops recommendations
June-August 2016
Draft plan shared with DDOE workgroups and branches for additional feedback
September 2016
Stakeholder feedback session held for community organizations and Institutes of Higher Education
October-December 2016
Community feedback collected through town hall meetings & public comment
January-February 2017
Final plan revisions & printing in multiple languages
March 2017
Plan released to public & implementation team forms

7. Plan developed by stakeholders
Representatives from various groups joined together monthly to draft the EL Strategic Plan—
Community Organizations
Delaware Hispanic Commission
Stand by Me/United Way of DE
Delaware Adolescent Program (DAPI)
Chinese American Community Center
Delaware English Learners Teachers & Advocates (DELLTA)
Parents & Community Members
Haitian Community Leaders
Retired educators
Parents
School Districts & Charters
Christina (EL Specialist, Bilingual School Psychologist)
Capital School District (Supervisor)
Seaford School District (Supervisor)
Indian River School District (Counselor)
Las Américas ASPIRA Academy (Head of School)
Milford School District (Teacher)
Additional Representatives
Teacher Licensure & Certification
Office of Early Learning
Exceptional Children Resources

8. Stakeholder feedback discussion groups shape the plan
Stakeholders from around the state were invited to engage in discussion groups to provide additional feedback into the draft plan—
Teachers from New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties
District/Charter ESL Coordinators
Delaware Institutes of Higher Education
Community members
Parents
Adult educations agencies
Community Organizations (DHC, Latinos Unidos, LACC, CACC)

9. Goals align to meet the mission

10. Goal 1: Engage every English Learner in high-quality instruction and assessment designed to meet individual needs
Objective: Close achievement gaps for ELs by ensuring that EL instruction is appropriately aligned with college and career ready standards and assessment
Objective: Elevate the use of proven program designs focused on meeting students’ language and content needs
Objective: Increase graduation rates of ELs and former ELs

11. Goal 2: Foster highly-effective educators of English Learners
Objective: Increase equitable access to high quality educators for English Learners
Objective: Ensure all Delaware Educator Preparation Program candidates and novice educators are prepared to work with English Learners
Objective: Strengthen the EL knowledge-base for teachers, specialists and paraprofessionals
Objective: Enhance the capacity of school leaders in meeting the needs of ELs
Objective: Increase the number of EL certified teachers

12. Goal 3: Mobilize the community and engage the public to support English Learners
Objective: Improve engagement with families of English Learners
Objective: Increase partnerships with community organizations and state agencies to respond to the varied needs of EL families
Objective: Increase community awareness of the “value add” of multilingualism that English Learners bring to Delaware
Objective: Increase community advocacy to influence EL Delaware public policy and inform resource investment

13. Goal 4: Continue to refine EL education through intentional analysis of data
Objective: Increase the comprehensibility and transparency of EL data for all stakeholders
Objective: Increase the use of English Learner data to drive decision making
Objective: Increase the alignment of state, district/charter and school initiatives to provide supports based upon the identified need

14. Help us make the plan stronger
Your feedback is valuable to this process. We thank you for the time you will take to review the English Learner Strategic Plan Draft.