1. English Language Learner Collaboration: A Model for Success for Literacy Valeria Silva Director, ELL Programs Saint Paul Public Schools Valeria Silva ELL Director St. Paul Public Schools

2. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 2 Who are our students?

3. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 3 Who are our students?

4. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 4 District Overview  Diverse urban school district, largest in state  42,009 students; more than 100 schools and programs  17,997 with home language other than English: 43% of students  103 home languages and dialects  Largest: Hmong, Spanish, Somali  SPPS ELL population makes up 27% of state ELL population  SPPS ELL population makes up 42% of the district’s total student population  Since 1990, the ELL population in SPPS has increased by more than 270%  1,700 Hmong refugee students from Wat Tham Krabok enrolled in SPPS between 2004-2006 Saint Paul Public Schools Saint Paul, Minnesota District Overview

5. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 5 Which Students are considered English Language Learners in MN Students: Whose home language is other than English Who lack the English language skills as determined by appropriate measures and practices (developmentally appropriate assessment instruments, observations, teacher judgment, parent recommendations and/or state tests ) Those who score lower than 4 in the Writing section of the Test of Emerging Academic English (TEAE), and 5 in the Reading section

6. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 6 SPPS Student Language Distribution 2005-2006 LanguageApprox. Count English24,000 Hmong10,600 Spanish4,100 Somali700 Vietnamese335 Amharic235 Burmese/Karen220 Oromo170 Top 8 Languages in SPPS

7. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 7 Closing the Gap In the Council of the Great City Schools Beating the Odds VI report (2006), SPPS stands out as having made among the best gains of the Great City Schools districts in closing the achievement gap between ELL and non-ELL students.

8. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 8 Special Education & ELL

9. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 9 Special Education & ELL

10. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 10 Special Education & ELL

11. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 11 Factors in Managing Complex Change Vision + + + + + + Skills + + + + + IncentiveResources Change+ + + + = Action Plan Vision Skills Incentive Resources Action Plan Anxiety Resistance Frustration Treadmill Confusion = = = = = +++

12. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 12 ELL Vision Support staff to move from a pull-out model to a push-in model of ELL instruction by: Aligning district and state ELL standards Expecting all staff to use ELL and mainstream standards during instruction Raising expectations of ELL teachers on what ELL students can accomplish Provide professional development to ELL and mainstream staff on collaboration Provide professional development to ELL on collaboration in district-wide Writers and Readers Workshop models (SPPS literacy reform model) Provide materials and resources to embed ELL instruction during Writers and Readers Workshop Provide on-site coaching support and study groups for ELL teachers

13. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 13 Why Collaboration?

14. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 14 Moving from Pull-out to Collaboration Collaboration is not just two or more individuals working together. –It involves joint planning, delivery, and evaluation of instructional practices students results and performance. –Teachers take risks and support each other in the process of ongoing learning and improvement of practice that is focused on student achievement.

15. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 15 Overview of Clustering Developing consistent school-wide guidelines for student placement (according to language proficiency, home language, or academic needs) can strengthen instructional services. Clustering is not segregation. Students in clustered classrooms have equal access to all instructional resources and overall better support. All school staff must understand the rationale and system for student placement so that new students are placed appropriately. Academic needs of students, and NOT equality of class size or racial diversity should guide student placement decisions. The ELL cluster classroom(s) per grade level should not be the classes where the low academic performing students get placed. The English- speaking students that are in the ELL Cluster classroom should represent a range of academic abilities. Mainstream teacher and ELL teachers must have common prep times in order to work collaboratively. In schools with a relatively low percentage of ELL students, no more than 38-40%, clustering is the best method for providing more ELL support

16. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 16 Native language, culture and emotional support for students: Clustering can be done by students' native language, to provide more bilingual support during instruction time More language learner role models More opportunities to interact with other newcomer peers outside of school due to the relationships developed in class Social and emotional support from peers who look the same and share the same language Students can: Teachers provide more differentiation of the instruction to students (harder to ignore a large group of students) Access to additional materials that are appropriate for newcomers and ELLs More opportunities to interact with more than one adult (ELL + Mainstream) More opportunities to hear more than one adult language model (ELL + Mainstream) More instructional support and professional development opportunities for staff Mainstream teachers who have ELL licensure as well as elementary licensure are the best candidates to be the teacher in this model Instruction provided by a mainstream teacher that has more additional training on working with newcomers and ELL students Students benefit from this clustering model because:

18. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 18 SPPS ELL Instructional Model Philosophy: Language through content (collaboration with ELL & mainstream teachers) Supported by language acquisition strategies Grade-level content made comprehensible using scaffolding and sheltered English

19. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 19 Old ELL Instructional Model

20. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 20 New ELL Instructional Model

22. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 22 Collaboration

23. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 23 Basics of Co-Teaching Professionals working together (ELL and mainstream staff) Delivering substantive instruction in reading and writing A diverse group of students A single space Reduced student-teacher ratio Professional development during co- teaching

24. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 24 One teach, one observe One teach, one support Parallel teaching Alternative teaching Team teaching Station teaching Adapted from: Friend, M. & Barsack, W. (1990). Including students with special needs: A practical guide for classroom teachers. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Basics of Co-Teaching

25. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 25 Co-Teaching Models Working Form

26. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 26 Professional Development for All Staff ELL department provides professional development on collaboration for ELL and mainstream staff Since 2001, more than 500 mainstream and ELL teachers have received this professional development 100% of ELL teachers have completed professional development on Writers Workshop. By fall 2006, 100% of ELL teachers will have completed professional development in Readers Workshop 100% of ELL bilingual paraprofessionals have received professional development in Readers and Writers Workshop

29. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 29 Key Language Academy ELL Non-ELL Co-teaching Models

30. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 30 ELL GE mini-lesson 1 During Writers Workshop Model ELL Instruction

31. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 31 GE ELL mini-lesson 2 During Writers Workshop Model ELL Instruction

32. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 32 ELL GE mini-lesson 3 During Writers Workshop Model ELL Instruction

33. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 33 ELL GE mini-lesson 4 During Writers Workshop Model ELL Instruction

34. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 34 GE work time (first 10 minutes) ELL During Writers Workshop Model ELL Instruction

35. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 35 ELL GE work time (remaining 30 minutes) During Writers Workshop Model ELL Instruction

36. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 36 ELL GE share time 1 During Writers Workshop Model ELL Instruction

37. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 37 ELL GE share time 2 During Writers Workshop Model ELL Instruction

38. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 38 ELL GE share time 3 During Writers Workshop Model ELL Instruction

39. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 39 They look fantastic! Test scores

40. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 40 BST Reading—Closing the Gap

41. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 41 BST Math—Closing the Gap

42. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 42 Test of Emerging Academic English (TEAE)

43. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 43 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA)—State test

44. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 44 SAT10 Total Reading by Student Group, 2003-2005 Percent of students in average or above average range

45. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 45 SAT10 Total Math by Student Group, 2003-2005

46. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 46 Closed Graduation Rate Achievement Gap

47. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 47 Adequate Yearly Progress — Title III 2004: SPPS as a district did not make AYP, and it did not meet AMAO requirements 2005: SPPS as a district did make AYP and met AMAO requirements

48. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 48 Resources for Collaboration BOOKS Friend, M. & Barsack, W. (1990). Including Students With Special Needs: A Practical Guide For Classroom Teachers. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Garmston, R. & Wellman, B. (1999). The Adaptive School: A Sourcebook for Developing Collaborative Teams. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers. Friend, M. & Cook, L. (2003). Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals, 4th Ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Risko, V.J. and Bromley, K., Editors. (2001). Collaboration for Diverse Learners: Viewpoints and Practices. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. VIDEO Burrello, L.C., Burrello, Jotham M., & Friend, M., Producers. (1996). The Power of Two: Making a Difference Through Co-Teaching. Available from The Forum on Education: 812-855-5090 (phone) or 812-855-8545 (fax).

49. English Language Learner Programs  Saint Paul Public Schools  2006 49 Information about ELL programs in SPPS Data Center Fact sheets Professional development For more information… Visit our website at ell.spps.org Contact Phone: (651) 767-8320 Fax: (651) 293-5411 E-mail: valeria.silva@spps.org