The implementation of Proposition 227 in 1998 made California an English-only state and mandated English-immersion language instruction for all ELs. The available evidence on the impact of this policy shows that this approach to instruction of ELs did little to close achievement gaps, caused a sharp reduction in the number of bilingual educators in the state, and further segregated ELs students into the poorest and lowest performing schools.
However, some programs, such as the Sobrato Early Academic Language (SEAL) program, are showing success with ELs. SEAL is a research-based pre-K-3rd grade program designed to develop the language and literacy skills of ELs and to close the achievement gap between ELs and their native-English speaking peers by 4th grade. The program has been implemented in 31 Silicon Valley schools, and evaluation results suggest that SEAL students are showing growth in Language, Literacy, Cognition, Learning, Social, Self, and Self Regulation as measured by the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP).
Demographics
Total state pre-K enrollment: 132,397
Total state pre-K EL enrollment: unknown
The top languages spoken by ELs in California are Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Arabic.
Policies
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Since the passage of Proposition 227 in 1998, the state has moved to improve its policies toward and better serve its ELs, particularly in the K-12 system.
Since 2008, the state has been issuing Bilingual Authorizations to qualifying schools which allow the holders to provide special instruction to ELs. In 2013, the California Department of Education adopted new standards for K-12 English language development and issued new guidebooks for teachers that describe best practices for teaching ELs. Additionally,the Local Control Funding Formula allocated to districts supplemental grants to support instruction for
ELs. Funding In 2013, California passed the Local Control Funding Formula which increased funding aimed at improving services for ELs at the district levelFunding for the SEAL program comes from participating school districts in the form of teacher release time and payment for SEAL coaches and other components of the program. Additionally, the Sobrato Family Foundation made a $7.3 million investment and other philanthropic organizations have made donations to support the program. Program(s) offered The types of programs offered through California’s Bilingual Authorizations include: • Instruction for English Language Development (ELD)—instruction designed specifically for ELs to develop their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English (English as a Second Language, ESL, or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, TESOL, instruction). • Instruction for Primary Language Development—instruction for ELs to develop their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in their primary language (bilingual instruction) • Specially Designed Academic Instruction Delivered in English (SDAIE)—instruction in a subject area delivered in English that is specially designed to provide ELs with access to the curriculum • Content Instruction Delivered in the Primary Language—instruction for ELs in a subject area delivered in the students’ primary language Teachers in SEAL classrooms provide students with homework in English and a target language and share strategies with parents on how to support language and literacy development in their home language. By integrating language and literacy development within science and social studies instruction and providing either bilingual or home language support, the SEAL program helps ELs broaden their academic vocabulary . Teacher certification/professional development The type of certification required for teachers serving ELs in California depends on the type of instruction being offered. Teachers in the SEAL program receive professional development in how to teach ELs, which includes a coach who demonstrates and models use of SEAL strategies and offers feedback on teachers’ use of those strategies in the classroom. The coaches also facilitate planning sessions for SEAL teachers . Parent/family engagement and connections The SEAL program sites provide ESL classes for families, workshops for families on supporting their children’s development, multiple methods of family-teacher communication , and books for children to borrow and read with their parents.
Federalist #78, written by Alexander Hamilton, is an essay to argue for the proposed federal courts, their powers, and means of appointing judges. In the essay, Hamilton claims that the judiciary will be the “least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution.” He says it will be the least , dangerous because the branch will be the least in abundant use. This implies that the other two branches will be used more. The executive branch not only “dispenses the honors”, but also enforce the laws over the entire country. The legislative branch holds the budget for the country and creates the laws in which the citizens must abide by. The judiciary, he says, will have no power over the executive and legislative branches. He also writes that it cannot move forward the society in wealth and in strength, and cannot resolve any active problems that the country is facing in any circumstances. According to Hamilton, the judiciary could be said to have “neither force nor will, but merely judgment,” and that it must depend on the executive branch, even to make their judgments more effectiv...
Sixteenth Amendment- Authorization of an Income Tax – Progressives thought this would slow down the rising wealth of the richest Americans by using a sliding or progressive scale where the wealthier would pay more into the system. In 1907, Roosevelt supported the tax but it took two years until his Successor, Taft endorsed the constitutional amendment for the tax. The Sixteenth Amendment was finally ratified by the states in 1913. The origin of the income tax came William J Bryan in 1894 to help redistribute wealth and then from Roosevelt and his dedication to reform of corporations. I agree with an income tax to pay for all of our government systems and departments, but I believe there was a misfire with “redistributing wealth.” The redistribution is seen in welfare systems whereby individuals receive money to live. This is meant to be a temporary assistance, but sadly, most that are in the system are stuck due to lack of assistance in learning how to escape poverty. There are a lot of government funded programs, but there is no general help system to help lift people up and stay up, so there continues a cycle of
Much research was completed for the making of this article. It was found that ELL’s need time to develop oral English proficiency, teachers need to use ongoing authentic formative assessments throughout the year due to
The nineteenth amendment has changed the way women were treated and looked upon.There are many ways the nineteenth Amendment has changed in a bad was, but most of them have made a positive impact. Some people went along with the 19th amendment but some people didn’t think it was a good idea. Some people don’t know what or how the 19th amendment changed positively for women. But this paper is gonna show you all the ways it has positively changed the way people view and act towards women.
I agree with the statement, “The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, limiting the American president to elected terms in office, has been successful and should be retained. This amendment has facilitated rotation in office and new ideas, both crucial to an effective democracy.”. The statement is an agreeable because it does not deprive citizens of their right to elect, it opens the candidate pool, problems have not arisen, and stops the country from being a monarchy. The 22nd Amendment limits the American president to two terms, totaling to eight years in office. The restrictions made by the 22nd Amendment have not proven to be a problem.
Recently immigrated parents often learn English from their children. Over 70% of Hispanic Americans in California are English Language Learners (ELL) and are given the resour...
By the next decade, both the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unlawful to keep students who couldn’t speak English from getting an education. Later, Congress passed the Equal Opportunity Act of 1974, which resulted in the implementation of more bilingual education programs in public schools.
Due to the rise in immigration and the demographics of classrooms in America are changing. As a result, English Language Learners are becoming more common in schools. English Language Learners make up one of the largest demographics in the American Classroom (Flynn & Hill, 2005). These students have been observed to have a major achievement gap because many of these students are placed in mainstream classrooms with basic literacy skills. Many English Language Learners are born in the United States (Goldenberg, 2008). These students have only attended the school system in America. However, the achievement levels are nowhere near the level of their peers. According to Calderon, Slavin, and Sanchez (2011) “these students, who have been in U.S. schools since kindergarten, are still classified as limited English proficient when they reach middle or high school— suggesting strongly that preschool and elementary programs are not adequately addressing the needs of English learners.” The achievement gap between English Language Learners and native English speaking students is extremely high. English Language Learners tests scores are low. According to the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress, “fourth grade ELLs scored 36 points lower than their peers on the reading section of the test and 25 points below their peers in math. The results in eighth grade were worse with a difference of 42 points in reading and 37 points in math” (Goldenberg, 2008). The gap between ELLs and non-ELLs are three to eighteen points larger then students from low-income households.
Every year, the number of immigrants in the U.S. has grown “significantly.” Chen predicts that by the year of 2020, public schools will have at least 50 percent of students that are non-English speakers (¶5). This shows that it is important that public schools have a successful ESL program. The purpose of ESL programs is “to enhance” ESL students learning, to help students’ “emotional well-being”, and to accelerate students’ ability to learn the new language. According to Chen, some district schools have failed to support ESL students’ learning. For example, Chen stated that “...[some] school districts [have been] accused of not meeting t...
This essay will consist of two analyses of significant legislations. One is the reauthorization of 1994 regarding the Bilingual Education Act (BEA). Two is Title III or English Language Acquisition Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement Act. The three states discussed in this essay regarding English language learner issues are California, Arizona, and Massachusetts. However, these three states share the anti-bilingual education law. California enacted the law in 1998. Arizona initiated the law in 2000. Massachusetts approved by legislature the law in 2002. This essay will also discuss the comparisons with the anti-bilingual law passed in these three states, explanation of challenges with the anti-bilingual law in the three states and an explanation of the benefits of the anti-bilingual law in the three states.
After viewing the panel discussion about how our local school districts have implemented English Language Learning in their school, I am very intrigued. From what I gathered the field of ELL is a growing industry in education, especially in Colorado Springs. We have ELL’s students coming from all over the world. Here in Colorado Springs alone, school districts have to accommodate for over fifty different languages spoken by ELL’s. I can only imagine the challenge that comes with such a diverse group of non- English speakers in our community schools.
One important lesson of the past decade, however, is just how difficult it is to close longstanding achievement gaps experienced by students from low-income families, students with disabilities, English Learners, and racial and ethnic minorities. We know from research that these gaps often start during the first years of life, even before children enter our education system, with children from low-income families starting kindergarten, on average, 12 to 14 months behind their peers in language development and pre-reading skills.
Prior to Proposition 227, California’s programs for immigrant students included English as a Second Language, in which students were taught the English language for part of the day, and bilingual education, in which students took classes taught in their native tongues until their English improved.
The program works with more than 100 schools in seven states. The program is geared toward students from low-income families. The statistics for children’s literacy in the United States are astonishing. “In 2011, just thirty-four percent of the nation’s fourth graders in public school could read proficiently” (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). The program itself has had exponential success.
This situation was no longer allowed. While over ten percent of the total adolescent education systems contain emergent bilinguals, a whopping sixty percent of those students are educated in only English (Bale). Maria Estela Brisk, a Boston College Education professor, believes, “schools have wasted much energy in the search for a "perfect" model and the best way to learn English” when they could just focus on providing “quality education” to every student in the system (1). Teachers’ main priority should consist of effectively teaching their students to prepare them for the future, but currently there is a lack of certified bilingual education teachers.