Facilitator: LuzElena Perez, MPA Literacy Specialist, Escondido Union High School District, CA

1. Building a Bridge Without a Toll Booth: Addressing the Professional Development Needs of Teachers of Long Term English Learners Facilitator: LuzElena Perez, MPA Literacy Specialist, Escondido Union High School District, CA UCSD & CSUSM Ed.D Candidate

2. The bridge metaphor • What does it mean to “build a bridge”? • What’s on either side of “the bridge”? • Who crosses “the bridge”? • What tools do “bridge makers” need?

3. Goals of this Workshop: • To consider and discuss: • The professional development needs of teachers of English Learners. • The research regarding expectations, beliefs and attitudes that teachers hold of minority students. • The role that coaching can play in addressing the needs of teachers of English Learners. • Explore the potential for meta-studies. • Learn about EUHSD’s journey.

4. Achievement Gap Dropout rates: Latino dropout rates are the highest of any major ethnic group in the United States. Reason: low academic achievement. One-third of all Latino students perform below grade level, this increases their chances of dropping out from 50% to 98%.

5. Economic Impact of the Latino Achievement gap: A recent study found that : • The achievement gap was the equivalent of a permanent national recession. • Had the achievement gap between black and Latino student performance and white student performance been closed the "Gross Domestic Product in 2008 would have been between $310 billion and $525 billion higher" (p.17). • Health and civic engagement impacts of the achievement gap. • The study concludes that "lagging achievement is a problem for poor and minority children and for the broad middle class" (p. 21). McKinsey & Company (2009). The economic impact of the achievement gap in America's schools.

6. Nativity and generation for Limited English Proficient (LEP) adolescents • The fact that over half (56 %) of LEP children in secondary schools are U.S.-born makes it clear that many children are not learning English even after seven or more years in school. Source: U.S. Census of Population and Housing, 1 percent PUMS, 2000 as cited in Capps et al., (2005)

7. Deficit views could be part of the problem: • Research regarding teaching practices towards minority students highlights the deficit views and low expectations held by many teachers of non-White students (den Brok & Levy, 2005; Fritzberg, 2001; Tenenbaum & Ruck, 2007). • Deficit views have an adverse impact on the learning environments of minority students (Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968). • Most reform efforts, professional development initiatives, or accountability reports fail to focus on or consider the views teachers hold of their minority students as a factor.

8. Theoretical framework on PD and teacher change: Guskey (1986) Model of Teacher Change Which practices? Equity beliefs? Measured by…? What kind?

9. Measuring student learning • How do you measure EL student learning? • How often is their learning measured? • What feedback do students receive? • How are Language Development standards incorporated in the assessment of language development and content learning?

10. Theoretical Framework: Ethnic backgrounds and student outcomes den Brok & Levy, (2005)

11. Professional development can address teacher awareness of beliefs, expectations and views. Teacher beliefs influence expectations which impact student achievement. Coaching can provide an effective approach to addressing teacher beliefs, expectations and views.

12. Instructional Coaching • Transfer of skills and theory to the classroom is less than 5% in traditional PD, it is over 80% with coaching. Coaching is a critical component in PD. Showers, Joyce, & Bennett, (1987); Garret et al. (2001); Mahn et al. (2005); Russo (2004) • Coaching can improve student learning. (Greene, 2004) • Just as teaching cannot occur in a context “free” of culture, neither does coaching. (Lindsey, D. 2010) • Instructional coaching can and should address issues of beliefs, expectations and attitudes with teachers of Els.

13. Areas of Research: Learning Environments of Minority Students

14. How can we study teacher beliefs? • Teacher beliefs have been studied in quantitative research projects and have yielded descriptive findings. • Studies that seek to explain a phenomenon are generally qualitative studies with a grounded theory epistemology. • In order to understand this phenomenon with the goal of theory building research that synthesizes various studies.

15. Theory Explication Theory Related Purposes Theory Building Theory Development • Schrieber et al. 1997 p. 315 in Zimmer, L. (2006 p.313)

16. Goals of Qualitative Meta-Study

17. Potential of the meta-study • Application of a meta-synthesis will push this methodology in educational research in general, specifically it will advance theory development regarding teacher beliefs of minority and language minority students. • Theory regarding teacher beliefs can become instrumental in the design of PD. • Theory regarding teacher beliefs can greatly benefit the work of instructional coaches.

18. Theoretical framework on PD and teacher change: Transformative teaching. Guskey (1986) Model of Teacher Change Measured by quantitative and qualitative data. Reflective workshops with coaching. High expectations, strength based beliefs and affirming attitudes

19. Suggested strategies: • Collect data that matters. • Design PD based on data. • Mandate PD to teachers of ELs. • PD must include reflective inquiry questions that address beliefs, attitudes and expectations. • PD needs to be outcome driven = student achievement. • Support teachers through coaching. • Coaches need to be trained in issues of cultural proficiency.

20. Questions and comments: LuzElena Perez Literacy Specialist Escondido Union High School District Escondido, CA leperez@ucsd.edu or lperez@euhsd.k12.ca.us