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It’s about TIME

• Itisimperativethattheentirestaff increasetheirinterculturalcompetence,basedonthenineareas.Thiscanbefacilitatedbysomeonewhoiswellversedinculturaltopics,andisabletopresentawiderangeof engagingactivitiesforstaff toincreasetheircompetence.

• Itwouldbewisetoadministeranattitudinalsurveytostaff basedonthenineareasof interculturalcompetence,toincreasetheirself-awarenessanddeterminestaff needs.

• Staff shouldbeinvolvedinactivitiesdesignedtoenhancetheirabilitytodevelopandmaintaineffectivestaff-studentrelationships.

Potential CosTs

• Workshoppresentersand/orspeakerstofacilitatethedialogue.Thecostsforthesesessionscanrangefrom$500-$3000perday,inadditiontopossibleteacherstipendsandsubstitutecosts.

• Materialsshouldbemadeavailabletostaff onthevariousculturesandreligionsrepre-sentedinthestudentbody.

TENDING TO THE SPIRIT/CULTURE

CreatingaSupportiveTeachingandLearningEnvironmentforEnglishLanguageLearnersWhy go this route?

Itisnecessarytobuildtheenvironmentthatwillsupportlearning.Itdoesnotjustmagicallyappear.Ittakestime,commitment,andbelief inoneself andone’sstudents.Allstudentscanlearn,giventheappropriatesupportsandmodels,oncethebarrierstoresponsiveeducationareeliminated.Thesebarriersinclude:

• Climatebarriers• Expectationalbarriers• Culturalbarriers• Languagebarriers• Contentbarriers• Resourcebarriers• Deliverybarriers• Assessmentbarriers• Communityinvolvementbarriers(SEEINSERTCforStep2)

Inasupportiveandresponsiveenvironmentstudentsfeelmoreconfidentandcapableof accessingthelanguageandcontent,andteachersfeelmorecompetent,andknowtheyhavedonetheirbesttomeettheneedsof theirstudents.

You’ll know you’ve arrived when…

• Whenstudentshavebuiltmeaningfulandtrustingrelationshipswithotherstudentsandadultsintheschool

• Studentstakerisksininteractingwithothersandproducinglanguage

• EnglishLanguageLearner(ELL)attendanceratesincrease• ELLsaremotivatedtolearn• Thereisactiveinvolvementbyparents• Studentsarereadytolearn!

1 Get to Know Your StudentsGettoknowthemasawholeindividual,notjustasanEnglishLanguageLearner.

Eachstudentcomesintoourschoolsystemwithacultural/linguisticbackgroundthatweneedtobecomefamiliarwith.Understandingtheseuniqueaspectsofourindividualstudentsmakesthedifferencebetweenthestudentbeingreadytolearnornot.(SeeINSERTforStep1.)

2 Build Connections and RelationshipsItisimportantthatthechildseethatyouvaluethemasaperson,andarewillingandeagertobecomeanimportantpartof theirlives.

Assignthestudentabuddy,notnecessarilyasamelanguagepeer.ThiswillhelpthemacquireEnglish,andgetthemtospeakEnglishmorereadily.Donothavethemdependtoomuchonanativelanguagepeertotranslate,ortheywillnotstrivetounderstandEnglish,andwilljustwaitforthetranslation.Additionally,wemustencourageteacher-parent,parent-teacherrelationships,whichcanonlybeinitiatedwhenthestudentfeelscomfortableenoughtobringtheparentintothesetting.(SeeINSERTSA,BandCforStep2.)

3 Increase Your Cultural KnowledgeLearnasmuchasyoucanaboutthelanguageandcultureof yourstudents.

Encouragestudentstoexpresstheirpointsofviewandopinionsondifferentissuesandshareinformationabouttheirculture.Bringlanguageandcultureintotheclassroom.Cultureisarecipeforbehavior,whetheritbesocialoracademicbehavior.Thebetterweunderstandastudent’sculture,wecanmorefullyaccommodatetheirsocialandacademicbehavior.(SeeINSERTforStep3.)

4 Create an Environment of High ExpectationsEnglishLanguageLearnersmuststrivetoachievethesamegoalsasnativespeakers,andarecapableof achievingthosegoalsif propersupportsareputinplaceforthemfromtheonset.

5 Develop a Student-Centered Approach to Teaching and Learning.Studentscanbetteracquirelanguagewhenactivitiesareplannedthatactivelyinvolvestudents.

Wecanonlygetmeaningfulstudentinputoncewehaveestablishedtrustingrelationshipswithourstudents.(SeeINSERTSA-CforStep5.)

The Process

A step-by-step

guide to developing a

shared school vision.

NOTE:Stepsmarkedwitha

areaccompaniedbyoneormore

inserts,includedinthispacket.

Getting more mileage from creating supportive teaching and learning environments for ELLs

How creating supportive teaching and learning environments

for English Language Learners benefits your school in regard

to the following initiatives:

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

• TitleIIIof ESEArequiresthatschoolsensurechildrenwhocomefromhomeswhereEnglishisnottheprimarylanguage(ELLS)areassessedannuallyforEnglishproficiencytodetermineif theyareachievingadequateyearlyprogressinEnglishLanguageacquisition.

State Accreditation System

• Acomponentof eachschool’sannualreportcardisassessmentdataonstudentperformanceof whichELLsareoneof thesub-populationsforAYP.Inorderforthesestudentstoexperiencefairaccesstothecurriculumandtheentireeducationalexperience,theymustfeelsupportedintheireffortsinasystemthatrecognizestheiruniquenessandbuildsontheirstrengths.

Michigan Continuous School Improvement Process (Mi-CSI)

Michigan School Improvement Framework

Data relating to English

Language Learners must be

disaggregated and strategies

must be included in all aspects

of the continuous school

improvement process.

Resources

OfficeofSchoolImprovement

www.michigan.gov/mde

Ex-OfficioRick Snyder, GovernorMichael P. Flanagan, Superintendent of Public Instruction

ComplianceWithFederalLawThe Michigan Department of Education complies with all Federal laws and regulations prohibiting discrimination, and with all requirements and regulations of the U.S. Department of Education.

MichiganStateBoardofEducationJohn C. Austin, PresidentCasandra E. Ulbrich, Vice PresidentNancy Danhof, SecretaryMarianne Yared McGuire, TreasurerRichard Zeile, NASBE DelegateKathleen N. StrausDaniel VarnerEileen Lappin Weiser

Books, Articles, Websites

The Principal’s Book of Lists

Ramsey,JohnWiley&Sons,2002.

The Compassionate Classroom:

Relationship Based Teaching

and Learning

SuraHartandVictoriaKindleHodson,Encinitas,CA:PuddleDancerPress,2004.

What Every Teacher Should Know

About Diverse Learners

DonnaWalkerTileston,ThousandOaks,CA:CorwinPress,2004.

Relationship-Driven Classroom

Management

JohnM.Vitto,ThousandOaks,CA:CorwinPress,2003.

Cultural Competence: A Primer

for Educators

JerryV.DillerandJeanMoule,Belmont,CA:Thomson-Wadsworth,2005.

InterculturalDevelopmentResearchAssociation

SanAntonio,TXhttp://www.idra.org.

WebsitefortheResponsiveClassroom

http://www.responsiveclassroom.org.

People

IntermediateSchoolDistricts/RESAscanserveasaresource.

For more information, contact:

MichiganDepartmentof Education

Officeof EducationImprovementandInnovation517-241-3147

SchoolImprovementUnit517-373-8480

CurriculumandInstructionUnit517-241-4285

Officeof AssessmentandAccountability517-373-0048

Officeof EarlyChildhoodandFamilyServices517-241-3592

Officeof FieldServices517-373-3921

SpecialPopulationsUnit517-373-6066

Officeof ProfessionalPreparationandTeacherCertification517-373-6505

Officeof SpecialEducationandEarlyInterventionServices517-373-9433

CommunityandFaith-basedOrganizationsinyourareaforsuggestionsandsupport.

LinktoMulticulturalEducationBasedWebsites

http://www.edchange.org/multicul-tural/sites1.Html/

NationalAssocationforMulticulturalEducation

http://www.nameorg.org/

TheSouthernPovertyLawCenter

http://www.tolerance.org/