¡Bienvenidos! Carthage Dual Language Academy MSBA Annual Conference September 30, 2016

Our Students Deserve the Best Did You Know?

Why Dual Language in Carthage? School District Number of ELLs in 2015 #1 Kansas City 3,526 #2 Saint Louis 1,691 #3 North Kansas City 1,289 #4 Carthage 1,130 Hispanic St. Enrollment 2002 Hispanic St Enrollment 2014 10.2% 31.8%

The Research Students who develop two languages: Demonstrate a more positive feeling toward school Have more advanced ability to solve problems Are continuously engaged in enrichment activities Are bilingual/biliterate/bicultural and prepared to fully participate in a global world of the 21st century Immersion programs are the fastest growing and most effective type of foreign language program currently available in U.S. schools.

What is Dual Language? Dual Language (DL) is a method of instruction that involves teaching a group of students in two languages. In Carthage, DL brings together students from two native language groups, and these mixed groups of students would learn in both Spanish and English. Being immersed in each language for part of the instructional day, students develop strong literacy and language skills in both languages. They serve as both language learners and language models for the other group.

Why have a Dual Language Program? Close the achievement gap between English dominant and Spanish dominant students Move Fairview a step away from being a FOCUS school DL programs are more effective than ESL programs and require fewer staff It is the most rapidly expanding form of education across the country for all students, due to student achievement results for all student groups DL program students outperform non DL students on reading and math assessments

Goals of a Dual Language Program Close the achievement gap between English dominant and Spanish dominant students Graduate students who are fully literate in two languages Graduate students who have cross-cultural skills and positive attitudes about those who are different from them Graduate students who are prepared to market their skills in an increasingly competitive global economy

Our Timeline Spring 2014 Community Interest Site visits to Carver Dual Language School, Kansas City and Monroe Elementary, Tulsa Meetings with University of Missouri researchers Fall 2014 La Cosecha Dual Language Conference WIDA National Convention, including site visits to Unidos Dual Language School in Atlanta, GA

Our Timeline- continued Summer 2015 Two-Way Immersion Conference, Palm Springs, CA Fall 2015 Began first cohorts in Kindergarten and first grade Spring 2016 Interview/Recruit Staff for Grade 2 expansion Summer 2016 Professional Development for new staff

R9 Implementation Schedule Grade 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2023-24 K X 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-8 9-12 Initial Phase 1 Phase 2

2016-2017 School Year Implementing Grade 2, adding a new kindergarten cohort Recruiting bilingual teachers for next school year Increasing data collection and monitoring of cohorts Continuing professional development of DL staff and administration Firming our middle school plan

Key Features of R9 Dual Language Additive- at no cost to home language 50/50-mono-lingual instruction Assessment and student monitoring Enrichment High standards for academic achievement Positive cross-cultural experiences Biliteracy- may see starts and stops

Language Outcomes EL students approach academic grade level in English about grade 3 All students reach proficiency in both languages by grade 5 (standardized tests) Proficiency in Spanish requires 6 years in program for English-dominant students

R-9 Staffing Decisions 2-teacher teams 1 teacher will teach ONLY in English 1 teacher will teach ONLY in Spanish Both teachers are certified teachers Each teacher will have his/her own classroom

Curriculum 50% of the day is Spanish and 50% is English Each grade will study Reading and Math in Spanish Each grade will study Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies in English Bilingual Partners

Student Enrollment All students who are eligible to enroll in R9 schools are eligible to enroll in the program Each classroom will have up to 20 students 50% will be English-dominant 50% will be Spanish-dominant

Selection Process Applicants sorted by language dominance 10 Fairview English-dominant in each grade 10 Fairview Spanish-dominant in each grade 10 applicants drawn from remaining English-dominant applicants in each grade 10 applicants drawn from remaining Spanish-applicants in each grade

Expectations of Parents Attend parent meetings Continue to develop strong language skills in your home language Make a long-term commitment Realize academic growth will look different Support your child emotionally Find opportunities for your child to practice Spanish/English in the community

Challenges Staff recruitment and retention Professional development Assessment and progress reporting Communication with community, parents, and staff Time for Dual Language staff collaboration Standard based grading

Benefits Staff – pride in moving forward; being innovative; creative teaching; enriching environment Students – can be seen in the goals of the program Parents – home language maintenance; cultural pride; enrichment opportunity

Success from Year 1 Students performing at or above monolingual classroom peers Very strong sense of community among students Students’ writing more advanced Parent commitment and active participation High level of self-confidence of students Cohesiveness and drive among staff continues to grow Professional development and networking opportunities present

Data from Reading Assessment

English Reading by English Dominant Students (Grade 1)

English Reading by Spanish Dominant Students (Grade 1)

Spanish Reading by Spanish Dominant Students (Kindergarten)

Spanish Reading by English Dominant Students (Kindergarten)

Questions from the Audience Preguntas de la Audencia

Carthage Dual Language Team ¡Gracias Por Venir! Carthage Dual Language Team