Seal of Biliteracy Committee Meeting Monday, November 17, 2014 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. Initial Meeting

Welcome and Bienvenidos! Our District Members include: Hidali Garcia, Director or EL Services Patricia Larios, Coodinator. Migrant Education Manuela Silvestra, Director, Elem. Ed. Services Delilah Salado, Director, Children and Family Service Robert Hennings, Director, Secondary Ed. Services Esmeralda Chavez, TOSA Araida Flores, TOSA Madonna M. Gerrell, TOSA Luis Angel Martinez, TOSA Renee Miletic, PhD, TOSA

Our Norms Please be present Be open to new ideas Limit side conversations Participate and be involved

Ice Breaker Activity Where in the world? Birthplace post-it notes are placed on the white board with relationship to Indio, CA; attendees tell something people didn’t know about them

Based on Seal of Biliteracy – CVUSD EL Master Plan Chapter 2 Essential Question: How do we implement a Seal of Biliteracy program in Coachella Valley Unified School District?

Purposes of the Meeting Today: We are here to create an active advisory committee that supports biliteracy education from Preschool through High School; Our goal is to discuss the steps to implementation of the Seal of Biliteracy or Pathway Awards program for students in Coachella Valley Unified School District; Our goal today is to clarify our District’s purpose and rationale for giving the Seal of Biliteracy or Pathway Awards; Our goal is to discuss how the award might work in our community and who potential supporters might be; We will discuss the purposes and the rationale for implementing the Seal of Biliteracy in our District.

Understanding CVUSD 2014-15 EL Master Plan Instructional Program Details for the Seal of Biliteracy Our Coachella Valley Unified School Draft District 2014-2015 EL Master plan includes: 1.long-term goals for literacy in both English and Spanish and the ability for CVUSD students to meet or exceed grade level standards; 2.a fully developed and structured Seal of Biliteracy program that would be offered to students from grades preschool-high school; 3.a program that utilizes highly qualified and credentialed teachers; 4. a program that would motivate parents, teachers, students, and community members in promoting multilingualism for College! Career! and Citizenship!

Implementing a Seal of Biliteracy Program in CVUSD Essential Question: How do we implement a Seal of Biliteracy program in CVUSD? My Personal Inquiry Question(s): Outcomes: I will explain to my school site why the new ELD Master plan changes are important. I will describe the elements of a Seal of Biliteracy program. I will think about the next steps for the implementation of the Seal of Biliteracy in my school. Implementing a Seal of Biliteracy Program in CVUSD

Three Facts About The Effectiveness of Bilingual Education A program that serves to support communication and education in a student’s primary language as well as an individual student’s heritage and culture is known as a (MBE) maintenance bilingual education design or developmental bilingual education and enhances a student’s self-concept; Hundreds of scientific studies over the past fifty years have demonstrated that well designed and implemented bilingual programs point to the conclusion that bilingual education programs “work” and students benefit in fluency and literacy in two languages; MacSwan and Pray(2005) found that students in bilingual programs acquired English fast or faster than students in all-English programs, and the academic achievement of bilingually educated students, was as good as and usually higher that than of comparison groups of students(e.g.Block, 2007)

What We Know…. The Seal of Bilteracy promotes Bilingual pride! The Seal of Biliteracy encourages students to be biliterate and opens doors to future college and career opportunities for the 21st century! The Seal of Biliteracy serves to help students in our District by promoting bilingualism with seals and medals. It dates back to 2010 when Velazquez Press paired up with Californians Together to sponsor the CA Seal of Biliteracy. It was established by the legislature Governor Jerry Brown in Assembly Bill 815 for eligible high school seniors who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in English and one or more languages What We Know….

Data from 2013 from the State of California

Californians Together Video Clip, “The Seal of Biliteracy, Celebrating Students for the 21st Century”

What are Preschool or Elementary School Pathway Awards? "Bilingual Pathway Service Award"(BPSA) This award encourage students along the path of bilingualism and are used for students who are not in a Dual language or maintenance language program; Elementary School "Biliteracy Attainment Award" (BAA) This award encourages attainment of age-appropriate biliteracy for students who have been in a bilingual program in our district.

What are Middle School “Pursuit of Bilingualism Awards What are Middle School “Pursuit of Bilingualism Awards? What are "Biliteracy Attainment Awards"? Middle School "Pursuit of Bilingualism Awards"(MSPBA) Reward engagement if pursuit of language skills in two or more languages to acknowledge positive attitudes towards mulitingualism and to value the use of multiple languages for all middle school students; Middle School "Biliteracy Attainment Awards"(MSBAA) Reward biliteracy attainment for students who are not in a developmental bilingual or Dual Language program

What are High School Seal of Biliteracy Awards? Students must demonstrate proficiency in one or more languages, in addition to English by accomplishing one of the following criteria: 1) Score "3" or higher on an Advanced Placement foreign language examination; 2) Score "4" or higher on an International Baccalaureate foreign language examination; 3) Score "600" or higher on the Scholastic Assessment Test II foreign language examination; 4) Score at the "Proficient" or "Bridging" level or higher on a school district language examination; 5) Successfully complete a four-year high school course of study in a world(foreign) language and attain a 2.0 grade point average in that specific course of study

Next Steps to Implementation and the Seal of Biliteracy in Coachella Valley Unified School District

Our Next Steps Towards Implementing Seal of Biliteracy or Pathway Awards Step 1: We will create a policy with specific purposes and rationale to think about how the awards might work in our district and community. Step 2: We will determined the levels of Pathway awards that may be given in recognition of attainment of age appropriate level of skill in mastering two or more languages or in recognition of participation in activities involving bilingualism. Step 3: We will define the criteria for granting the awards for grades Pre-school through Middle school and detail the Attainment/Achievement criteria, service details, and participation guidelines.

Next Steps Towards Implementing Seal of Biliteracy or Pathway Awards Continued Step 4: We will develop outreach strategies that will include students completing applications for the awards, school assemblies focusing on the value of mastering two or more languages, and former students who have received the Seal of Biliteracy. Step 5: We will design the award and the process for award presentations perhaps including school and/or district receptions, celebrations, special award assemblies with medallions, ribbons, cords, and stoles. Step 6: Seek endorsements and spread the word to students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community groups including corporations, businesses, and professional associations about the honor and value of mastery of two or more languages. (sealofbiliteracy.org)

District Seal of Biliteracy Planning Template and Calendar of Events

Questions and Discussion How do we implement a Seal of Biliteracy program in CVUSD? As you think about your personal inquiry question, what additional questions do you have?

District Guidelines and Details to Think About Please visit sealofbiliteracy.org and other sites to think about how this might work for our students in our district in grades Preschool through Grade 12

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