IMPROVING PERFORMANCE FOR
LATINO STUDENTS AND ENGLISH LEARNERS

An ACSA/TSS Institute
in collaboration with CVELI and CLEAR

Total School Solutions (TSS) and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), in collaboration with CVELI and CLEAR, are pleased to announce this one-day institute on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 in Fresno, California.

Teachers, principals, and district office administrators from elementary, middle, and high schools, where Latino and Spanish-speaking English learners are meeting their AYP or Safe Harbor targets, present their underlying values and goals, and the specific strategies they implemented to accomplish such impressive results. Featured districts are the Chula Vista Elementary School District; the Sanger Unified School District; and the Sweetwater Union High School District.

There is no quick-fix, one-size-fits-all solution for every school. However, the schools and educational leaders featured in this conference share common beliefs: Latino students and English learners access core, standards-based curriculum; educators have high expectations for all students; frequent assessment, data analysis, collaboration, and Response to Intervention systems are essential. We are familiar with these ideas and terms, and it is easy to refer to, or list them in a plan. Implementing these approaches on a consistent basis is not easy, especially in districts that serve significant populations of ethnically diverse students from low-income families. The schools and programs to be featured at the conference have clearly demonstrated, however, that it can be done.

The conference will begin with two keynotes:

• The first will focus on the importance of creating an “asset rich” learning culture which means viewing our students, parents, and communities through a different lens; a lens that emphasizes the positive rather than the negative.
• The second will address essential elements for district and school-level support of English learners. The focus is on a large body of research that has identified key instructional strategies in the classroom that must be supported with systematic implementation audits.

After the keynotes, the conference will divide into elementary, middle and high school concurrent sessions, beginning with presentations that explain how the Superintendent and Governing Board set values and goals, and then how the district office provides the guidelines, resources, professional development and support the schools need to establish effective programs at the school sites.

Following the district support sessions, individual elementary, middle and high schools will present their instructional programs for all students, and Latino and English Learner students in particular. They will explain how they have incorporated high expectations for all students, the findings from research, the district-wide values and goals, and the district level support systems into a practical delivery system that results in improved student performance.

The last session is reserved to provide an opportunity for school and district teams in attendance to meet in small groups to review key insights from the day, and to reach agreement on the next steps to implement when they return to their respective districts.

Links to essential student performance data are provided for the districts and schools that have been selected to present. Most educators who review the results will wonder, “How did they do that?” The conference is structured to provide specific, concrete answers to that most critical question.

Presenters

General Session Keynote Addresses

Dr. Kenneth Magdaleno, California State University, Fresno discusses creating an “asset-rich” learning culture which means viewing our students, parents and communities through a different lens; a lens that focuses on the positive rather than the negative. An “asset-rich” learning culture focuses on intercultural communication, cultural sensitivity, and equity practices in order to “build bridges” between educators and students, parents and their community. Recognizing that there are, and have been, issues as it pertains to equity in education, we must recognize the cultural value, knowledge, and abilities that our successful Latino students bring to schools today. We must shift our lens away from the ‘deficit thinking model” so prevalent in our society today and emphasize the cultural wealth of our communities of color, and at this conference, our valued Latino students.

Dr. Kathryn Catania, Assistant Superintendent; and Dr. Paul Garcia, Fresno County Office of Education present key elements for district and site level support of English learners. Language is the medium of instruction and for our English learners, the ability to understand English when listening, speaking, reading and writing is the gateway to their success. Currently there is a large body of research that has identified the instructional strategies that are most effective with English learners. In addition, we know from Doug Reeves’ research that implementation at 80 percent is essential for student impact. Therefore, an effective English learner program should be systematic and incorporate research-based strategies with follow-up implementation audits. This keynote will present an overview of current successful models in place in California districts. Information included will be a summary of the systems that need to be in place at the district and site levels, and what key EL professional development, with implementation monitoring, is needed for complete effectiveness.

Elementary Schools

Emma Sanchez, Executive Director, Language Acquisition and Development Services and Support, and Jeffrey Thiel, Ed.D., Executive Director for Operations and Communications Services and Support, Chula Vista ESD, will highlight the District’s strategic plan for closing the achievement gap for Latino and English Learners.  The first part of the presentation will be from the perspective of the District Office leaders and how they strategically work to support schools to provide instructional leadership, monitor instruction and achievement, build teacher and leader capacity, and maintain focus on improving student outcomes.    The presentation will discuss information on their District initiatives and how they are aligned with their plan and goal for closing the achievement gap. 

District Enrollment: 27,723; SED 45%; English Learners 38%; Latino 66%
Click here to see the Accountability Progress Report for the Chula Vista Elementary School District

Rosario Villareal, Principal and Silvia Flores, Resource Teacher, Otay Elementary School, Chula Vista ESD present from the perspective of the principal and school site leaders how they work with teachers, students and parents to implement the District-wide initiatives, use data to inform and enhance instruction, and monitor the growth of the students throughout the school year. 

School Enrollment: 588; SED 80%; English Learners 64%; Latino 92%
Click here to see the Accountability Progress Report for Otay Elementary School

Middle Schools

Jon Yost, Area Administrator, Sanger USD presents the steps this diverse, low-income district took to post impressive student performance results. While all subgroups in the district are succeeding, he presents how the district supports innovative approaches for Latino students and English learners. He explains the “loose-tight” approach the district takes, discusses the key role professional learning communities play in each school, and shares how they are structured and supported. He describes the elements of standards-based effective instruction that the district negotiated with the bargaining unit, including clearly stated lesson objectives, checking for understanding and student engagement. He shares how student progress is frequently assessed and how teachers use the professional learning community format to review results and determine next steps. He also describes how district level administrators help Principals develop their capacity as effective leaders.

Enroll: 10,752; SED 80%; English Learners 38%; Latino 70%
Click here to see the Accountability Progress Report for Sanger Unified School District

Jamie Nino, Principal, Washington Academic Middle School, Sanger USD highlights how sustainability is achieved by building the capacity of leadership within a middle school to improve achievement among a Latino and English Learner community. Additionally, she will present systematic structures that have been successful to improve achievement using interventions and systems that have reduced failure rates dramatically.

Enroll: 1,606; Soc Dis 100%; English Learners 44%; Hispanic: 79%
Click here to see the Accountability Progress Report for Washington Academic Middle School

High Schools

Maria Castilleja, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Sweetwater Union High School District presents the guiding principle “One hundred percent of the students in the SUHSD will graduate and succeed in post-secondary and/or in the career of their choice on a pathway to fulfill their promise.”  SUHSD default curriculum is an A-G Curriculum.  She shares the key elements of the district-wide support system which include the use of data to drive instruction, interventions, quality instruction, differentiated instruction and a special focus on English learners, special education students and low performing students. She shares examples of district benchmark exams for all disciplines and reports on the percent valid and reliable correlation to CST exams. She discusses classroom walk-through forms, and the guidelines for principal presentations.

District Enrollment: 42,000; SED 58%; English Learners: 44%; Latino 75%
Click here to see the Accountability Progress Report for the Sweetwater Union High School District

Dr. Roman Del Rosario, Principal, Sweetwater High School presents the process he used to implement effectively the district-wide instructional and assessment structures at Sweetwater High School, which is the largest and most diverse high school in the district. Sweetwater High is located in National City, one of the poorest cities in California. Thanks to the efforts of the local elementary school districts and to the consistent implementation of initiatives, Sweetwater High has reached 805 on the API. System-wide structures implementation to be discussed include, but will not be limited to: individualized targeted student placement, use of data to guide instruction and to predict academic success, district assessment tools, developing critical thinking skills through rhetorical pedagogy, and intervention development and monitoring.

School Enrollment: 2,440; SED 87%; English Learners: 25%; Latino 81%
Click here to see the Accountability Progress Report for Sweetwater High School

Date, Time and Location

Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Registration: 8:00 a.m.
Institute Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Radisson Hotel
2233 Ventura Street
Fresno, CA 93721
1 (559) 268-1000

To access the online registration form, please click here.

To access the registration form in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, please click here.

Fees and Cancellation

Cost: $325 until March 16, 2012. $395 on or after March 17, 2012 (subject to space availability)

Purchase orders, credit card authorization forms or checks must be received by March 22, 2012.

Cancellations received by March 16, 2012 will be subject to a $50 fee.
Cancellations received on or after March 17, 2012 and “No Shows” will be subject to the full registration fee.

All materials included
Breakfast and lunch included