EnglishLearnersAdvisoryCommitteeMeeting January20,2012

1. VoteonDayandTimechangeforELACmeetings
ThemajorityofELACmembersvotedforELACmeetingdayandtimetobeswitchedbacktoThursdaysat 5:30pm.ThemeetingwillbethesecondThursdayofthemonth. 2. FundsraisedattheLatinoHeritageCelebrationandELACfundsunderthePTA IainBoltin,PTATreasurerwasinvitedtotalktoELACmembersaboutthemoneyraisedfromtheLatino HeritageCelebrationandcoffeeandpastriesonFridays.Hegavethefollowingreport: a. DuringtheLatinoHeritageCelebration,$2,205wasraised b. Wepaid$1,697.90 i. $330.71:Food ii. $27.19:Posters iii. $100:Cleanup iv. $1250:DanceInstruction c. FridaysCoffeeandPastrieshasraised:$941 d. CurrentELACBudgetwiththePTAis:$1,448.90 IainexplainedthatallmoneythatcomestothePTAisputinageneralfund,butthemoneyfromtheCoffeeand PastriesonFridaysisalineditem.HealsosaidthatthePTApaysforalotofthingsintheschool,especially whentheregularfundsfromthestaterunout.HesaidthePTAhasbeenpayingforchildcareandfoodforELAC meetings,forexample. Parentswantedtoknowhowthismoneycouldbeaccessedandwhattheprocesswasforit.Iainexplainedthat ELACcouldmakeaproposal/askforfundsforsomethingandifitwaslessthan$200hecouldapproveit,ifit wasmorethan$200andupto$500thePTAofficerscouldapprove,andmorethanthatithastobetakentothe wholePTAtoapproveduringameeting.Healsomentionedthatifparentspayformaterialsforameetingor somethingfortheschool,theycouldaskforarefund.Iainhasaboxintheteacherslounge,andparentscan obtainthePTAReimbursementFormthere.Theformcanalsobefoundonlinehere: http://www.leconteonline.com/default/index.cfm/parentgroups/pta/ptareimbursementform/

3. ELACstatefundsreport,Ms.Wilson
Ms.Wilsonexplainedthatwehavethefollowingmoneythatweneedtodecidehowtouse: a. Parentinvolvementfund,around$200only b. AIDELL(LEP)Funds:$1957Thismoneycanonlybeusedfor4thand5thgradestudents. c. (EIA)EconomicImpactFunds:$5135ThisfundsareforallstudentsintheSchool,butfromthese funds$3791needtobesetasidetopayforReyna,whohelpstutor1stgradeTWIstudents.Sotheres around$2000leftofthisfund. Themoneycouldbeusedfortutoring,materials,booksinSpanish,etc.butnotforparentinvolvement.She wantedtoknowwhatELACparentssuggestedfortheuseofthesefunds.Shementionedthat4thand5thgrade studentsreallyneedmathtutoring,sotheycanbewellpreparedbeforetheygotomiddleschool.CarolP.said sheusedtoworkatahighschoolbeforeandshenoticedthatwhenthekidsdidnotcomepreparedtheyonly

lastedafewweeksOk,buttheneverythingwentdownhill.MaestroArguetaalsosuggestedthatmathtutoring for4thand5thgraderswouldbegood.AngelicaG.,ELACSGCRep.,suggestedthatweshouldalsoneedto providetutoringtokidsinlowergrades,sothattheydontneedtutoringbythetimetheygetto5thgrade.Paz C.suggestedthatfortutoringforstudentsinlowergradesweshouldlookintothefundsandsiteplanfornext yeartoseeifthiscanbeputintheplan. Attheendtheparentsagreedthatthecurrentavailablemoneyshouldbeusedtotutor4thand5thgrade students.

4. ElectionofVicePresidentandTreasurer
JosValenciawaselectedVicePresidentwithamajorityofvotes LuisHuertaandAraceliSalgadowereelectedCoTreasurerswiththesamenumberofvotes.

5. TWIConsolidation
ThepurposeofthistalkwasforELACmemberstofindoutwhatTWIconsolidationisabout,howitcameto be,andsothatmembersofthetheTWIWorkingGroup,MaestroLuisArguetaandMaestraNataliaBernal, talkedtoELACaboutinformationtheyneedfromparentstotakebacktothegroup.Theywantedtoknow whatparentsthoughtaboutconsolidationandhowtheythoughttheywouldbeaffectedbythischange. MaestroArguetamentionedthatfromLeContetherearetwoparentsthataremembersoftheTWI WorkingGroup,GazelValdezandAngelaGallegos,andtwoteachers,MaestraBernalandhimself,and PrincipalWilson.TheymeetonTuesdays.ToseetheminutesfortheTWIWorkingGroupmeetingsandthe datesforthenextmeetingspleasegotothegroupswebsitehere: http://www.berkeleyschools.net/superintendentstwowayimmersiontaskforce/ PazCanalesgavethefollowingbackgroundonTWIconsolidation. TheschoolsthatarebeingconsideredareLeConteandRosaParks.Thereasonthiscameaboutisthata groupofparentsandteachersthatareinterestedinmaintainingandimprovingtheTWIprogramin BerkeleymadeaproposaltotheSchoolBoardtoinvestigatetheconsolidationoftheprogram.Thegroup iscalledAmigosdeInmersionDualanditwasformedwhenthenumberofkinderTWIclassesstartedto decreasein200910from5to3.Thegrouphadmanymeetingswithparents,teachersanddistrict administratorsaboutimprovementsneededfortheTWIprogram,andtherewasaninvestigationbyaUC Student,MarialenaRiveracalledEnglishLearnersandtheAchievementGap:EffectivelyImplementing TwoWayImmersioninBerkeley.ThemainrecommendationbytheRiverareportwastoconsolidatethe TWIprogramintoasingleschooltosolvemostoftheproblems.Someofthecurrentissuesarethe following: a. Lackofdistrictsupportfortheprogram o Nocoordinatoratthedistrictlevelthatcancoordinateresourcesforthethreeschools,for exampleteachingmaterials. o Thematerialsbeingusedatthethreeschoolsaredifferent,andthedistrictdoesnotalways provideallnecessarymaterialsinSpanish o Sincethereisnocentralcoordination,themodelsbeingfollowedateachschoolarealso different o Teacherscannotcollaboratetoshareteachingmethods,ortoteachbecausetheyarelocatedat threedifferentschoolsinthedistrict,andtheyarenotpaidextrahourssotheycanmeetand collaborateoutsideofclassroomtime

ThereisalsolackofprofessionaldevelopmentforTWIteachers Weunderstandthatitwouldbemoreexpensivetoprovidealloftheaboveforthreeschools,thanit wouldbeforasingleschoolwherealloftheseresourcescouldbeconsolidated. o b. IntermsofLatinostudentsthatarelearningEnglish,thepurposeofTWIwastostrengthentheir Spanish,sothattheycouldlearnEnglishbetterandfaster,sincestudiesshowthatthemore competenttheyareinSpanish,thewillmoreeasilytheywilllearnandbecomefluentinEnglish, however. o ThemosteffectiveTWImodel,the9010,cannotbefollowedinBerkeleybecause,forexample therearentbilingualteachersforenrichmentclassesateachschool.Soclassessuchascooking, science,andgardencannotbetaughtinSpanish,sotheyaredoneinEnglish.ThismeansTWI studentsarenotreceivingthecorrectpercentagesofSpanish,90%Spanishand10%Englishin Kinderforexample.ThiskeepsLatinostudentsbehindinSpanish,andasaresultinEnglish. c. AnotherproblemthatexistsisthatnormallyLatinostudentsneedsupportinEnglishinhighergrades (3rd5th)whenthepercentagesofEnglishreceivedarealsohigher(50%in4thand5thgrade).English nativespeakersalsoneedmoresupportatthebeginning,whentheyarelearningSpanish.Sooncea singleschoolisestablished,itwillbeeasiertoprovidetutoringorsometypeofsupportforthestudents thatneedit. d. TheLatinocommunityinBerkeleydoesnotknowaboutthebilingualprogramsthedistrictprovides, andtheydonthaveanyinformationorhavethewronginformationaboutthebenefitsthese programsprovidefortheirkids.Asaresult,theydontenrolltheirkidsinthebilingualprograms.So inaconsolidatedschool,besidesthefactthatresultswouldspeakforthemselves,moreeducation aboutthebenefitsoflearningmorethanonelanguageandoutreachintotheLatinocommunitycould bemoreeasilyaccomplishedsothatLatinostudentscantakebetteradvantageofthisprogram because e. NationalstudiesshowthatTWIclosestheachievementgapthatexistsbetweenLatinostudentsand WhiteandAsianstudents.ThisgapexistsinBerkeleyandatthenationallevel.InBerkeleywedont haveenoughdataregardingthesuccessofTWIinclosingtheAchievementGap,butwedoknowthat EnglishLearnersthatareintheTWIorTransitionalBilingualProgramofThousandOaksaretwiceas likelytobereclassifiedasproficientinEnglish,thanthestudentsintheEnglishonlyprogram.Youcan findthenationalstudyTheAstoundingEffectivenessofDualLanguageEducationforAllhere: http://njrp.tamu.edu/2004/PDFs/Collier.pdf MaestroArguetaaskedwhatparentsopinionwasonconsolidatingTWIintoasingleschool.Hewanted toknowhowparentsthoughtthischangewouldaffectorbenefittheDistrict,students,teachers,andhe especiallywantedtoknowhowparentswouldbeaffected.Heaskedwhichschoolwouldbethecorrect onetochoose.HementionedthatithasbeensaidthatRosaParksisatthecenteroftheLatino communityinBerkeley.AndLeContewouldbeagoodoptiontobusstudentsfromthedistrictand academicachievementhasincreasedatthisschoolinthelasttwoyears.Wealsodontknowwhatwill happentoLeConteteachers,itisnotguaranteedthattheywillstayatLeConte,orthattheywillbe moved.Therearevariousoptionsbeingconsidered,forexampleifthechosenschoolwasLeConte:

TheycouldsimplystartthreenewKTWIclassesandallthecurrentstudentswouldsimplystay untiltheygraduated. o ForstudentsalreadyatLeConteintheEnglishprogram,maybetherewouldbegivenpriorityfor anotherschooliftheyhaveasiblingstartingKinder o StudentsintheEnglishonlyprogramcouldalsobetransferredtootherschoolsinthedistrict, andmaybefamiliescouldbegiventheoptiontochooseaschool. o Inanycase,thegroupwouldtrytominimizetheimpactthischangewouldbringtocurrent families. MaestroArguetaalsomentionedthatsomethingimportanttorememberisthatifyourchildrenare fluentinSpanish,testsshowthattheywillnothaveaproblemwithEnglish. Therewasa2questionsurveypassedouttoparents,andmostparentsrespondedthatTWIshouldbe consolidatedandthattheschoolchosenshouldbeLeConte. o

6. Announcements:
NewEnglishLearnersWorkingGroupsetuptodevelop a Master Plan by Fall 2012 that will best serve the educational needs of English learners.Formoreinformationseethispage: http://www.berkeleyschools.net/2011/12/08/qualityprogramsforenglishlearners/ SGC201112ParentSurveyisnowavailable.Itwillbesenthome,butitisalsoavailableonlinehere: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s_pass.aspx?sm=vk%2b7P8tl%2bhouav%2fHMAqtIA%3d%3d PTAAfterSchoolclassessignupsarecomingup.Carolexplainedtheenrollmentprocessandalsohow scholarshipswork. Carol:LaRazaCentroLegal,TalkaboutchangestoImmigrationPolicyscheduledforTuesday,Jan.24th, 5:30pm,LeConteLibrary

BerkeleyFriendsofTWIContactinformation: Email:BerkeleyTWI@gmail.com Website:http://www.berkeleytwi.webs.com 7. Flyers: FrequentlyAskedQuestionsaboutConsolidationofTWIProgram (http://berkeleytwi.webs.com/apps/documents/)