National Meeting
on Integrating English Language Learners
in High School Reform
October 20-22, 2003
Miami, FL
The Council of Chief State School Officers, with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and in collaboration with the Educational Policy Leadership Institute of Educational Testing Services, the National Council of La Raza and the National High School Alliance, recently hosted a three-day national meeting on English language learners and secondary school reform.
Over 150 participants representing schools, districts and state education agencies from some 30 states participated and interacted with experts in high school reform, demographers, linguists, data analysts, professional development providers, and practitioners.
The forum heightened national awareness of the increasing linguistic and cultural diversity in secondary school enrollments throughout the United States. Participants began to develop peer-learning networks and gained new knowledge from both experts and peers for use in strategic planning of high school reform policies that support best practices for English language learners (ELLs).
Participants attended workshops, plenary sessions, panel discussions and regional team planning sessions focused primarily on the strategies and approaches to academic literacy development and professional development that can be incorporated in high school reform plans to better support high achievement for ELL students.
As a result of this rich, collaborative experience, regional teams made recommendations for future action at the state, district and local school levels. The dialogue opened at this event portends opportunities for states to take the lead in articulating a vision of success for secondary English language learners to guide high school reform planning.
CCSSO is currently publishing a conference proceedings document, and will release additional papers on the inclusion of English language learners in school reform based on policy, best practice and practitioner perspectives. A resource manual for educators of English language learners will complete this series of five papers, which will become available on the CCSSO website over the next two months.
Online Conference Materials
| Agenda |
|
| Demographics |
| Richard Fry, Pew Hispanic Center, |
| Literacy |
| Aida Walqui, WestEd |
| Parent Empowerment |
| David Valladolid and Patricia Mayer-Ochoa, Parent Institute for Quality Education |
| District-Wide Approaches to High School Reform |
Suanna Gilman-Ponce, Sacramento Unified School District
Nydia Mendez, Boston Public Schools |
| Data-Based Decision Making |
| Ron Streeter, eScholar |
| High School Reform Models in the Context of English Language Learners |
| Monica R. Martinez, National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform |
| Learning Environments Focused on Fostering ELL Achievement |
Melina Castillo and Eduardo F. Gomez-Naval, Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Digital Classroom Model: Integrating Educational Technology and Instruction:
Mike Suntag, The Connecticut Regional Vocational Technical Schools
Jose Rios-Ninos, Wright Regional Vocational-Technical School, Stamford, CT
First Things First and English Language Learners:
Steve Amstutz, Lee High School, Houston, Texas |
Chiefline
