Learning from Consistently High Performing and Improving Schools for English Language Learners in Boston Public Schools

Authors

Rosann Tung, Center for Collaborative Education
Virginia Diez, Tufts UniversityFollow
Laurie Gagnon, Center for Collaborative Education
Miren Uriarte, University of Massachusetts BostonFollow
Pamela Stazesky, Center for Collaborative Education
Eileen de los Reyes, Boston Public Schools
Antonieta Bolomey, Boston Public Schools

Document Type

Research Report

Publication Date

11-2011

Abstract

Against a backdrop of increasing BPS ELL enrollment, district ELL leadership transitions, state and federal policies affecting ELL education, and with the knowledge that many teachers and administrators within the Boston Public Schools are expert practitioners with ELL students, we addressed the following research questions:

• In which BPS schools were ELL students performing at a consistently high level or showing steady improvement during SY2006-SY2009?
• What were some of the practices that these schools’ staffs credited with their success with ELL students during SY2006-SY2009?
• Which of the practices identified by school staff were shared among the selected schools?

Through case study analysis, we found that principals and Language Acquisition Team facilitators played key roles in vision and implementation of ELL best practices, including creating professional learning communities and providing professional development; that shared cultural and linguistic experiences among staff and families were prevalent; and that staff cultural competence translated into increased family engagement, quality instructional practices, and understanding of the needs of the whole child. We also found that ELL students received the standard district curriculum, and that all teachers were knowledgeable about how to modify instruction for academic language acquisition. The purpose of this report is to inform the district and other schools not only about which schools were most successful during the study period, but also to share detailed information that may be disseminated widely so that staff in other schools may consider the lessons and practices for adaptation in their own schools.

Comments

This report, Learning from Consistently High Performing and Improving Schools for English Language Learners in Boston Public Schools, and its companion report, Improving Educational Outcomes of English Language Learners in Schools and Programs in Boston Public Schools, are part of a larger project, Identifying Success in Schools and Programs for English Language Learners in Boston Public Schools, commissioned by the Boston Public Schools as part of the process of change set in motion by the intervention of the state and the federal governments on behalf of Boston’s English language learners. The project was conducted at the request of the Office for English Language Learners and is a collaboration among this Office, the Center for Collaborative Education, and the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston. It was conducted under the leadership of principal investigators Miren Uriarte and Rosann Tung and by the following members of the research team: Michael Berardino, Jie Chen, Virginia Diez, Laurie Gagnon, Faye Karp, Sarah Rustan, and Pamela Stazesky. This report and its companion report may be downloaded at www.cce.org and www.umb.edu/gastoninstitute.

Recommended Citation

Tung, Rosann; Diez, Virginia; Gagnon, Laurie; Uriarte, Miren; Stazesky, Pamela; de los Reyes, Eileen; and Bolomey, Antonieta, "Learning from Consistently High Performing and Improving Schools for English Language Learners in Boston Public Schools" (2011). Gastón Institute Publications. 155.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/gaston_pubs/155