Preparing English Learners for College and Career

How do school communities create environments that fully prepare both English learners and dual-language learners for colleges and careers? This valuable book profiles six high-performing high schools that had a singular focus on improving the educational outcomes of English learners. The authors use these case studies to identify a comprehensive set of design elements and shared values that were key factors in yielding extraordinary results. These include a school-wide language development framework that integrates content, analytical practices, and language learning; a broad and dynamic view of assessment practices; intensive social-emotional support for students and their families; and mission-driven staff and leadership that maximize learning opportunities across classrooms. The practices employed in these schools are not only essential for English learners’ success but, as the performance data shows, they also benefit all students.

Book Features:

• Provides practical, actionable ideas that schools across the country can adapt to help their own EL students.
• Shows how schools incorporated a language development framework as part of their daily improvement work of teaching and learning.
• Identifies the key school design features and values that enable diverse students, families, and staff to succeed.
• Examines how everyone in the school community works together to accelerate learning opportunities for adolescent English learners.

María Santos is the co-chair and senior advisor for leadership at Understanding Language, Stanford University and the director for school and district services at WestEd. Martha Castellón Palacios served as the former executive director of Understanding Language. Tina Cheuk is a doctoral candidate at Stanford University. Rebecca Greene is a linguistics and education researcher. Diana Mercado-Garcia is a doctoral candidate at Stanford University. Lisa Zerkel was a researcher at Understanding Language. Kenji Hakuta is emeritus professor at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University and the co-chair of Understanding Language. Renae Skarin is an education researcher and directs the English Learner Success Forum.

"In sum, Preparing English Learners for College and Career offers hope that educators, school leaders, and policy makers can and will keep these lessons in mind as they propose the next wave of school reform and reorganization. Rather than advertising the latest remedy or the most recent intervention, Santos and colleagues provide an infrastructure upon which each community can overlay the resources and materials at hand to make the most effective program possible. Educators, leaders, and EL advocates in any community can come together over the lessons laid out in these pages, consider their unique context, and identify core areas on which to build to their strengths in order to create their own responsive infrastructure."

—Teachers College Record

"This is my kind of change book: clear and deep; causes one to think; and inspires the reader to what may be possible on a wide scale."
—From the Foreword by Michael Fullan, professor emeritus, University of Toronto

“While many high schools across the nation have had difficulty closing the substantial achievement gap between ELs and other students, there are some that have had extraordinary success in raising academic outcomes for English learners. The schools featured in this set of beautifully drawn case studies reveal how they managed to beat the odds for their students—and there is much to learn by looking closely at what made them so effective.”
—Lilly Wong Fillmore, professor, University of California, Berkeley

"This book is a rich resource for all educators driven to ensure that all multilingual learners are ready for college and career. The authors have provided concrete examples of high schools that have elevated the academic achievement for these learners. With a laser focus on these schools’ strategic vision, readers will learn how school teams realize and enact rigorous language and content development frameworks, provide social emotional learning opportunities for their students and core supports for teacher learning, and engage with community partnerships that amplify students’ academic and career opportunities."
— Angélica Infante-Green, deputy commissioner, Office of Instructional Support P-12 in New York State Education Department

Table of Contents

Foreword by Michael Fullan

Preface by Kenji Hakuta

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1. Design Element 1: Unified Language Development Framework Integrating Content, Analytical Practices, and Language Learning
   Boston International High School and Newcomers Academy
   High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies
   It Takes A Village Academy
   Manhattan Bridges High School
   Conclusion

Chapter 2. Design Element 2: Ongoing and Intentional Assessment with Follow-Through
   High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies
   It Takes A Village Academy
   Marble Hill High School
   New World High School
   Conclusion

Chapter 3. Design Element 3: Intensive Social-Emotional Support
   Boston International High School and Newcomers Academy 
   High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies
   It Takes A Village Academy 
   Manhattan Bridges High School
   Marble Hill High School
   Conclusion

Chapter 4. Design Element 4: Passionate, Strategic, and Mission-Driven Leadership
   It Takes a Village Academy
   Manhattan Bridges High School
   New World High School
   Conclusion

Chapter 5. Design Element 5: Strategic Staffing and Teacher Development
   Boston International High School and Newcomers Academy (BINcA)
   High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies
   Manhattan Bridges High School
   Marble Hill High School
   New World High School
   Conclusion

Chapter 6. Design Element 6: Carefully-Orchestrated Structures
   Boston International High School and Newcomers Academy 
   High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies
   It Takes a Village Academy
   Manhattan Bridges High School
   Marble Hill High School
   New World High School
   Conclusion 

Chapter 7. Design Element 7: Strategic Family and Community Partnerships
   Marble Hill High School
   Manhattan Bridges High School
   New World High School
   Conclusion

Chapter 8. Building an Infrastructure Based on Shared School Values
   Value 1: The School Puts Forth an Ambitious Mission Focused on Preparing All Students for College and Career Success
   Value 2: The School Mission Guides All Decisions
   Value 3: The School Community Holds a Mindset of Continuous Improvement
   Value 4: The Entire School Community Shares Responsibility for Students' Success
   Value 5: The School Community Is Highly Attuned to Students' Needs and Capacities
   Value 6: There Is a Strong Sense of Pride in and Respect Toward All Cultures
   Conclusion

Appendix A: Methodology

Appendix B: Educational Policy Contexts of New York City and Boston Public Schools

Appendix C: School Profiles

Glossary: Key Concepts Defined

Education Acronyms

References

Index

About the Authors