Dear Superintendent:
In prior communiqués, the UCLA School Management Program (SMP) suggested ways for you and your colleagues to take advantage of funds to improve the performance of English learner students, a large, rapidly-growing, and under-served student population in most of our schools. As we described, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will provide more than $8 billion in funding to:
- Help disadvantaged students at Title 1 schools
- Improve teacher quality to close the achievement gaps in high-need schools, including those that have large English learner populations
In these communiqués, we also introduced our initiative, the “Bridges to Understanding: Teaching That Matters Most for English Learners” (Bridges to Understanding) Institute, designed to give educators a portfolio of strategies to guide them in enabling K-12 English learners to participate actively in classroom learning. The initiative provides educators with the processes they need to assure teaching and learning at the highest levels and to explore the connection between what teachers do and how students learn. All schools that have participated in the Bridges to Understanding Institute have experienced significant API gains.
The Bridges to Understanding Institute Improves API Scores
Student data shows the significant impact of our efforts in terms of improved student achievement. On average, California schools have experienced gains in their 2008 API scores. However, data shows that schools that sent a team of faculty and staff members to UCLA SMP’s Bridges to Understanding Institute experienced significantly higher growth in their 2008 API scores than those schools with no participating faculty.
2008 API Growth |
|
| Schools that sent faculty to a Bridges to Understanding Institute | 20 |
| Schools that had no faculty participating in a Bridges to Understanding Institute | 11 |
| Difference | +9 |
Moreover, schools that sent a team of faculty and staff members to the Bridges to Understanding Institute experienced a higher 2008 API growth in their English learner students than those schools that did not send any faculty.
2008 API Growth for English Learners |
|
| Schools that sent faculty to a Bridges to Understanding Institute | 20 |
| Schools that had no faculty participating in a Bridges to Understanding Institute | 15 |
| Difference | +5 |
The More Participants the Better
The results are more dramatic for schools that send large teams of teachers and staff to the Bridges to Understanding Institute.
2008 API Growth |
2008 API Growth for English Learners |
|
| Schools that sent 20+ faculty to a Bridges to Understanding Institute | 33 |
20 |
| Schools that had no faculty participating in a Bridges to Understanding Institute | 11 |
15 |
| Difference | +22 |
+5 |
Duration Matters
As with any transformational change, mastering the protocols and strategies presented in the Bridges to Understanding Institute takes time. Schools that sent a team of faculty and staff members experienced a significantly higher API growth over a four year period than those schools that did not send any faculty.
2008 API Growth |
2008 API Growth for English Learners |
|
| Schools that sent faculty to Bridges to Understanding a Bridges to Understanding Institute for 4 years | 43 |
25 |
| Schools that had no faculty participating in a Bridges to Understanding Institute | 11 |
15 |
| Difference | +29 |
+10 |
Contact Us Now to Get Started.
If you would like to discuss how ARRA funding could potentially impact your district, using UCLA SMP to enhance your efforts to achieve student achievement, please do not hesitate to contact me at dchernow@smp.gseis.ucla.edu or (310) 825-2488.
Sincerely,
Dan Chernow, EdD
Executive Director
Note: Additional information on UCLA SMP is available on our website: http://www.smp.gseis.ucla.edu
