Reply to when schools focus on the wrong things (from a teacher)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]PP- My colleagues and I discuss this sometimes. Whenever we start making progress, something changes to knock us back down. We are ESOL teachers and our district was doing well testing students out of ESOL but then last year, they made it more difficult to move levels on the WIDA ACCESS test and all of sudden, teachers must not be doing their jobs since the test out rate was so dismal. You can't win.[/quote]

Yes! And then they use a terrible formula to determine allocations so we actually lost allocation while our number of ESOL students increased. When I first started there was a 1:41 ratio but now I have 60 students on my caseload. There isn’t a way to provide meaningful language instruction to that many students in the limited time we have access to them. But I think that’s how they want it as they slowly seem to be phasing out the role of the ESOL teacher. Pretty soon it will be just another thing on the classroom teacher’s plate.

-another ESOL teacher (MCPS)[/quote]

If the classroom teacher as a result has 5 less students, would it be worth it? How much can an ESOL teacher do with 60 students a week?[/quote]

Only if they are all 1's or all 2's, etc.  But throwing 1's-3's or even 4's into the same classroom of 26-30 with only 1 teacher (dual certified or not) is a recipe for disaster.  You think test scores are low now, just wait until you see the result with that![/quote]

Plus the fact that those classes shouldn’t be sheltered English classes. ELLs need to have exposure to native English speakers in order for their own language skills to improve. It’s not considered a best practice. I get that it’s a way to reduce class sizes, but where is there space in buildings for all of these additional classrooms? I think it will roll out and central office will spin it to make it sound like a win win situation (smaller class sizes yay!), but there are very real logistical issues with the idea.

Where will these extra classrooms be located? How will the teacher have time to double dip the language objectives, which is currently the ESOL teacher’s responsibility? How to balance the needs of the ELLs with the needs of the native English speakers? Not all students need the intensive language support so would that mean native English speakers would be spending even more time working independently in these classes?   The teacher would have to collect additional ESOL grades which the ESOL teachers are currently responsible for. How will the classroom teacher have time to schedule and administer the ACCESS test which is 4 parts and very time consuming? I could go on...[/quote]

I'm a teacher and I have a mixed classroom of 21 kids (yes, I know I'm lucky to have such a small class), with kids who are new to the country and English, some who are native speakers, but most who are a mix of language levels.  I'm in the school where we are all required to be dual certified, so I'm ESL certified.  I do my best to incorporate extra oral language practice and the "push in" ESL teacher also co-teaches with me for an hour a day.  Yes, we have to collect additional language data, fill out a separate ESL report card required by the state and I administer the ACCESS test in 4 parts each year while my non ESL kids are taken up to the library with another teacher at that time.  We make it work,  but it isn't easy.  
I do differentiate during guided reading.  I have 6 reading groups, and another teacher sees my high kids, leaving me with 5 groups.  I do double dose my lowest kids, who are also seen by the reading specialist daily.  In writing, my ESL co teacher helps me out so we can have different kids working on different goals.  Math was super differentiated into guided math groups, working on skills kids were weak in based off of bi-weekly tests, last year.  This year we have a new curriculum that has to be administered whole group and there is no time for math workshop/guided math.  [/quote]

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