A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Model Strategies in Bilingual Education: Professional Development - 1995

Ezequiel A. Balderas Elementary School

Fresno Unified School District
Fresno, California

Goals and Context

Located in central California, Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) is the third fastest growing district in California. Three thousand new students enter the district each year, about 2,000 of them with limited English proficiency, bringing the number of LEP students to more than 22,000-- almost 30 percent of FUSD's enrollment. The largest group of these students speak Spanish at home, but Southeast Asian immigrants are a rapidly growing population. FUSD students speak almost 100 different languages. To promote the academic success of these children, the district has made related professional development a high priority.

To accommodate the increase in the number and diversity of students, the district opened Balderas Elementary School in 1991-92; the selection committee chose a principal with a strong record of successful innovation, a commitment to participatory management strategies, and a history of productive collaboration with the business community. Newness proved to be a considerable advantage in staff selection, training, and setting expectations. Given a mandate for change and four months' lead time, the principal used observations as well as interviews to choose her staff, and they worked together to create ground-breaking programs for the students in grades preK-6 who arrived at the school in August. According to the principal, newness made the teachers receptive to experimentation. Balderas' innovations include a four-track year-round schedule; school uniforms that virtually all students and staff choose to wear daily; student portfolio assessments; two-hour extended-day sessions that offer cross-age tutoring, homework help, and primary language instruction; and cross-grade groupings (called "triads") for afterschool activities and special events. In addition, teachers keep the same classes for two years.

In early planning meetings before school opened, the staff decided that experience-based, language-rich learning activities would provide the strongest foundation for all students' learning. They agreed to spend allocations for instructional materials on the kits, manipulatives, trade books, and equipment needed for interactive lesson formats--and they bought almost no textbooks. In addition, they deferred formal instruction in reading until the second grade, choosing instead to embed early literacy in story-telling activities and content-based lessons.

Among the highlights of the Balderas program is extensive professional development in areas related to working with limited English proficient (LEP) students. To meet state certification requirements for teachers of LEP students and to cultivate a knowledgeable and cohesive faculty, the principal negotiated with California State University, Fresno (CSUF), to teach a series of graduate courses that address the specific professional needs of Balderas' faculty.

Balderas serves 1,100 students, of whom about 750 are on campus during any term. Ninety-four percent of the students receive free or reduced-price lunches, and 70 percent are limited English proficiency. Ninety-eight percent of the students are minorities: 56 percent Asian; 28 percent Hispanic; and 14 percent African American.

Project Description

Balderas is a learning community for teachers and students. From the beginning, the school staff planned an agenda to promote student learning by making professional growth an integral part of school activities. The academic program uses students' language and culture as resources for academic achievement; the professional development program enables staff to serve students effectively, in the context of the planned student program.

Professional development program. In a precedent-setting arrangement with CSUF approved by state and district administrators, Balderas uses categorical funds to support graduate-level coursework related to school programs. All teachers receive inservice credit for their participation; those who wish to apply the coursework to a master's degree program and earn CSUF graduate credit pay a reduced rate for tuition and complete additional assignments. Most classes meet at the school. In 1991-92, staff development focused on three major goals: (1) designing a program for students; (2) learning how to teach English as a second language (ESL); and (3) preparing to pass the Language Development Specialist (LDS) certification examination. In 1992-93, staff development concentrated on hands-on science instruction, emphasizing growth in teachers' content knowledge and skill in using content-based ESL methods. Again, CSUF arranged course content to address the particular needs of Balderas teachers as well as to meet appropriate academic standards. In 1993-94, CSUF focused on the professional development of teacher assistants, many of whom are enrolled in teacher preparation programs.

The professional development program began before school opened in the fall of 1991. During the first year, university professors taught three courses: Linguistics 141, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and the multicultural component of LDS preparation course. The Balderas School principal commented that in inservice courses, "Usually, I see teachers cutting out things for the bulletin board. But these teachers were debating and discussing philosophy!" As a part of their coursework, teachers visited families of different cultures to find out their thoughts on U.S. education and educational goals for their children, reporting the results of these interviews to colleagues. In addition, experts from CSUF and the community made presentations on other cultures and ESL strategies. Participants also read books and saw videos on Hmong, Khmer, and Laotian cultures, often using curriculum materials developed by the California Department of Education. A professor with extensive experience in Southeast Asia and close ties with the immigrant community stimulated awareness of the richness of those heritages.

Evaluations that include teachers' and professors' feedback on course content and processes reveal a collaborative approach to problem solving. This was especially important in that first year: Balderas was experimenting with its program, and it had a relatively high number of new teachers. From August through June, the faculty participated in 180 hours of professional development activities, for which some earned 15 graduate credits.

Applications of new knowledge and skill. An essential element of the professional development context at Balderas is the pervasive expectation that the new ways of teaching will become the norm. Because so many students begin each year with little English, teachers are highly motivated to experiment with new ideas (and, conversely, very seldom rewarded by student learning when they use traditional approaches). Two principles underlie many innovative strategies: First, primary language is a powerful resource for learning, and second, interactive, content-rich lessons offer the most direct route to mastery of core subjects. Teachers apply these principles many ways in daily lessons; for instance:

In kindergarten, two teachers reorganize their classes into primary language groups during story hour. Bilingual teachers and aides tell stories in each group's primary language, employing techniques that help students use what they know to learn more about the content of the story, the nature of stories and story telling, and the conventions of print (e.g., where to find the name of the author or to start reading).
In sixth-grade literature, students analyzed the elements of the "Cinderella story" concept, beginning with the classic European version and then elaborating the concept by analyzing how it appears in stories from other cultures. As a culminating activity, same-language work groups each wrote a new story that embellished the basic model with details from their own heritage.
In science, students conduct experiments working with same-language and different-language learning teams for different parts of an extended lesson.
The four informal pavilion areas surrounding the media center in the large central courtyard of the school each feature a mural that captures important values of a certain culture: The Cambodian pavilion displays the temple at Angkor Wat; the Mexican pavilion shows central characters in Mexican history; the Hmong pavilion summarizes the journey from Laos to Fresno; and the American pavilion focuses on the Explorer spacecraft (which is the symbol of the Baldras Explorers). During the 1992-93 school year, the Balderas community celebrated the Hmong, Cambodian, and Lao New Years, African-American History Months, and the Cinco de Mayo, in addition to having a multicultural fair.

The formal supervisory activities of Balderas administrators reflect serious attention to teachers' use of new models of teaching. In addition, peer coaching and informal collaboration are common. Teachers speak confidently and knowledgeably about the research support for a new strategy, the practical dimensions of using it, and their own evolving competence. The job titles and functions of support staff highlight the talents they bring to the work of teaching, and they participate in professional development activities for the whole staff as well as for their subgroup.

Resources. Balderas uses categorical funds, mostly from Title I, to finance its staff development program. Funds that would have been used to purchase additional administrators or support staff are used to purchase technological enhancements, extend the day for all students, support intersession programs, purchase additional materials for teachers, buy more books for the library, and operate a comprehensive afterschool cultural arts program. The district and subdistrict superintendents both credit the principal, in particular, for resourcefulness in "creating" funds through establishing partnerships and holding fundraisers. According to these administrators, Balderas staff members "...don't stop when someone says, `it's a good idea, but we don't have the money.' They find a way." Community partners include the Fresno Bee, Dow Chemical, Continental Cablevision, and Pacific Bell. These companies report that Balderas is a model partner in two ways: It uses all the resources each company offers under its educational service mission, and it provides structure and direction that enables each volunteer to function productively.

Project Outcomes

Program evaluation data collected after the first year of courses indicate that faculty participants considered the coursework relevant to the demands of their teaching, as well as helpful in passing the certification examinations. Teachers' classroom experience confirmed that they had received the solid foundation of knowledge and skills required to meet the challenges of real classrooms. Although some teachers dropped out of the masters program, almost all of those enrolled for the purpose of acquiring the LDS certificate passed the exam. The staff anticipate that evaluation of student achievement will demonstrate the effectiveness of the professional development program.

For students, the results of the program are beginning to become apparent in attendance, academic performance, and test scores. First-year math scores exceeded district norms, although more language-dependent subjects fared less well. By June 1993, Balderas had achieved first place in the district for student attendance. More than 99 percent of the students arrived on time regularly, and the transiency rate decreased by one-quarter from the school's first to its second year. Approximately 80 percent of the parents regularly attend the school-sponsored monthly parent education workshops--conducted concurrently in several languages. About 80 percent of the parents rated the school "A" (50 percent) or "B" (30 percent) in overall performance at the end of the second year. The learning curve on how to use categorical funds in innovative and effective ways continues to rise. In 1993-94, the school supported the afterschool primary language classes with such funds. Community members support the school in numerous ways, not the least of which is ongoing cultural enrichment expressed in classroom presentations, artwork, and teaching language classes.

Lessons from Experience

Balderas Elementary and Fresno Unified School District suffer, as a whole, from a shortage of teachers equipped to meet the educational needs of students with limited English proficiency. In 1993, there was only one teacher in the entire district certified to teach in Hmong, the primary language of many Balderas students. Facing this systemic deficit, the Balderas principal and staff have gone the extra mile to make the study and celebration of students' cultural resources influential in every aspect of daily life at the school. They recognize the value of knowing a non-English language, referring to students as "LGPs"--Linguistically Gifted Persons--rather than "LEPs." Native language speakers provide daily and weekly afternoon and evening extracurricular classes in primary language literacy to all interested students and parents to preserve language resources. Community leaders hold concurrent sessions of parent meetings and programs for each language group, using bilingual members to coordinate and unify parent planning. Having survived the first year's intense activity, the staff varied the extent and focus of professional development in the two years that followed, keeping the integration and concern for coordinated action, but allowing more time for reflection and invention.
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[American Indian Language Development Institute and Southwest Memory Project]

[Bilingual Educators' Career Advancement Program]