Two-Way Immersion Network for Catholic Schools

1. Two-Way Immersion Networkfor Catholic Schools Day 1 Program Models and Paths to Initial Literacy Instruction Patrick Proctor, Boston College Liz Howard, University of Connecticut

2. Who are we? • Patrick • Liz

3. Why are we all here? • Catholic schools looking to repurpose • Changing demographics across the United States • 1 in 5 children in the U.S. speaks a language other than, or in addition to, English • Projections are to 1 in 3 in the coming decades • 75% of those students speak Spanish • Long-term outcomes for many bilingual children are jeopardized, particularly for Latino children • Low levels of literacy attainment • Poor schooling outcomes • High dropout rates • Diminished social and economic opportunities • School is often the first point of sustained and meaningful institutional contact for many immigrant families in the US • How we serve our multilingual learners is of paramount importance

4. Why 2-Way Immersion? • Evidence for positive cognitive benefits of high degrees of bilingualism and biliteracy • Metalinguistic and metacognitive awareness (think literacy) • Improved problem solving skills and symbolic representation (think math) • Attentional control • Bilingualism and biliteracy are also associated with social and economic factors • Family cohesion • Higher levels of educational attainment • Increased earning potential over time

5. Goals and Objectives Goals • To understand two-way immersion, its intents, models, and approaches • To set the stage for action planning around program model and curriculum design Objectives • To advance a selected model or decide upon an appropriate model for your 2-way program • To advance or decide upon a foundational plan for literacy instruction in both languages

6. What is 2-Way Immersion? The Basics • Program model that provides instruction in two languages • Ascribes equal value to both languages irrespective of societal norms • Goal of bilingualism, biliteracy, and high levels of educational attainment • Native speakers of both languages (e.g., Spanish/English; Mandarin/English) learn together • No more than 2/3rds of the students are native speakers of one language • Language is learned through • Literacy instruction • Content-area instruction • Children serving as language models for each other

7. How is 2-Way Implemented?Program Models 90:10 (80:20) • In which kindergarten begins with the vast majority of instruction taking place in the non-dominant language (e.g., Spanish, Mandarin) • English is initially treated as brief ELD sessions (~20 – 30 mins per day) • With each successive year, approximately 10% of instructional time is added to English and taken away from the target language • Goal of 50:50 allocation of instructional time by upper elementary grades

8. How is 2-Way Implemented?Program Models 50:50 • In which kindergarten begins with half of instruction taking place in the target language and the other half in English • Ratios remain essentially the same across the elementary grades

9. Which Model Will Work for You? • Show of hands: Have you chosen/do you implement a model yet? • In your teams, fill out the short survey • Debrief with interpretation key • Does your chosen model align with the survey and interpretation?

10. Paths to Initial Literacy Instruction

11. Break

12. Guiding Principles for 2-Way Curriculum & Instruction

13. Lunch!