George Mason University’s Bilingual Career Ladder Teacher Training Program A Look Back at the First Year (2000-2001)

1. George Mason University’s Bilingual Career Ladder Teacher Training ProgramA Look Back at theFirst Year (2000-2001) Jorge P. Osterling Wendy Tse Megan J. Kelly

2. Introduction • As the second year of the BCLTTP gets underway, the program can only benefit from an assessment of the following: What are the lessons learned after the first year of the BCLTTP; Is the BCLTTP meeting its national, regional, and local program objectives; How can the BCLTTP be replicated in other regions?

3. The Process of Becominga Teacher: A Freirian Action Research Project

4. Empowering Paraeducators • Paulo Freire (1970) refers to Critical Pedagogy as a means to empower an individual by providing the opportunity to pursue “self-affirmation as a responsible person” (p. 37). • The BCLTTP is based on this transformative, liberating approach to education: Praxis = Reflection+ Action

5. The Bilingual Career Ladder Teacher Training Program: A Critical Pedagogy Approach

6. The Program Rationale • The critical shortage of ESOL teachers in the three Northern Virginia school divisions – Arlington, Fairfax, and Prince William. • The rapidly changing demographics of the student population within these school divisions. • The expanding academic achievement gap of culturally and linguistically diverse students.

7. The Achievement Gap • Percentage of students who graduated from high school (U.S. Census, 1999):

8. The Achievement Gap • Percentage of students who graduated from high school in 1999 (U.S. Census): 86% of Total Student Population (includes all ethnic groups); 91% of White Students; 84% of Black Students; 63% of Hispanic Students.

9. The Achievement Gap • The causes of the achievement gap are both linguistic and sociocultural. • What measures can be taken to effectively close the achievement gap? • What will the statistics be for the year 2020, when it is projected that 1 in 5 students in the United States will be of Hispanic origin (U.S. Census, 1999)?

10. A Program Overview • Program: Partnership between GMU (GSE, NCC, BIS), NVCC, and Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William school divisions. • Participants: Bilingual paraeducators with at least three (3) years of experience who have been nominated by their school divisions. • Pathway: Professional development through the completion of seven (7) graduate-level courses, which lead to ESOL licensure.

11. The Initial Objectives • Objective 1: To establish a program to recruit, train, and support thirty (30) bilingual paraeducators to become ESOL teachers. • Objective 2: To promote all paraeducators into teaching positions within five (5) years. • Objective 3: To provide induction services during the paraeducators’ first year as licensed teachers.

12. Developing a Teacher Training Model: Reflections on a Work in Progress

13. Action Research Questions What differences exist between a bilingual career ladder teacher training program as compared to a traditional teacher training program?

14. Action Research Questions How can Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) and Local Educational Agencies (LEA) work together to design a career ladder teacher training program that will best serve the participating paraeducators?

15. Reflecting on Lessons Learned: Identifying the Paraeducators

16. Profile of a Paraeducator • Paraeducators are “cultural brokers” who: Successfully navigate in more than one culture (both through immigration and international experiences); Have experience learning one or more languages; Share similar “funds of knowledge” as their diverse students (Moll, Vygotsky); Bring a multicultural perspective to the classroom.

17. Profile of a Paraeducator • Paraeducators are dedicated and experienced individuals who: Appreciate the value of education; Have proven their commitment to the teaching profession; Bring years of experience working with children, and collaborating with different teachers and teaching styles, in a classroom setting.

18. Profile of a Paraeducator • Paraeducators are motivated individuals who: Have returned to an academic environment in pursuit of professional development goals (i.e., self-affirmation); Are enthusiastic about adding theoretical knowledge to their practical knowledge base regarding pedagogy and language learning; Juggle schedules of work and academic classes, as well as fulfill economic responsibilities and family obligations.

19. Professional Experience • Paraeducators currently occupy the following positions within the school divisions: Teacher Assistants; Resource Assistants; Parent Liaisons; Interpreters; Provisionally-licensed, Full-time Teachers. • In most cases, paraeducators are working directly with members of the community.

20. Countries of Origin

21. The Progress Thus Far • Group A: Participants who are currently enrolled in the Graduate School of Education (GSE). • Group B: Participants who are eligible to gain admission to GSE by the end of year two. • Group C: Participants who are working towards an undergraduate degree by the end of year two. • Group D: Former program participants, or those who are under academic probation.

22. Acting on Lessons Learned: Accommodating the Paraeducators

23. Support Structures • Academic Support • Financial Support • Additional Support

24. Academic Support: Academic English • Constraints: All participants have solid basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS), or social language, through informal acquisition; Some participants are lacking cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) - which poses difficulties for passing the TOEFL and PRAXIS-I exams, and completing required academic coursework.

25. Academic Support: Academic English • Accommodations: Implementing special CALP language courses to meet needs of participants (i.e., ENGL 302 and intensive summer course; Establishing individualized tutorial services in Math and English for students preparing to take the PRAXIS exam.

26. Academic Support: Transcripts • Constraints: Some participants’ transcripts from international colleges and universities are not fully recognized by IHE in the United States; Some participants have interrupted schooling experiences (i.e., have not taken academic courses for 10 or more years).

27. Academic Support: Transcripts • Accommodations: Facilitating and covering the costs of transcript evaluations; Awarding credit to some participants for previous life and work experiences; Providing individualized placement for participants at both NVCC and GMU/NCC/BIS.

28. Financial Support • Constraints: All participants have demanding schedules in which they must fulfill professional, academic, and family obligations;  All participants need to work full time as paraeducators in order to provide economic support for their families.

29. Financial Support • Accommodations: Covering the costs of tuition and fees, books, and other academic materials; Providing monthly stipends to cover miscellaneous expenses, such as transportation and child care.

30. Additional Support • Constraints: Some participants are acclimatizing to being a student in a university environment after having an interrupted academic career; Some participants are adjusting to the demands of an American grading system; Some participants lack knowledge of the comprehensive services provided by universities in the United States.

31. Additional Support • Accommodations: Counseling services provided to alleviate the emotional stress of being overburdened and overwhelmed; Acquainting participants to the university system through an orientation process; Developing a peer mentoring network between the participants at the university level.

32. Preliminary Conclusions • The BCLTTP, inspired by Freire, must take into consideration the personal and academic backgrounds of the paraeducators. • In order to accommodate the individual strengths and needs of each paraeducator, the BCLTTP must offer flexible pathways towards licensure. • The BCLTTP must be multicultural in approach in order to recognize the diverse perspectives and life experiences of all the paraeducators.

33. A Question for You How could the Bilingual Career Ladder Teacher Training Program better serve your needs?

34. A Final Thought “We believe in you. It’s not too late. We will invest the time and money. It’s possible for you to do it. Somebody’s going to give you a chance to prove yourself” (Anonymous).