Sunnyside Unified School District ADE ELL Audit Preliminary Findings

1. Sunnyside Unified School DistrictADE ELL Audit Preliminary Findings November 30th-December 4th

2. Commendations • Summit View 3rd grade teachers collaborative efforts to implement the model • Summit View lesson plans • Across the district, principals, teachers and staff were welcoming and eager for feedback • Hand scoring on Kindergarten AZELLA tests to place students appropriately noted at SV

3. Findings

4. Paperwork Compliance • Files inconsistent in completion of paperwork across sites • AZELLA student reports are not present in all the blue folders • Some students were reassessed outside of the 2 year monitoring period, with no evidence of “falling back” necessitating additional testing • Parent Notification and Consent forms not present in all folders • ELL-AR parent letter not present in all folders of monitored students

5. Paperwork Compliance • Reclassification sheets are present, but also, ADE requires proof that parents were notified of their child’s reclassified status. Entering the date of the parent communication is not enough. [This was not communicated as a requirement, and has not been brought forth as a finding in the last 4 rounds of monitoring conducted by OELAS] • Monitoring Forms-Students who are in the 2 year monitoring period should have information about their progress. The state monitoring form does not have to be used, but progress should be recorded. The schools are using the monitoring form, but if teachers write “see attached” they need to attach grade reports and AIMS information • WICIP forms need to be filed for students participating in the Comp Ed program outside the regular school day

6. Model Compliance • Schools allocated the 4-hour blocks on paper, but this was not evident in the instruction • Lesson plans were different from the Master Schedule • In Middle and High Schools, the allocations were incorrect. At this level, the blocks should be: • 1 hour grammar • 1 hour reading • 1 hour writing • 1 hour oral/academic vocabulary development • At DV, there was no distinction among the blocks that was observable in the instruction

7. Model Compliance • Teachers misinterpret the oral block. Oral language development should focus on “training the ear” of students through phonology and “other activities” • 2 teachers (in the 8 schools visited) didn’t know what the blocks were • HS teachers using the materials to drive the curriculum instead of the standards • Mixing ELL with Non-ELL students: mainly in schools using ILLP’s where the demographics of the student population didn’t warrant it • Use of ELP Standards and DSI interchangeably for Language Objectives • ILLP’s did not have objectives based on the ELP Standards

8. Highly Qualified • One teacher at Desert View, one at Los Amigos, and one at Sierra were found to be not HQ for the SEI positions they hold. • Two teachers observed had “fluency issues.”

9. Other Issues • Posters in Spanish • Books in Spanish • When students speak in Spanish, the teacher doesn’t redirect. One teacher being observed said to a student, “Its okay. You can tell me in Spanish.” • Super Strategies poster on the wall, but not being used

10. ADE Suggestions • Consider cross grade-level grouping • Continuation of Staff development using the Round II format • Need higher degree of rigor at the middle and high school levels • Change Questions on Registration form to reflect one Language Question

11. Future SUSD Actions • Program Model: Consult with Principals and staff as courses are blocked and teachers assigned for the SEI Program • Paperwork Compliance: • Revise the Reclassification form to include information from parent letter • Revise Monitoring form and procedure • Provide schools with revised blue folder that will help school staff to more accurately track paperwork

12. Programmatic Framework

13. Sunnyside RecommendedTime Allocations for Elementary School Levels Language Development** (Listening and Speaking) 60-90 min Writing/ Grammar*** 60-90 min. Reading* 90-120 min. * It is strongly recommended that schools use their current reading adoption materials for the Reading portion of the 4 hour block and accommodate for the needs of ELLs. However, the English Language Proficiency Standards must be incorporated during this time. ** Schools are encouraged to use the current Language Development Materials (Avenues and/or Rigby) for the Language Development portion of the block. *** Discrete Skills Inventory outlines the grammar skills and serves as a tool to support teachers in their instruction of the ELP Standards. Be advised that content from a variety of academic disciplines can be presented during the 4 hour block, but must be driven by the English Language Proficiency Standards. Students Testing at AZELLA Pre-Emergent, Emergent, Basic, and Intermediate

14. Sunnyside Recommended Time Allocations for Middle School and High School Levels 20 hours per week / 10% flexibility ELD 1 Listening and Speaking (1 Period) ELD 1 Writing and Grammar Support (1 Period) ELD 1 Reading (1 Period) ELD 1 Writing and Grammar (1 Period) Students Testing at AZELLA Basic ELD 2 Listening and Speaking (1 Period) ELD 1 Writing and Grammar Support (1 Period) ELD 1 Reading (1 Period) ELD 1 Writing and Grammar (1 Period) Students Testing at AZELLA Intermediate ELD 3 Academic Writing (1 Period) ELD 3 Academic Reading (1 Period) ELD 3 Language Arts (1 Period) ELD 3 Language Arts Support (1 Period) Students Testing at AZELLA Pre-Emergent & Emergent *Intermediate students may be placed in fewer that 4 hours if they meet exempt requirements outlined by alternative models

15. Next Steps • Meet with all principals to discuss 4 hour model guidance • Meet with ELD Liaisons to review compliance and organizational efficiency • Begin Curriculum Adoption Process for Middle School Language Development