BOARD OF TRUSTEES CARSON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Transcription

1 BOARD OF TRUSTEES CARSON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REGULATION No. 219 PROGRAMS ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER PROGRAM Consistent with Nevada and federal law including the Settlement Agreement between the United States of America and the District bearing an effective date of February 8, 2011, and pursuant to the authority conferred by Policy No. 219 requiring action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by all students in instructional programs as mandated by 20 U.S.C. 1703(f), and in furtherance of that objective, the Superintendent has adopted the following reasonable requirements, work performance standards, and workload factors for staff and administration of the District: Definitions: A. ELL refers to English Language Learners. B. English Language Learner Program (ELL Program) refers to the District s method of providing language acquisition services to all of the District s English Language Learners. C. Director refers to the District employee at the central office who is responsible for implementing the District s ELL Program and monitoring the District s compliance with the ELL Program. D. ELL Designee refers to the District employee at each school site who is TESOL endorsed and responsible for the identification, instruction, and monitoring of the ELLs assigned to that school. E. English as a Second Language (ESL) refers to English as a Second Language instruction; a language acquisition service designed to provide English instruction to ELLs. In the District, ESL is taught by teachers who are Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, and who have received an endorsement as such. F. High Quality Sheltered Instruction (HQSI) is the protocol which the District has adopted as its Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP). HQSI training consists of three levels (HQSI Levels 1, 2, and 3), as well as Model Classroom and Make-n-Take, which are refresher workshops and coaching sessions. G. Sheltered Instruction (SI) refers to sheltered instruction; a language acquisition service designed to teach grade-level content to ELLs by integrating language and literacy development into the instruction of content areas (e.g., math, science, and social studies). SI is an instructional model that incorporates an array of teaching strategies to make content more comprehensible to ELLs while promoting their English language development (e.g., grouping students by proficiency level; adapting materials and texts to assist ELLs; and using visual displays, cooperative learning, native language support, and/or clarification). H. Core content refers to English language arts, math, science, and social studies. I. TESOL (TESOL) means Teachers of English to Speakers of other Languages. J. TESOL endorsement means an endorsement issued by the State of Nevada to a teacher s license.

2 A. Personnel Involved in Assigning / Scheduling ELLs to Classes, including Guidance Staff: 1. All employees who are involved in assigning/scheduling ELLs who are hired after February 8, 2011, must complete the training required by this paragraph within the first two (2) months of employment with the District: a. The ESL and SI Services ELLs are entitled to receive at each school and the requirements of this Policy. b. The use of proficiency levels, assessment scores, and teacher recommendations to determine proper classroom assignments for ELLs. c. The use of lists of faculty with HQSI training and/or TESOL endorsements and the lists of classes they teach to ensure ELLs are assigned to appropriate TESOL endorsed and adequately trained SI core content teachers. d. Conferring with the ELL Designee regarding classroom assignments to ensure ELLs are properly assigned and ELL staff time is effectively utilized. B. Instructional Staff: 1. Any ESL teacher hired by the District on or after the effective date of this Policy shall be required to have his or her TESOL endorsement upon the date of hire, and in any event not later than the end of the first year of employment. 2. Any ESL teacher who lacks a TESOL endorsement is required to make consistent progress toward obtaining his/her endorsement by July 1, 2012, by completing at least one three (3) or four (4) credit course toward his or her endorsement each semester, including the summer semester unless this period is extended in writing for an individual teacher by the District for good cause as determined by the District. 3. The District shall monitor the progress of any non-certified ESL teachers. 4. If any ESL teacher fails to obtain a TESOL endorsement by July 1, 2012, or fails to actively maintain his or her TESOL endorsement after that date, such failure shall be reflected on his or her performance evaluation(s), and the District shall consider taking disciplinary action against the teacher pursuant to NRS Chapter 391 and the applicable collective bargaining agreement. C. ESL and SI Teacher Training 1. By September 1, 2011, the District shall provide grade-appropriate training to every principal, ELL Designee, and ESL teacher on the District s ELL Handbook and ESL K- 12 curriculum map, and all related materials and resources. 2. Subject to any required negotiation with applicable collective bargaining units, the District shall provide tuition reimbursement in an amount not exceeding $500 for any teacher who enrolls in and successfully completes 12 credits toward his or her TESOL endorsement during the school year if the teacher is assigned to an ESL class and does not already have a current TESOL endorsement. 3. The District shall reimburse the cost paid by teachers to the State to renew their TESOL endorsements. 4. All SI core content teachers, with the exception of teachers who have TESOL endorsements must complete a minimum of forty-two (42) hours of mandatory training in HQSI Levels 1, 2, and 3 and twelve (12) hours of subsequent observation and coaching by July 1, Toward that end, the District shall:

3 a. Offer training in HQSI Levels 1, 2, and 3 for all teachers within the District on a voluntary basis. b. Develop a plan to have the District s HQSI Levels 1, 2, and 3 curriculum accepted for three (3) credits toward Nevada s teacher recertification. c. Principals shall evaluate teachers on their effective use of the techniques in the following areas when evaluating teachers and recording their performance, particularly in the area of Essential Elements: Instruction and Assessment, Planning and Preparation on the teachers Framework for Effective Teaching evaluation form: i. speech is appropriate for the ELLs proficiency level(s); ii. supplementary materials support the content objectives and contextualize learning; iii. teaching of vocabulary that is relevant to the subject matter; iv. adapted content, including texts, assignments, assessments, and presentation of content in all modalities, is within the ELL s proficiency level; v. ELLs are afforded regular opportunities to practice and apply new language and content knowledge in English; and vi. academic tasks are clearly explained to ELLs. d. All new core content teachers who are hired after the effective date of this Policy must complete training in HQSI Levels 1, 2, and 3 within 18 months of being employed by the District, provided that any newly hired teacher who is not required to complete the District s first-year training on the District s general curriculum map and classroom management must complete training in HQSI Levels 1, 2, and 3 by the end of his or her first year of employment. Such requirement is a condition of continuing employment for all new teachers hired after the effective date of this Policy. e. Beginning July 1, 2011, all K-12 core content teachers who are assigned to teach an ELL must complete training in HQSI Levels 1, 2, and 3 by July 1, 2012, unless the teacher was hired after September 1, 2010, in which case the teacher has 18 months from his or her hire date to complete the training. Such requirement is a condition of continuing employment for all current teachers hired on or before the effective date of this Policy. f. Training shall be prioritized so that teachers who have large numbers of ELLs in their classes receive HQSI training before teachers with fewer ELLs in their classes; g. Subject to any required negotiations with applicable collective bargaining units, the District shall provide a financial incentive for tuition reimbursement in an amount not exceeding $500 for any teacher who enrolls in and successfully completes 12 credits toward his or her TESOL endorsement during the school year if the teacher is assigned to a core content SI class and has not already completed the HQSI training by July 11, h. Dedicate at least six and one-half hours of each day of the District s four mandatory professional development/training days for the school year toward training for all core content SI teachers and ESL teachers. i. Any SI teacher who does not complete the forty-two (42) hours of mandatory HQSI training and the twelve (12) hours of subsequent observation and coaching during the first three days of mandatory training may apply up to eight (8) hours of any HQSI training and/or coaching (not observation) he or she completes prior

4 to the fourth day of mandatory training as credit toward fulfilling the fourth day of mandatory training. j. The District shall allocate sufficient funds in the District s professional development budget to provide the training and incentives provided for herein. k. If necessary, and subject to availability of funding sources, the District shall hire an outside consultant to provide the HQSI training. l. Subject to any required negotiations with applicable bargaining units, the District shall create incentives (not exceeding $500 tuition reimbursement) for teachers who participate in HQSI training and/or obtain their TESOL endorsement. 4. If any teacher fails to complete any training requirements as set forth in this section, the teacher s failure so shall be reflected on his/her performance evaluation(s), and the District shall consider taking disciplinary actions against the teacher pursuant to NRS Chapter 391 and the applicable collective bargaining agreement. D. Monitoring of Training 1. All of the District s employees, who evaluate teachers of ESL and SI core content classes, including all school principals, shall be adequately trained regarding ESL instruction and sheltering techniques to perform a meaningful evaluation of such instruction. Toward that end: a. The District shall dedicate at least four (4) of its mandatory administrative trainings during the school year toward training related to the District s ELL Program, including training on the District s ESL K-12 Curriculum Map, the District s ESL Handbook, and the topics listed in Section A (above) and Section D(2) (below). b. By July 1, 2011, principals and all employees who evaluate ESL and SI teachers shall be provided: (i) a minimum of thirty (30) hours of training in HQSI Levels 1, 2, and 3; (ii) training regarding appropriate ESL instruction; and (iii) training on how to properly use the District s walkthrough tool to ensure that appropriate ESL and SI techniques are being used in the classrooms and how to electronically submit the data that are obtained from the walkthroughs. c. The ELL Director shall provide to such employees at least one hour of annual inperson, in-building, follow-up and coaching focused on how to conduct ESL and SI classroom observations. d. Such employees shall participate in the HQSI observation and coaching of teachers required by section C(4), above. e. The District also shall require all new principals and any other employees who are responsible for evaluating ESL and SI teachers but are hired after July 1, 2011 to complete the training required by Subsections D(a) through (e) above within the first three (3) months of employment with the District unless this period is extended in writing for an individual Administrator by the District for good cause as determined by the District. 2. The District will provide training by August 1 of each year, to principals of each school on the following topics: a. The requirements of the Settlement Agreement. b. How to properly schedule students and staff to ESL and SI classes while maximizing instructional time, including the use of mid-year reassignment of students when such actions are appropriate; c. How to assign HQSI-trained staff to SI classes to maximize instructional time;

5 d. Strategies for leveraging and incentivizing teachers to complete training in HQSI Levels 1, 2, and 3 and/or earn their TESOL certification during the school year; e. Strategies to ensure SI teachers complete training on each HQSI level by July 1, 2012, and ESL teachers obtain their TESOL endorsement by July 1, 2012, and f. How to communicate with parents/guardians of ELLs about the benefits and availability of ELL services. 3. If any principal or any other employee who evaluates teachers of ESL and SI core content classes fails to complete any training requirements as set forth in this Section D(1) and D(2), the employee s failure to do so shall be reflected on his/her performance evaluation, and the District shall consider taking disciplinary action against the employee. 4. ELL Designees shall provide school-based coaching to teachers of ESL who are new to the subject or have not taught it in at least two years. ELL Designees shall also provide to SI core content teachers school-based coaching and instruction on best practices for providing instruction to ELLs at least once every school year. E. Evaluations, Disciplinary or Other Corrective Action Any notations in any employee evaluation(s) as a result of this Policy shall be in accordance with any applicable District policies and/or applicable provisions of collective bargaining agreements covering employee evaluations. Any disciplinary or other corrective action as a result of this Policy shall be in accordance with any applicable provisions of Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) Chapter 391 and/or any applicable provisions of collective bargaining agreements. F. Settlement Agreement The District, its administration and staff, shall comply with the requirements of the Settlement Agreement between the United States of America and the District bearing an effective date of February 8, Adopted: March 8, 2011