College Station ISD reports student gains in bilingual and ESL programs; staffing and certification gaps remain
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Summary
At a Oct. 21 workshop, College Station ISD staff presented the annual Bilingual Education and ESL report, citing progress on English-language proficiency and reclassification while noting remaining teacher certification needs and planned next steps including expanded summer programming and a family advisory committee.
College Station ISD staff presented the district's annual Bilingual Education and ESL program evaluation at a workshop on Oct. 21, summarizing student proficiency, reclassification counts, staffing and budget considerations and next steps.
The presentation, which district staff said overlaps with recent school improvement and accountability reporting, reported that 145 students across grade levels met reclassification criteria this year and that many emergent bilingual students are performing at intermediate to advanced levels on composite English-language-proficiency measures. The report described reclassified students as routinely meeting standards on end-of-course English exams and said English I and English II remain areas for growth.
The presentation emphasized program scale and staffing. Staff said the district needs 46 dual-language teacher positions, of which 38 are fully certified. For the ESL program, presenters said elementary teacher counts increased from 283 to 337 and secondary teachers increased from 51 to 76. Staff noted that when teachers are not fully certified the district is required to file an exception or waiver and that such filings will be required this year. The presenter said teachers who lack certification are participating in the district's Grow Your Own program.
On academic progress, staff reported that more than half of emergent bilingual students in grades 3'8 showed satisfactory progress in three of four core content areas on STAR assessments and that many students in grades 7'12 perform at the composite levels of advanced or advanced-high on TELPAS. Staff also described newest Spanish progress-monitoring data (LOS LINK) used for kindergarten and first grade listening and speaking benchmarks for the dual-language program.
Budget and program supports were described as a mix of the state bilingual allotment, local budget and federal funds. Staff said those funds are used for classroom staffing, professional development and programmatic supports. Planned next steps listed in the presentation included evaluating the effectiveness of current resources, expanding the Summer Language Academy (described as distinct from remediation), implementing new English Language Proficiency Standards in the fall, continuing teacher certification training, and developing an Emergent Bilingual Family Advisory Committee.
On staffing and certification, the presenter said: "If they do not [have certification], we are required to file an exception or a waiver. This year, we will be having to file an exception and a waiver." The presenter also said many uncertified teachers are participating in the district's Grow Your Own program.
Board members and others asked about year-to-year trends, classroom additions and program access. In response, staff said the district has shifted how two-way dual-language classrooms are composed following a revision to Chapter 89 and that participation has moved toward roughly a two-thirds/one-third model instead of a strict 50/50 split. Staff said classroom additions are made "as we can," and gave an example that the current fourth-grade cohort will add eight classrooms that will feed Oakwood next year.
Board members and a parent speaker praised the program's outcomes, noting students who complete the two-way program achieve fluency in Spanish and perform well on assessments. A parent asked for details about the Summer Language Academy; staff described it as an intensive-language-support program (not labeled as summer school) that provides listening, speaking, reading and writing support tailored to TELPAS, LOS LINK and, when applicable, MAP scores.
The presentation concluded with staff inviting questions and describing the report as a preliminary snapshot due before Nov. 1. No formal board action or vote on program changes was taken at the workshop.
Looking ahead, the district plans targeted professional development focused on teacher certification and the new English Language Proficiency Standards, to expand summer language programming and to form a family advisory committee for emergent bilingual students.
