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Board presses district on English‑learner progress; staff cites GLAD training and targeted staffing
Summary
Trustees sought clarity on writing‑prompt declines and long‑term English learners (LTELs). Staff described designated ELD, EL academic support teachers, GLAD training for content teachers and goal‑setting conferences for students, and pledged further evidence on secondary exposure and staffing.
Trustees spent significant time on goals 3 and 4, which focus on English learners (ELs) and long‑term ELs (LTELs). Board members raised concerns about a drop in district writing‑prompt results and asked whether prompts and sequences align with the Wonders curriculum and state testing preparation.
District curriculum staff said the writing‑prompt sequence is under review to align to the adopted Wonders materials and to better scaffold genres so students can demonstrate proficiency. Staff described current work: designated ELD sections, EL academic support teachers in elementary schools, cohort professional development with GLAD strategies and goal‑setting conferences where students set language acquisition targets with teachers.
Dr. Perez and Director Young described efforts to reduce class sizes in targeted EL sections and to provide additional staffing so designated ELD sections can run at lower numbers. Staff also said some GLAD training had been extended to electives and secondary teachers; more complete exposure data will be provided in a follow‑up.
Trustees asked how many home languages are represented; staff said the count is "in the dozens" and promised a follow‑up breakdown. Board members requested evidence of which strategies are producing progress and suggested shadowing student experiences to assess opportunity to speak and practice academic language.
Next steps: staff will provide follow‑up materials on writing‑prompt alignment, GLAD exposure by teacher group and a home‑language breakdown to the board.
