The 2014 civil grand jury
report spotlights the importance for Monterey County English learners to become
proficient in English and able to read on grade level by third grade. This is
true for all students. We appreciate the call to action of the civil grand jury
report because all of our students need and deserve a high-quality education.
The report helps bring to everyone’s attention the importance of English
learners attaining proficiency. This is a strategic priority of the Monterey
County Office of Education.
Achieving this goal is very
complex and involves roles for the family, the school and the community. It is
unfortunate that this year’s civil grand jury’s report findings and
recommendations place the sole responsibility on MCOE and misrepresents the
roles and work of the County Office of Education, the County Superintendent and
the County Board of Education. Although the County Office plays a key
leadership role in supporting the school districts and is always striving to do
better, the “no excuses” that the civil grand jury calls for must go far beyond
the County Office of Education. For 2015-16, the Monterey County School
Districts, not the MCOE, are projected to receive $131,776,426 in supplemental
and concentration grants to be specifically used to serve English learners,
socioeconomically disadvantaged students and foster youth. Each school
district’s Local Control Accountability Plan is critical because it must
identify how the funds will be directed to meet the needs of these students.
The County Superintendent supports the districts in developing their plans and
is responsible for approving them, following statutory guidelines. It is each
district’s responsibility to implement their plan.
MCOE plays an important
leadership role in providing high-quality professional development
opportunities that are well attended by teachers and administrators, and
providing technical assistance to school districts to support them in what is
needed for their English learners to achieve advanced levels of English
proficiency. To support this work, MCOE is launching the 2015-16 school year
with a yearlong series on the most effective research-based instructional
practices for English learners, presented by renowned experts in English
language development, as well as customized services specific to the individual
needs of our 24 school districts.
The County Superintendent and
County Board of Education have no authority over the quality and successful
implementation of the districts’ instructional programs. Each school district’s
Board of Trustees is entrusted with and responsible for their district’s
educational programs and engagement of their families and communities. The only
student programs MCOE operates directly are those that are more cost-effective
and efficient when provided at the county level: juvenile hall and youth center
for incarcerated students, community schools for expelled students, special education
for the more severely disabled students, Head Start and supplemental Migrant
Education programs.
It is important to clarify what
is entailed in the complex work that is required for a student to acquire
advanced levels of English proficiency and the need for everyone to be involved
in the process. It is also important to understand how English language
development is assessed and the proficiency levels students must obtain. The
California English Language Development Test is the state’s test used to assess
reading, writing, listening and speaking. There are five levels of proficiency
through which a child must progress: beginning, early intermediate,
intermediate, early advanced and advanced. English learner kindergartners who
make swift progress through these levels have a rich vocabulary in their
primary language and have a wide range of life experiences for their age. Their
background knowledge and experiences prepares them well to quickly acquire a
second language. However, by third grade, only 24 percent of Monterey County’s
English learners have reached the advanced levels, compared to 31 percent in
California.
What’s the challenge? Monterey
County has more than twice the number (36 percent) of kindergarten English
learners at the beginning level of English proficiency than their counterparts
in California (16 percent). Most of our English learners face the major
obstacles of having low levels of proficiency in their primary language, low
levels of parent education, minimal exposure to English outside the time they
are in school, and constraints of poverty that limit expanding the life
experiences needed to build essential background knowledge. These are facts,
not excuses. The children facing these challenges make steady progress, but it
is not enough, and it takes comprehensive engagement of the family, school and
community in order to accelerate their path to the advanced levels of English
proficiency. In successful schools this is happening.
It is important to acknowledge
that Monterey County English learners are keeping pace and sometimes surpassing
the state average. For example, one of the most important measurements of
English learners’ success is when they reach the milestone of being proficient
in English, known as Reclassification to English Learner Proficiency. In
Monterey County, the percentage of English learners who have reclassified to
fluent is at 22.6 percent, higher than the state average of 20.5 percent. In
fact, Monterey County represents the top 10 of the 58 counties in California,
with the highest percentage of students reclassified to English-proficient.
Two additional, critical
indicators are the percentage of English learners who drop out and the number
who graduate from high school. In Monterey County, the percentage of English
Learners who drop out is 20.2 percent, compared to the statewide average of
20.9 percent. Further, English learners are graduating at the same rate (65.4
percent) as their peers across California (65.3 percent), despite significantly
greater obstacles. While we are keeping pace with the state, these results must
be dramatically improved. It is critical to accelerate the progress English
learners make in their acquisition of English proficiency.
We are in an exciting new era
for public education. It is fortunate that the districts will be receiving
significant funding for this work that is entering its second year. Today’s
world and economic conditions call for all of us to engage more deeply in
supporting our schools and students as together we prepare them for their
future and this is an opportune time with the additional funding available.
Let’s all be sure it is used well. All students, including English learners,
require support from their family, their school and their community.
All kids are our kids, and it
takes all of us working together to prepare them for success at each step of
their educational journey.
June
20, 2015
Monterey
Herald
Guest
commentary by Nancy Kotowski, Monterey County Superintendent of Schools
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