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THE QUOTE THAT SAYS IT ALL!

“Don’t underestimate the value of teachers simply communicating a positive attitude toward their ELLs. I have interviewed students over the years and had many advanced ELLs help me in presentations to pre service teachers on “how to read/teach ELLs” As might be expected these kids were not usually adept at pinpointing the strategies that worked for them when they were newcomers, but nearly 100% of them talked about the teachers smiled at them on the first day versus the teacher that looked irritated to have someone in their class that didn’t know the language, or the teacher that was encouraging, saw their other culture as a boon to the class (the history teacher that wants to hear their nations’ perspective on WWII ,Or asks them to compare/contrast the civil war in their nation with the US civil war, the math teacher that asks them to show the class how long division is taught in Korea, etc.) rather than something to be overcome/forgotten. They have also mentioned the teacher that would say “hola” when they walked into class. Even if that was the only Spanish word the teacher knew, it helped them feel welcome and helped them persevere in the struggle to survive academically. Attitude, both student and teacher, is hard to measure but is invaluable and a positive teacher attitude can help the students to hold onto theirs.”Glori H. Smith Timpview High School Provo, Utah

AGENDA

Cultural Issues

Six Themes of Parent Engagement and ideas for schools

Walk-About and Reflect on posters

Create your ideal plan of action

Share out

“On the Way to School” Video

PRE-PLANNING SHEET

R E F L E C T I O N Q U E S T I O N S

Which ideas would best fit your ELL Population?

Are there any ideas you could implement next month?

Next Year?

What are your steps for getting started?

Who will be your partners in this effort?

If you can only focus on one area which will be the most plausible in your school community?

N O T E S F O R F U T U R E I D E A S

CULTURAL

CONSIDERAT

IONS

Cultural Perceptions: Oral and Written Discourse

English

.

Navajo

> <V

^

Slovak

Japanese

Spanish

TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR OWN CULTURE FIRST!

All of these play a part in your own cultural makeup: Religion Environment/Region of U.S. Socioeconomics Family Background/heritage

Be conscious of any ethnocentric attitudes you may have.

AMERICAN CULTURAL VALUES

People are seen as separate individuals (not group members )with individual needs

Americans believe that, regardless of past or present, the future will be better, and happier

Americans believe that formality is a show of arrogance and superiority

• One can only trust people who “look you in the eye” and “tell it like it is”

• Americans believe that competition brings out the best in people

• Americans are achievement oriented often at the expense of interpersonal relationships

• Practicality is usually a most important consideration when decisions are to be made

AMERICAN VALUES CONTINUED

CULTURE SHOCK CYCLE

CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

Deep Respect for Teachers

Education vs. educacion:

The group vs. the individual-behavior vs. academics

How do other cultures view us?

CULTURE TRADITIONS AND BELIEFS

Korean

– notes in red ink – sign of death

Asians

– teacher is authority

- show of respect

- believe in corporal punishment

- color yellow – sign of death

CULTURE TRADITIONS AND BELIEFS

Jamaica

- to challenge a teacher is disrespectable

Chinese

- green hat – sign of infidelity

Those from educational systems outside the

United States often consider informal, noisy

classrooms as places of play, not learning

U.S. V/S OTHER CULTURE PERCEPTIONS

India visitor:

“Americans seem to be in a perpetual hurry. Just watch the way they walk down the street. They never allow themselves the leisure to enjoy life; there are too many things to do.”

U.S. V/S OTHER CULTURE PERCEPTIONS

Kenya Visitor:

“Americans appear to us rather distant. They are not really as close to other people – even fellow Americans – as Americans overseas tend to portray….It is like building a wall. Unless you ask an American a question, he will not even look at you. Individualism is very high.”

U.S. V/S OTHER CULTURE PERCEPTIONS

Philippines Visitor:

“In the United States, I have observed that the mother is the dominant parent in most families.”

U.S. V/S OTHER CULTURE PERCEPTIONS

Kenya Visitor:

“In American schools, the children are restless, inattentive, and rebellious and the teachers have poor class discipline.”

U.S. V/S OTHER CULTURE PERCEPTIONS

Australia Visitor:

“I am impressed by the fact that American teachers never seem to stop going to school themselves.”

U.S. V/S OTHER CULTURE PERCEPTIONS

Iran Visitor

“The first time my professor told me: “I don’t know the answer – I will have to look it up,’ I was shocked. I asked myself, “Why is he teaching me?’ In my country a professor would give a wrong answer rather than admit ignorance.”

U.S. V/S OTHER CULTURE PERCEPTIONS

Philippines Visitor:

“In the United States, I have observed that the mother is the dominant parent in most families.”

U.S. V/S OTHER CULTURE PERCEPTIONS

Afghanistan Visitor:

“I was so much surprised by the many people in American who were under special diet to lose their weight. In our society we are in search of food in order to gain weight.”

PARENT INVOLVEMENT VS. PARENT ENGAGEMENT

Involvement = School and government mandates

Engagement= Begins with parents’ ideas

“Parents are a team waiting to be mobilized.”

-Larry Ferlazzo

EXPECTATIONS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENTParents in Mexico are invited to school with the

expectation of monetary support or in-kind support: painting the school, cleaning the school yard, hosting a Mother’s day celebration, providing food for a fiesta, etc.

Parents in Mexico are not part of the governing boards of schools nor are they asked for their opinion towards school success. Therefore, parents leave education to the experts the teachers.

Unlike our legal mandates ( parent teacher conferences) parent involvement is not required or even encouraged.

SIX THEMES

1. Connecting with ELL Families

2. Communicating Important Information

3. Parent Participation

4. Parents as Leaders

5. Community Partnerships

6. Creating an Action Plan

CONNECTING WITH ELL FAMILIES

Learn about your ELL Population

What countries your families come from

How many were born in the U.S.

What languages do they speak and how many?

If families who speak the same languages such as Spanish come from different countries or different regions within the same country?

The educational background of families and the school system of their countries.

If any ELLs are migrants, refugees, students with interrupted formal education.

INTEGRATE CULTURAL TRADITIONS

Scheduling around important cultural or religious holidays

Invite parents to share food, activities, and music at school events and in the classroom

Offer food that reflects the cultural influences of your families on the school cafeteria menu

Encourage students to share traditions in school assemblies, talent shows, potlucks, and fairs

CREATE A WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT

Keep your ELLs “visible”

Signs in multiple languages

Maps and flags

Bilingual greeter

Parent lounge

PIRC Walkthrough

Other??

MAKE A PERSONAL CONNECTION

Home visits

Create a welcome DVD in multiple languages

Create an ambassador program in which students and parents are trained to give tours

Form small focus groups with ELL parents and an interpreter

Ask the parents: How they define their role in their child’s education

What their concerns priorities and hopes are

What kind of events they would like to attend

Obstacles that discourage them from participating

Events where being part of a larger group might make them feel more comfortable.

Take their input seriously and should not be included to rubber stamp school decisions

SHOW THAT YOU VALUE FAMILIES NATIVE LANGUAGES

Encourage native language use at home

Provide training to all staff on the importance of maintaining students’ native language and ways in which they can support students’ bilingual development

Allow students to process in their first language

COMMUNICATING IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Use parent phone trees

Ask parents how they prefer to receive communication

Ask parents which language they prefer

Inform parents they can bring an interpreter

MAKE THE ENROLLMENT PROCESS MANAGEABLE

Obstacles to overcome:

There is no interpreter available

Parents are unaware of services for which they qualify

They don’t understand bussing

They are confused about their rights and their children’s rights

They are reluctant to show any form of identification

School system very different from U.S. system

Mobility

A situation without any schooling

ELL PARENTS NEED TO KNOW THE BASICS

Enrollment procedures

School schedule

Child’s schedule

Attendance policiejs

Bussing and transportation

How breakfast and lunch work

Free and reduced options

Holidays and school closures

Weather delays

Procedures for alterting the school to their child’s medical conditions

MAKE THE ENROLLMENT ACCESSIBLE ALL YEAR LONG

Train staff in how to make the process welcoming all year long

Make sure all information is available all year long

Ask parents who enrolled their children after the beginning of the previous school years what their experience was like and what could have been improved.

PARENT PARTICIPATION

Encourage parents to:

Provide a place where children can do homework

Check that it is completed

Ask children what they learned each day

Ask teachers questions

Keep in regular contact about child’s progress

Learn more about homework help programs

Read and tell stories in their native language.

LOOK FOR WAYS THAT PARENTS CAN PARTICIPATE AND VOLUNTEER

Draw upon their skills and hobbies

Invite parents to speak with their child’s class about their native country, a hobby or their job

Encourage parents to volunteer in the classroom, main office, lunchroom, or library during events or field trips

Start simple such as preparing items for an activity

Bring ELL and non ELL families together through student performances, student culture night, storytelling, workshops, or exhibits

CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE SCHEDULES , LOCATIONS, AND KINDS OF EVENTS

Visit your students’ neighborhoods

Collaborate with apartment complex managers

Plan events in the community

Give parents a few options for meeting times based on teacher availability

Consider contacting parents’ employers about parent schedules or holding conferences close to parents’ workplaces

ENCOURAGE ELL PARENTS TO TAKE ON LEADERSHIP

Consider developing a branch of the PTA for your ELL parents, organized by language.

Sit in on a meeting in another language!

As your ELL parents become more familiar with the school policies and environment, bring them together with the larger PTA

Encourage parents to attend and speak up at school board meetings with an interpreter if needed.

BUILD PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

Consider offering local organizations free space in your school as a way to encourage them to bring their services closer to your families

Invite members from the community to inform parents about their services such as a local librarian, a nurse or firefighter

Ask your families which organizations they think would make good partners for the school community

Ask which issues concern them

Explain to parents that identification will not be checked and they do not need proof of legal residency for a library card.

LOOK FOR THE FUNDING

Toyota- funded 256 family literacy sites in 50 states.

Reading is Fundamental

FirstBook

Verizon

Dollar General

Target

Minority, Latino and at-ristk students with focus on family literacy, parent outreach,

Science and math initiatives

OTHER IDEAS FROM ENGAGING THE FAMILIES OF ELLS

• Calendar of events in their language- St. Louis Public Schools

• Nursery rhymes and american children’s books -h. s. students make up activities for elementary kids and get service credits

• American Culture Night

• Go Green night

• Safety Dads

• Staff friendliness modules- www.advocateforchildren.org

• Mystery Shoppers

• Wordless picture books for parents to tell stories in the native language

• School Garden-plants that reflect different countries with flags from around the world

• International game night, craft night, dance night

• Soccer match

• Café

DO A “WALKABOUT”

In groups of three, “walkabout” from poster to poster, reflecting on and discussing the questions.

Take notes to use in your “action plan”

CREATING A PLAN OF ACTION

Build an A.R.C.

AWARENESS

RESPECT

COMMUNICATION

Parents

Staff Students