Understanding and Supporting the Educational Needs of Recently

Arrived Immigrant English Learner Students:

Lessons for State and Local Education Policy

April 24, 2018

Webinar

A summary of the CCSSO Report

Report available online or in print

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https://www.ccsso.org/resource-library/understanding-and-supporting-educational-needs-recently-arrived-immigrant-english

Or google “CCSSO RAIEL”

Agenda

• Context

• Study description

• Main Study Findings

• Q&A

CONTEXT.

Definitions and background

-Recently Arrived English Learners (RAELs; 12 months)

Other terms:

-Immigrant students (3 years)

-Newcomers

In this report we use the termRecently arrived immigrant English Learners (RAIELs).RAIELS are defined as foreign-born students who have been in US schools for up to three academic years and

who, upon entry into US schools, were classified as English learners.

Motivations

• Student population that often has diverse and acute needs.• Insufficient information on who RAIELs are and what their

educational experiences may look like.• A desire at state level for information to inform action.

EL SCASS

Council of Chief State School Officers

PROJECT OVERVIEW.

Research team, partners, motivations.

Researchers and Partners• Co-authors

– Ilana Umansky (PI), UO

– Megan Hopkins, UCSD

– Dafney Blanca Dabach, UW

– Lorna Porter, UO

– Karen Thompson, OSU

– Delia Pompa, MPI

• Graduate research assistants: Kylie Hiemstra,

Hayley Weddle, Peter Bjorkland

• Executive Committee States• Arkansas, California, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah,

Wisconsin

• Alliance States• Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa,

Massachusetts, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington

Research Questions

1. Who are recently arrived immigrant EL students?

2. What are their educational needs?

3. What are promising school, district, and state-level policies and practices to support them?

Report’s Table of Contents

• Executive summary: Main findings from Parts I-III

• Introduction: Key terms, motivation, & background

• Part I: Quantitative descriptive analysis in 2 states

• Part II: Case studies in 6 districts, nationally

• Part III: Interviews with 18 state education agencies

• Conclusion: Cross-section findings

• Bibliography, glossary, methodological appendix

METHODS.

Data sources and research questions

Part I

• With Dr. Karen Thompson (OSU)

• Data:– Student-level data from 2 anonymous states

• State 1: 2013/14 – 2015/16

• State 2: 2012/13 – 2015/16

• Research Questions:– Who are RAIEL students?

– How are RAIELs doing in school?

– How are RAIEL students served in school?

Part II• With Dr. Megan Hopkins (UCSD) and Dr. Dafney Dabach (UW)• Data:

– 6 districts. Sampled by district size, EL concentration, and geographic region.

– Roughly 20-30 interviews per district, including:• 2-6 district staff members• 3-5 school staff members each in 3 schools (aimed for 1 ES, 1 MS, and 1 HS)• Community partners

• Research Questions:– What policies, programs, and resources are in place for RAIEL students

within each school district? – What tensions arise in district and school supports for RAIEL students?

Small (<20K) Medium/Large (>20K)

0-10% EL Midwest South

11-20% EL Midwest Northwest

21%+ EL Northwest West

Part III

• With Lorna Porter (UO) and Delia Pompa (MPI)

• Data: – Interviews with state-level Title III directors (or

equivalent) in 18 states

• Research Questions:– What are the primary functions that state education

agencies (SEAs) assume with regard to supporting the education of RAIEL students?

– What are the main challenges that SEAs face in supporting the education of RAIELs?

– What are some exemplary models of SEA actions in supporting RAIEL education?

KEY FINDINGS.

Main takeaways across the report

1.WE DO NOT YET HAVE SUFFICIENT SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO LEARN ABOUT OUR RAIEL STUDENTS, HOWEVER WE DO KNOW THAT THEY ARE AN EXTRAORDINARILY DIVERSE SET OF STUDENTS

RAIELs come from all over the world

RAIELs enter US schools at all grades

We know little about their circumstances

RAIELs attend schools in traditional and new destinations

Some efforts in place, but no systematic data collection mechanisms

• Of the 18 state EL directors, 10 cited lack of data as a major challenge (unprompted).

• At the district level, some innovations, but largely limited to a few individuals.

2.MOST RAIELS MAKE RAPID PROGRESS BOTH ACADEMICALLY AND IN TERMS OF ENGLISH ACQUISITION, BUT THESE STUDENTS LIKELY NEED TARGETED SUPPORTS FOR WELL OVER 3 YEARS.

English proficiency

Math

English language arts

Graduation

3. RAIELS BENEFIT FROM A CONTINUUM OF SUPPORTS THAT EXTEND BOTH VERTICALLY AND HORIZONTALLY.

Vertical supports reflect services along the full K-12 (and beyond) trajectory.

Horizontal supports expand the types of supports and provision of supports at any given grade level.

3. RAIELS BENEFIT FROM A CONTINUUM OF SUPPORTS THAT EXTEND BOTH VERTICALLY AND HORIZONTALLY.

DISTRICT RAIEL SUPPORTS

Post-Secondary Partnerships

Age-Out Extensions Flexible Graduation

Requirements

PartnershipsInstructional supports

Placement

Transcript Processing

Intake

Programs

Intake

Opportunity to…1. Obtain information about students/families to inform placement

decisions and identify appropriate supports

2. Welcome students and families and facilitate their transition to US schools

“We think big …we know that if we can transition them well, the academics will come along once they’re safe and stable and aren’t fearful of coming to school.”

(RAIEL specialist)

Key tensions:

1. School- or district-based

2. Can be time, resource, staff intensive

Programs & PlacementKey tensions: 1. Degree of integration/separation in

programming2. Competing core needs of RAIELs:

academic, social, psychological, linguistic, and career

“We’ve been dealing for years with kids coming in with no English….

[T]hat has really gotten to the point where we almost yawn. Not a

problem. But the…extent of the low formal schooling combined with the trauma, I think the principals were

saying, ‘We cannot deal with all of this effectively in a traditional high school.’” (School administrator)

Prevalent programs:1. General education/

mainstreaming2. Some pull-out/push-in/

sheltering3. Separate track4. Separate school/program

Programs and Placement (cont.)

District findings matched state findings

ELD

CO

RE

Programs and Placement (cont.)

District findings matched state findings

ELD

CO

RE

Graduation and “Aging Out”

Key Challenges • Age-out policies • Graduation requirements• Post-secondary opportunities• Supporting undocumented youth in

the transition• Addressing “counseling away”

practices

“We need to rethink our graduation and accountability policy, because it works at a great disadvantage for high schools that have newcomers, and newcomer

centers….[I]n our accountability system a school is penalized for not graduating students within that four year cohort. So those are the things that they really do

need to address at the state level.” (State Title III Director)

4. THERE IS NO “ONE SIZE FITS ALL” IN SUPPORTING RAIEL STUDENTS

Diverse Students, Diverse Contexts

• RAIELs are an incredibly diverse student group• Different challenges and capacity at state and district

levels– Low-incidence/High-incidence– Rapid-influx/Steady RAIEL population– Traditional/New immigrant destinations– Small/Large districts– Political context

“I’ve been learning that the cultures and the context of our schools vary so much I don’t think the same approach would work in all settings…. the experiences and the cultures that the kids come from vary so much that the kinds of support that

you can provide for them should be in that context.” (State Title III Director)

Supporting Diverse Contexts

States• Technical assistance and guidance that

focuses on unique RAIEL contexts • District “teaming”

Districts• Student-centered programs• Flexibility and adaptive practices• Relationship-based work

5. FOR THE MOST PART, POLICIES HAVE NOT BEEN CREATED WITH RAIELS IN MIND. IN SOME CASES, THERE IS AN ABSENCE OF POLICY WHERE POLICY IS NEEDED. IN OTHER CASES, EXISTING POLICY CREATES BARRIERS FOR RAIELS.

Policy and RAIELs

• Potential policy voids

– Intake procedures, staffing requirements, transcript translation and credit allocation, trauma-informed care

• Potential policy barriers

– Graduation requirements, age-out policies, school accountability policies

Policy and RAIELs

• Policy adaptation

• Policy making– Testing policy (ESSA)

– Standardized intake procedures

– State definitions for RAIEL student groups

– Individualized learning plans for SLIFE as well as reporting on SLIFE outcomes

6. STATE EDUCATION AGENCIES HAVE IMPORTANT ROLES TO PLAY, BUT OFTEN FEEL UNABLE TO MAXIMIZE THOSE ROLES.

SEA FunctionsState

IDRAEL Policy-

MakingGuidance/Technical

AssistanceFunding Network/

PartnershipCompliance

1 X X X X

2 X X X X

3 X X X X

4 X X X

5 X X X X

6 X X X

7 X X X X

8 X X X X

9 X X X X

10 X X X

11 X X X X

12 X X X X

13 X X X X

14 X X X X

15 X X X X

16 X (SLIFEs) X X X X

17 X (intake) X X X X

18 X X X X

7. DESPITE CHALLENGES, STATES AND DISTRICTS ARE INNOVATING AND ADAPTING TO SUPPORT RAIEL STUDENTS

Promising Innovations and Adaptations

• State level– Establishing networks

– Developing technical guidance

– Critically evaluating policy impacts

– Identifying crucial data needed

• District level– Robust intake systems

– New staffing positions (family focused)

– Adapting to student needs

Q&A

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THANK YOU.