Multilingual Student Professional Learning Community
Multilingual Student Professional Learning Community / Dual Language Program Planning Advisory Team
- Purpose
- Basis For Establishment
- Decision-Making Process
- Plan of Work
- Members
- Responsibilities
- Timeline
- Budget Implications
Purpose
- Learn about best practices based on research to start and to center Multilingual Students in the Tukwila School District. This will include a review of the components of Dual Language Programs and the issues affecting the development of K-12 Multilingual Student and dual language programs.
- Make informed decisions to recommend services and models for best implementation of Multilingual Services and Dual Language Program(s) in Tukwila School District for 2022-2023.
- Learn and compare various services delivery options for Multilingual Learners who qualify as English Learners and dual language program design at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
- Develop a timeline that includes planning for program implementation, a system for dual language program professional development, curriculum and materials selection, and an ongoing program evaluation plan.
- Present the recommended Dual Language site and program type, such as school selection, language selection and language allocation plan. Present plans for student recruitment, family outreach, implementation of curriculum and materials, and enrollment procedures to the Superintendent’s cabinet for review and consideration of next steps.
Basis For Establishment
- Dual language programs offer asset-based education that builds strong home-school connections, and they advance identity development by honoring the language of multilingual students’ family/community.
- Research indicates that dual language programs serve to close the opportunity gaps for English Learners more effectively than other program models.
- The Washington State Superintendent has established a vision for serving multilingual learners through two-way dual language programs, beginning in kindergarten and extending through 12th grade available to all Washington State multilingual learners by 2030.
- As a result of the Early Learning and K-12 Dual Language Law (1445 S.SL. c 236), Washington State offers competitive grants to school districts who are developing dual language programs. Tukwila School District received one of these two-year grants for $200,000 to support this work.
Decision-Making Process
- Continue to invite parents of students in Tukwila who receive Multilingual Supports
for participation and ensure the numbers parents are a balanced representation of
the stakeholders group. - Team make up should reflect the stakeholders within the community; parents, community members, teachers, classified staff and administrators. The ideal team will have at least half of the representatives able to advocate for their own Multilingual child.
- Recommendations to the Superintendent’s Cabinet will be made based on research, discussion and input gathered during the process.
- The committee’s members will utilize processes of consensus and input/feedback. We will engage in clear communication among team members and with stake holders regarding the work.
- The work will be consultative with the Department of Teaching and Learning.
- The group will be a recommending body to the superintendent’s cabinet.
Plan of Work
- 2020-2021: Issue call for applications for committee membership.
- August 2021: District-wide multilingual professional learning institute. Formation of Multilingual Learner initiatives and establish Multilingual Student Professional Learning Community Team, in conjunction with various groups across all aspects of the district engaging in a series of yearlong professional learning through small cohort models.
- October 2021-April 2022: The committee meets to determine a chosen site based on our district data, the Guiding Principles of Dual Language Education and Thomas & Collier’s research data. The team will examine Dual Language Program components through reading, research analysis, discussions and learning about other program models in other districts.
- April-May 2022: The committee will continue to work on a draft of the dual language framework document.
- June 2022—The committee will review and submit the framework draft to the superintendent’s cabinet and will continue working on drafting professional learning plans for the summer of 2022.
- September 2022-Opening of the two dual language classrooms at the chosen site.
Members
- Stephanie Chen, Director of English Learners, Early Learning and Elementary Education in Teaching and Learning
- Jan Bolerjack, School board Director of Tukwila School District
- Dual Language Program Consultants from Education Impact Exchange
- Theren Hayes, Instructional Technology Specialist in Teaching and Learning
- Sheryl Havens, School Psychologist of Tukwila School District
- Nicoletta Giorgi, Elementary English Learner Teacher at Cascade View Elementary at TSD
- Grace Saturnino, Elementary General Education Teacher at Cascade View Elementary at TSD
- Binita Dahal, Nepali Family Liaison at Tukwila School District
-
Margaria Perez, Parent in Tukwila School District
-
Lidia Echeverria, Parent in Tukwila School District
-
Felipa Rodriguez , Parent in Tukwila School District
-
Clint Long, Assistant Principal of Foster High School
-
Tenesha Fremstad, Principal of Cascade View Elementary School
-
Gina Allen-Lindsey, Showalter Middle School Special Education Teacher
-
Stephanie Aragon, Elementary General Education Teacher at Cascade View Elementary at TSD
-
Sara Ruiz, Spanish Family Liaison at TSD
-
Brenda Valdovinos, Assistant Teacher at Dual Language Preschool Classroom at TSD
Responsibilities
In addition to representation on the Multilingual Student Professional Learning Community relevant groups will be targeted to solicit input and provide feedback from parents and communities.
- Attend all committee meetings and engage in reflective conversations
- Participate in educational activities and readings
- Gather and share feedback from stakeholder groups
- Interact collaboratively and respectfully with all task force members.
Timeline
Meetings will be held in the following dates for 2021-2022. Members will have the opportunity to continue serving on the Dual Language Advisory Board in year 2022-2023.
- October 13,2021, 3-5 PM
- November 2, 2021, 5-7 PM
- January 4,2022, 5-7 PM
- February 1,2022, 5-7 PM
- March 1,2022, 5-7 PM
- April 5,2022, 5-7 PM