How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century - Guilderland ...

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Introduction This report results from work in 2004-2005 and 2006 by a committed group of teachers, parents, supervisors and administrators in the Guilderland Central School District. The Foreign Language Early Start Committee met on a monthly basis in 2004-2005 and again in 2006 to meet the following goal: To investigate foreign language instruction at the elementary level and to make recommendations for the teaching of foreign language K-5. In response to an interest expressed by parents and teachers in developing a Foreign Language Early Start (FLES) program, a committee was formed in the spring of 2004. FLES is the commonly used acronym for Foreign Language Early Start. Committee members were selected by PTA’s and the Guilderland Teacher’s Association. In addition to the meetings, individual committee members and subgroups gathered and shared research, visited existing elementary second language programs, and talked with experts in the field. The committee members made site visits to the following schools to observe FLES programs: Bronxville - Westchester County Howe Magnet - Schenectady Montessori Magnet - Albany Edgemont - Westchester County Washingtonville Schools - Connecticut All schools have successful programs and have seen positive impact on language acquisition skills, social and listening skills of children. In the course of its work, the FLES Committee identified essential features of a high quality program. These include: • Clear goals that embrace both high expectations for the development of language skills, as well as the growth of cultural awareness; • Literacy connections between second languages and classroom teachers; and • Strong parental involvement and support. “Learning to speak another’s language means taking one’s place in the human community. It means reaching out to others across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Language is far more than a system to be explained. It is our most important link to the world around us. Language is culture in motion. It is people interacting with people.” Savignon, 1997 This revised 2007 proposal is a response to the Board of Education’s goal and attempts to integrate these features into a program philosophy, design, and budget. 2
Executive Summary • The Guilderland Foreign Language Early Start program in Spanish, will begin in 2007-08 beginning in kindergarten to second grade and will provide both language proficiency and cultural awareness. In the 2008-09 school year the program will be extended to grades 3 to 5. As defined in this report, “proficiency is the ability to effectively communicate in a second language with a native speaker in real-life situations.” (Page 4.) Spanish was chosen because it represents the largest and fastest growing minority in the United States and is considered an unofficial second language. It will not interfere with first language acquisition. • Summer curriculum work in 2007 will focus on the development of learning objectives and knowledge and skill outcomes for students by grade level. Both primary and supplementary instructional materials will also be developed and curriculum maps completed using Rubicon Atlas Software. • The Guilderland FLES program will be a content-coordinated thematic approach designed to enrich the existing elementary curriculum program. It will be based on New York State core curricula and district curriculum in content areas. • Classroom teachers and Spanish teachers will be partners in order to reinforce the learning connections with other language learning experiences. Instruction by the Spanish teacher will occur in the regular classroom with the classroom teacher present. The classroom teacher will not be responsible for children’s assessment in Spanish. Like enrichment, Spanish will not be individually assessed on the progress report. • Effective elementary second language teachers will require knowledge and skills in both early childhood education and Spanish. These positions will require either a combination of elementary education and secondary Spanish certificate, or a secondary Spanish certificate with an elementary extension. • Staff development for both classroom teachers and elementary Spanish teachers will be well planned and supportive, overseen by the Supervisor for Foreign Language and ESL Services. • A systematic program of parent communication, including informational newsletters and presentations will occur. • Program assessment will be ongoing and continuous. • The estimated cost of the program will be approximately $128,060 for the first year. (See budget on page 15.) • The foreign language supervisor has spoken with other schools regarding FLES implementation and its impact on language choice at the middle level. Students in grade 6 will still have a choice. As in other schools, many will choose another language. Currently in sixth grade the breakdown is as follows: 71% in Spanish 23% in French 6% in German 3
Page 2 and 3: Table of Contents FLES Committee Me
Page 6 and 7: Guilderland FLES Philosophy Stateme
Page 8 and 9: programs achieve outcomes that are
Page 10 and 11: New Zealand French >12 Japanese, Ma
Page 12 and 13: Early in the year a presentation wi
Page 14 and 15: FLES Sections 2007-2008 Altamont Gr
Page 16 and 17: This is evident, for example, when
Page 18 and 19: FLES Research, Journal Articles, Pu
Page 20 and 21: Sunday, Dec. 10, 2006 18
Page 22 and 23: "put an enormous premium on creativ
Page 24 and 25: Dershimer's science class began a p
Page 26 and 27: APPENDIX A 24
Page 28 and 29: 4. Next Steps • The committee cam
Page 30 and 31: • We can update budget. • Video
Page 32 and 33: GUILDERLAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
Page 38: APPENDIX B 36

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