BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Presentation Boston ELL Youth Voices Unite to Build Knowledge, Awareness and Take Action OELL A joint presentation by the BPS ELL Youth Groups and Office of English Language Learners for School Committee May 21, 2014
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Overview Boston ELL Youth Voices Our Stakeholders - Immigrant students, English Language Learners (ELLs) and Former English Language Learners Shared Knowledge - Identified barriers, issues and solutions Creating student awareness - Our work through 2013-2014 - Partnerships Actions - Initiatives
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Our ELL Youth Voices
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Who are we? ● We are BPS youth from different Community Based Organizations, backgrounds and schools. ● Boston is our home. ● We represent our city’s neighborhoods and linguistic diversity. ● We want to be a voice for our immigrant youth and ELLs to have access to a better education and opportunities. ● We support the advancement of all immigrant youth and ELLs through community service and citywide initiatives.
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners ELLs in BPS
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners We represent the issues and concerns of 22,988 BPS students, or 42% of BPS students Total ELL students 15,652 29% 42% 22,988 Total FLEP students 7,336 14% Total “never LEP” 31,178 58% students Total BPS students 54,166 100% Data for K2- 12 as of March 20,2014 from BPS OIIT “allwithtests.xls” file . FLEP = Formerly Limited English Proficient and is used here to refer to students in the 2-year monitoring period and beyond
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners The students we represent speak … * Asterisk indicates language specific ELE program available Data for K2- 12 as of March 20,2014 from BPS OIIT “allwithtests.xls” file .
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Shared Knowledge and Awareness- Identified barriers for BPS ELLs
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Identified barriers... ● Feeling of isolation by ELLs from General Ed Students (types of classes, schedules, and physical locations). ● Lack of student and family access to information , rights, and updates especially in native languages. ● Lack of understanding in how we move up ELD levels or become “FLEP” ● What is the ACCESS test? Why another test ? ● Lack of culturally proficient teachers or trainings so that they can recognize, understand and appreciate who we are. ● Lack of coordination amongst schools around our needs and access to services that will help us succeed.
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Creating awareness - Our Work Through 2013-2014 - Partnerships
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Youth Center Model • Youth (ages 11-18) engage in year-round leadership and education programming • Asian immigrant and Asian American youth • Goal: To equip youth with the life skill competencies to achieve post-secondary success.
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Biliteracy through Leadership • School level: Chinese Immigrant Student Leadership (ChISL) program: – Teacher-identified youth participate in an elective taught by bilingual, bicultural BCNC staff – Address issues of school culture, racism, etc. • Community level: – Bring two populations together to provide workshops for adult learners – School hearings, mayoral forums, etc.
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners School Partnerships • Work closely with Boston Public Schools – District level: Office of English Language Learners • School year afterschool programming • Summer enrichment academy (academic and enrichment) – School level: • Charlestown High School: ELL levels 1-3 in Chinese SEI program • Josiah Quincy Upper School: ELL levels 4-5
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Empowering ELLs • ELL Surveys based from youth voices on ELL Advisory of 2012. • Distributed and collected over 290 surveys. – Initial analysis shows that ELLs are excited for post- secondary plans but are honest in their lack of knowledge or readiness in navigating the college application process. The need for greater involvement with guidance counselors is clear. • ELL youth participated in Superintendent search process, testifying at youth hearing as well as with the search firm.
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Opportunities with OELL • Working with OELL, outreaching, and hosting meetings of community groups. • Video project plan for ESL Institute/ Newcomers Assessment and Counseling Center is great opportunity to use ELL voices empowering others to know the resources and support available in their native language.
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Cultural Proficiency/ Curriculum • Students want to feel like their history is respected. Equally important, students want to learn about their histories. • Youth designed their own series of lesson plans on what they would like to learn, ranging from Cesar Chavez to general Latin American geography and history; researching and teaching back to themselves as from other youth in the community at Roxbury Tenants of Harvard. • Youth art project, #FaceItBoston, put together youth portraits with quotes highlighting the importance of diversity in the classroom and the city. Displayed during SL’s “BIG READ” events.
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners After School Program (ASP) With Support of the BPS Office Of English Language Learners, our After- School Program (ASP) serves 70 East African Boston Public Schools (BPS) students between the ages of 6-19. We enroll those students at risk of falling behind a grade or dropping out and provide them with intensive support in mathematics, English, literacy, science and college preparatory courses. Students come to us as a result of teacher, neighbor or social services agency referrals. ACEDONE has an active relationship with the Hennigan School in Jamaica Plain, including a separate after- school program partially staffed by Boston College students, and it is working with both the Edison K-8 School and the John D. O’Bryant School of Math and Science to develop programming and support for East African students. The ASP is managed by Youth in Charge (YIC), a group of Somali high school and college students who benefitted from ACEDONE’s programs and have returned to give back to their community. Following their training at ACEDONE, the YIC leaders actively mentor the younger children and provide the emotional and cultural support necessary for newcomer East African students to adjust to the American school system.
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Youth In Charge (YIC) ● Youth in Charge is made up of 16 Somali youth leaders who are committed to promoting change for a better future for Somalis around the world. ● They manage ACEDONE’s after school program and meet twice a month to develop responses to issues they see in their community while increasing their visibility as a positive force for change in Boston.
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Civic Engagement Activities • Building new Partnerships with other Immigrant youth groups • Sharing a connection and creating unity within our ELL Youth Groups • ACEDONE joined efforts with Center to Support Immigrant Organizing to plan, lead and participate in the first Immigrant Youth Leadership Summit • Over 60 students, young adults and parents came together this past Saturday to: ‒ Share experiences with BPS ‒ Share challenges they faced as immigrants youth & within their communities ‒ Start a conversation on what initiatives will support change!
BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of English Language Learners Our ELL Youth in Action- SY 2014-2015 Initiatives
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