Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned A friend of the site sent in this email from bilingual ed, which seems to be saying that AIOs will assign bilinguals rather than having them hired directly by schools. Is that right? Is that legal? Why are they making the change?
Contact Name: Pat Fassos and Ovidio Villarreal
Contact Phone: 773-553-1930
Department: Language and Cultural Education
Summary:
The Office of Language and Cultural Education will be
supporting Bilingual Summer Programs for English
Language Learners (ELLs) who in Fall 2008 will either
continue in transitional bilingual education or
transition into the general program of instruction.
Complete Text:
In collaboration with the Office of Elementary Areas
and Schools, the Office of Language and Cultural
Education will be supporting Bilingual Summer Programs
for English Language Learners (ELLs) who in Fall 2008
will either continue in transitional bilingual
education or transition into the general program of
instruction.
In the past, positions for these programs were given
directly to schools. This year positions will be given
to the Areas to assign to schools. Details regarding
this process will be forthcoming.
Please note that ELLs in benchmark grades who do not
meet the promotion criteria (academics and attendance)
must to the bridge designated elementary and high
schools.
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Fri May 16, 2008 at 3:05 AM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
The office of specialized services handle summer clinicians (nurses, social workers, speech path etc.) assignments for the summer assessment teams and have done so for years. It sounds like language and culture may be moving to a similar, centralized system. I don't know how clinicians are assigned for summer school.
Fri May 16, 2008 at 3:16 AM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
Actually, that is how clinicians who are teacher staff are assigned during the school year. OSS and the area offices assess where the need may be and give assignments. Sounds like the same program coming out of language and culture.
Fri May 16, 2008 at 6:28 AM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
Bilingual ed teachers are classroom teachers, unlike the personnel listed above. This is something that Cynthia Barron has been trying to get for years so that she can have control over the bilingual teachers in multi-school campuses. I'm not sure that's the genesis of this, but it seems likely. I am certain that it would take a change in state law to make this possible, because the teachers are assigned based on ELL/ESL enrollment in a school, not a group of schools. But there are more things in Area 25 than are dreamt of in Springfield.
The problem that this is conceivably designed to solve is uneven ESL/ELL enrollment across schools in a single building. When the bilingual teacher is assigned to only one out of say four schools in a building, then Barron wants to be able to order the teacher to serve all the students in the building. This has actually been implemented through sheer force and terror despite state law. Now there is this rule change to support it, though it too seems to be a violation of the law.
Of course, it's totally unworkable because schools don't schedule together and good bilingual teachers simply quit such impossible positions. Instead of serving students in one school well, this policy results in poor service to all the students in a building.
The problem that this is conceivably designed to solve is uneven ESL/ELL enrollment across schools in a single building. When the bilingual teacher is assigned to only one out of say four schools in a building, then Barron wants to be able to order the teacher to serve all the students in the building. This has actually been implemented through sheer force and terror despite state law. Now there is this rule change to support it, though it too seems to be a violation of the law.
Of course, it's totally unworkable because schools don't schedule together and good bilingual teachers simply quit such impossible positions. Instead of serving students in one school well, this policy results in poor service to all the students in a building.
Fri May 16, 2008 at 8:28 AM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
This what has been happening at LVLHS. Our bilingual is cross schools, so the coordinator/ teacher is torn in 4 different directions. For a school that serves so many Latinos, our ELL program is abysmal.
Fri May 16, 2008 at 1:55 PM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
Don Justice is right about the problems with cross school bilingual at LVLHS. If the bilingual teacher is the one I remember from a few years ago, she's great, but she is totally overworked and pulled too many ways.
(by the way, Don J, I think your other recent post about Little Village was too harsh. I was just over there recently and for all its problems, as far as I can see LVLHS still beats the pants off every other neighborhood high school in the city in every respect, from building cleanliness to keeping kids in school. Maybe you are too close in to know how good you all have it over there.)
(by the way, Don J, I think your other recent post about Little Village was too harsh. I was just over there recently and for all its problems, as far as I can see LVLHS still beats the pants off every other neighborhood high school in the city in every respect, from building cleanliness to keeping kids in school. Maybe you are too close in to know how good you all have it over there.)
Fri May 16, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
There seems to be a misunderstanding about summer school bilingual positions. The AIOs were given a number of positions to place in schools for bilingual support and transition support summer school. It was easier to have the AIOs and staff place the positions in the schools that were open for the summer. The PRINCIPAL still gets to select who works the program. Hope that helps.
Fri May 16, 2008 at 4:02 PM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
The clinicians may not be classroom teachers but the nurses and social workers are responsible for every child in the school; not just in a classroom. The other clinicians have caseloads. Great majorities are assigned to numerous schools including charters. And they are overworked, underpaid and overly stressed and pulled in too many directions. The format is not the most beneficial for the employee or student.
All that said, I can definitely concur with your concern regarding the effectiveness of a teacher serving four schools; even if they are all in the same building. Next, it will be four schools around the region.
There are a lot of city wide teachers, special ed itinerant, clinicians and more, so that practice is probably legal, just not the best practice. Keep us posted on how this progresses.
The more the students of CPS need, the less they get. Hiring more staff across all disciplines instead of stretching those who are already on board sounds like it would be a better solution.
All that said, I can definitely concur with your concern regarding the effectiveness of a teacher serving four schools; even if they are all in the same building. Next, it will be four schools around the region.
There are a lot of city wide teachers, special ed itinerant, clinicians and more, so that practice is probably legal, just not the best practice. Keep us posted on how this progresses.
The more the students of CPS need, the less they get. Hiring more staff across all disciplines instead of stretching those who are already on board sounds like it would be a better solution.
Fri May 16, 2008 at 8:30 PM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
I agree that a bilingual teacher serving more than one school is not the ideal. However, we are a school without a bilingual teacher because we don't meet whatever the board is currently using as a minimum. The school next door doesn't either. However, if we were allowed to pool our students and qualify for a teacher (albeit a shared teacher) wouldn't that be better than the non service the students are receiving now?
Tue May 20, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
It's my understanding that the State will not pay for a bilingual ed teacher on the basis of combined enrollment from schools that don't qualify individually. So the comment by "But..." is about a situation that doesn't exist. Or at least, that doesn't exist legally. The State will provide a bilingual ed teacher to a single school on the basis of minimum qualifying ELL/ESL enrollment. Barron, the AIO of the Small Schools realm, wants to be able to control those state-funded bilingual ed teachers. As far as I know there are no bilingual ed teachers in CPS who are not provided by the state. Given all this, there is not likely to be a situation in which two schools can combine to get a position. The change would have to come at the State level.
Wed May 21, 2008 at 8:31 PM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
They can take a position and redefine it 'bilingual.' We have 20 ELL students at our school, but OLC closed the postion anyway--cheap and they have to pay for thier own department. Our principal is smart though becasue this would put us in noncompliance with the feds and state. A position was redefined for bilingual so that should help our children who speak no or little English and are past 5 th grade.
Although, OLC should be sanctioned by the feds for doing this.
Although, OLC should be sanctioned by the feds for doing this.
Wed May 21, 2008 at 8:45 PM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
So let 19 ELL students go without services and 19 at another school. Why doesn't UNO or maldef do something about this?
Thu May 22, 2008 at 5:51 AM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
A school I used to teach at went through a similar fight with OLC and the AIO. In the end, the bilingual ed teacher was forced to work for the whole building. I'm curious--if your principal redefines a position as bilingual ed, don't you then lose a position in something else? Are you buying it out of discretionary funds? In general, I thought that defining the position as bilingual ed was only possible if there was state funding for it. OLC is a trip, that's for sure.
Fri May 23, 2008 at 11:18 PM
Change In How Bilingual Teachers Are Assigned
he principal had to take away a regular postion to do this. no funds poverty or olc yes, olc is a trip--I wish they woould go on a long one. our bilingual teacher is overworked snd no extra pay for allthe many extra hours she puts in.
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