Hart Board to review district’s English Learner progress

The William S. Hart Union High School District. Dan Watson/The Signal
The William S. Hart Union High School District. Dan Watson/The Signal
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Data on the English Learners currently enrolled in the William S. Hart Union High School District, as well as information on specific lessons taught to these students, is expected to be discussed at the upcoming Hart District Governing Board meeting Wednesday.

Currently there are 1,728 English Learners who speak 47 different languages in the Hart District, according to the agenda item.  Of these students, 82 percent have been enrolled in U.S. schools for longer than four years, making them Long Term English Learners.

A majority of students speak four native languages, with 22 percent speaking Spanish, 2 percent speaking Korean 1 percent speaking Filipino and 1 percent speaking Arabic.

These English Learners are represented at nearly every high school and junior high school in the district, expect at Academy of the Canyons, with the most at Hart High School and La Mesa Junior High School.

In addition to hearing data about these English Learners, the Governing Board is also expected to hear about the district’s English Language Arts/English Language Development (ELA/ELD) Framework introduced to teachers at the September District-wide minimum day Sept. 14.

During this professional development time, teachers watched a video that addressed various aspects of ELA/ELD learning, focused on promoting English Learners in specific content areas, answered guided questions and reviewed resources available to them.

The teachers also learned about the ELA/ELD Framework which guides the district’s implementation of the California Common Core State Standards in ELA/Literacy and the California ELD standards.

These two standards promote an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to literacy and language instruction that advocates for a range of reading in school and through organized independent reading.

They also reflect research, position multilingualism as a valuable resource, integrate 21st century learning, emphasize the shared responsibility for language instruction among teachers and call for collaboration among educators.

In the Hart District, teachers use two approaches to English Language instruction: Designated ELD and Integrated ELD.

Designated ELD is provided by teachers during a designated time during the school day where they use state standards to form content instruction to develop language critical for content learning in English.

Integrated ELD is provided by all teachers in multiple subjects throughout the school day.  This approach integrates both state standards to ensure that student strengthen their abilities to use English as they learn content through English.

In the Hart District, all sites have Designated ELD support classes where students are enrolled in core content grade level classes.  Ten sites also have support for Long Term English Learners.

Additional Agenda Items

  • Hear a school site report from Hart High School Principal Collyn Nielsen
  • Hear an overview about how the Administrative Council (AdCo) is being utilized as a venue for professional development for principals
  • Hear a technology update from Director of Technology Services Jon Carrino
  • Approve of the District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) March 9 Meeting Minutes where students from various Hart District schools shared presentations of their experiences and learning progress
  • Conduct a public hearing to adopt the Hart District’s initial proposal negotiations with the California School Employee Association (CSEA) Chapter 349 for the 2017-18 School Year
  • Approve of revised board policies and administrative regulations: Contracts; and Financial Reports and Accountability
  • Approve of Chief Administrative Officer job description, who will replace the position of Chief Operations Officer
  • Approve change order No. 2 to Leonida Builders, Inc for Bowman High School Bridge Addition and Fire Alarm Modifications Project totaling $5,210.45 to replace existing fire alarm panel

[email protected]
661-287-5575
On Twitter as @_ChristinaCox_

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