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The
project entitled Enhancing Postsecondary Access Opportunities for Limited
English Proficient Students (Dual Participation Program) is based on an
identified need to improve the language skills of limited English proficient
(LEP) high school students to enhance their access to higher education
opportunities. This program addresses
Invitational Priority 3 – Preparation for Postsecondary Education – to prepare
“limited English proficient students for successful participation in college
and other postsecondary education”. The
applicant has the original signed letter of approval from the Superintendent of
Schools of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. MDC also has a “Letter of Cooperative
Agreement” signed with the principal of the G. Holmes
According to 1990
Census of Population and Housing (Public Law 94-171) official data,
The need for intensified English proficiency training and curriculum development for success in post-secondary education was identified by polling students in the Miami-Dade College (MDC) courses of English for Non-native Speakers (ENS). Some LEP high school students graduate without acquiring the necessary language skills to succeed in college level academic courses. As a result of their immersion into the high school environment, they acquire a certain level of English fluency, but this fluency is not equivalent to practical competency in a college-level context. In one MDC class, 12 of 29 ENS students were high school graduates who had been placed in the class because their English was not proficient enough for college level or developmental English courses. This situation forces students to delay their academic and job training when they should be on a par with native speakers upon graduation. Many of the high school graduates completing the program of English for Non-native Speakers then take credit classes taught by bilingual instructors that bolster the students’ confidence to continue academic pursuits. The proposed program enhances services which address the needs of these potential college students, a program is needed so that participants not only graduate from high school but they can linguistically compete with native speakers in applying for access to higher education.
This concern is augmented by the recent state decision to require that the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) be given to all 10th grade LEP students having at least two years of education in an American school. These students may have been exempt from taking the FCAT as a prerequisite to high school graduation. The new requirement will be taken into consideration as one of the elements of the project curriculum so that students who initially failed the FCAT will be able to pass it after participation in the program, graduate from high school, and have equal access to higher education. While the FCAT is given in the tenth (10th) grade, the program will aid those eleventh and twelfth grade students who did not initially pass this required standardized assessment.
In the 1998 – 99 year MDCPS had 186,238 Hispanic students in the school system, making up 52.8% of the total student population. The eleventh and twelfth grades had a total of 36,148 students with a total of 18,233 or 50.4% of them being of Hispanic origin. Since 1984-85 the percentage of Hispanic students in the school system has risen from 39.9% to 52.8%. In 1998 – 99, of the 73,039 foreign born students, 65,595 (89.9%) had a home language other than English. Of those students born in the United States and its territories, 140,905 were students with home languages other than English. Approximately 53,483 foreign-born students had Spanish as their primary/home language (representing 81.5% of all foreign-born students with a home language other than English). Another 119,906 students born in the United States or its territories came from backgrounds where the home language is Spanish. MDCPS statistics show 174,257 students having Spanish as their primary/home language. This is 49.4% of the total student population in the district (352,595). Another 29,413 students have primary/home languages, in descending order, as follows: Haitian Creole (22,776), French (2,138), Portuguese, Cantonese/Zhongwen, Urdu, Russian, Arabic, Jamaican Creole, and Tagalog. The Florida Department of Education profile for MDCPS shows that 44,258 Hispanic students participated in special programs to address limited English proficiency in 1997 – 98. MDCPS reported that 48,749 students participated in a program of English MDCPS has divided the school district into six (6) regions. Region 5 was chosen as the partner for the current project because, according to 1997-98 figures, it has the highest number of Hispanic students (40,035) of any of the regions comprising MDCPS.
G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School (Braddock) was chosen from Region 5 of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools as the school to conduct this pilot demonstration project because it is the high school with the most need. As per the district’s statistical abstract, it has the highest concentration of Hispanic students (4,186 or 80.4% of the student population in 1998 - 99). In the 1997 – 98 year, the dropout rate among Hispanics at Braddock was 6.9% while the dropout rates for White (Non-Hispanics), Black (Non-Hispanics), and Asian students are 5.9%, 1.5% and 4.3%, respectively. In the district, approximately 43.1% of the Hispanic high school dropouts occur in the ninth grade, which is also a higher percentage than that represented by the other ethnic groups. In Braddock 8.1% of the males and 4.6% of the females dropped out.
Longitudinal dropout rates from a cohort of eighth graders in 1992 revealed a total longitudinal dropout rate of 18.3%. The 18.6% longitudinal dropout rate was only surpassed by the 21.8% rate of the Black (Non-Hispanic) group, including Haitian and other non-Hispanic LEP students in addition to African-American students. The impact of language proficiency may play a role in the increased dropout rate among this group. The 1996-97 to 1997-98 figures show that 6.0% of the Hispanic student population was not promoted from one year to the next. Percentage of non-promotion compared to total non-promotion was disproportionate for Pre-kindergarten through Fifth Grade and the Ninth Grade. Tenth through Twelfth Grades seem more stable.
Graduation rates show that on average, 91.1% of the district’s October 1997 twelfth grade membership graduated from high school. The average graduation rate for Hispanics in this category was 92.2%. The MDCPS district conducted a survey of high school seniors to ascertain the number and percent of students planning to continue their education at an institution of higher education (2 or 4 year institution). Of the 860 students responding 75% or 645 of the students stated that they planned to go on to two- or four-year institutions of higher education.
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores are not generally reported by ethnic group and gender, but by school. Comparisons of the tenth graders taking the test show that the targeted school’s mean score is compatible with the mean score for the district and the state. Exemption of this population from the FCAT as a prerequisite for high school graduation does not allow for appropriate comparisons; however, the newly instituted ruling that LEP students with at least two years of high school in an American school will be tested will allow for such comparisons in the future. The need addressed by the current project will have a direct effect on the students’ academic performance as influenced through English language proficiency and parental involvement. While there is no greatly anticipated need for remediation, the curriculum will provide a forum for potential remediation for retaking the FCAT exam so that students who did not pass the test in the 10th grade may pass it when re-evaluated and receive their high school diplomas. The greatest impact of the program will be further replication of the curriculum and methodology that enhances the capacity for LEP students to successfully access and participate in higher education through the acquisition of English language proficiency. The program design will address the planning, implementation, training, parent involvement, support services, and replication of the project.
The project is designed to use the Miami-Dade College English for Non-native Speakers program as a building block for a program that will be contextually appropriate for LEP high school juniors and seniors. The program will provide the framework for enhancing access and participation in higher education through increased English language proficiency, increased parental involvement, and increased study and life skills. Stakeholders in the planning and implementation of the project will be the counseling and instructional staff of G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School, members of the bilingual education staff of the Miami Dade County Public School District Office, faculty and leadership of the Miami-Dade College School of Arts and Letters, ESL/Foreign Language Department faculty, and other resource personnel. The project’s advisory committee, including representation of the groups listed above, will review and adjust the needs to be addressed; identify existing resources for in-kind usage; adjust the curriculum to address linguistic and pre-college skills and goals; refer potential students for assessment; expand parent participation workshops; review results of the instructional program; suggest strategies for continuous improvement of the program; and train colleagues in best practice for replicating program success.
Part of the mission of the project is to empower students and their families while making them responsible for their learning, leading to a positive impact on their education. The program believes in adhering to high standards and in cultivating social, academic, cultural, and citizenship skills. It fosters leadership and interdependence between faculty, staff, students, parents, and collaborating partners. Through participation students will be encouraged to pursue a postsecondary education. They will acquire the skills needed to give them a more level playing field for equitable access to higher education while receiving high school credit for taking these courses as electives.
The following section will outline the project’s major goals, objectives, and outcomes.
GOAL 1 To assure improved academic achievement, including content appropriate for high school students including support for skills assessed in standardized assessments.
Objective 1a To collaborate with local school faculty and district representatives to include essential language skills for academic success at the secondary and postsecondary levels.
Objective 1b To teach general language and communication skills that are essential to academic achievement, using a functional context approach.
Outcome 1a 100% of the student participants needing FCAT remediation who complete level six (6) will pass the language portion of the FCAT by the semester following completion of level six (6).
Outcome 1b 75% of the student participants will improve their academic performance in high school content areas.
GOAL 2 To better prepare LEP students to succeed in higher education through language study.
Objective 2a To develop a curriculum appropriate to high school students that encompasses reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in a context that creates academic and functional competence.
Objective 2b To develop a structured, comprehensive program that addresses academic (language) issues from Objective 2a and support issues such as study skills, time management, career exploration, speakers bureau, mentoring, and other support mechanisms.
Outcome 2a The curriculum in objective 2a will be finalized by the end of year three.
Outcome 2b 75% of the student participants completing level six (6) will pass the CPT and be placed in the credit English program.
Outcome 2c 75% of the student participants completing level five (5) will pass the exit criteria and qualify for level six (6).
GOAL 3 To develop a program of parent workshops and supplementary services referral to increase parental involvement in their children’s education.
Objective 3a To collaboratively develop a parent education program using existing local programs and adding new elements as needed.
Objective 3b To refer participants’ parents to other educational opportunities at MDC through free or low-cost English as a Second Language or to vocational, academic or lifelong learning opportunities.
Objective 3b To refer participants’ parents to appropriate resources such as the local workforce development board’s one-stop centers (WAGES), MDC student and career exploration services, etc.
Outcome 3a 65% of parents will attend at least two workshops.
Outcome 3b At least 50% of participating parents will access referral to other services
Outcome 3b 75% of parents will continue or increase their activity in the school of the student participant and/or take an active interest in the educational advancement of their children.
GOAL 4 To develop and implement professional development for faculty and staff based on the curriculum developed, best practice, and experience within the project.
Objective 4a To form a collaborative group to design the curriculum, share best practice and document teaching experiences and program success.
Objective 4b To create in-service materials based on Objective 4a above.
Objective 4c To give at least one in-service presentation each month.
Objective 4d To give technical assistance for the expansion of the program to more students or other programs.
Outcome4a The creation of a collaboratively built set of materials that include curricular, methodological, and practical issues. This archive will grow from year to year with access by all partners.
Outcome 4b In-service will be offered at least monthly and will serve in excess of 100 participants.
Outcome 4c The program will be replicable by the end of the second year.
The target population can be identified broadly as those LEP juniors and seniors in Braddock Senior High School and/or other Region V high schools within the Miami-Dade County Public School system. Private high schools were also asked to participate in the project via a letter/survey. While the surveys have not come back, those schools responding with interest in the project will be invited to participate in professional development, implementation, and other activities as appropriate.
The project will target those LEP students whose obstacle to academic success or competitive participation in postsecondary education is their limited proficiency in English. Simply stated, “The target population needs to acquire the linguistic and life coping skills that allow equal footing in competing for entry and success in institutions of higher education.” The proposed project provides a rigorous framework of academic and family support activities that will enhance this opportunity for access and success at the postsecondary level.
Intensive English language training will provide the basis for improved academic performance by engraining the fundamentals of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. This rigorous curriculum includes a thorough understanding of language construction in both functional and academic settings. Courses will give specific emphasis to reading in an analytical fashion, writing concise papers, taking notes based on listening, and making oral presentations.
Family support activities will include workshops for participants and their parents. Some of the participant workshop topics will include study skills, time management, setting goals, dealing with obstacles to achievement, public speaking, career exploration, and others. Parent workshops include topics such as being supportive of your child’s education, career and educational opportunities for the family, family financial planning, opportunities for the participating child, and planning for the future. Educational opportunities may include no-cost or low-cost English, basic skills, and/or job training for parents and other family members.
By meeting the academic needs of the student participant and the ancillary needs of the family support system, the project will address the academic learning needs of the student. The workshops will share information in a “hands-on” fashion so that the logical link between challenging curriculum and a bright future are established from the time of the initial orientation.
The student participants will be selected at the end of the 1999 – 2000 school year (pending notice of award). Selection will be limited to 60 participants if all five of the following criteria are met: 1) LEP juniors and seniors who would be achieving better academically if not for the language barrier; 2) referral by counselor or language arts or bilingual education (ESOL) instructor; 3) making a commitment to the program (two-year commitments are encouraged for juniors); 4) placing into levels 5 or 6 in the Michigan and oral interview assessment; and 5) parental agreement to participate in the orientation and two workshops per semester. If the potential participants place at a level lower than level 5, the program curriculum will be adjusted accordingly over the summer months.
The following is an outline of the proposed duties of MDC and the G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School.
MDC Responsibilities:
1) MDC will be responsible for the oversight, supervision, implementation, and evaluation of the grant and its personnel.
2) MDC will provide qualified instructional staff and student materials for the student and parent participants, without charge to the participants.
3) MDC will provide leadership in the development, implementation, evaluation, and reporting of activities of program and will facilitate and lead the advisory, curriculum and staff development, parent training, and other committees formed.
4) MDC will conduct and/or supervise the participant selection process in collaboration with Braddock staff referring students and families to the program.
5) MDC will provide access to student services, laboratories, libraries, and other services for those students studying on the Kendall Campus.
6) MDC will provide speakers and scheduled services for students studying at the Braddock High School.
7) MDC will provide up to five $1,000 stipends (through the grant) for valuable program development projects by qualified staff.
8) MDC will spearhead curriculum and staff development activities related to this project in collaboration with MDCPS and Braddock faculty and staff.
9) MDC will develop a contract for coordination services in exchange for the use of classroom space and on-site support.
G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School (Braddock) Responsibilities
1) Braddock will provide a classroom for up to two hours every day from Monday through Friday. This service is in-kind valued at $7,500.
2) Braddock will collaborate in planning and implementing logistics for transportation, room assignments, and scheduling assessment and orientation.
3) Braddock will encourage instructors to participate in the referral process, program surveys, and professional development training.
4) Braddock faculty and staff will help recruit, identify and enroll at least 60 LEP students meeting the grant criteria for selection.
5) Braddock will consider allowing appropriate consultations during school hours.
6) Braddock will recommend staff whose efforts would benefit program development, implementation, and/or evaluation (paid after school via grant-funded stipend).
7) Braddock will collaborate in searching for alternative funding sources of transportation.
8) Juniors, taught on the Braddock campus, will receive one elective credit toward high school graduation.
9) Seniors, taught at the Kendall Campus, will receive two elective credits toward high school graduation.
High school juniors will be taught on the G. Holmes Braddock Sr. High School campus and will receive one high school credit for the hour course of instruction. Career exploration and other student services will be provided on campus by the MDC student services department as per the Dade Partners Partnership Proposal (on file at applicant site). The MDC instructional staff and the project director will facilitate these activities via the Dean of Students at the Kendall Campus. The incentive for making a two-year commitment is that participating high school seniors will be taught at the MDC Kendall Campus and have access to the laboratories and facilities available to the credit students. The balance of incentives takes into consideration the issues of student course electives, transportation, and program incentive. The senior program will be 1.25 hours per day and will receive two high school credits. Since seniors have more electives to select (4 versus 2 by juniors), it is logical for the intensity to increase. Being closer to graduation, the direct contact with college students and direct services will enhance the motivation to become more competitive in striving to qualify for entry into postsecondary education. The grant will initially pay for bus transportation from the high school to the college for the last two periods of the day. The bus service will then leave the college at the same hour they would have left the high school and deliver them to their homes. As discussed with some school personnel, transportation may later be reviewed as a potential cost center for the partner school district.
Language courses will be very intensive and will incorporate elements required of the FCAT and language arts courses. At this point, they cannot supplant the required language arts courses, though this will be proposed through the proper channels for review over the duration of the grant. The courses developed will use materials appropriate for high school students, but will parallel the current English for Non-native Speakers courses as much as possible. The course descriptions for these programs are geared toward both common usage and college skills preparation. In the fall semester each participant will take two courses: Grammar and Speech. In the spring they will take Reading and Writing. The Level 5 courses review basic grammar, reading, writing and speaking skills and develop discussion and speech production skills, writing using techniques such as persuasion and cause and effect, and analytical reading skills such as summarizing and outlining. Level 6 is focused toward preparing students for college academic work. These courses focus on advanced grammar usage; listening to lectures, taking notes, making presentations, and participating in academic discussions; writing comprehensive essays and compositions; and critical reading skills including comprehension of figurative language, recognizing implied ideas, and evaluating authors’ conclusions and credibility.
The project calls for the creation of a partnership within the ESL/FL Department. The advisory committee will encourage collaboration with other ESL faculty members, as well as with public school teachers, who will provide input and also develop the various components of the Dual Participation Curriculum. The strategies and implementation guidelines for this program will have been constructed on the experiences, insights and wisdom of our teachers. This sharing of strategies and successful practice will enrich the teaching skills of the instructional staff, inform counseling and support staff of how they can enhance the students’ learning environment, and benefit the student through the implementation of these methods.
MDC is committed to use its existing resources and allocate the necessary funds to maintain a continuous future offering of the proposed Dual Participation Program, in a similar manner to the English for Non-native Speakers program that has been successfully offered for the last forty years. Students whose families qualify for public assistance may qualify for WAGES federal assistance for this training. Parents may also pay for the courses, or the students may qualify for different types scholarships or grants. The program will thus continue to be offered at the community college while the successful practices are shared with the regional school system (MDCPS) and other sites wishing to replicate the program.
It is the goal of the proposed project to have the partner institutions adopt and implement the curriculum, methodologies, and strategies, through classroom activities and through auxiliary services to LEP students’ families. In this case, the instruction would become an integral part of the senior high school approved curriculum. This integration of the enhanced college-bound curriculum will impact on thousands of area youth. As a support mechanism to this scenario of perpetuating the program beyond the grant-funding period, we should mention the current partnership between Miami-Dade College (Kendall Campus) and Braddock Sr. High School. The two institutions have entered into a Dade Partners Partnership Proposal supporting the Districts Goals of student achievement/preparation for post-secondary experiences; reading/language arts; bilingualism; multicultural education; an effective learning environment, and professional staff and practices.
The school-based, work-based, and connecting activities outlined in the agreement show a commitment on the part of the two educational entities to collaborate for the improved performance of the educational system for the benefit of its students. With the level of commitment shown through the attached letters of commitment, it is logical that the program will not only outlive the federal funding period, but that it will expand as a model which will strengthen service to K-12 students and their families.
The English for Non-native Speakers program of MDC and the proposed project will operate under the auspices of the Kendall Campus ESL & Foreign Language Department. Collaboration and input will be forthcoming from this MDC department as well as the bilingual education and ESOL personnel at the MDCPS district and school levels. This interaction between secondary and post-secondary experts will lead to improved program outcomes through adjustments in each of the services outlined on page 19, below. To our knowledge, there is no program currently running which provides these services as a community college/school system partnership. As we find other entities providing similar services, we will establish an exchange of information to further refine the operation of the project.
Parental involvement is an essential component of a student’s school life. By empowering parents to become proactive in their children’s school life, they will gain valuable insight into the educational system, develop greater understanding of their children’s school needs, and uncover practical ways in which they can assist their children’s learning. The Dual Participation Program calls for an agreement by all involved partners. The program’s objectives for parents include increasing communication between the student, parent, and instructors, and developing parents’ understanding of the program goals. In addition to actively assisting their children to become academically successful, the member parents will themselves be encouraged to partake in the various programs offered at MDC for professional and/or personal growth. The parents’ enhanced understanding of their role in their children’s education, success in their own educational or exploratory pursuits, and their child’s success in the Dual Participation Program will encourage parents to increase their direct involvement in their children’s academic success. These parents will use the principles learned with their younger children or grandchildren in addition to the child participating in the project.
MDC is committed to the premise of equal access/equal opportunity. MDC strongly supports the open door mission to provide educational opportunities to all who can benefit from them. Linkages with WAGES, ESL departments, and other partnerships will assure that special populations will be included in the recruitment process. MDC will make all reasonable accommodations for physically challenged students who need special assistance and equipment; i.e. special magnifiers, keyboards and computer monitors; sign language interpreters; and wheelchair accessibility in labs.
MDC consists of a student population that is 61% Hispanic, 21% African American, and 15% White. MDC is the top minority-serving postsecondary institution in the nation, making MDC the perfect location to attract such students to the program. These demographics and the announced completion and Computer Placement Test (CPT) passing rates (82% and 94% respectively) for the related English for Non-native Speakers program make it highly likely that the new program will have similar placement success of special populations via local MDCPS Region V partnerships and the Dual Participation Program.
The services to be rendered include:
1) Outreach to the individuals and families of the identified target population
2) Family commitment, student assessment, and teacher/counselor referral as pre-requisite for program participation
3) Orientation and renewed commitment – providing hands-on activities to consolidate benefits of the program and anticipated expectations on the part of program staff and the participating families
4) Intensive English language training for student participants
5) Referral of parents and siblings to instructional and other services
6) Interactive workshops for students on topics of goal setting, career exploration, time management and other life and pre-college skills
7) Parental workshops regarding their own possibilities through existing resources and how parental involvement and self-betterment encourages and empowers their children to take full advantage of secondary and postsecondary educational opportunities
8) Curriculum development and training to replicate instructional models to other sites
Each of these services is designed to directly impact the targeted student who would have equal (competitive) access to higher education if they had adequate competency in English language usage.
Improved practice through collaboration and professional training pervades the Dual Participation Program. The program planning and implementation is centered around the collaboration of the appropriate personnel from the partner organizations: Miami-Dade College, the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School. The curriculum and methodology will start with the personal experience and success of the project director and build on the experience of the curriculum workgroup. The sharing of expertise, methodology, materials, and insights will lead to adjustments in the initial course curriculum.
The project director will spearhead the initial professional training efforts, including training built on strategies proven to be successful among postsecondary LEP students. As the curriculum takes on new forms and new issues are identified, presentations will be made by program instructional staff, the curriculum developer, counselors, and other partners to illustrate the better practice discovered throughout the implementation of the program.
These shared experiences and observations will lead to a number of results, which may include changes in instruction operations and learning outcomes such as: 1) changes in the program curriculum; 2) changes in training participants’ curriculum; and 3) changes in training participants’ teaching strategies.
The modification or reaffirmation of existing programs will lead to: 1) changes in student attitude toward education through goal setting and support mechanisms; 2) increase in parental involvement as a result of their own participation in educational activities and empowerment through acquiring mentoring and supportive behavior skills; 3) academic improvement of participating students, without need for ESOL at the college level, due to increased language ability, improved study habits, goals which focus on the future, in addition to family and institutional support structures; and 4) for those not passing the FCAT exam in the 10th grade, complete remediation of language-based obstacles to passing the FCAT. The existing rigorous criteria of the FCAT re-exam, graduation rate and the CPT given at the community college, will be used to validate the outcomes. It will also show where emphasis should be placed for the project in the future and will act as a catalyst for change within the program.
This intense program has the announced goal of enhancing postsecondary access opportunity through English language study. Therefore, the program will focus entirely on the improvement of English, study, and other skills necessary to successful access and participation in higher education.
MDC is committed to the premise of equal access/equal opportunity. Outreach to underrepresented groups will be accomplished through the use of local publications and the college’s human resources web page. While instruction at the proposed level of English will be conducted in English, it is important for all project staff to be literate in Spanish in order to maintain effective communication with any family members that may also be limited English proficient.
Qualifications, training, and experience of the project director.
The project director must meet all requirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools including having a master’s degree and at least 18 graduate hours in Teaching English as a Second (Foreign) Language or similar area. The project director must also have instructional, curriculum development, professional development training and project leadership experience. Ms. Elizabeth Calzadilla-Wiegandt will be the project director for the proposed project. She has a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics from Queens College (CUNY) and is a doctoral candidate in the field of Educational Technology at Nova Southeastern University. She has eleven years of ESOL and/or Bilingual Education experience with children, more than ten years of ESOL experience at the postsecondary level, and at least three years of teacher training experience as well as skills in curriculum development and use of technology in education.
Qualifications,
training, and experience of the key project personnel
Requirements for all staff in the Dual Participation Program will include being bi-literate – Spanish and English - having excellent communication, written skills, and social skills, being able to function in a multiethnic, multicultural environment. Instructional staff must possess the appropriate degrees and three years of experience in teaching English to LEP students. The curriculum developer must possess the education and experience required of the instructional staff and must also have experience in creating instructional programs for LEP students, especially in the area of contextual-based language programs.
Any support staff
must also be bilingual and have a minimum of a two-year degree, and three years
experience in an academic setting in addition to the technical skills to
perform the functions of the position.
ADEQUACY
OF RESOURCES, REASONABLENESS OF COSTS, AND POST-FUNDING CAPACITY
As indicated in the budget narrative, the program will fund a full-time project director, a full-time support staff position, a part-time (30 hours per week) curriculum developer, and instructional staff that will allow for a 20:1 student to teacher ratio. Grant funds will also buy textbooks and supplies for the students.
Instructional space is being provided, in-kind, by Braddock Senior High School for the eleventh grade students and by MDC for the twelfth grade students. No tuition is being charged to the students for use of the college’s facilities. This is a pilot program that will continue to be offered upon completion of the funding period. Students will also have access to the MDC writing and listening laboratories in support of classroom instruction. MDC will also provide student services to participants as per college policy and the Dade Partners Partnership Proposal outlined above. While the project director will provide front line supervision of the project, the project will also rely on the oversight of the ESL & Foreign Language Department Chairperson and the Associate Dean of Arts and Letters. Through the MDC district and campus offices, the program will receive support from the internal auditing, payroll, human resources, learning resources center, media center and other services available to all of the authorized activities at the college.
Reasonableness
of Costs Related to Objectives and Outcomes
The costs of the program are reasonable in relation to the objectives and outcomes of the project because of the many ways that the Dual Participation Program impacts the K-14 educational system. The program not only addresses student achievement at the high school level, but the issues of equity in access and transition from secondary to post-secondary education. The impact of the program can go far beyond the students receiving services in this program, but will extend to a larger group as the model is refined and replicated.
The purpose of the proposed project is to create a model for replication that will not require the continued expenses of curriculum development and constant, intensive re-evaluation. The great impact of this project will be the broad-based implementation of the intensive curriculum, practices, and associated materials. This model will be ready for replication by the end of the second full year of operation. The fully developed plan will reduce the costs to other entities as well as the expansion of the program at MDC. The project has the potential to impact all of the future LEP students at G. Holmes Braddock High School, Region V, and the entire district.
The requested budget of $175,000 would indicate a cost of $2,917 for each of the sixty students participating in the program annually; however, it is important to note that this amount includes the costs of development, implementation, evaluation, continuous improvement, professional training, and support for replication. As mentioned above, the effects of this pilot program will be far-reaching.
Continued support for the program after the federal funding ends will take four forms: 1) non-credit course offerings by MDC for tuition-based funding (with access to funding sources available to this population; 2) adoption of the model by area school district(s) with implementation through the high schools or under contract to the community college; 3) continuation of the model through replication initiated by the professional training and technical assistance of the project staff during the grant-funded period; 4) continuation of the model through cross-training of ESOL and bilingual education staff for future replication of the model. The program’s infrastructure cost may be reduced through partnerships with Braddock Senior High School and the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. If the program is approved to take the place of the language arts requirements, there would be additional incentives to investigate the possibility of creative funding mechanisms. With the success of the program, the school system may also be able to provide transportation support for the program while the college provides student services and work-related support for the joint effort.
Achieving the objectives on time
and within budget
The following chart gives a list of activities, responsible agent(s) and due dates based on activities that must occur before the grant is awarded, after it is awarded but before implementation, and upon implementation. It is assumed that funds from the grant will be available for use by July 1, 2000. Any other scenario would require a corresponding adjustment to other due dates.
I. Activities before the Grant Award Responsible Agent(s) Due Date
Survey Principal(s) & Interested Faculty Project Director (Dir.) Feb. 28, 2000
Create Advisory Committee (AC) Dir. Mar. 15, 2000
Create Curriculum & Staff Dev. Committee (CSDC) Dir. & AC Mar. 30, 2000
Create Parent Training Committee (PTC) Dir. & AC Mar. 30, 2000
Establish student selection/operational criteria Dir. & AC Mar. 30, 2000
Develop Logistics with MDC & School(s) Dir. & Principal(s) Mar. 30, 2000
Gather, review, select resources Dir. & CSDC April 15, 2000
II. Grant Award – April 30, 2000
Begin student outreach Dir. & School Staff May 1, 2000
Student Referral/Assessment/Commitment/Acceptance
Dir., Teacher, Counselors May 10, 2000
Student/Family Orientation, Tours, and Registration Dir. & Student Serv. May 21, 2000
Establish Parent Issues Committee Dir., PTC & Parents May 21, 2000
Recruit & Select Staff Date (effective 7/1/00) Dir. & MDC staff June 7, 2000
III. Funding Availability ***************************** July 1, 2000
IV. Pre-implementation Activities ******************************************
Finalize Curriculum Development CSDC & AC July 25, 2000
Professional Development – Curriculum CSDC & Dir. August 10, 2000
Parent Workshop Outline Complete PTC August 10, 2000
Establish Parent/Student hotline Dir. August 10, 2000
V. Implementation Activities ***********************************************
Classes begin Instructors same as MDCPS
Goal setting and life skills presentations MDC student services two per month
VI. Ongoing Activities *****************************************************
1) CSDC monthly meetings – hopefully corresponding to teacher workdays
2) Advisory Committee meets once a quarter to review program and suggest improvements based on program evaluation
3) Parent Workshop Committee meets once every two months
4) Program evaluation – teacher monthly reports, student evaluations once a semester, surveys to partner staff every eight weeks, at every orientation and training session
5) Parent Workshops – at least two per semester
6) Parent Issues Committee meets at least once each semester
The project director will dedicate her time to the ongoing coordination of the three major committees as they collaborate and guide the development and review of the program. She will also teach two of the classes each semester to help pilot and evaluate the curriculum content and implementation. Since her duties for the current year will be satisfied by the end of June 2000, the project director will be able to dedicate herself to preliminary activities prior to the beginning of the funding period. In order for the project classes to correspond to the school district schedule, the funding should be in place at least two months before the first projected day of class. If this is not feasible, the time line will have to be readjusted. Curriculum and instructional specialists will be hired to start on the first day that funding is available and will have the intervening time to assist the project director with the program startup. Technical and administrative support will also be forthcoming from the ESL & Foreign Language Department and the office of the Division of Arts and Letters of MDC’s Kendall Campus.
The Plan will be developed and implemented under the leadership of the Project Director, Elizabeth Wiegandt. The Project Director will create and lead the collaborative groups that will develop and carry out the objectives of the project. The Project Director will also teach two of the program’s classes during each fall and spring semester. The support staff member will be assigned full time for the project. The curriculum developer will be assigned on a 40% part-time basis in the first year and the adjunct faculty will prepare and teach classes of approximately twenty students for each class assigned. The program specialist will act as a support staff person who also has responsibilities for scheduling, communications with committee members, program staff, partner organizations, parents, and students. This person should be familiar with ESOL, be bilingual and able to refer and counsel students and parents on a number of issues
Feedback will be solicited from all stakeholders in the program. The project director will review the feedback as it is turned in and take appropriate action on issues that require immediate adjustments to project operations. Issues needing investigation or group assessment will be assigned to the appropriate personnel for follow-up, reporting, and recommendations within a month of the issue’s emergence. Quarterly advisory committee meetings will address the future implementation of issues regarding expansion of resources or partnerships. Feedback is a part of the project evaluation and includes periodic student evaluation of teacher and program, school partner assessment of the recruitment, placement, and selection process, school partner, parent, and student evaluation of orientation and workshop sessions, and a mechanism for anonymous suggestions.
Evaluation of the project will be both formative and summative. A cyclical approach to evaluation will employ the ongoing review of both participants and program elements in both quantitative and qualitative manners. The periodic review of these observations will allow for continuous improvement of the program and ensure stakeholders of the greatest outcomes possible.
Student participants will be evaluated at various points in the program. Prior to mutual selection into the program, students will be assessed by the use of the Michigan Test and oral interview. The Michigan Test has been used in the placement of credit and non-credit students in MDC English language programs for many years. The oral interview portion of the evaluation assures the program staff that content knowledge and performance indicates an appropriate placement of the student. Once the student is placed into a particular level, the instructor will create a student portfolio where work product, goals, career exploration, writing samples, tests, and other learner-centered evidence of student progress will be archived and available for the students’ self-assessment. Course completion will be determined by rigorous “end of level” written and/or oral evaluations used by MDC.
Feedback from the students’ home school will indicate academic performance in content areas, comparing current grades with those of previous years. To the extent that the school district and/or the school will analyze and/or release findings on a subsection of a school population, the program will compare the new FCAT performance with that of other nonlimited English proficient youth. It will also make comparisons in terms of retention, academic achievement and gains in English. Where possible, the gains of participants will also be compared to limited English proficient youths not in the program.
Curriculum development will be conducted collaboratively and will include input from 11th and 12th grade instructional staff, school district level curriculum developers, and representatives of the bilingual education department of the school district. A checklist of language arts elements will be used to evaluate the content of the program. Since the program will not supplant the current, required language arts classes, some elements may be covered tangentially. After initial adoption of the curriculum by the Curriculum and Staff Development Committee (CSDC) and the Advisory Committee, these groups will review the curriculum at least twice per year in light of the student outcomes achieved.
The Chairperson of the ESL & Foreign Language Department, the Project Director, and the Advisory Committee will review the program management formally twice a year. While the department chairperson will have weekly and monthly contact with the project to guide it, the major review of internal and partnership interaction and program management will be conducted based on classroom visitations, student attendance, surveys, student assessment of the program, workshop evaluations, and other feedback received throughout the period.
Staff development will be evaluated based upon anonymous evaluations that speak to the quality of the content and presentation, value of the workshop, suggestions for improvement, and comments regarding strengths, other topics of interest, requests for additional support, etc. As the program progresses into the second year, the CSDC will develop a survey of interest and need where teachers, counselors, administrators and others can evaluate their own strengths and need for professional development in the areas of equal access, language acquisition, its effect on academic performance, transition to post-secondary education, and other topics.
Language instruction is evaluated based on the observation of the teachers’ use of appropriate classroom strategies to make the experience learner-centered and accelerated. Student outcomes measured in terms of attendance, retention, work product and performance on exit exams and standardized tests will be the measure of success of language instruction. The project director will survey students regarding the quality and content of the class, textbooks, support services, laboratories, and instructor. These measures will provide information for continuous improvement of the program.
During the program, parents will also have access to no-cost or low-cost English language and adult basic education classes. They will have access to at least four workshops per school year. Parents will assess the activities in which they participate.
All of this evaluative information ties together the language instruction, life skills, and support services provided by MDC. The evaluation and reporting shows the impact on the student and his/her parent(s). The impact goes beyond the success in the language classroom to improved academic performance, career planning, and strengthening the education support mechanism of the family.
Evaluation occurs periodically: 1) orientation and workshops (parent, students, and professional development) are evaluated immediately; 2) student and parent needs are assessed at orientation; 3) students are evaluated (formally or informally) weekly; 4) teachers are evaluated monthly; 5) curriculum is evaluated twice per year; 6) student academic performance is assessed quarterly; and 7) students assess materials, instructors, and program once a semester. This information is used for continuous improvement. Many suggestions can be quickly implemented and complaints addressed almost immediately. Others take the collaboration of the Curriculum and Staff Development Committee or other experts.
The final evaluations of years one and two will serve as guides for replicating the program. The form of the evaluation will set out a narrative summary of the activities of the program. Year one will identify the partners and makeup of the various committees, their duties, and the outcomes of their activities along with the time it took to achieve the outcomes. The summary will describe an outline of the implementation procedure, steps taken for review of program, professional development activities and student outcomes as indicated above. This reporting of formative and summative outcomes will help other programs plan for issues that may occur. The replication information will also identify strengths, areas for improvement, opportunities, and obstacles to success in various scenarios. This type of documentation, along with the technical assistance available through the third year professional development priority for replication, will assist the continued expansion of the proposed project to other providers.