Future CLASS
Future CLASS for Diverse Learners
Primary Objectives
- SIOP Implementation
- TESOL Endorsement
- Technology Integration
- Parent and Multilingual Community Support
Future Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Systems of Supports for Diverse Learners (Future CLASS)
Recognizing the reality of an English Language Learner (ELL) population in Southwest Ohio that that has grown over 250% within the past five years, the Cincinnati Public School District (CPS) and Princeton City Schools (PCS) have joined forces as a consortium, via Straight A Grant Funding, partnering with Xavier University and the Hamilton County Title III Consortium. Future CLASS is providing increased classroom resources for ELL students, professional development for classroom educators to assist them in developing the skills necessary to meet the learning needs of this increasingly diverse student population, reducing spending in the two district’s five year forecast, and further engaging ELL families through shared resources in the classroom, maximizing the consortium’s return on investment.
Cincinnati Public Schools is the third largest school district in Ohio serving approximately 30,000 students and a growing ELL population representing 5.1% of the total student body, hailing from over 100 countries, and speaking 70 different languages.
Princeton City Schools is a diverse community serving approximately 5,000 students, of which over 900 students (20%) represent a quickly growing ELL population. The enrollment represents a diverse ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural student body.
Our consortium recognizes an opportunity to bolster ELL resources for not just one school, or even one district, but across multiple schools for the benefit of thousands of students and their families. We envision creating cross-disciplinary school-wide teams that include the ELL specialist, content-area teachers who teach English language learners, counselors who specialize in the needs of ELLs, key school administrators, and other staff to provide a well-rounded educational experience. We envision supporting these educational teams by offering high quality professional development through SIOP training and TESOL endorsement. We envision providing access to appropriate and readily available resources to engage and serve the parents of this demographic group, many of whom may not speak English.
OUTCOMES
As a result of the integration of the technology resources and the intensive face to face professional development (TESOL & SIOP), the two districts anticipate seeing participating schools outperform non-participating schools, resulting in increases of approximately 10 percentage points for all content areas and all grades on state standardized tests for ELLs as well as a 5 percentage points increase for ALL students from one year to the next. Curriculum-based measurements for oral reading fluency, collected at least 3 times per year on ELLs, will hopefully demonstrate an estimated 20 word-per-minute increase after 10 weeks of high-quality instruction coupled with ELD software.
Read about one teacher’s personal experience teaching ELL students by integrating what she learned through professional development designed to equip classroom instructors with the tools and skills to meet ELL students unique needs through the Future CLASS grant.
Marie “Mireika” Kobyashi, Cincinnati Public Schools ESL Curriculum Manager, was a 2016 EdTech Digest Award finalist in the Leadership category for her work on the Future CLASS Straight A grant. For more information go to Finalists.