Promises Fulfilled: A Leader's Guide for Supporting English Learners

English learners (ELs) arrive at school with unique proficiency levels and content competencies, cultural and educational backgrounds, and instructional needs. In this book, the authors share research-based strategies preK–12 administrators and teacher leaders can implement to effectively identify and support ELs. They outline what educators must consider as they renovate their EL program and its instructional components, as well as define the many EL-related terms and concepts teacher leaders must know to make this a reality. Each chapter ends with discussion questions readers should share with staff or team members to promote EL success schoolwide.

Benefits

• Study research that supports the approaches to EL implementation covered in this book.
• Review academic definitions and everyday definitions of key terms for EL services.
• Gain clear guidance on how to communicate and implement expectations for EL teaching, including how teachers can help EL students develop core social-emotional skills.

• Learn how to take a whole-school approach to EL success as you consider the roles of EL coaches and recommendations for observing EL classrooms.
• Discuss key questions with your staff or team for supporting English learning.

Contents

Introduction: Just Who Are My English Learners?

Chapter 1: Requirements for Teaching English Learners

Chapter 2: Instructional Components and Strategies

Chapter 3: Development of Social-Emotional Skills

Chapter 4: Professional Development Components

Chapter 5: Professional Coaching in the Classroom

Chapter 6: Implementation Strategies for Leaders

Chapter 7: Whole-School Approach to Success for ELs (and All Other Students)

Appendix A: WISEcard and Coaching Template

Appendix B: Recommended Books

Margarita Espino Calderón, PhD, is professor emerita and senior research scientist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. She has conducted research, training, and curriculum development for teaching language, reading comprehension, and content knowledge to K-12 English learners. Her work has focused on effective instructional processes, two-way and dual-language programs, teacher learning communities, and professional development for schools with language minority populations and striving adolescent readers. Dr. Calderón's research has been supported by the New York Carnegie Corporation Foundation, US Department of Education, US Department of Labor, National Institutes of Health, and the Texas Education Agency. A native of Juárez, Mexico, Dr. Calderón is a recognized expert in education with more than 100 publications to her credit. She is a respected member of several panels and national committees, and she has been welcomed internationally as a visiting lecturer.

Shawn Slakk, Chief Learning Officer for ABCDS&S Consulting, works with teachers, administrators, school, and state agencies to offer strategies and support for multilingual learners and their classmates, in grades K-12 and adults.

Hector Montenegro, EdD, provides training on instructional strategies for English learners, leadership development for administrators and instructional coaches, and the teacher coaching process through the use of technology. His career as an educator spans four decades and includes service as a secondary mathematics teacher, assistant principal, principal, chief of staff (for Washington, DC, public schools), deputy superintendent for instructional services, area superintendent, and superintendent of schools for three Texas school districts. As the senior district advisor for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a nonprofit organization based in Chicago, Dr. Montenegro provides technical expertise to further advance the science and practice of school-based social and emotional learning. An internationally recognized keynote and motivational speaker who has appeared at conferences, conventions, universities, and schools around the world, Dr. Montenegro has worked with the US embassies in Chile and Peru as a special consultant on education reform. He is the recipient of numerous state and national awards.