California State University, Long Beach Annual Unit Activities Report

2007-2008 Report
Center For Language Minority Education And Research (CLMER)

Year Established: 1993

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Statement of Mission and Goals:

The Center for Language Minority Education and Research engages in a wide range of services, projects, and research initiatives to promote equity, excellence, and justice for students and families who speak languages other than English in the home. The common goal of the various programs at CLMER is to encourage and develop expertise in creating equity and opportunity for all members of our culturally diverse society. The strategy is to develop leadership that ensures equitable education and systemic changes that support the well-being of children, families, and communities.

The CLMER vision is of a humane multicultural and multilingual society. In achieving that vision, CLMER seeks to collaborate with educators, other social service professionals, and members of the university community who share our vision of a comprehensive approach to expanding opportunities for language-minority populations. CLMER staff works to implement, investigate, and develop new strategies to enhance educational outcomes for these students who have been traditionally under-served in our schools.

The following lenses guide our work:

• Community Learning
• Critical Pedagogy
• Language Acquisition
• Anti-racist Education
• Standards
• Technology

I. UNIT PERFORMANCE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

A. Performance

1) Goals and Objectives: CLMER's goals and objectives are outlined above.

2) Factors Affecting Unit Performance: CLMER engages in interdisciplinary, collaborative programs focusing on issues impacting linguistic minorities. To do this work, CLMER unites its efforts with university faculty, human service agency personnel, community and political leaders, researchers and practitioners, school district personnel, parent groups, businesses and all others who affect the education, social, and economic well-being of diverse background and language minority people. CLMER was established as a self-funded entity within the university. As such, with the exception of financial support for the Executive Director and fiscal management, all activities engaged in by the Center must be funded from CLMER's own development efforts. As more and more federal funding for education is being channeled directly to states and districts rather than dispersed via competitive grant competitions, CLMER has found it necessary to focus a greater share of its development strategy on securing short-term contracts from individual school districts to support its activities. Because district contracts are smaller in scope and shorter in duration, this has resulted in a greater portion of CLMER time being devoted to development activity.

2.1) Campus Agencies and Environment: As a non-profit, non-partisan university-based organization, CLMER is subject to the policies and procedures that govern all university offices and departments. Also, CLMER must observe the financial reporting requirements of the university's Foundation Office since it utilizes the Foundation's Federal Tax Identification number in its external financial matters. As a department within the College of Education, CLMER works to align its financial planning and strategies with those of the college as a whole.

2.2) Outside Agencies and Environment:CLMER projects and programs build on a vision of comprehensive services for linguistically, culturally and ethnically diverse students, families and communities. CLMER project areas include school restructuring and reform, K-Adult education, integrated health and social services, school-home-community collaboration, school-to-work opportunities, minority women's health, educator/social service provider in-service courses and programs, technology integration, university-community collaboration, tolerance initiatives, mentoring, distance learning, partnerships with business, group process/facilitation training and international collaboration on issues of multicultural, multilingual education. Our major services areas include:

• Program Development
• Professional Development
• Research
• Evaluation
• Policy Evaluation, Development, and Advocacy

These services have been provided to a variety of outside agencies and organizations that include, but are not limited to, schools, districts, other educational organizations, social service agencies, communities and businesses. Some of CLMER efforts are funded by federal grants, some are the result of collaborative or cooperative efforts with other organizations/programs, some include sponsorship or co-sponsorship of conferences, and others are the result of fee-based contracts. Some of the CLMER projects and services over the past year are continuing efforts that have been a part of CLMER from its inception. Others represent more recent efforts. The following indicate the unit's current ventures:

ELD Coaching and Modeling Project. CLMER offers an ELD (English Language Development) Coaching and Modeling project for grades K-12 based on a framework for collaborative and critical inquiry. The CLMER coaches provided on-going staff development to partner schools and districts, model lessons, observed individual teachers doing lessons, and provided personal feedback and dialogue immediately following the lesson on best practices and next steps for working with diverse students. Participants gained firsthand experience with the kinds of activities that they can take beyond the coaching exchange to enhance teaching and learning for underserved students. During 2007-2008, CLMER staff coached teachers at Huerta Elementary School (Lennox Elementary School District).

High Quality Minority Teacher Preparation. As a Title II federally funded project under Transition to Teaching, the HQMTP is designed to recruit and prepare potential bilingual candidates to earn a teaching credential in two years or less. Targeted participants include those who have degrees and/or background in math or science and those who are former teachers from Mexico, Vietnam, or another country who possesses a minimum equivalence of a United States B.A. or B.S. degree and high academic proficiency in English. All selected candidates participate in a State-approved credential program, and are placed in a high-need school district after earning their teaching credential. As of 2007-2008, the program has served 157 participants, of whom 126 have received credentials and 126 have been hired as classroom teachers who continue to receive mentoring from the program. The Transition to Teaching (TTT) program has been rated as an "Effective" Federal program by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). An "Effective" rating is the highest rating a program can achieve. Programs rated "Effective" have ambitious goals, achieve results, are well-managed and improve efficiency. TTT is only the sixth ED program to receive the top rating, and the first of its kind (a discretionary program that funds educational services). The project completed its fifth year and is beginning its sixth.

Star Teachers for Students' Academic Success: This project is a partnership between CLMER and the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE). Its focus is to recruit, prepare, and support 75 teachers for alternative education programs, where students desperately need teachers with solid subject matter knowledge, research-proven instructional skills for content and academic English language development, and a strong commitment to ensure the success of the most at-risk student population. During 2007-2008, 14 new participants were recruited, bringing the total number of participants to 54. Of these, 43 have been hired as classroom teachers who receive mentoring from the program. This was the second year of the five-year project, and the project is well on-track towards preparation of the target number of 75 teacher participants overall.

Standards-Based Differentiated ELD Instruction. This CLMER professional development program enables teachers to provide appropriate differentiated ELD instruction at students' assessed language proficiency levels in all types of classroom situations: Elementary, secondary, mainstream, Sheltered English instruction, English as a Second Language, Bilingual, and Two-Way Immersion. CLMER professional development specialists provide on-site coaching and modeling to teacher participants and facilitate the development and implementation of a school-wide ELD program action plan. During 2007-2008, the professional development was conducted at Moffett Elementary School (Lennox Elementary School District) and with the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Institutes were also conducted at conferences such as, California Association for Bilingual Education, with of an attendance of approximately 30 participants.

High Priority School Grant External Evaluators/School Improvement Initiative. CLMER's team of External Evaluators address all criteria specified in the IIUSP legislation to work with schools considering legislation AB961 that funds additional under-performing schools throughout the state. With a series of programs designed by CLMER educational professionals with years of experience as classroom teachers, school and district administrators, educational researchers, board of education members, and university professors, the goal of the initiative is to assist under-performing schools to satisfy policies required by federal administration. During 2007-2008, the project has conducted evaluations of and with the following schools and entities: Reseda High School, Delta Island School District, and the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

Long Beach Collaboration for English Language Learner Success (LBCELLS). LBCELLS is a federally funded Title III project that provides high quality, technology enhanced performance-based certification courses for in-service teachers with coaching and mentoring support to improve teaching practices and learning outcomes for English Language Learners (ELLs) in ABC Unified School District and Whittier Union High School District. During 2007-2008, the evaluation phase of the five-year program, CLMER staff engaged in an investigation of the program's impact on participants' instructional practice.

CSULB Student Internship Project — Tutors In The Schools. This project uses the skills and assistance of CSULB students who qualify for Federal Work Study assistance to further the goals of CLMER projects, and provides mentoring experiences for the students via meaningful work experiences that use and help to develop their multilingual skills, provide basic training in the workplace, motivate and encourage the pursuit of their higher educational goals, and enhance their self-esteem regarding their abilities and potential for career success. Since the Fall of 1994 this project has garnered at least seventy students per semester. Some students are placed in one of seven participating area elementary and middle schools where they work as tutors and translators while others are assigned to the CLMER office to work as computer specialists, research assistants, website designers, and bilingual clerical assistants. During 2007-2008, CLMER, the Center for Community Engagement, and the Long Beach program Better Learning After School Today (LBBLAST) provided an orientation and three-hour training for the 49 work study students working as tutors in schools and after-school programs.

Senate Bill 395 Staff Development. CLMER received approval from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) to offer the SB395 Staff Development Program for teachers of English Learners in 2002. CLMER is the only organization authorized by CCTC to offer this program throughout the Los Angeles basin. The program is designed to help teachers of English Learners in California, especially at the secondary level, to enhance their instructional knowledge and skills to support all students' academic achievement. During 2007-2008, SB 395 sessions were conducted for four cohorts at North Orange County ROP and Montebello ROP.

Willamette Project. CLMER collaborates with the Willamette Education Service District in Oregon on the Rural Willamette Valley Professional Development project. The project is designed to increase the number of certified teachers and paraprofessionals who can effectively provide instruction to English language learners in rural schools. The project, started in 2003, seeks to certify a total of 150 teachers and 230 paraprofessionals with specialized authorization to instruct and serve language minority students. During 2007-2008, the evaluation phase of the five-year program, CLMER staff engaged in an investigation of the program's impact on participants' instructional practice.

B. Accomplishments

1) Publications:

    Goldenberg, C. (2008). Teaching English Language Learners: What the research does—and does not—say. American Educator, 32 (2), 8-23, 42-44.

    Reese, L. & Goldenberg, C. (2008). Community literacy resources and home literacy practices among immigrant Latino families. Marriage and Family Review, 43, 109-139.

    Reese, L., Thompson, S, L. & Goldenberg, C. (2008). Variability in community, home language, and literacy opportunities among Spanish-speaking children. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 29, 271-290.

  In press

    Aguirre-Muñoz, Z., Park, J.E., Amabisca, A., and Boscardin, C. (forthcoming). Developing teacher capacity for serving ELLs' writing instructional needs : A case for systemic functional linguistics. Bilingual Research Journal.

    Goldenberg, C. & Reese, L. (forthcoming). Community and family contexts of oral language development among Spanish-speaking children: A model and some preliminary analyses. In Durgunoglu, A. and Gerber, M. Language learners: Their development and assessment in oral and written language. Guilford.

2) Presentations:

Coleman, R., Goldenberg, C. and Amabisca, A. "Standards-Based Differentiated ELD Instruction (SBDEI) to Improve ELA Acheivement for ELLs." US Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences Annual Conference, June 2008, Washington, DC.

Aguirre-Muñoz, Z. and Amabisca, A. "Adolescent English Learner Development of Knoweldge Display in Writing." American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, March 2008, New York, NY.

Aguirre-Muñoz, Z. and Amabisca, A. "The Development of Point of View in Adolescent English Learner Writing." American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, March 2008, New York, NY.

Goldenberg, C., Coleman, R., Amabisca, A., McKnight, K., and McKnight, P. "Implementation of Standards-Based Differentiated ELD Instruction: Impact on Teaching." American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, March 2008, New York, NY.

Goldenberg, C., Amabisca, A., and Coleman, R. "Standards-Based Differentiated ELD Instruction (SBDEI) to Improve ELA Acheivement for ELLs." US Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences Annual Conference, June 2007, Washington, DC.

Reese, L. "Community Influences on Children's Biliteracy Development: A Synthesis and Reconsideration of Findings from the DELSS Project." Paper presented at the 22nBiennial International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development Meeting, Wurtzburg, Germany, July 13-17, 2008

Reese, L. "Mexican Parents' and Teachers' Literacy Perspectives and Practices: Construction of Cultural Capital." Paper presented at the International Reading Association 22° Congreso Mundial de Lectura, San José, Costa Rica July 28-31, 2008.

Reese, L., Goldenberg, C., Mejía, R. & Ray, A. "Parent education, home literacy environment, and the early reading achievement of urban Mexican children." Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Reading Conference, Austin, December, 2007.

3) Research:

Standards Based ELD Differentiated Instruction to Improve English Language Arts Achievement for ELLS: CLMER received funding from the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Studies (IES) to conduct a two-year evaluation of the Standards Based Differentiated ELD program that was developed by CLMER staff. During 2007-2008, the second year of the project, the research study investigated the implementation of this intensive professional development program at three California elementary schools and its potential impact on grades 2-4 student achievement. CLMER research staff conducted observations and focus groups of a sample of teachers who participated in the training, as well as a sample of teachers from comparison schools not participating in the training. Preliminary findings were presented at the California Association for Bilingual Education conference, American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, and the US Department of Education Institute for Education Sciences conference.

4) Contributions to the University:

CLMER has worked in cooperation with the University and its departments/offices involved in issues that align with CLMER's goals, mission, and vision. One of CLMER's strategic priorities for 2007-2008 was to concentrate on increasing its collaboration efforts with other departments within the university. The following activities illustrate CLMER's collaborative ventures with other CSULB departments/offices during 2007-2008:

• Secondary Teacher Education for English Learner Integration (STEELI): This is a five year National Professional Development Project funded by the U.S. Department of Education for teacher educators and prospective teachers of the Single Subject Credential Program at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) in collaboration with the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) in Los Angeles County and the Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD) in Orange County. The STEELI Project is an innovative collaboration, which includes the Single Subject Credential Program (SSCP), various subject matter departments (e.g., Math, Science, English), the College of Education, and the Center for Language Minority Education and Research, as well as the LEA partners (the two Unified School Districts (K-12) of Long Beach and Garden Grove). The Project focus is on curricular and instructional improvement with two sub-groups. These sub-groups include: (1) higher education faculty and instructors teaching core courses within the SSCP, and (2) prospective teachers in the credential program (teacher candidates).
• California State University, Long Beach and The Villages at Cabrillo: Common Space Unifying Services for the Homeless: CLMER continued its collaboration with the Center for Community Engagement (CCE) by combining efforts to provide support and assistance to the organizations at The Villages at Cabrillo. Located in West Long Beach on a 26-acre former Navy Housing site, the Villages at Cabrillo is a community of emergency, transitional, and subsidized housing for homeless families, individuals, and veterans where they can receive numerous support services provided by U.S. Vets, Inc., Long Beach VA Medical Center, Catholic Charities, Salvation Army, Native American Changing Spirits, Comprehensive Child Development, New Image, GLASS, Long Beach Parks and Recreation, and LBUSD. Together with the CCE, university faculty, and Long Beach Better Learning After School Today (LB BLAST), CLMER will be working with the organizations at Villages to identify opportunities that will help strengthen the community and meet the needs of the people who live there. One focus is to help develop a coordinating infrastructure to connect the independently-run programs to reduce duplication, fill service gaps, and provide a means for agencies to provide more seamless support for the residents they serve. The three-year program, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, also includes plans for the renovation of an existing building on the property that will create a common community space for youth and family programs. CLMER research staff will also be coordinating the program's evaluation.

II. STUDENT AND FACULTY INVOLVEMENT

A. Faculty: With its focus on providing equitable education opportunities for all people, CLMER is committed to encouraging its appropriately credentialed staff to teach University courses and/or provide in-class lectures as requested. In addition we seek to develop productive collaborations with CSULB faculty. University faculty involved in current and prospective projects include: Profs. Leslie Reese and Shuhua An (Dept. of Teacher Education); Chuc Bui (Liberal Arts); Babette Benken, Laura Henriques, Zhonghe Wu, and Myra Pasquier (Natural Sciecnes); Huong Tran Nguyen, Karen Hakim-Butt, and Carol Lord (College of Education); Susan Zwiep (Dept. of Science Education); Linda Mehlbrech and Tri Tran (Liberal Arts).

B. Students: As noted previously, CLMER has participated and supported various on-campus programs that benefit students. Additionally, the unit works vigorously with student clubs, such as the Vietnamese Student Association, the Pilipino Student Association, the Latino Student Union, the Korean Student Association, and the Black Student Union.

III. UNIT ACCOUNTING

A separate document is attached that was generated by CSULB Foundation and outlines the Unit's receivables and expenditures for the Fiscal Year 2007-2008.