Purpose
Leadership preparation programs and faculty are responsible for developing educational leaders who promote the success of English Language Learners. ELLs require special attention in terms of identification of learning needs, development and evaluation of effective instructional programs (including teachers), allocation of necessary resources, and cultural/linguistic competence. School leaders must be able to address these needs while working within district and state policy and accountability mandates. In addition, they must navigate internal and external attitudes, assumptions and politics regarding ELL and immigrant communities. This module will help those preparing school leaders to develop a knowledge base regarding ELL needs and the skills to organize and redistribute school resources and reconfigure school structures to meet those needs.
Theory of Action
This module is guided be several interrelated theories about the needs of aspiring leaders in terms of leading for ELL success:
ISLLC Standards
The ISSLC standards do not directly mention the needs of ELL populations, but rather deal with issues of diversity broadly. This module addresses elements of Standards 2, 4 and 6.
Standard 2: A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.
Specifically,
Standard 4: An education leader promotes the success of every student by collaborating with faculty and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources.
Specifically,
Standard 6: An educational leader promotes the success of every student by understanding, responding to and influencing the political, social, economic, legal and cultural context.
Specifically,
Learning Objectives
The overarching goal of the module is to develop candidates’ mindsets, problem-framing skills and leadership capacities to meet the needs of (1) ELL students, (2) teacher development, and (3) community/organizational sustainability.
In the process candidates will:
Module Contents
The module develops a series of case studies that showcase the leadership experiences of principals who have been successful with ELL populations. The three ELL contexts identified are: a middle school experiencing an increasing ELL population shift, an elementary school in a long-standing ELL community, and a secondary school in a long-standing ELL community.
Case study: Global Middle School
Each case study is divided into five Powerful Learning Experiences that address,
Assumptions
The school leader as the promoter of the success of all students is at the center of the work of faculty in the preparation programs. The focus of this module on ELL leadership is critical to programs that may not give priority to national or regional subgroups of students who are ELLs. This module is aligned to the FIPSE 2010 proposal that is “aimed at strengthening a leader’s ability to support the education and development of low –come and diverse student populations.”
Relevant Courses & Applications
The school leader as the promoter of the success of all students is as the center of the work of faculty in the preparation programs. The focus of this module on ELL leadership is critical to programs that may not give priority to national or regional subgroups of students who are ELLs. This module is aligned to the FIPSE 2010 proposal that is “aimed at strengthening a leader’s ability to support the education and development of low –come and diverse student populations.”
The module is designed to work well in leadership and social foundations courses. It can be delivered as part of traditional face-to-face courses or adapted as an online module for distance learning or on-site courses. The module can also be used in a seminar format as part of a leadership internship activity. In addition, it has adaptability as a service learning activity. The following are some course titles and areas of content that are appropriate for the incorporation of this module:
Educational Leadership
Social Foundations of Education
Teaching Notes
The Teaching Notes provide guidance on purpose of each PLE, related activities, readings, resources, and assessment. In addition each PLE has an Assessment Rubric to help instructors as they implement the module.
Module developers: Mónica Byrne-Jiménez and Eustace Thompson, Hofstra University.