Module 3: Leading for English Language Learner Success

Module 3 Video

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:

• If candidates understand effective programmatic interventions to address ELL. instruction and learning, then they will be able to modify their instructional leadership practices to meet the needs of ELLs.
• If candidates are exposed to high quality ELL content knowledge and leadership strategies then they will modify the school environment to foster ELL success.
• If candidates understand the process of second language development, then they will more effective decisions about organizing schools for ELL success.
• If candidates develop cultural (including linguistic) competence, then they will be able to strengthen community-school relationships.

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,

• Nurture and sustain a culture of trust, learning and high expectations
• Create a rigorous and aligned curricular program
• Supervise and evaluate instruction
• Develop the instructional capacity of staff
• Maximize resources to ensure quality of instruction

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,

• Collect and analyze data and information pertinent to the educational environment
• Promote understanding, appreciation, and use of the community’s diverse cultural, social, and intellectual resources

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,

• Act to influence local, district, state, and national decisions affecting student learning

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:

• Surface assumptions and biases about ELL populations
• Understand how to maximize organizational structures to support ELL learning
• Identify effective strategies to maximize ELL instructional outcomes
• Develop individual and organizational cultural competence
• Apply federal and state mandates that fosters ELL learning
• Integrate practices and understandings that support teacher and ELL learning

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,

• PLE #1: Managing Community Change
• PLE #2: Leading ELL Instruction
• PLE #3: Organizing for ELL Success
• PLE #4: Cultural/Linguistic Competence
• PLE #5: Leadership Development

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.”

• The ELL population is a potential – and unrecognized – source of strength for school leaders.
• The ELL population is a cultural asset to schools.
• Schools do not address the needs of ELL populations in a systematic or system-wide manner.
• Data collection is essential for monitoring the academic progress of ELL 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

• Leading educational organizations
• Theories and practices of supervision 
• Human relations in personnel management
• Supervising instruction and curriculum development
• School law

Social Foundations of Education

• Contemporary educational movements
• The school and society
• Cross-cultural education-comparative perspectives
• Perspectives of multicultural 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.