March 5, 2007
SUMMARY MEETING NOTES
Assembly Bill 2117: English Language Learner Acquisition and Development Pilot Program
Advisory Committee Meeting
February 16, 2007
8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
WestEd
San Francisco Office
730 Harrison Street
San Francisco, California 94107
Advisory Committee Members Present:
Geno Flores, Deputy Superintendent, San Diego City Schools
Don Iglesias, Superintendent, San Jose Unified School District
Elizabeth Horton, English Language Resource Teacher, Lincoln Unified School District
Tricia Lima, English Language Learner Consultant, Stanislaus County Office of Education
Ellen Moir, Executive Director, The New Teacher Center at University of California, Santa Cruz
Monica Ariaz-Soto, Intervention Teacher, Elk Grove Unified School District
Jennifer O’Day, Managing Research Scientist, American Institutes for Research
Sue Stickel, Director of Curriculum and Intervention, Sacramento County Office of Education
Guadalupe Valdes, Professor of Education, Stanford University
Jennifer Galeria, Director, Bilingual Education, Salinas Union High School District (absent)/ Julie Maxwell-Jolly (alternate)
Shelly Spiegel-Coleman, Senior Project Director, Los Angeles County Office of Education (absent)/ Jan Gustafson (alternate)
Consulting Members Present:
Ray Reinhard, Assistant Secretary for Education Policy, Office of the Secretary of Education
Marisol Avina, Consultant, Assembly Committee on Education
Advisory Committee Members Absent:
Patricia Gándara, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
Margaret Gaston, President, The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, Santa Cruz
Kenji Hakuta, Professor, Stanford University
Ellen Hershey, Senior Program Officer, Stuart Foundation, San Francisco
Matthew Alexander, Co-Director, June Jordan School for Equity, San Francisco
Nora Guerra, Public Relations and Community Development Officer, Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, San Jose
Elizabeth Salcido, Principal, Hollydale Elementary School, Paramount Unified School District
Robin Scarcella, Professor, School of Humanities, Program of Academic English/ESL University of California at Irvine
CDE Staff Present:
Gavin Payne, Chief Deputy Superintendent
Veronica Águila, Interim Division Director, Professional Development and Curriculum Support Division
Thomas Lugo, Administrator, Professional Development Unit
Cathy George, Education Programs Consultant, Language Policy & Leadership Office
Lidia Renteria, Education Programs Consultant, Professional Development Unit
WestEd Staff Present:
Aida Walqui, Director, Teacher Professional Development Program, WestEd
Catherine Jovicich Walcott, Director of Strategic Initiatives, WestEd
Jerry Hipps, Project Director, Evaluation Research Program, WestEd
Melissa Eiler White, Senior Policy Associate, WestEd
Legislative Office Staff Present:
Kimberly Rodriguez, Principal Consultant, Assembly Appropriations Committee
Leonore Ehling, Principal Consultant, Assembly Budget Committee
Agenda
Call to Order
Gavin Payne, Chief Deputy Superintendent, California Department of Education (CDE) welcomed advisory committee members and members of the public. Mr. Payne thanked members for their commitment and WestEd for hosting the event. Mr. Payne then provided an overview of the importance of the project and the nature of the work.
Welcome, Introductions and Charge of Advisory Committee
Veronica Águila, Interim Division Director of the Professional Development and Curriculum Support Division of CDE welcomed all participants and invited each person to introduce themselves. Ms. Águila reminded Advisory Committee members that advisory committee meetings must follow the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.
Overview of AB 2117 Legislation
Thomas Lugo, Administrator of the Professional Development Unit of CDE provided a presentation summarizing Assembly Bill (AB) 2117 legislation and its requirements.
Summary of Preliminary Conversations
Aida Walqui, Director of the Teacher Professional Development Program of WestEd provided the group with a brief synopsis of preliminary conversations facilitated by WestEd around AB 2117. Ms. Walqui informed the group that a binder had been developed by WestEd to support preliminary conversations about AB 2117. Ms. Walqui indicated that a copy of the binder could be made available if requested. The binder included a copy of the legislation and background information on four domains essential to the achievement of English learners.
Sample Request for Application
Lidia Renteria, Education Program Consultant from the Professional Development Unit of CDE presented a sample Request for Applications (RFA) and summarized the main components of an RFA.
Gavin Payne reviewed the agenda for the remaining part of the day and asked members for feedback.
Sue Stickel, Director of Curriculum and Intervention, Sacramento County Office of Education, Sacramento, recommended the committee begin with a whole group discussion in order to allow group commentary and follow with subcommittee work. Members agreed.
Mr. Payne facilitated a whole group discussion on determining the indicators for successful practices.
Subcommittee Work:
Advisory Committee members divided into the following two subcommittees to flesh out specific criteria:
- RFA Subcommittee
- Evaluation/Data Subcommittee
The RFA subcommittee focused on criteria and indicators for “best practices,” while the Evaluation/Data group focused on criteria for data and other information to be collected by grantees
RFA Subcommittee
Mr. Payne facilitated the RFA group. Members present included:
- Catherine Jovicich Walcott
- Tom Lugo
- Geno Flores
- Jennifer O’Day
- Jan Gustafson
- Tricia Lima
- Ray Reinhard
- Elizabeth Horton
- Don Iglesias
- Guadalupe Valdés
Also in Attendance:
- Cathy George
- Lidia Renteria
- Melissa Eiler White (Senior Policy Associate, West Ed)
- Kimberly Rodriguez (Principal Consultant Assembly Appropriation Committee)
Synopsis of Discussion:
The general conversation in this subcommittee centered on the question of which measures to consider for the purpose of determining “past success”. The subcommittee discussed the possibility of using the following data to measure past success:
- California English Language Development Test (CELDT)
- Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) I and II
- Academic Performance Index (API)
- Schoolwide API
- English leaner subgroup API
Evaluation/Data Subcommittee
Ms. Águila facilitated the Evaluation Subcommittee. Members present included:
- Sue Stickel
- Ellen Moir
- Monica Ariaz-Soto
- Julie Maxwell-Jolly alternate for Jennifer Galeria
Also in Attendance:
- Catherine Jovicich Walcott
- Jerry Hipps
- Steven Weiss
- Beatriz Ceja (public)
Synopsis of Discussion:
The general discussion for the Evaluation/Data Subcommittee focused on the following questions:
- What is the purpose of the evaluation?
- Which data should be collected for evaluation purposes?
Subcommittee members indicated that the purpose for the evaluation was to (a) validate that promising practices are indeed promising, and (b) better document that a practice is promising. The subcommittee also discussed the importance of asking prospective applicants for the following:
- General description of program,
- Description of actual practice, and
- Outcome data for participating in the program or whole school achievement data
Working Lunch
Reports
Subcommittee reports were presented following the lunch break. Consensus on finite items was not reached.
Next Steps/Adjournment
Mr. Payne indicated that given the need for more discussion on the items relating to the RFA and the Evaluation/Data, a follow-up meeting would be necessary. He asked CDE staff to work on proposing possible dates for the next meeting and collect meeting availability information from advisory committee members. The next advisory committee meeting agenda will be posted on the CDE Web site.
CDE staff was asked to develop and bring to the next meeting an RFA with eligibility criteria, including a weighting system to measure past success, and a rubric that incorporates the description of the “effective practice.”
Any written testimony submitted by members shall be submitted to Thomas Lugo, administrator of the Professional Development Unit of CDE at tlugo@cde.ca.gov.
Mr. Payne thanked members for their feedback and adjourned the meeting.
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814