English Language Acquisition & Develop Pilot
April 12, 2007
SUMMARY MEETING NOTES
Assembly Bill 2117: English Language Learner Acquisition and Development Pilot Program
Advisory Committee Meeting
March 22, 2007
8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Principal Location:
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
2121 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Advisory Committee Members Present:
Margaret Gaston, President, The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, Santa Cruz
Kenji Hakuta, Professor, Stanford University, Santa Clara
Ellen Hershey, Senior Program Officer, Stuart Foundation, San Francisco
Elizabeth Horton, English Language Resource Teacher, Lincoln Unified School District
Don Iglesias, Superintendent, San Jose Unified School District
Tricia Lima, English Language Learner Consultant, Stanislaus County Office of Education (absent)/ Alane Vaughn (alternate)
Jennifer O’Day, Managing Research Scientist, American Institutes for Research
Robin Scarcella, Professor, School of Humanities, Program of Academic English/ESL University of California at Irvine
Sue Stickel, Director of Curriculum and Intervention, Sacramento County Office of Education
Shelley Spiegel Coleman, Senior Project Director, Los Angeles County Office of Education
Advisory Committee Members Absent:
Matthew Alexander, Co-Director, June Jordan School for Equity, San Francisco
Monica Ariaz-Soto, Intervention Teacher, Elk Grove Unified School District
Geno Flores, Deputy Superintendent, San Diego City Schools
Patricia Gándara, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
Jennifer Galeria, Director, Bilingual Education, Salinas Union High School District
Ellen Moir, Executive Director, The New Teacher Center at University of California, Santa Cruz
Nora Guerra, Public Relations and Community Development Officer, Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, San Jose
Guadalupe Valdes, Professor of Education, Stanford University
Elizabeth Salcido, Principal, Hollydale Elementary School, Paramount Unified School District, Paramount
Consulting Members Present:
Ray Reinhard, Assistant Secretary for Education Policy, California Office of Secretary of Education
California Department of Education Staff Present:
Gavin Payne, Chief Deputy Superintendent
Pat McCabe, Director, Policy & Evaluation Division
Phil La Fontaine, Interim Division Director, Professional Development & Curriculum Support Division
Thomas Lugo, Administrator, Professional Development Unit
Lidia Renteria, Education Programs Consultant, Professional Development Unit
Roxane Fidler, Education Programs Consultant, Professional Development Unit
Cathy George, Education Programs Consultant, Language Policy & Leadership Office
Terry Westover, Education Research & Evaluation Consultant, Policy & Evaluation Division
WestEd Staff Present:
Aida Walqui, Director, Teacher Professional Development Program, WestEd
Catherine Jovicich Walcott, Director of Strategic Initiatives, WestEd
Leslie Hamburger, Senior Program Associate, Teacher Professional Development Program, WestEd
Call to Order
Gavin Payne, Chief Deputy Superintendent of the California Department of Education (CDE) opened the meeting with a welcome to all advisory committee members, staff from CDE and WestEd, and members of the public. Advisory committee members introduced themselves.
Welcome, Introductions and Charge of Advisory Committee
Phil Lafontaine, Interim Division Director of the Professional Development and Curriculum Support Division of the CDE welcomed all members and thanked them for their commitment to the program. Advisory committee members were reminded of Bagley-Keene requirements. The charge of the advisory committee was presented.
Revision of Timeline of Activities
Thomas Lugo, Administrator of the Professional Development Unit of the CDE presented a proposed timeline for the implementation of the Assembly Bill (AB) 2117 Request for Applications (RFA) process.
Summary of February 16, 2007 Meeting
Mr. Payne acknowledged the hard work of the committee and summarized the outcomes of the previous advisory committee meeting held on February 16, 2007.
RFA Eligibility Criteria and Rubric Discussion
Phil Lafontaine introduced the RFA criteria and rubric and asked participants to take time to read and review the document. WestEd staff highlighted any changes made to the RFA criteria and rubric as a result of advisory recommendations made at the previous meeting. Members identified additional changes or recommendations regarding the RFA criteria and rubric. Members engaged in a discussion of various assurances needed. Members advised the Department on criteria to include in the RFA.
Break
Weighting Issues
Pat McCabe, Division Director of the Policy & Evaluation Division of the CDE introduced the topic of discussion. Mr. McCabe summarized a weighting system as a possible tool for use in identifying schools with demonstrated success in meeting the needs of English language learners. Data from Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) and Academic Performance Index (API) measures were discussed. A weighting system for ranking schools into quintiles based on these outcome measures was demonstrated. Mr. McCabe explained that the advisory committee members could decide to use the weighting approach as a means to determine which schools are eligible to apply for grant funds. The advisory committee discussed the possibility of using a weighting system.
Evaluation/Data Workbook
Mr. Payne reminded advisory committee members of their earlier work with the evaluation/data portion of the project. The evaluation and data components were discussed in conjunction with the RFA and weighting components.
Lunch
New Items/Additional Information
Mr. Payne focused the advisory committee on the discussion of options available to determine the sample of schools that qualified to apply for grant funds and on the discussion of other data elements to consider for selection purposes. The discussion of possible weights to assign each section of the RFA was continued.
Agreement on Final RFA Criteria, Rubric, and Evaluation Components
Mr. Payne facilitated a discussion on RFA criteria, rubric and evaluation components. Members discussed various options for selecting grantees.
Summary of Next Steps/Adjournment
Mr. Payne summarized the meeting outcomes and thanked all advisory committee members for their discussion. He also thanked members of the Hewlett Foundation, and staff from WestEd for their contributions to the work of the advisory committee. Staff was asked to revise the RFA criteria and rubric. The meeting was adjourned.
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814