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Supporting Diverse Paraeducators to Enter Teaching

Supporting Diverse Paraeducators to Enter Teaching. Presentation by Dr. Flynn Ross and Linda Evans Addressing the Demographic Imperative: Recruiting and Preparing a Diverse and Highly Effective Teaching Force NAME Summer Institute June 30, 2012. Agenda. Introductions Phase 1 – Start up

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Supporting Diverse Paraeducators to Enter Teaching

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  1. Supporting Diverse Paraeducators to Enter Teaching Presentation by Dr. Flynn Ross and Linda Evans Addressing the Demographic Imperative: Recruiting and Preparing a Diverse and Highly Effective Teaching Force NAME Summer Institute June 30, 2012

  2. Agenda • Introductions • Phase 1 – Start up • Workshop your site • Phase 2 – Program Maintenance • Workshop your site • Phase 3 – Institutionalization • Workshop your site • Phase 4 – Networking & Continued Support • Workshop your site Teacher Education

  3. 21st Century Teacher Education Three critical components of such programs include • tight coherence and integration among courses and between course work and clinical work in schools, • extensive and intensely supervised clinical work integrated with course work using pedagogies that link theory and practice, and • closer, proactive relationships with schools that serve diverse learners effectively and develop and model good teaching. • Linda Darling-Hammond, Journal of Teacher Education, 57(3) 2006. Teacher Education

  4. Need for Theory and Practice We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience. - John Dewey Teacher Education

  5. Paraeducator Pathways into teaching • National Clearinghouse on Paraeducator Resources links to • Texas financial support to be certified • California Dept of Ed. and IHE • Iowa • Minnesota • Montana • Maine • http://www.usc.edu/dept/education/CMMR/Clearinghouse.html Teacher Education

  6. Phase 1 – Start Up • How we began our program and the context in which it began. Teacher Education

  7. Local Context • Portland, Maine – city of 60,000 • Portland Public Schools – 6,960 students, 26% Culturally and Linguistically Diverse • In contrast, only 10 of the 710 fully-employed teachers are identified as culturally or linguistically diverse, or 1.4% Teacher Education

  8. Over 50 languages spoken in the public schools Primary Home Languages Other Than English Teacher Education * 50 or more students speak these languages(Data obtained through Multilingual Multicultural Center, Portland Public Schools)

  9. Community Needs • Schools need cultural brokers to translate school expectations across cultures • Immigrant communities need community members who can translate these expectations with literal language translation and cultural translation • The language facilitators have served this role. • Now our graduates who are teachers extend this and teach teachers about the ethnic communities. Teacher Education

  10. University of Southern Maine • Three pathways • Undergraduate – Pathway I • Recruitment to graduate – Pathway II • Graduate – Newcomer ETEP • All in collaboration with Portland Public Schools Teacher Education

  11. Workshop • What is your context? • Who is your target audience? • Who are you collaborators? • Graduate or Undergraduate? Teacher Education

  12. Advisory Board and Partnerships • College Dean • University advisor for international transcripts • University faculty for ESL • Teacher Education faculty • School District Level Director of Multilingual Center – hiring and personnel decisions, educate hiring boards • Community funding partner Teacher Education

  13. Funding Experiences • Start Up – private • Pilot – state • Implementation – fed • Goal was for institutionalization • Achieved for structures but funding still needed for student finances • Built capacity for valuing CLD teachers and training teachers for ESL • Program evaluation - private Teacher Education

  14. Start Up and Piloting • Private Foundation ( 1 year) • UNUM Foundation (concept development and start up) • State Funding (Contract) (2 years) • Maine Department of Education (SPDG) (dedicated staff, operational budget, tuition support, resources to build and sustain Newcomer ETEP and Pathways to Higher Education for Ed. Techs in partnership with Portland Public Schools) Teacher Education

  15. Implementation to Institutionalization • Federal Funding (Grant)( 6 years) • US DOE, Office of English Language Acquisition, National Professional Development Award • (dedicated staff, operational budget, student supports (testing-tutoring-coaching/ mentoring), tuition and professional development opportunities to recruit and retain a diverse cadre of culturally and linguistically diverse educators into the teaching profession and to build a sustainable program) Teacher Education

  16. Program Evaluation • State Funding Grant (3 years) • Maine Department of Education (SPDG) • (continued support to assist educational technicians to earn Associates and Bachelor degrees and Ed Tech III’s qualified to work in Special Education) Teacher Education

  17. Private Foundation (1 year) • Maine Community Foundation, People of Color Fund (1 year) • Monies to support the Educational Leadership of Future Teachers of Color (create surveys, host focus groups to gather information from past and present participants in regards to Newcomer ETEP programmatic design and delivery mechanisms. To use this feedback to create more effective programming and enhance structures for Newcomer ETEP. To support Newcomer ETEP graduate as a Peer Coach and Teacher Leader to assess need and spearhead outlines goals of the grant. Teacher Education

  18. Phase 2 – Program Maintenance • Program details • Recruitment/Collaboration • Admissions • Application form • Newcomer ETEP program handbook • Challenges and supports • Individual Learning Plans Teacher Education

  19. Graduate Level Newcomer ETEP Program Description 5th year graduate teacher certification program – 33/42 credits toward Masters degree • Year long mentored internship in school classroom • Locally administered, cohort based Teacher Education

  20. Program Participants • For 10 years over 30 candidates • 15 fully admitted to graduate program • 3 Iran, 1 Pakistan, 3 Somalia, 2 Sudan, 3 Congo, 2 former Yugoslavia, 1 Indonesia, 1 Turkey, I Egypt, 1 Cambodia, 1 Bolivia, 1 Brazil, 2 Peru, 1 Mexico, 1 Togo, 1 Honduras, • 10 male, 7 female Teacher Education

  21. Teacher Education

  22. Program Admissions • 2 stage - 1st admission to Newcomer program to receive financial, academic, advising, and cohort supports - 2nd admission to ETEP – matriculated graduate students Teacher Education

  23. Program Admissions – Newcomer 1st year • (a) hold a bachelor's degree; • (b) demonstrate competency in conversational and academic English, both spoken and written; • (c) meet most of the pre-requisite content area courses for the desired area of teacher certification as designated by the state department of education; and • (d) demonstrate a commitment to teaching and working with children and adolescents – many candidates were teachers in their home countries. Teacher Education

  24. ETEP Admissions • Successful completion of Newcomer 1st year • pass the PRAXIS I exam • ETEP application • ETEP Interview Teacher Education

  25. Successes - Graduates • 10 graduates hired as full-time classroom teachers • 4 others returned to positions as language facilitators in the schools Teacher Education

  26. Profile Abdullahi Ahmed is from Somalia. He has a BS from Pakistan. He immigrated to US in 1998. In Fall 2002 while working in the Portland Public Schools as a language facilitator he began the Newcomer ETEP program. He completed the program in spring 2004. He completed his masters degree and certificate of advanced study. He has just completed his 8th year of teaching and is all but dissertation in the doctoral Program at Univ. Maine Orono for educational leadership. Teacher Education

  27. Workshop • Exchange with participants • What’s working in your programs? • What are your challenges? Teacher Education

  28. Phase 3 - Institutionalization • Building Institutional Capacity • Serving Immigrant and Refugees • Recruiting Minority Candidates • Addressing Challenges • Test prep • Financial • Academic • Cross cultural • Hiring boards Teacher Education

  29. New Population of Immigrants and Refugees • Rich Educational Background • Prior Professional Experience • Career coach • Connect to Funding Sources and Other Programs • Language Supports • Driven, self-motivated individuals Teacher Education

  30. Recruiting Minority Candidates • Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Foundation Fellowship for Aspiring Teachers of Color • $30,000 Fellowship for graduate study in teacher certification • http://www.woodrow.org/teaching-fellowships/wwrbf/index.php Teacher Education

  31. ChallengesStandardized tests – Praxis I 25 have taken test 6 passed first time 6 meet all certification requirements except for 1-4 points on Praxis I (three are teaching on conditional certifications and one has lost her job because of Praxis I) 4 had to delay entry into the ETEP program based solely on test scores Teacher Education

  32. Challenges – Cultural Differences • Educational philosophies affected gender role expectations taking initiative vs being rude/respectful having ‘voice’ and opinions as reflective practitioners vs dutifully following expectations Teacher Education

  33. Challenges – University Coursework • Academic writing in English • Comprehension of extensive reading • Technology skills • Student role in constructivist/reflective practitioner curriculum and pedagogy (e.g. cooperative learning) Teacher Education

  34. Challenges – In the Classrooms • Language – students understanding accents • educational philosophy – transmission vs constructivist • classroom management • balancing coursework and teaching • These are similar to other interns Teacher Education

  35. Challenges – Hiring Boards • Conditional certifications because of Praxis I • “flagrant self-promotion” as the American way – very counter to other cultures that honor humility • Protocol of hiring boards don’t value the strengths and rely heavily on the areas of challenge Teacher Education

  36. Further Developments • First graduates hired as full-time, mainstream classroom teacher – high school science • Successful lobby of State Board of Education to adopt more flexible composite score for Praxis I Teacher Education

  37. Profile Monica Gonzalez Sandifer came to the U.S. from La Paz, Bolivia in 2008. She earned a B.S. in Social Communication in 2005 from Universidad Catolica Boliviana San Pablo. She has taught Spanish at Hall Dale Elementary School, Reiche Elementary School, Yarmouth High School, and Casco Bay High School in Portland. Monica is a Newcomer ETEP student who graduated in May 2010 with Maine teacher certification in K-12 Spanish & French, and an endorsement in teaching English as a Second Language. Currently, she is entering her third year of teaching Spanish at Windham High School, the site where she completed her ETEP internship. This year Monica joined the team at Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations as the Innovative Education Specialist. She anticipates earning her Masters of Science in Literacy Education and English as a Second Language Concentration at USM. Her strong sense of world community drives her to improve as a person and as a professional educator. She continues to discover actively different ways in which to help some of societies most vulnerable members. In Bolivia, Monica was a professional ballet dancer and teacher. Teacher Education

  38. Phase 4 – Next Steps • Networking • Share contact information • resources • Collaboration Teacher Education

  39. Undergraduate Pathways Program Description • Earn Associate and Bachelor degrees • Developed in 1999 in partnership with Portland Public Schools to support bilingual, immigrant, educational technicians and language facilitators to earn degrees to qualify as Ed Tech III. Teacher Education

  40. Undergraduate Pathways Program Participants • 21 recent immigrants and refugees employed by schools – 15 currently • 4 Somalia, 2 Sudan, 1 Congo, 1 Vietnam, 6 Cambodia, 1 Columbia • 4 male, 11 female • 12 have earned Associate Degrees and are continuing on to earn their Bachelor Degree Teacher Education

  41. Profile of Student • Simone Bodlovick is from the city of Phnom Peng, Cambodia. She attended school in Cambodia until she was 12 years old. When the Khmer Rouge took control of her country, she attended high school at a refugee camp in Thailand where she lived for four years. • She arrived in the U.S. in 1982 and earned her GED through Portland Adult Education. She began working as a language facilitator, Educational Technician I with Portland Public Schools in 1986. • In 2002, She entered the Pathways to Higher Education program and earned an associate degree (60 college credits) from USM in May, 2008. • Simone is now an Educational Technician II; her goal is to earn her bachelor's degree (90 college credits) and become an educational technician III which will allow her to work within field of Special Education. Teacher Education

  42. Advising support – Individual Learning Plan Teacher Education

  43. Pathway I Academics • 27 credits (9 courses) Core Curriculum Requirements • 33 credits (11 courses) Electives from the College of Arts and Sciences • 60 credits Total Teacher Education

  44. Supports Needed • Financial • Tuition, books, fees, testing fees, accessing scholarships • Social • Cohort based classes, • Cross-cultural supports for negotiating institutional structures – learning centers, computer access, career planning • Academic • 1:1/small group tutoring, advising with individual learning plans, • Improved working conditions • Job security Teacher Education

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