The need for this project is evident in the large number of students in the Delano Joint Union High School District (DJUHSD) who are at the poverty level, who have scored at or below basic on the CST, who have not passed the CAHSEE, who are English Learners, in addition to the number of non-credentialed teachers. Delano has also been identified a high priority, program improvement district (NCLB) this past year.
According to the US census data, and as related on the CPEC website, 31% of the families in DJUHSD are at the poverty level k(See Table 6, Attachment). According to the CBEDS data, 77% of the teachers at DJUHSD are fully credentialed, as opposed to 95% of the teachers in Kern County being fully credentialed. This number is expected to rise as the district grows. This year the district expects to hire 12 new teachers. Twenty-three percent of the teachers are teaching subjects outside their area and/or are new to the profession, lacking professional development to complete credentials (See Table 4, Attachment).
At DJUHSD for 2004, 61% of the total school population passed the Math section of the CAHSEE and 55% passed the English Language Arts section. Of the 3,936 students enrolled in DJUSHD, 1,892 are identified English Learners which increases the need for teachers trained in English language learner teaching strategies (See Table 5, Attachment). Fourty-four percent of the parents in this district have not achieved a high school diploma.
Approximately 50% or better of all students at DJUHSD score at Below Basic or Far Below Basic on the CST. Based on prior observations, prior consulting with the district and district data, there is grave concern that English Learners are not able to pass the ACES (the District’s local CA standard benchmark assessments) in Math or Science. Nearly 50% of the English Learners do not pass the ACES in Math or Science.
The data clearly indicates a compelling need for professional development intervention to improve student performance. The data for the identified subgroups dictates a need to implement teaching strategies which emphasize academic language instruction (only 4% of the student population are Caucasian, 78% are Hispanic and 48% are identified English Learners).
The foundational model for the professional development is a prior project model entitled “ELDPI” which was implemented from 2000-2003. The ELDPI institute emphasized academic language instruction for secondary teachers across the content areas. Research conducted for this model (in submission for the Bilingual Research Journal) determined that the ELDPI’s were extremely successful in raising student achievement across the grade levels and content areas on the SAT9, from 2000-2002. This grant proposal is structured on the researched based institutes (the English Language Development Professional Institutes—ELDPI), which applied rigorous, systemic and objective procedures to obtain knowledge of teaching competencies that improved student academic achievement. This professional development model is researched based and is described by researchers: Margarita Calderon 1986, Beverley Showers, and Bruce Joyce, 1980. Dr. Emilio Garza, one of co-directors, worked closely with Dr. Margarita Calderon, researcher and trainer, in Fresno County Office of Education with the peer coaching model that trained over 100 teachers in working with English language learners. Darling-Hammond 1998, also supports this model “of sustained, experiential, collaborative…“resulting in higher student achievement.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT ATTACHMENT