English-language learners in Denver will be exposed to more English in their classes, and ultimately all teachers will be trained to better reach those students, under guidelines unveiled Wednesday.
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet said the changes are meant to overhaul the way DPS teaches English-language learners, who make up about 20 percent of the district’s 73,000 students.
That will include detailing how much instruction should be in Spanish and how much in English; training all teachers in educational techniques that will aid students who don’t speak English well; and tracking students’ progress better.
The district’s new “benchmark assessment tests,” which will test all students’ progress in reading, writing and math, will be offered in Spanish.
And Spanish-speaking elementary students will get an extra insert in their report card that details language progress.
“There are people where this is very emotional,” said the district’s chief academic officer, Jaime Aquino. “But this is all based on sound research.”
The creation of a consistent English- language acquisition policy came out of dozens of classroom visits last year by Aquino and Bennet – and a desire to more closely align instruction with requirements set out in a 1999 federal court order.
Among other things, the order lays out how quickly students should learn English and how much training teachers should receive.
In the past, DPS has received mixed reviews about its success with its English-language learners.
Bennet said Wednesday that the original plaintiffs of the lawsuit, one of whom is retired DPS social worker Bob Peña, did not have to sign off on the district’s new guidelines. But many were asked to the table when creating them anyway.
Peña said Tuesday that his organization, the Congress of Hispanic Educators, was encouraged by that.
“I would rather not be giving it a thumbs up or a thumbs down,” he said. “But the key thing to us was the cooperation. We’ve been listening to each other, and when you work in that manner … we will have a product that will help our children.”
When Aquino started in DPS last year, he was struck by inconsistent teaching in English-language classrooms.
Some teachers were using all Spanish, but no English, and some were using too much English, and the students were falling behind.
“Both languages need to be used on a daily basis,” Aquino said.
English-language teacher Catherine Heeley said her first-graders are excited when they start grasping English, but they need to have a solid base in Spanish first.
“Some people think immersion is the best way to go, but in my experience, kids need to transition into it,” she said. “Otherwise they could be limping along the rest of their lives.”
The new guidelines could be felt strongest in middle and high schools, where many teachers have traditionally taught first- year English-language classes in Spanish.
Now teachers will be asked to sprinkle lessons with English words, so students, in theory, begin grasping the language more quickly.
“Bilingual education should never be in all Spanish,” said Maria Venturini, a DPS staff developer.
Even regular teachers will need to start considering English-language learners. For instance, teachers will be asked to start stating their goals for each class. This helps all students, Aquino said, but it is essential for non-native English speakers.
Principal Joann Martinez agreed.
“As a second-language learner, there’s always something that will trip you up,” said Martinez, principal at Colfax Elementary. “Even if you’re speaking English, your syntax may not be right, or you may not understand every single thing.”
Staff writer Allison Sherry can be reached at 303-820-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com.
