The Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) will implement a new program meant to provide academic support to newcomer English Learner (EL) students to develop their language and content knowledge.
Engaging Newcomers in Language and Content Education (ENLACE) is a one-year program for middle school students that will be offered at Hamilton, Ben Franklin, John Marshall and George Washington Middle School sites.
Of the current 10,388 English Learner students in LBUSD, 552 are newcomers to the district. According to English Learner Services Curriculum Leader Alma Black, the district predicts there will be 94 incoming EL students at the middle school level in the 2023-24 school year that ENLACE will serve.
The program will provide a supportive environment for students to grow academically and experience cultural connections.
Students enrolled in ENLACE will spend three periods with their English Language Development/Humanities teacher and receive primary language support for their math and science classes.
Students and their families will also have access to additional resources such as counseling and parent workshops.
Gonzales said the district’s goal for EL students is that they succeed and meet high levels across different measures to meet the criteria for reclassification—the process by which a student transitions from being an English learner to English proficient status.
Preliminary 2022-23 English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELCAP) data reveals that the district’s reclassification eligibility increased by 65% in the past year, with the greatest growth happening at the middle school level.
EL students have to take the ELCAP every year—a standardized test that measures the students’ progress toward English proficiency.
The ELCAP has four levels:
- Minimally developed
- Somewhat developed
- Moderately developed
- Well developed
To start the reclassification process, students need to score “well developed.”
Some other ways the district monitors EL progress are through platforms like ELLevation, which was implemented last year, and through standardized testing such as iReady and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC).
The district is also looking to implement two new progress-monitoring platforms: Observation Protocol for Teachers of English Learners (OPTEL) and Lexia English. Lexia English is a platform specifically for new coming EL students and will be presented for approval to the board over the summer.
OPTEL is slated to be approved by the State Board of Education in December and will replace teacher recommendations for reclassification.
“It’s a much more standardized way to observe a student and then recommend them for reclassification,” Gonzalez said.
Resources for Khmer-speaking English Learners to expand
The vast majority of EL students in the district speak Spanish as their primary language (92%) followed by those who primarily speak Khmer (4%).
The district only offers two Khmer language programs as there is currently only one teacher in the state with a Khmer teaching credential, Wilson High School teacher and Cal State Long Beach lecturer Darith Ung.
“Members of our Cambodian community have been advocating, [and] in some cases pushing in a good way, for us to further expand and strengthen our Kamai language offerings…so I think it’s an important update for our community.”
-Board member Juan Benitez.
The first Khmer language option is an after-school enrichment program at Whittier Elementary School which is intended to expand to the middle school level over the next school year.
There is also a Khmer for Khmer speakers class being offered at Woodrow Wilson High School that meets the World Language A-G requirement.
Angelica Gonzalez, director of the Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development, said the district has received requests to offer the course at Poly High School and is “exploring the feasibility” of offering the course next year.
The course would only be offered during the seventh or eighth period in order to not disrupt the master schedule and because Ung teaches the class at Wilson High School in the mornings.
The district sent a survey to all Khmer families enrolled in Poly High School and Gonzalez said that of the 40 responses so far, 30 expressed interest in taking the course.
“Members of our Cambodian community have been advocating, [and] in some cases pushing in a good way, for us to further expand and strengthen our Kamai language offerings…so I think it’s an important update for our community,” board member Juan Benitez said.
The district is also trying to implement a Khmer dual language immersion program that would consist of at least 50% instruction in Khmer with Khmer instructional materials. However, the district would have to create instructional materials such as textbooks and curriculum alongside the Khmer credentialed teacher.
The board said that staffing is another challenge to implementing the program, as it requires at least two teachers a year with a multiple-subject credential and a Khmer bilingual authorization.
To address this staffing issue, the district is launching a Khmer Bilingual Authorization Program in partnership with Cal State Fullerton.
Gonzalez said the district has begun recruiting local Khmer-speaking teachers and there are currently 12 teachers interested in the program. However, not all of them may qualify since the program requires a high proficiency level in reading and writing.
“We are making steps; they might not be visible steps but the steps are being made,” Gonzalez said.
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