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Effective practices of a Spanish -bilingual and -bicultural principal vs. a non -Spanish -bilingual and -bicultural principal and the effects of their language proficiency and cultural knowledge ...

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Content EFFECTIVE PRACTICES OF A SPANISH-BILINGUAL AND -BICULTURAL
PRINCIPAL VS. A NON-SPANISH-BILINGUAL AND -BICULTURAL PRINCIPAL
AND THE EFFECTS OF THEIR LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AND CULTURAL
KNOWLEDGE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUCCESSFUL BILITERACY
PROGRAMS
by
Hazel Rojas
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 1998
Copyright 1998 Hazel Rojas
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UMI Number: 3110958
Copyright 1998 by
Rojas, Hazel
All rights reserved.
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University of Southern California
School of Education
TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION:
We, the undersigned members of the Dissertation Committee for
in candidacy for the degree of
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
certify that the candidate has successfully defended the dissertation in an oral examination and is
hereby unanimously recommended for the degree of Doctor of Education.
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DISSERTATION COMMITTE
Date
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DEDICATION
I dedicate this dissertation to the three most important people in
my life, Trina, Jami and Christine Rose. May your lives be blessed
as you have blessed mine. It is also dedicated to the memory of
my brother Frank.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the
following people who helped make this dissertation possible.
To my parents, Maria Elisa and Francisco Rojas, and my sister, Dr. Lyly
Rojas de Knaus, thank you for your support and your continuous belief in me.
Thank you to my aunt, Madelina Napial, for your influence in my
formative years.
A special thank you to George Avila and Dr. Gustavo Fischman for their
incredible help throughout the writing of my dissertation. You helped make this
a reality.
Thank you to Dr. Cheryl James-Ward for being my model of dedication
and tenacity.
To the staff and children of Lee Elementary School, thank you for your
patience and understanding.
I am grateful to my chair, Dr. David Yaden and to my advisor, Dr. Robert
Rueda for their support and guidance throughout my doctoral studies. Thank
you to Dr. Stuart Gothold, for being a valuable member of my committee.
I am most grateful to the principals who participated in this study and
made it all possible.
It is an honor to earn my doctorate from USC. I am proud to be a part of
such an outstanding educational community.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................... vii
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................viii
CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................. 1
IN TR O D U C TIO N .........................................................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem.........................................................................................................1
Language and Culture.........................................................................................................4
Role of the Principal............................................................................................................. 5
Language and Culture of the Principal.......................................................................... 6
T he Purpose of the Stu d y.........................................................................................................8
Significance of the St u d y.........................................................................................................9
Definition of T erm s...................................................................................................................10
Bilingual Literacy............................................................................................................ 10
Bilingual Program ...........................................................................................................10
Bilingual Literacy Program...........................................................................................10
Bilingual/Latino(a) Principal....................................................................................... 10
Early Bilingual Literacy Instruction........................................................................... 10
ELD .......................................................................................................................................11
L E P .......................................................................................................................................11
Non-Spanish Bilingual/Non-Latino Principal........................................................11
Sheltered Instruction..................................................................................................... 11
Redesignation..................................................................................................................11
Successful Bilingual Program ....................................................................................12
Transition............................................................................................................................12
CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................................... 13
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE...........................................................................................13
Introduction................................................................................................................................ 13
T he Role of the Principal In Effective Schools............................................................... 17
How Principals Affect Instruction.................................................................................... 18
Working with T each ers..................................................................................................... 19
Active Involvement with Students..................................................................................21
Establishing a School Clim ate.......................................................................................22
Providing Policy Leadership........................................................................................... 23
Building Community Support......................................................................................... 24
Interpersonal S kills............................................................................................................... 24
iNStructional Leadership S kills............................................................................................26
T he Effective Principal and Literacy Instruction............................................................27
Background........................................................................................................................... 28
Principals and Literacy..................................................................................................... 28
Climate for Literacy.............................................................................................................30
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School Environment...................................................................................................... 31
Strong Teacher Com m itm ent.....................................................................................32
Establishing Partnerships with Parents.................................................................. 33
Allocation of Resources................................................................................................33
Program Monitoring............................................................................................................34
Knowledge of Effective Reading Instruction..........................................................35
Knowledge of Appropriate Assessment Tools..................................................... 36
Make Frequent Classroom Visits and Observations.......................................... 37
Principals and Bilingual Literacy........................................................................................37
T he Inclusion of Language and C ulture W ithin the Bilingual Literacy Program ....40
T he Principal and the Inclusion of Language and C ulture..............................................41
C onclusion.................................................................................................................................44
CHAPTER 3 .............................................................................................................................. 48
RESEARCH M E T H O D S ........................................................................................................48
O verview..................................................................................................................................... 48
C riteria for S election............................................................................................................48
Sample..........................................................................................................................................50
M easures.................................................................................................................................... 51
Data C ollection........................................................................................................................ 52
CHAPTER 4 ...............................................................................................................................57
FIN D IN G S :.................................................................................................................................57
QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE BILINGUAL PROGRAMS AT TW O S C H O O L S 57
O verview..................................................................................................................................... 57
Section I: T he C ase of Elm E lementary School..............................................................57
General Description of Elm Street Elementary School......................................... 57
The Bilingual Program at Elm Elementary School..................................................59
Innovation.......................................................................................................................... 63
Em bedded......................................................................................................................... 67
High Expectations for LEP Students........................................................................68
Longevity........................................................................................................................... 69
Qualified Staff...................................................................................................................70
The Principal......................................................................................................................... 73
S ection II: T he Case of Franklin Elementary School..................................................... 74
General Description of Franklin Elementary School...............................................74
The Bilingual Program at Franklin Elementary School......................................... 77
Innovation.......................................................................................................................... 79
Em bedded......................................................................................................................... 82
High Expectations for LEP Students........................................................................83
Longevity............................................................................................................................84
Qualified Staff.................... 84
The Principal.................. 86
Summary of the Chapter..........................................................................................................88
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vi
CHAPTER 5 ...............................................................................................................................91
F IN D IN G S :.................................................................................................................................91
O verview..................................................................................................................................... 91
Summary of Interview Protocols......................................................................................... 92
O rganization of the Data........................................................................................................92
Interview, Document and O bservation Analysis............................................................... 92
Them e I: Leadership Attributes...................................................................................... 93
Knowledge of Effective Literacy Instruction and Professional
Developm ent....................................................................................................................93
An Understanding of the School as a System ..................................................... 98
Facilitative Leadership................................................................................................102
Building Capacity..........................................................................................................105
Them e II: Attitudes and Beliefs....................................................................................109
All Children Can Learn...............................................................................................110
Trust in Parents, Teachers and Students.............................................................112
Com m unication............................................................................................................. 114
Them e III: School Clim ate.............................................................................................116
Them e IV: Commitment to Bilingual Literacy Program....................................... 118
Impact of the Language Proficiency and Cultural Knowledge of the Principal
on the Strategies and Practices Used in an Effective Biliteracy Program 120
S ummary of the C hapter........................................................................................................124
CHAPTER 6 ............................................................................................................................ 128
C O N C LU SIO N S AND R E C O M M E N D A TIO N S ...........................................................128
Leadership Attributes...........................................................................................................128
Attitudes and Beliefs............................................................................................................. 130
C reating a Positive School C limate.................................................................................132
A Strong C ommitment to Bilingual Literacy.................................................................. 133
Recommendations....................................................................................................................135
R E F E R E N C E S .......................................................................................................................137
A P P E N D IC E S ........................................................................................................................ 145
APPENDIX A: PRINCIPAL INTERVIEW G U ID E ..........................................................146
APPENDIX B: TEACHER INTERVIEW G U ID E ............................................................150
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LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. Criteria for Effective Bilingual Programs...........................................................49
2. Ethnic Distribution of Students at Elm............................................................. 59
3. Comparison of English and Spanish Reading Test Scores of Third
Grade Students at Elm................................................................................. 62
4. Qualifications of Teachers in the Bilingual Program at Elm....................... 71
5. Ethnic Distribution of Students at Franklin..................................................... 76
6. Comparison of English and Spanish Reading Test Scores of Third
Grade Students at Franklin.......................................................................... 78
7. Qualifications of Teachers in the Bilingual Program at Franklin 85
8. Summary of Bilingual Late Exit Program a Elm and Franklin................ 89
9. Congruence With Characteristics of Principals of Effective Schools.... 129
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ABSTRACT
As schools move into the 21st century, providing all students with more
sophisticated literacy skills and the ability to become life-long learners becomes
even more essential. Schools are faced with many challenges in order to meet
this goal and among them is the challenge to provide equal educational
opportunity to the diverse population of language-minority students. This study
examines the effective practices and strategies of two principals and how these
practices and strategies are influenced by the principals’ language proficiency
and cultural knowledge in the implementation of successful Spanish/English
biliteracy programs. One principal is Spanish-bilingual and -bicultural, and the
other principal is non-Spanish-bilingua! and -bicultural.
This investigation utilized a semistructured interview format with the
principals and teachers, classroom observations and a review of documents to
gather data. The interview protocol began with general questions to elicit
information about each principal’s background and experiences in the
implementation of the bilingual literacy program. The second set of questions
was used to determine the advantages of being bilingual and bicultural and
how the non-bilingual leader addresses his non-bilingualism.
The protocol for the interview with the teachers contained questions that
were designed to assess their perceptions of the role of an effective principal
and of the role that the language and cultural knowledge of their respective
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ix
principal plays in the implementation of the literacy program.
It was found that the implementation of a successful biliteracy program
may not be dependent upon the language proficiency or biculturalism of the
principal, but on numerous professional and personal characteristics. These
characteristics are leadership attributes, attitudes and beliefs, creating a
positive school climate, and having a strong commitment to biliteracy.
The extent to which the effective practices and strategies are influenced
by the biculturalism and language proficiency of the principal is that it is
necessary for the non-bilingual and -bicultural principal to develop specific
strategies that allow him or her to effectively communicate with Spanish
speaking parents and students.
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1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Statement of the Problem
As schools move into the 21s t century, providing all students with more
sophisticated literacy skills and the ability to become life-long learners
becomes even more essential. Schools are faced with many challenges as
they try to meet this goal and among them is the challenge to provide equal
educational opportunities to the diverse population of language-minority
students. The number of students who come to school speaking a language
other than English has increased by at least 30% in the last fifteen years
(Escamilla, 1997; Shin & Anton, 1997), and among these students, the fastest-
growing group is Latino (Fashola, Slavin, Calderon, & Duran, 1997; Valdivieso,
1991).
The effectiveness of programs used to educate Latino, language-minority
students continues to come under scrutiny. Some districts in California have
replaced traditional bilingual programs, which use Spanish for instruction, with
English-only programs because of the perceived ineffectiveness of the bilingual
programs. In a newspaper account of why one such district received a waiver
from the state to implement an English-only program, the superintendent was
quoted as saying “After careful study, w e’ve determined there is no evidence
that bilingual education has been the least bit effective, anywhere in the United
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States, for the last thirty years, while millions of dollars has gone into it”
(Granberry, 1997).
In reality, educational programs for language-minority students have
taken a variety of forms (Ovando & Collier, 1985). The debate about the efficacy
of bilingual programs usually centers around the use of the primary language
for instruction and “late exit” vs. “early exit” of students from the program into an
English-only program. The case for the effectiveness of both of these strategies,
as well as the effectiveness of bilingual programs overall, has been dealt with
extensively in the literature (Collier, 1995; Cummins, 1994; Gonzalez and Maez,
1995; Krashen, 1991; Prince, 1987; Texas Education Agency, 1990). In their
comprehensive eight year study comparing English immersion, early-exit and
late exit-programs, Ramirez, Yuen, and Ramey (1991) suggest that students in
late-exit programs increase their oral English language skills and English
literacy skills at a faster rate than in early-exit or English immersion programs.
They define as “late-exit” programs in which students receive instruction in
Spanish for at least 40% of the day and remain in the program until sixth grade.
Relative to the effectiveness of bilingual programs, Willig (1985)
conducted a meta-analysis of twenty-three research studies. Her results
indicate that in research studies where there were no critical discrepancies
between experimental and comparison groups, “. . . children in bilingual
programs averaged higher than comparison children on criterion instruments”
(p. 312).
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Although bilingual education programs include all curricular areas, the
most essential is literacy. Since literacy is the foundation upon which
competence in all other curricular areas is built, effective instructional practices
in this area are critical (Cummins, 1989; Pardo & Tinajero, 1997). The term
“literacy” has different connotations depending on the context of its use. In its
most rudimentary form, it is defined as the ability to read and write (Roberts,
1994). For the purposes of this study, literacy as “reading and writing” is not an
appropriate use of the term because the mere ability to read and write (even at
grade-level) is not sufficient for students to be successful, contributing members
of society now and into the 21s t century. Literacy is not only the ability to read
and write; it is “the ability to use language to discuss abstract ideas, to solve
problems, [and] to clarify and stimulate thinking” (Krashen & Biber, 1988, p. 22).
This definition of literacy is more germane to the intent of this study and is the
definition that is applied.
The research on effective literacy programs for language-minority
students reveals that two of the most significant components are the inclusion of
the language and culture of the students within the school and the classroom
(Collier, 1995; Cummins, 1994; Goodman, Goodman & Flores 1979; Ramirez et
al. 1991) and the effectiveness of the principal (Barnard & Hetzel, 1976; Binkley,
1989; Hillerich, 1983; Laffey, 1980; Radencich, 1995; Erickson, 1995). Since
the research clearly points to the importance of the role of the principal and of
the inclusion of the students’ language and culture in any successful literacy
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program, how do principals of effective programs ensure that learning
environment of the language-minority children is infused with their language
and culture? This study attempts to determine how this is accomplished when
the principal is Spanish bilingual and bicultural and when the principal does not
share the same native language nor culture of the students.
Language and Culture
A review of the research identified three studies that substantiate the
critical nature of a pedagogy that includes a deep appreciation for the language
and culture of its students (Berman, Minicucci, McLaughin, Nelson, &
Woodworth, 1995; Prince, 1987; Texas Education Agency 1990). All of these
studies used the same methodology of observation of classrooms within
schools identified as exemplary after meeting specified criteria.
The most comprehensive of these studies, Berman et al., involved a
nationwide search for exemplary schools. Nominations were solicited from
education professionals throughout the United States who were asked to
nominate schools that had exemplary language arts programs in grades four
through six and exemplary science and math programs in grades six through
eight for language-minority students. After extensive phone interviews, the
original number of 156 nominations was eventually narrowed down to 15 and a
one-day visit to each of these 15 sites further reduced thenumber to the eight
schools that were part of the study. The researchers did not limit their
investigation to any one curricular area, rather they examined the overall school
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environment. With respect to the inclusion of the students’ language and
culture, they found that all the schools .. embraced the language and culture
of students . . (p.10.2). This was done at all the exemplary schools in
numerous ways. First, through the use of Spanish speaking personnel in the
front office; through the use of Spanish instruction for Limited English Proficient
(LEP) students; by sending all communication from the schools to the children’s
homes in both Spanish and English; and, providing translations for Spanish
speaking parents a means to encourage them to participate in all school
activities.
Furthermore, in a review of the research on the early childhood
education of linguistically diverse students, Kagan & Garcia (1991) argue that
what is needed is a learning environment that respects and integrates students’
values, beliefs, histories, and experiences.
Role of the Principal
The significance of the role of the principal in effective literacy programs
has been investigated by several researchers (Avery, 1972; Barnard & Hetzel,
1976; Hillerich, 1983; New York Office of Education, 1974; Radencich, 1995).
The results of these studies were very much aligned and emphasized that the
principal is pivotal in the success of the literacy program at the school site. The
New York Office of Education (1974) conducted a comprehensive study of two
urban elementary schools. One school contained an effective reading program
and students scored well in reading on the State-required, norm-referenced
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standardized test; in the other school, students’ scores were low and the
reading program was not as effective. The findings indicate that with all other
components of the schools being equal, (i.e., SES, pupil ethnicity, percentage
of Limited English Proficient students, and pupil mobility), the one factor that
made a difference in the high-achieving school was the involvement of the
principal in the reading program.
Language and Culture of the Principal
Although research clearly points to the importance of the role of the
principal and the inclusion of the students’ language and culture in any
successful literacy program, there is less information available on how this
inclusion is achieved by the school principal, more specifically, by the two most
common types of principals who administer bilingual programs: (a) a principal
who is Latino and Spanish-bilingual, and (b) a principal who is not Spanish-
bilingual and is not Latino.
The impact of a Spanish bilingual and bicultural elementary school
principal was examined by Reyes (1985) in an ethnographic study. She
identified the principal’s most important characteristics as her language and
culture, support for the bilingual and bicultural education, and her ability to be
innovative. She suggested that the principal’s ability to speak Spanish and
English, as well as the fact that she is Puerto Rican gave her an advantage
because she did not need the services of an interpreter to communicate and
problem-solve with staff, parents and students. In the case where a parent
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spoke a language other than English, the researcher contended that the fact
that her subject was a second-language learner gives her the ability “ to
appreciate the needs of the non-English, non-Spanish speaking parents to
communicate with teachers and the administration” (p. 124).
Bernard (1991) examined eight monolingual principals of schools with
successful bilingual programs in terms of what “skills, factors, beliefs or
leadership dimensions” (p. 13) they had in common and what similarities existed
that contributed to the success of their bilingual programs. Although the
researcher did not have specific criteria with which to identity effective
programs, he did do an extensive search and utilized a variety of educational
experts including Superintendents, Directors of Bilingual Education, and other
State and County officials. The principals in his study represent three Northern
California districts and two Southern California districts. He found that all the
principals supported the use of primary-language instruction and that half of the
principals named the third grade as the grade where students were transitioned
into English-only instruction. Most of the principals stated that they support the
bilingual program by :
•hiring good staff and being knowledgeable about the staff
•monitoring instruction and program implementation
•providing the staff with research and staff development opportunities
•assisting the staff to determine student needs (p. 122).
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Since the intent of this study is to determine how principals of successful
bilingual literacy programs include the language and culture of students within
the school curriculum, the aforementioned research studies serve to suggest
that there are successful bilingual programs with administrators who are
Spanish- bilingual and bicultural and successful bilingual programs with
administrators who are not Spanish bilingual and bicultural.
The Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is twofold: (a) to examine and describe what
factors are present that contribute to the success of the bilingual literacy
program in a school with an effective bilingual program that is administered by a
Latino, Spanish-bilingual principal, and one that is administered by a non-
Latino, non-Spanish bilingual principal, and (b) to determine if and how these
factors are influenced by the language proficiency and cultural knowledge of
the principal.
This study investigates the following questions:
•What practices and strategies are used by a non-Spanish-bilingual,
non-Latino/a principal in a successful bilingual literacy program?
•What practices and strategies are used by a bilingual, Latino/a principal
in a successful bilingual literacy program?
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•How do language proficiency and cultural knowledge constrain and/or
facilitate the practices and strategies used by principals to create and
support successful biliteracy programs?
Significance of the Study
This study has significant implications for educational policymakers and
practitioners. It is well-known and widely publicized that there is a dearth of
bilingual educators, including principals, therefore, it follows that many bilingual
programs do not have bilingual, bicultural administrators. It is also well-known
and widely publicized that there are many bilingual programs, even with
bilingual principals, that are not successful in providing quality bilingual literacy
programs for language-minority students.
The results of this study will identify effective practices of both Spanish
bilingual, bicultural and non Spanish-bilingual, non-bicultural principals. This
information will be important to policymakers as they determine what types of
bilingual programs to implement in schools and will aid in their selection of
qualified administrators. Practitioners will find this information useful in their
constant struggle to provide equal access to curriculum and quality bilingual
literacy programs for language-minority students.
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10
Definition of Terms
The following terms are operationally defined for use in this study.
Bilingual Literacy
The ability to read, write, communicate, and think in Spanish and English.
Bilingual Program
A program of instruction in which students are taught the core subjects
(language arts, math, science, social studies) in Spanish while simultaneously
receiving instruction in English as a second language. The school day is
typically comprised of instruction in Spanish for 90% of the day in grades
kindergarten and one, 80% of the day in grades two and three, 50% of the day
in grade four and between 20% and 30% in grade five. When students have
acquired English to a degree that classroom instruction is comprehensible, and
they are reading at grade level in Spanish, they begin receiving core-subject
instruction in English. This transition varies depending on district policy and
student need and can take place from the third to the sixth grade.
Bilingual Literacy Program
Same as Biliteracy.
Bilinoual/Latinofal Principal
The instructional leader at an elementary school who is fluent in Spanish and
English and who was born in a Latin-American country or is the descendent of a
Latin-American family.
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11
Early Bilingual Literacy Instruction
Literacy instruction that takes place in an elementary classroom in grades
kindergarten to three and is conducted in Spanish.
ELD
English Language Development
LEP
Limited English Proficient
Non-Spanish Bilinaual/Non-Latino Principal
An instructional leader at an elementary school who does not speak Spanish
and who was not born in a Latin-American country nor is the descendent of a
Latin-American family.
Sheltered Instruction
Specialized instruction in English designed to make lessons more
comprehensible to liminte-English speaking students.
Redesianation
The process of designating students as fluent English speakers. This
designation means that the school will no longer receive special funding for
these students. The criteria for redesignation varies from district to district but
usually it is the the child needs to have the FEP (Fluent English Speaker
designation in language, must be reading at grade level in English and must
pass a standardized test at or above the 35th percentile.
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Successful Bilingual Program
A bilingual program that meets the criteria outlined in the methodology chapter
of this study.
Transition
The point in a language-minority students education when he/she can
add English reading. Criteria varies but usually it is that students need to be at
a high level in oral English (D or 5 depending on the test) and must be reading
at grade level in Spanish.
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13
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Introduction
The following review will present literature relevant to the effects a
principal has on classroom instruction, and more specifically, on the early
literacy instruction of Spanish language-minority students. It will also examine
what knowledge and experience about early literacy instruction the principal
needs in order to have a positive impact on student achievement. Furthermore,
it will examine the literature that investigates the critical nature of the inclusion
of the students’ language and culture within the context of literacy instruction.
Throughout the history of education in the United States, the role of the
principal has progressed through various transformations, from being a
classroom teacher with the title of “head teacher,” to manager/supervisor, to
instructional leader (Goldring & Rallis, 1993). The head teacher was a teacher
in a small school who took on more responsibilities than the others, but had few
administrative duties. Richardson, Short, & Prickett (1993) relate that the title of
principal evolved during the middle of the 19th century and that the principal’s
role became increasingly important as enrollment in schools increased and it
became necessary to have a manager and a supervisor. The role of
manager/supervisor met the needs of schools until the changing societal
landscape and demands from the workplace dictated that students needed a
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14
new set of skills. Students now needed to be critical thinkers with the skills
necessary to succeed in a global economy and this required a principal with a
different set of skills.
The changes that have had the primary impact on education and the
function of the principal include:
• Technology- The use of technology requires that people be
independent thinkers and problem solvers. “Technology should be
viewed as a leadership tool. Technology can be of use to principals as
they change the nature of their school as workplaces” (Goldring &
Rallis, 1993).
• A shrinking global economy and cultural diversity- The wave of
immigrants from Latin-American countries and Southeast Asia added to
the already existing ethnic diversity of schools in the United States.
This diversity brings with it many opportunities as well as challenges for
the principal. Each cultural group can enrich the educational
experience of students. The challenge is to create a harmonious
environment that affords everyone the opportunity to benefit from this
richness. Another challenge for the principal is effectively dealing with
the myriad of languages that is part of the ethnic diversity.
• Demographics of student populations- Besides the cultural diversity in
schools, principals are faced with the challenges posed by students
who are increasingly poor and who have to contend with the problems
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15
of drugs and physical abuse on a daily basis (National Association of
Elementary School Principals, 1990).
• Language-minority students- The student population in schools
includes language minority students from many countries. In California,
alone, the number of Limited English Proficient students increased by
almost 30% between 1980 and 1995 (Shin, 1996). Of these students,
Latinos are the fastest growing population (Valdivieso, 1991).
These new demands on school leadership require that a principal be
more than a manager; they require someone who can be an instructional
leader. This instructional leader plays a key role in the success of the school,
in general, and in particular, in the success of any singular program or
innovation (Richardson, Short & Prickett, 1993; Gonzalez, Schiller & Stell, 1997;
Sanacore, 1990; Heald-Taylor, 1989). In a two-year study to determine the
relationship between student performance and principal leadership, Andrews
and Soder (1987, p. 9) administered a questionnaire to all teachers in a school
district in Seattle, Washington school. The results indicate that in schools
where the principal is perceived to be effective in terms of “(1) resource
provider, (2) instructional resource, (3) communicator, and (4) visible
presence,” the academic achievement of students was significantly greater
than in schools where principals received low ratings. Furthermore, the
research on effective schools indicates that in order for a school to be effective it
must have an effective principal. Richardson et al. (1993) describe the principal
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as the “sustaining force” of the school and The National Association of
Elementary School Principals (1990), reporting results from effective schools
research states that .. the principal is the school’s single most important
figure” (p. 12). They point out that this is a significant finding because the
studies that identified the principal as the key person within an effective school
did so coincidentally. They were not studying the principalship, but were
looking into how schools could raise student achievement.
The literature on effective principals consistently demonstrates that in
order for a principal to be effective, certain essential qualities must be in place
(Andrews & Soder, 1987; Goldring & Rallis, 1993; Richardson, 1991; National
Association of Elementary School Principals, 1990; Richardson, Short, &
Prickett, 1993). Among them are: (1) a clear vision that focuses on students and
their needs, (2) goal setting for the school and expectations for teachers and
students, (3) creating a school climate that supports the goals and expectations,
(4) ongoing assessment of progress, and (5) appropriate intervention in a
supportive manner.
Since the literature on effective schools clearly indicates the importance
of the principal in the successful implementation of instructional programs and
bilingual literacy is an instructional program, one can safely draw the
conclusion that the principal is also critical to the success of bilingual literacy
programs, even though there is a dearth of empirical evidence that documents
this to be a fact. The salient feature of a bilingual literacy program that is not
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part of the traditional English-only literacy program is the addition of the
language and the culture of the language-minority students. Empirical research
on the role of the principal in the infusion of the culture and language of the
students into the literacy program and research on the impact of the culture and
language of the principal in the successful implementation of effective bilingual
literacy programs is virtually nonexistent.
This review provides a basis for understanding the components of
effective bilingual literacy programs, the principal’s role in effective bilingual
literacy programs, the effect of the principal’s language and culture on literacy
instruction, and the importance of including the students’ language and culture
in literacy instruction. Moreover, it establishes a rationale for determining how
principals of effective bilingual literacy programs ensure that the language and
culture of the students is included within the program.
The Role of the Principal In Effective Schools
As efforts to restructure schools were heightened in the early 1980’s, the
role of the principal in these efforts came into focus (Duke, 1987; National
Education Association, Washington, D.C., Research Division, 1986; Richardson,
1991). Literature on effective principals, produced by Richardson et al. (1993)
explains that prior to these reform efforts, the role of the principal had evolved
through three main stages: teaching, administration, and supervision. From
the research on school effectiveness, the idea of principals serving as
instructional leaders of their schools has emerged. Research on school
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effectiveness consistently found that strong leadership was the key to effective
schools (National Education Association, Washington, D.C., Research Division,
1986; National Association of Elementary School Principals, 1990; Rutherford,
Hord, Hall, & Huling, 1983). An investigation of the skills necessary to be an
effective principal was conducted by the Organization of Professors of
Elementary School Administration, and the results, published by the National
Association of Elementary School Principals (1990), identified several
characteristics inherent in principals of effective schools:
• The ability to create a warm, positive climate for learning
• The ability to nurture a caring, trusting, and collegial environment
•Active involvement in all aspects of the life of the school
• The ability to effectively implement innovations
• The ability to establish a vision for the school and to lead the school
community towards that vision
• Be life-long learners
Since the evidence points to the importance of principals and their
instructional leadership role for any successful school, it follows that principals
might also play a critical role in the type and quality of instruction that takes
place in classrooms. This relationship is examined below.
How Principals Affect Instruction
A review of the literature on how principals affect instruction indicates that
this mien of the principal’s role can be categorized into five general areas:
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working with teachers, being actively involved with students, establishing a
school climate, providing procedural leadership, and enhancing community
support (Dwyer, Lee, Rowan, & Bossert, 1983; Bird & Warren, 1985; NAESP,
1990; Wepner, Feeley, & Strtickland, 1989). The research has also identified
two domains in which principals need to be skilled in order to have a positive
impact on classroom instruction: interpersonal skills, and instructional
leadership skills (Blase & Blase, 1994; Richardson et al. 1993; Thomson, 1990;
Wepner, Feeley, & Strickland, 1989). The following is a review of the literature
on each of these aspects of the principalship.
Working with Teachers
The concept that teachers are the change agents in any school and with
any innovation is reported by Goldring & Rallis (1993) based on a synthesis of
the research as well as a review of the literature. They state that without teacher
commitment, implementation of any program is impossible. They emphasize
that teachers need to view themselves as valued members of the school
community who have a voice in school policy and whose contributions are
recognized. Teacher leadership must be encouraged and reinforced because
these teachers have the greatest impact in school improvement. Fullan (1991)
has drawn attention to the importance of teachers operating with shared
meanings and compatible belief systems in order to successfully implement
change. He cautions that to expect successful implementation of any
educational innovation, one must assume that any change requires the
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individual implementers (usually teachers) to work out their own meanings
related to the specific change.
Principals need to encourage teachers to step out of the “comfort zone” of
their traditional roles and take on decision-making roles that effect instruction
and student achievement. Principals must actively seek to build trust with
teachers by granting them professional autonomy and encouraging their
involvement. This trust building will in turn enhance teachers’ self-esteem,
commitment, and sense of ownership (Blase & Blase 1994).
Based on a review of the research, Goldring and Rallis (1993) suggest
five practices for principals to encourage teacher empowerment:
1. Motivating teachers through establishing a problem-solving climate,
consensus building, and goal setting
2. Incorporating participatory decision-making mechanisms
3. Establishing opportunities for coflegial peer contacts and
communication
4. Providing recognition and rewards
5. Obtaining the necessary resources and technical support to sustain all
empowering processes
Without mutual cooperation and collaboration between principals and
teachers, any educational innovation is, at best, difficult to achieve, and, at
worst, never implemented.
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Active Involvement with Students
“Direct interaction with students” (Dwyer et al. 1983, p. 53) has been
found to be an essential activity of principals in high-achieving schools.
Suggested practices of principals who have a positive effect on instruction by
becoming actively involved with students include: modeling, implementing
school-wide programs for students, and visiting classrooms frequently ( Bird &
Little, 1985; Carbo & Cole, 1995; National Association of Elementary School
Principals, 1995; Wepner, Feeley, & Strickland, 1989).
Children learn to value and enjoy learning by observing role models.
Principals are held in high esteem by their students and have many
opportunities to model appropriate behavior. They can read to children in their
classrooms, invite them to “book talks” about a favorite children’s story, and
encourage children to put requests in writing and respond to those requests in
writing. Principals can talk to children about their continuing education and the
importance of being life-long learners.
By visiting classrooms frequently, principals send the message to
children that their learning is important (NAESP, 1990) because they take the
time to ask them questions about their learning and inquire about their progress
and their needs. In a two-year study involving case studies in eight schools,
Bird & Little (1985) determined that one of the key practices of principals was
regular classroom visits.
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Establishing a School Climate
The National Association for Elementary School Principals (1984)
defines school climate as “ those qualities of a school that affect the attitudes,
behavior, and achievement of the people involved in its operation— students,
staff, parents, and members of the community.” Terrence Deal (1987) describes
climate as “a powerful force behind the scenes in modern organizations.” A
subsequent report by the National Association for Elementary School Principals
(1990) emphasizes that “ The most important trait for effective elementary/middle
school principals may be the ability to create a warm, positive climate for
learning” (p. 16).
The results of several studies verify that climate is a critical component of
effective schools and that the principal is a key player in creating a climate for
learning (Bird & Little, 1985; Dwyer et al. 1983; Hallinger & Murphy, 1983;
Rutherford et al., 1983). Dwyer et al. (1983) spent eight weeks shadowing and
interviewing principals at five schools identified as high-achieving schools. The
data were compiled into narrative case studies describing the essential
qualities of the organizational contexts and the activities in which they
participated on a day to day basis. They report that the principals focused their
daily activities in two directions: climate and instructional organization.
Effective principals nurture positive and collegial relationships among all
participants in the school community. They do this in a variety of ways, such as
providing time for collaboration, recognizing every small accomplishment, and
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building trust by showing support (Bird & Little, 1985; Rutherford et al. 1983). In
the study of principals conducted by Andrews and Soder (1986) (described
earlier in this report) they found a strong correlation between teachers who felt
that they had positive relationships with others in the school and a growth in
student achievement.
Providing Policy Leadership
Educational reform is shifting the locus of responsibility in decision
making from professionally dominated centralized hierarchies to various forms
of school site councils, management committees, and leadership councils
(Murphy, 1989). Research in this area has demonstrated that decisions for the
implementation of innovations and improvement have more success when they
are made at the site level and principals are given more latitude to initiate and
institute policy changes that affect their individual schools (NAESP, 1990). The
results of a study conducted by Odden & Marsh (1988) to determine what
factors contribute to successful implementation of state-mandated reforms
indicate that, among the many factors, is the involvement of teachers and
administrators in the decision of how the reform will be implemented at their
school site.
An assumption can be made from this evidence that indicates that
effective principals involve stakeholders in the decision-making process
through the use of site-based management, thereby giving decisions that
directly affect classroom instruction more chance for success.
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Building Community Support
The research on effective schools suggests that parents are an important
component in the educational success of students (Goldring, 1987; Wepner,
Feeley, & Strickland, 1989). As principals move more towards collaborative
decision-making, parents are given more opportunity to become involved in the
process. This involvement affords principals the opportunity to inform parents
about classroom instruction and garner their support. As parents become more
familiar with the workings of the school and more comfortable in the school
setting, their support for programs may increase. In a study of fifteen elementary
school principals in three states, Hallinger, Murphy and Hausman (1992), using
interviews to collect data, determined that principals agree that through their
participation in the school, parents become more informed, and thereby, have a
tendency to be more tolerant and supportive after understanding the problems
faced by educators.
Interpersonal Skills
In a report issued in 1990, entitled “Principals for the 21s t Century,” the
National Association for Elementary School Principals states that “The 21s t
century is expected to see continuing expansion of collegial involvement and a
more ‘flattened’ organizational structure for decision making in the schools”
(p. 11). This requires principals who can facilitate and empower the various
members of the school community. They also need to be able to strengthen the
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leadership skills of staff members within the school and encourage
collaboration.
The move towards site-based management is ever-increasing.
Wohlstetter and Briggs (1994) found that one-third of the districts in their study,
based on 11 districts in the United States, Canada, and Australia, were
currently operating under some form of site-based management, and that
another 15% were planning to implement site-based management in the near
future. Principals need the skills necessary to involve all members of the
school community in the decision-making process and to help them hone their
ability to participate in the management of the school (Wohlstetter & Briggs,
1994). This provides staff and parents with a sense of ownership in the school,
which in turn “ . . . increases teacher and parental motivation and initiative”
(Hallinger, Murphy, & Hausman, 1992).
Effective interpersonal relationships require that the principal have the
ability to work with individuals as well as small and large groups and also to
possess appropriate attitudes (NAESP, 1990). These skills are a necessary
component of effective leadership and are most critical in times of conflict
among individuals or groups.
Effective leadership requires principals to establish networks between
the school and members of the community who are not directly connected to the
school. These networks serve to foster and maintain programs that directly
affect students. Richardson (1991) suggests that “leaders in restructured
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26
schools must demonstrate skills in utilizing forces outside the school to help the
school achieve its vision for quality instruction for students” (p. 11).
Instructional Leadership Skills
Effective leaders must have a widespread knowledge base in teaching
and learning. They need to develop, with their staff, a plan to work towards and
be firmly committed to assist teachers and students to work towards that plan to
raise student achievement (Richardson, Short, & Prickett, 1993).
Principals need to facilitate the work of teachers by being the motivating
force for quality instruction. Goldring and Rallis (1993) state that “it is the
principal who coordinates school tasks and creates the necessary conditions to
enable teachers and students to succeed” (p. 120). In order to accomplish this
monumental task, principals need continue to develop their repertoire of
teaching and learning strategies and provide teachers with assistance in
effective pedagogical techniques (NAESP, 1990).
Effective instructional leadership requires the ability to empower teachers
(Bird & Little, 1985; Blase & Blase, 1994; Bredeson, 1989). Blase & Blase
(1994) report the results of a study conducted to determine how successful
principals empower teachers in order to improve education. In their study they
investigated highly successful principals in schools affiliated with Carl
Glickman’s League of Professional Schools. “Successful principals” were
identified through the use of League criteria, annual reports, on-site visitations,
teacher reports, and reports of League staff members assigned to the schools.
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Eleven schools were involved in the study (5 elementary, 3 middle, and 3 high
schools), with the total participation of 285 teachers. An open-ended
questionnaire was used to determine teachers’ perceptions about the
characteristics of principals that influence their sense of empowerment. The
results of their data indicate that teachers’ behavior, thinking, and attitudes are
dramatically affected by strategies used by principals. The behavior that
promotes teacher empowerment exhibited by the successful principals in the
study includes:
• encouraging autonomy and innovation
• supporting risk and diminishing threat
• establishing trust
They summarize that “successful shared governance principals realize
that teachers require help in enhancing their professional knowledge and skills
. . . use considerable caution and diplomacy in their attempts to improve
instruction through staff development. . . [and] respected teachers’ need for
autonomy and professionalism in choosing to involve themselves in
professional growth activities” (p. 64).
The Effective Principal and Literacy Instruction
This review of the literature began with the broad overview of the role of
principals in effective schools, then narrowed down to look at how these
effective principals impact classroom instruction in general. The following
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review will examine a more specific component of classroom instruction,
namely, literacy, and how this instruction is influenced by effective principals.
Background
According to the literature on reading instruction, the teaching of reading
became a national focus in the early 1960’s after the launching of Russia’s
Sputnik (Avery, 1972). Teachers were expected to prepare students to read
advanced material much sooner in children’s educational careers and this
produced an increased emphasis on researching how children learn to read.
Subsequent research on literacy led to a report from The Commission on
Reading entitled “Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission
on Reading,” issued in 1984. Among its recommendations for the success of
reading programs, is that principals need to support the reading program by
creating an atmosphere where reading is clearly valued.
Principals and Literacy
A review of the research on the role of the principal in literacy instruction
uncovered that throughout the previously mentioned eras and in the present,
there is evidence that supports the fact that the principal is a hallmark of
effective reading instruction (Barnard & Hetzel, 1976; Binkley, 1989; Hillerich,
1983; Laffey, 1980; Radencich, 1995; Erickson, 1995). Avery (1972) reports
that in 1966, the president of the Board of Directors of the International Reading
Association, Dr. Alan Robinson, “was convinced, from his own studies in several
Midwestern and eastern school districts, that a vital factor in tbe improvement of
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reading instruction was the degree to which the building principal involved
himself with and gave support to the reading program” (p. 9). Barnard and
Hetzel (1976) go so far as to state that “The key to the improvement of reading
rests with the principal" (p. 386).
A report from the New York State Office of Education (1974) on an in-
depth study of two inner-city schools, one low-achieving in reading, the other,
high achieving, supports the critical role of the principal in the success of the
reading program. The schools were matched in socioeconomic status (students
on free lunch, families on welfare), student ethnicity, percentage of language-
minority students, and student mobility. The preeminent finding was the
involvement of the principal in the high-achieving school. In this school, the
principal had developed a school-wide plan for the teaching of reading, had
assigned the assistant principal to be in charge of the implementation of a plan
for dealing with reading problems, and the teaching of reading had been
established as a focus for teachers. In the low-achieving school “there did not
appear to be a significant administrative involvement in the school’s reading
program" (p. 51). The report concludes that the findings suggest “that the
differences in pupils’ reading achievement in these two schools were primarily
attributed to administrative policies, behavior, procedures, and practices”
(p. 58).
Principals of schools that have successful literacy instruction must
possess competencies in two general areas: establishing a climate that
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promotes literacy, and monitoring of the literacy program (Barnard & Hetzel,
1976; Laffey, 1980; New York State Office of Education Performance Review,
1974; McNinch and Richmond, 1983; Rauch, 1983; Jacobson, Reutzel &
Hollingsworth, 1992; Wepner, Feeley & Strickland, 1989). Each of these areas
contains specific components that are elaborated upon below.
Climate for Literacy
A review of the literature indicates that the climate for effective literacy
instruction is much like the climate for effective schools. The report from the
New York State Office of Education (1974) states that “School A (the high-
achieving school) achieved a collaborative relationship between parents,
pupils, and staff” (p. 57). In order to implement change and improve literacy
programs, principals must establish a collaborative decision-making model that
involves teachers and parents (Erickson, 1995). The principal must guide the
staff to ensure that changes in instruction are in the right direction and must
involve the staff in discussions about the goals and philosophy of the reading
program (Hillerich, 1983).
The literature identifies several characteristics of a climate for effective
literacy instruction: the school environment, teacher commitment, establishing
partnerships with parents, and the allocation of resources (Binkley, 1989;
Laffey, 1980; New York State Office of Education, 1974; Rauch, 1983). Each
one of these components of school climate is explored below.
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School Environment
The school where a principal has established a climate which promotes
literacy has a particular look and feel. Binkley (1989) lists several
characteristics of a school that sends the message that “We are a community of
readers”:
• hall displays of student writing and art work send the message that
student work is valued
•the library has an ample amount of books and is used by everyone,
including the principal
• the classrooms have a library corner with many books on a variety of
topics and students are free to read throughout the day
•there are ongoing events throughout the school year that promote
literacy, such as book talks, dramatic representation of stories, and book
displays; the principal serves as a role model by reading to children and
talking to students about books (p. 10).
The principal can set the tone at the school that literacy is of primary
importance by initiating extra-curricular programs that emphasize reading,
distributing relevant journal articles to teachers, and including information about
reading in every newsletter that is sent home to parents (Wepner et al., 1989;
Guadarrama, 1995).
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Strong Teacher Commitment
The principal’s first responsibility in this area is to ensure that the
teaching staff is qualified in the teaching of reading. Once this is in place, the
next step is to provide sufficient time for the teaching of reading (Barnard &
Hetzel, 1976; Hillerich, 1983; Carbo & Cole, 1995). Although this point might
seem obvious, if not kept in check, there can be countless interruptions to
classroom instruction. The time set aside for reading instruction should be free
of disruptions from the office as well as from other teachers and students
(Rauch, 1983; New York Office of Education, 1974).
Teachers are committed to the reading program when they feel they are
receiving support and encouragement from the principal (Gonzalez et al., 1997;
Erickson, 1995). This support can take several forms:
• Meaningful staff development- Teachers must have input about the
contents and the presenter should understand the nature of adult
learning (Radencich,1995).
• Time for teachers to meet together- Relevant discussions about what is
working within the reading program and what is not is an important
ingredient in its success (Erickson, 1995; Gonzalez, Schiller, & Stell,
1997).
• Support for teachers in their attempts to implement new strategies-
Support can be in the form of a note, positive words of encouragement,
or praise reflected in the evaluation process (Radencich, 1995;
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Sanacore, 1990).
Establishing Partnerships with Parents
Parents are an integral part of literacy development for children
(Delgado-Gaitan, 1991), therefore principals are strongly encouraged to gain
their support for the instructional program (Laffey, 1980; Rauch, 1983;
Sanacore, 1974). For many parents, the primary source of information about
schools is through the media, therefore, meetings should be held to explain the
reading program to parents and to assist them in understanding the types of
instruction and assessments that are used.
Parents can participate in a variety of reading activities at school and at
home. At school principals can engage them in reading to children, listening to
children read, and assisting children with writing. At home, parents should be
encouraged to read to their children, provide ample opportunities for reading
and writing, and limit the amount of television viewing done by their children
(Binkley, 1989).
Allocation of Resources
Resources within a school include time, space, personnel, and materials.
How these resources are allocated reveals the priorities of the principal and the
school (Barnard & Hetzel, 1976). A principal who maintains literacy at the
forefront of the school’s priorities demonstrates this through the allocation of
funds in these areas in order to enhance and support the program. The
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following are suggestions taken from the literature on how funds might be spent
in these areas (Barnard & Hetzel, 1976; Hillerich, 1983; Walla, 1990)
• Time- Provide uninterrupted time for teachers to teach reading. Hillerich
(1983) cites the importance of “proper scheduling of time and the
elimination of unnecessary interruptions” (p. 3). Provide funds for
substitutes to release teachers during the school day to meet in teams
to discuss program implementation and how to meet the needs of
individual students (Erickson, 1995).
• Space- Ensure that there is optimum space provided for special reading
programs and materials.
• Personnel- Select only the most qualified staff. Provide ongoing staff
development which provides teachers with essential skills and
strategies too provide optimum instruction (Radencich, 1995).
• Materials- Provide all necessary materials to facilitate the teaching of
reading. This includes not only books, but appropriate furniture and
technological equipment.
Program Monitoring
The second critical area in which principals must develop expertise is
that of monitoring the literacy program. The literature on how principals can
most effectively monitor the literacy instructional program suggests the following
practices (Wepner et al., 1989; Barnard & Hetzel, 1976; Radencich, 1995;
Hillerich, 1983).
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Knowledge of Effective Reading Instruction
Several studies have investigated the importance of the principal’s
knowledge of reading instruction and involvement in the reading program
(Jacobson, Reutzel, & Hollingsworth, 1992; McNinch & Richmond, 1983, Rauch,
1983; Braughton & Riley, 1991). A study conducted by Jacobson, Reutzel, and
Hollingsworth (1992) that involved 581 principals across the United States
yielded the results that principals are aware of the impact of their knowledge
about reading instruction and that they try to keep current on issues related to
reading instruction. Professional journals, magazines, and personal
communication with reading specialists were identified as their primary sources
of information. Radencich, (1995) suggests that principals must go beyond this
and attend literacy workshops and inservice training with teachers as well as
on their own. A survey administered to one-third of all elementary school
principals in Tennessee (Chance, 1991) found that the principal’s involvement
in the reading program was positively related to their increased training in
reading. Furthermore, McNinch and Richmond (1983) collected data from a
survey of 69 Mississippi elementary school principals to determine their
perceptions of their actual and ideal roles in the reading program. They
“strongly” recommend that principals receive "more training or guidance in the
supervisory techniques related directly to reading programs” (p. 241).
Principals’ knowledge of reading instruction and involvement in the
reading program are positively linked to student achievement in studies by
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Braughton & Riley (1991), McBride, (1978), and Ralston, (1978). In his
investigation, McBride (1978) surveyed elementary school principals in a
school district in Utah to determine their commitment to improving students’
reading skills. The surveys were analyzed and compared to their schools’
scores on the reading portion of a standardized test. The findings indicate that
strong leadership in reading programs is correlated with higher reading scores
on standardized achievement tests. Braughton’s & Riley’s (1991) study
supports these results. They documented their findings through the use of an
instrument that they developed entitled “Educators’ Understanding of Reading,”
which contained forty items to measure principals’ and teachers’ knowledge of
the reading program and reading instruction. The instrument was given to
principals and selected teachers in 26 elementary schools. The results of the
instrument were analyzed and compared to fourth grade results on a
standardized reading test.
Knowledge of Appropriate Assessment Tools
Effective assessment is ongoing and is used to plan appropriate
instruction for each child. The Commission on Reading (1984) recommends
ongoing, informal observation by the classroom teacher as an alternative to
only the formal testing of reading. Principals need to meet with teachers to
select the types of assessments that will generate the most relevant information
to help plan instruction, to determine the manner in which these assessments
will be used, and to develop a schedule for when they will be administered.
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Rauch (1983) states that after twenty years of evaluating district-wide reading
programs, he found that schools with effective reading programs had
standardized assessment supplemented by teacher judgment and informal
testing.
Make Frequent Classroom Visits and Observations
As previously reported in the review of the research on effective schools,
classroom visits and observations were part of the principals repertoire of daily
activities (Bird & Little, 1985). Informal as well as formal visits during language
arts time are a powerful tool for monitoring the language arts program
(Radencich, 1995). Choosing an aspect of reading instruction for a formal
observation sends a powerful message that literacy is a priority. Informal visits
followed by a note or a comment helps to keep teachers focused on effective
reading strategies.
In summary, a synthesis of past and current research strongly suggests
that the literacy environment of elementary schools is both directly and indirectly
influenced by principals as they assume the role of instructional leader in
administering and supervising the reading programs.
Principals and Bilingual Literacy
Although much has been written about principals and English literacy
instruction, there is a paucity of research pertaining directly to the specific effect
of the principal in literacy instruction for Spanish language-minority students.
Therefore, it becomes necessary to examine the research on successful
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bilingual programs because one of the components that determines success is
students’ ability to read.
The results of studies on “effective” bilingual programs point to the role of
the principal as an essential ingredient in the success of the program (Garcia,
1987/1988; Prince, 1987; Texas Education Agency, 1990). In their discussion
about the purpose of their study, which was conducted to determine how
principals feel about bilingual education, Shin and Anton (1997) make the
assumption that since there is extensive research that documents that the
principal, who is an instructional leader, significantly influences student
achievement in traditional schools, then “. . . it is most likely to be true with
bilingual education as well” (p. 1). Their study involved ninety-two principals in
schools ranging from kindergarten through grade twelve in central California.
Guadarrama (1995) reports the success of one bilingual principal in
transforming a low achieving bilingual school into a successful one through the
use of some of the techniques documented in the literature about leadership
and effective schools. The techniques used included the implementation of a
collaborative decision-making model, creating teacher teams to promote
commitment to the program, and promoting the importance of the community’s
role in the educational process by involving parents and incorporating the
native culture and language into the school culture.
Writing about principals and bilingual literacy, Gonzalez, Schiller, and
Stell (1997) state that the principal sets the tone and that the success of the
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39
program depends on the support that teachers receive from the principal. This
view is supported by the reported results of a two-year study of effective
bilingual programs in Phoenix, Arizona (Garcia, 1987/1988). Their suggestions
for what the principal can do to ensure the success and effectiveness of a
bilingual literacy program are very much aligned with what researchers have
shown experimentally about the effect of the principal on English-only literacy
programs.
The Texas Education Agency (1990) conducted a three-year study of
bilingual programs in 144 Texas school districts. The third phase of the study
involved the selection of six schools for the effectiveness of their bilingual
programs. Participants in the study were asked to discuss the role of the
principal in the effectiveness of the program and this generated some common
themes:
• Principals perceived themselves as instructional leaders, facilitators,
and advocates for the bilingual program.
• Principals felt responsible for the coordination and operations of the
programs.
• Principals expressed their support for the bilingual teaching staff.
• Principals felt that it was their role to serve as a “bridge” between the
bilingual teaching staff and the monolingual teaching staff.
• Principals felt it was their responsibility to be the advocates for the
bilingual program in order to gain support from the central office and the
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40
community.
The report summarizes the role of the principal by the statement, “In
short, a principal who is less than an avid advocate of the bilingual education
program contributes daily to the demise of the program” (p. 73).
The results of these studies suggest that since the principal is a key
player in the success of bilingual programs, it may follow that he or she is
pivotal in the implementation of successful bilingual literacy instruction,
constituting a need for further exploration in this area.
The Inclusion of Language and Culture Within the Bilingual Literacy Program
The research identifies the inclusion of children’s culture and language
as a critical component of successful literacy acquisition in a bilingual program.
There is substantial evidence that indicates that creating an environment in the
classroom that includes the language and culture of the students is a precursor
for success in school (Collier, 1995; Cummins, 1994; Goodman, Goodman &
Flores 1979; Ramirez et al. 1991). Cummins’ (1989, 1994) theory defines the
inclusion of minority language and culture within the classroom as being
“additive” or “subtractive.” He postulates that teachers who view themselves as
helping children to add a second language and culture rather than subtract the
first language and culture are more likely to create conditions that celebrate and
are inclusive of these vital aspects of children’s lives. Rueda & Garcia (1996)
used this theory as part of their investigation into how teachers’ beliefs affect
classroom instruction. The results of their study, which involved 54 teachers in
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41
six urban Southern California districts, indicate that teachers who subscribe to
the additive view of bilingualism “encouraged students to use their native
language when possible” (p. 319). However, teachers who subscribe to the
subtractive philosophy “discouraged the use of the primary language” (p. 319).
The importance of embracing the language and culture of students within
the classrooms is explained paradoxically in a study conducted by Zuniga-Hill
and Yopp-Edwards (1992). In their examination of five exemplary elementary
school teachers of language minority students in Orange County, California,
they found a lack of the use of sociocultural information within the classroom
instruction. The researchers explain that this was an unexpected finding given
the documented importance of the sociocultural aspect of instruction and the
fact that the participants in the study were “expert” teachers. They plan to
explore this issue further with the teachers involved. One weakness of the study
that perhaps accounts for this unexpected finding is the fact that the criteria for
identifying “exemplary” teachers did not include measurable student outcomes,
as in the other studies examined. Teachers were chosen based on
recommendations from other teachers and school administrators.
The Principal and the Inclusion of Language and Culture
Virtually no empirical research was found that investigates the impact of
the principal on the inclusion of the language and culture of the students in
relationship to a successful bilingual literacy program. Therefore, as stated
earlier, it is necessary to focus this review on the bilingual program in general.
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42
Several studies were uncovered that investigate the role of the principal on the
implementation of bilingual programs. These studies conclude that the ability of
the principal to address the language and culture of their students is an
essential element in the success of the program. Pinero (1982) asserts that a
bilingual and bicultural principal is in a position to communicate with parents in
their native language, thereby helping them to seek the necessary help outside
of the school that will, in turn, maintain a school climate conducive to learning.
A bilingual and bicultural principal can intervene with parents to provide
students with a sense of safety and security and is also able to be involved in
matters of their health due to the fact that he or she has the ability to speak
Spanish (Pinero, 1982). Valverde (1978) describes the characteristics of
bilingual education administrators as: (a) being dynamic, (b) having the ability
to implement change, (c) being sensitive towards the students’ culture, (d)
possessing knowledge of the theory and philosophy that drives bilingual
education, (e) possessing formal training in the administration of bilingual
programs, and (f) having the ability to involve all stakeholders in decision
making.
Bernard (1991) investigated the backgrounds and qualities of
monolingual English elementary principals implementing successful bilingual
and ESL programs with regard to: (a) what skills or contributing factors are
necessary for administrators to be successful instructional leaders in schools
with students in the process of acquiring English, and (b) their reflections about
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43
the training they received from the institutes of higher learning where they
received their administrative credential to prepare them to be principals in
elementary schools serving language minority students. The researcher used a
participatory research design that he describes as . a research method in
which subjects are involved in the research process . . . and allows participants
to become active partners throughout the research process” (p. 43). This
method was employed with the eight monolingual elementary school principals
from six school districts in northern and southern California. On the subject of
including the language and culture of the students within the program, the
researcher reports that
. . . seven participants . .. agreed that communicating with parents
in a language that they could understand is most important in
building credibility. “ The only way to successfully build credibility
is through effectively communicating with parents” (Darlene)
(p. 112).
Since the topic of language and culture was not the focus of the study,
there is a limited amount of information describing how the monolingual
principals accomplished the task of communicating with parents and students in
their native language. The principals went on to say that in recommending
course topics for principal preparation programs at the university level, one
course should be the “appreciation of cultures, languages, and people” (p. 126).
In an ethnographic study conducted in Connecticut, Reyes (1985)
shadowed a bilingual principal for seven months to explore the role of the
bilingual, bicultural elementary principal. She followed the principal as she
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44
visited classrooms, observed teachers, and met with students, parents, and
other staff members. The purpose of the research was to provide an in-depth
description of the role of the bilingual/bicultural principal and to identify
characteristics associated with the bilingual/bicultural elementary school
principal. In the analysis of the results the researcher states that the principal’s
. . . knowledge and use of two languages, Spanish and English,
as means of communication is her most salient characteristic.
This skill permits her to communicate on a one-to-one with
Hispanic parents . . . [her] mastery of the English language allows
her to interact equally well with the English monolingual speaking
parents (p. 141).
In summary, the literature clearly indicates that the inclusion of the
language and culture of students within the instructional program is necessary
in order for students to be successful. However it is less clear how this is
facilitated by the principal of the school. The studies described above indicate
that bilingual and bicultural principals, as well as, monolingual principals
realize the critical nature of this component, yet specific dimensions of how this
is accomplished have not been extensively identified and validated. In order to
determine more conclusively which leadership behaviors can contribute to
quality bilingual literacy programs, research must continue to explore this area.
Conclusion
Currently literacy is a main topic of discussion in pedagogical and
political circles. How children learn to read and what conditions are optimum
for the instruction of literacy are issues that are debated at the school site, the
district level, and the state level. There are certain aspects of literacy instruction
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45
that appear to be non-debatable based on solid findings from the research and
among these, the most critical is that the principal plays a key role in the
successful implementation of the literacy program. In an effective program for
the acquisition of literacy, the principal is not only the chief overseer of the
program, but the day to day activities in which the principal participates
profoundly influence what goes on in the classroom during literacy instruction.
There are certain focus areas for the principal in order to positively affect
the literacy program and increase student achievement. These areas are
working with students and teachers, creating a school climate that not only
promotes literacy but advertises the fact that the acquisition of literacy by all
students is the primary goal of the school, providing policy leadership, and
building community support.
Certain skills are needed by the principal in order to build capacity
among all members of the school community to effectively implement a
successful literacy program. The principal needs interpersonal skills in order to
create a school climate in which collaboration among staff members is ongoing
and student-focused, parental involvement a crucial part of the program, and an
atmosphere of trust supports risk taking. Instructional leadership skills are
critical for the purpose of initiating appropriate staff development for teachers
and for monitoring the instruction that takes place within the classroom.
Management skills are indispensable in order for the principal to effectively
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46
oversee the day to day operations of the program and allocate resources to
maximize the effectiveness of the literacy program.
The monitoring of the instructional practices within the classroom is an
important component of the principal’s day to day activities. In order to do this in
the most efficacious manner, and to achieve the desired results of all children
learning to read, the principal needs to continually keep current with the latest
research on effective instructional practices for the acquisition of literacy.
Although most principals rely on educational journals and personal contact with
reading specialists for this information, a more effective method would be to
participate in the same workshops and inservice classes provided for teachers
or to take classes at a university.
Since the literature on effective schools clearly indicates the importance
of the principal in the successful implementation of instructional programs, and
bilingual literacy is an instructional program, one can safely draw the
conclusion that the principal is also critical to the success of bilingual literacy
programs. The salient feature of a bilingual literacy program that is not part of
the traditional literacy program is the addition of the language and the culture of
the language-minority students. The principal plays a key role in the inclusion
of culture and language within the program. However, how this is done is not
clear and is an area that needs further exploration.
Finally, if the principal is the most effective factor in the implementation of
successful instructional programs, then the principal’s knowledge and
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experience with early literacy for language-minority students can be a powerful
tool for creating bilingual literacy programs that result in biliterate students who
can think, reflect, and communicate in two languages.
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48
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODS
Overview
The literature consistently shows that the leadership of the principal is
critical in the process of improving schools (Smith & Andrews, 1989) and that
the inclusion of the language and culture of the students is indispensable within
the literacy program in order for students to achieve literacy (Goodman,
Goodman, & Flores, 1979); hence, if bilingual literacy is to become reality for all
language minority students, the principal’s role in the inclusion of the language
and culture of the students should be tied to the success of bilingual literacy
programs. How this process is facilitated in the implementation of “effective”
bilingual literacy programs when a principal is bilingual and bicultural and
when the principal is not Spanish-bilingual nor bicultural is the focus of this
study.
The methodology used in the study is described in this chapter. The
chapter describes the criteria for the selection of the schools, the sample, the
measures, data collection, data analysis and summary of methodology.
Criteria for Selection
The criteria used for the selection of effective bilingual literacy programs
was adapted from criteria used by two comprehensive studies of effective
bilingual programs. Since several research studies indicate that effective
bilingual education programs are more likely to exist within an effective school
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49
environment ( Berman, et al., 1995; Carter & Maestas, 1982; Carter & Chatfield,
1986), for the purpose of this study, the assumption is made that bilingual
literacy programs will exist within an effective bilingual program. The criteria
that were chosen are from two of these studies, Berman et al., (1995) and
Carter & Chatfield (1986). These two are the most in-depth studies that were
found.
Table 1
Criteria for Effective Bilingual Programs
Berman et al. (1995) Carter and Chatfield (1986)
Innovation: I he school alters traditional
practices where necessary to serve the
needs of language- minority students.
There is an excitement about the school
both inside and outside.
A well functioning total system
producing a social climate in the
school which promotes positive
outcomes.
Embedded: I he practices for language-
minority students are not isolated, but a
part of the entire school program and are
articulated with the type of practices
used in earlier and later grades.
Specific characteristics crucial to the
development of the effectiveness
and thus to a positive school climate,
such as:
•A safe and orderly school
environment
•Positive leadership, usually from the
formal leaders
•Common agreement on a strong
academic orientation which includes
well-functioning methods to monitor
school inputs and outputs.
High Expectations for LEP Students:
The school’s administrators and teachers
have embraced and can articulate the
philosophy of the program. The staff
demonstrates an understanding of the
societal context within which language-
minority students live and learn.
A positive school climate which
includes:
•High staff expectations for children
and the instructional program
•Strong demand for academic
excellence
•Denial of cultural-deprivation
argument and the stereotypes that
support this denial.
Longevity: The school’s use of identified
practices is a serious long-term effort.
The program should be a long-term
effort
Qualified Statt: Staffing and training of
staff are appropriate to practices being
implemented.
High staff morale
Sense that the system works
Sense of personal efficacy
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Sample
The selection of the principals involved a two-stage process. First, the
criteria for effective bilingual programs were shared with a bilingual consultant
for the Los Angeles County Department of Education and the director of
bilingual programs for a district in Southern California. They were asked to
nominate schools with exemplary bilingual literacy programs in grades
kindergarten through three that have a bilingual, Latino principal or a non-
Spanish bilingual, non-Latino principal. A total of four principals were
nominated.
In the second stage of the process, the researcher screened nominees to
determine if they met the criteria for effective bilingual programs (see Table 1).
The screening involved the following process:
1. All the nominated sites were contacted by telephone and extensive
interviews were conducted to identify schools that exhibit excellence with
regard to the criteria for effective bilingual programs.
2. Following the phone interview, two schools were chosen for an initial visit,
one with a bilingual principal and one with a non-bilingual principal. The site
visit consisted of a tour of the school, classroom visitations, and an interview
with the principal.
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51
3. The results of the site visit were used to determine that the two principals met
the requirements for language and culture, and that their schools closely
matched the criteria for effectiveness.
In an attempt to make study results more generalizable across the state
of California the student population at the schools that were chosen have at
least 45% Latino students with at least 75% of students receiving free or
reduced lunch.
Measures
A semistructured (Rubin & Rubin, 1995) interview format was primarily
used to gather data. In a semistructured interview, the interviewer introduces
the topic and guides the discussion by asking specific questions. It is important
to consider when to use an interview technique as opposed to an alternative
means of data collection. According to Keats (1988), if the interview is used as
the main source of data, then it should be used when other methods of data
collection are inappropriate. To be more explicit, interviews are best used to
elicit opinions, values, attitudes, and to reveal the basis of a subject’s
reasoning.
The interview process also allows for cross- checking and verification of
responses. This assures that effective communication has taken place between
the interviewer and the interviewee (Isaac & Michael, 1995). In addition, a
rapport is often developed between the researcher and the respondents, which
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52
allows the researcher to contact the respondent if any questions arise
concerning the data (Keats, 1988).
Additional data were obtained through the examination of documents,
which included a Parent Handbook, Teacher Handbook, the schools’ Action
Plans for curriculum, and testing information and results; classroom
observations; and semi- tructured interviews with teachers to determine their
perceptions of the impact of the language and culture of each principal as they
relate to effective literacy programs.
Data Collection
Once the participants were chosen for the semistructured interview, they
were contacted personally and asked to participate. Paricipants were
guaranteed that their participation would be completely voluntary, and that their
anonymity would be absolutely safeguarded. The personal contact was
followed with a formal written explanation of the study and the
acknowledgement of participation.
Each principal was interviewed three times by the researcher: an
interview during the initial site visit, a subsequent in-depth interview, and a final
interview for clarification. Each interview lasted between two and three hours.
Besides the in-person interviews, numerous interviews were held over the
telephone for the purpose of gathering more data or clarifying data already
obtained. There was a minimum of two telephone conversations per week
during the four weeks of data analysis.
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53
During the first interview, the criteria of effectiveness was used to guide
the discussion and there was no formal protocol used. Open-ended questions
were used, as needed, to obtain more information. The protocol used for the
second interview (see Appendix A) contained twenty-three questions with a
subset of eight questions designed for the bilingual and bicultural principal.
The interview began with general questions to elicit information about each
principal’s background and experiences in the implementation of the bilingual
literacy program at the school. This design adheres to Patton’s (1980)
rcommendation that interviews begin by using experience questions, as
respondents usually find descriptive questions easiest to answer. The second
set of questions were used to determine the advantages of being bilingual and
bicultural and how the non-bilingual leader deals with his non- bilingualism.
Specifically addressed was what he does to maintain an effective program
when contrasted with the bilingual leader. Finally, a set of questions was
designed to render the principals’ beliefs explicit by asking the bilingual
principal to explain specifically how the match between her language and
culture to the language and culture of the Spanish-speaking students at the
school affects the implementation of the bilingual literacy program.
The teachers that were interviewed in the focus groups were chosen by
the principal. On the surface this might appear to bias the information, but there
were opportunities to validate the information through observations and casual
conversations with other staff members, students, and parents. The protocol for
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54
the interview with the teachers contained six questions that were designed to
assess their perceptions of the role of an effective principal and of the role that
the language and culture of their respective principal plays in the
implementation of the literacy program.
Most literature reviewed strongly recommends the combined use of note
taking and the use of a tape recorder to record interview data (Borg & Gall,
1989; Patton, 1980; Rubin & Rubin, 1995) each one having its advantages and
disadvantages.
Rubin & Rubin (1995) state that taking notes forces the interviewer to
focus on what the interviewee is saying and paces the interview, as the
interviewee is likely to wait until the interviewer is finished jotting down notes
before going on with the response. Note taking also gives the interviewer the
opportunity to write down questions for clarification. Yet only using note taking
to record the information is likely to produce biased data, as the interviewer will
tend to write down only what he or she thinks is important (Slavin, 1984;
Wolcott, 1990).
Tape recording an interview produces data that are more accurate and
easier to retrieve, but it also has disadvantages. The interviewer can
experience mechanical difficulties, tape recording might intimidate the
interviewee, and each hour of taping requires four to six hours of transcribing
time (Rubin & Rubin, 1995).
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In order to gather data that were comprehensive and accurate, both tape
recording and note taking were used in this study. All interviews were tape
recorded and transcribed in there entirety. These data were used, along with
the notes, for analysis.
In addtition to the interviews, data were gathered from classroom
observations at both schools and the examination of documents. The principal
at each school accompanied the researcher during the observations. All
classrooms at both schools were visited, as well as the cafeteria and any rooms
for special reading instruction such as those used by the Resource Specialists
and Reading Recovery teachers. These visits were tape recorded, as well as
documented by taking notes. The researcher requested and received all
documents that the principals felt would give more information about their
schools. The documents that were gathered (listed above) and the testing
information were also analyzed.
Data Analysis
The notes and transcriptions were coded using open coding and axial
coding techniques (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The analysis process began with
open coding, where texts were read and portions given conceptual labels, and
through rereadings and recodings, categories of information were established.
After this open coding, the conceptual categories were reviewed and
relationships among categories were identified using axial coding techniques. It
was during this process that the themes discussed in this study became evident.
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Certain words and phrases were repeatedly used by the participants and as
these were categorized they defined the four main themes described in Chapter
5. To facilitate the process of identifiying the themes and categories, multiple
copies of the transcriptions of the interviews were made and different colors of
highlighter pens were used.
During the analysis of the data both principals were contacted frequently
for more information and for clarification of the information. As the analysis of
the data progressed, member checks were conducted with both participants,
who were asked to provide feedback in terms of accuracy and to provide any
elaboration on their responses.
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CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS:
QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE BILINGUAL PROGRAMS AT TW O SCHOOLS
Overview
This chapter presents the information gathered from multiple semi
structured interviews with the two principals in the study, interviews with
teachers at each school, classroom observations, and a review of a variety of
documents from both schools.
This presentation of findings is intended to give a detailed description of
each school to illustrate how each one meets the criteria for having an effective
bilingual literacy program. It is also the intent of this chapter to give a sense of
who the research participants are and what their responses were to the
questions asked by the researcher in the interviews.
This chapter is organized in the following manner: Section I contains a
general description of Elm Elementary School, describes and discusses the
effectiveness of the bilingual program at Elm School, and introduces the
principal. Section II repeats the structure of Section I but in the case of Franklin
Elementary School.
Section I: The Case of Elm Elementary School
General Description of Elm Street Elementary School
Elm Street Elementary School is located in a predominantly Hispanic
suburb of a large urban district. The school was built in 1897 and has
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58
maintained the character of a 19th century school in its architecture and layout.
It is a two-story building that houses the Kindergarten through second grade
classes downstairs and third through fifth grade classes upstairs. Classrooms
have large, wood-framed windows that open to allow the breezes from the
nearby ocean to enter. Elm Street School boasts the oldest PTA in California
and the second oldest in the nation.
The neighborhood around Elm Street School consists of mainly older,
small homes and apartment buildings. There is a mixture of well-kept buildings
and many that are in need of repair. Elm Street School is considered a
neighborhood school in that all students live within the attendance area and
either walk or are driven to school. There are no students who are bused in
from other areas.
Elm Street School is a school-wide Title I school, meaning that over 50%
of the students receive some form of government assistance. The school’s 856
kindergarten through fifth grade students are served by 55 staff members that
include teachers, support staff, a counselor, a psychologist, and a nurse. The
city funds a pre-school on the campus as well as an adult school attended by
over 250 adults. Ninety percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced
lunch; Spanish-speaking LEP students make up 60 percent of the school’s
population. An estimated 40 percent of these LEP students are recent
immigrants and the remaining students were born in the United States. The
LEP students at Elm are typically from homes where only Spanish is spoken.
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Students who are recent immigrants usually arrive with some degree of literacy
in Spanish and have had some schooling in their country of origin.
Parents of most of the students work in blue-collar jobs, and a significant
number of students are from single-parent homes. The student population is
unstable, as students come and go throughout the school year. A small
percentage of the students enter at kindergarten and remain throughout their
elementary school years.
TABLE 2
Ethnic Distribution of Students at Elm
Total
Students
Hispanic Afro-
American
Asian Filipino Pacific
Islander
Non-
Minority
856 81.7% 8.0% 2.8% 0.8% 0.6% 6.1%
The Bilingual Program at Elm Elementary School
The bilingual model used for most students at Elm Street School is the
Late-Exit model, which was implemented eight years ago by the present
principal. Two premises are at the core of the Bilingual Late Exit approach:
(a) that literacy skills should be acquired in the native language before they are
taught in the second language; and (b) that oral language proficiency in the
second language in necessary before literacy can be acquired in the second
language. At Elm Street, the program for Limited English Proficient students
begins in kindergarten. There are enough bilingual classes at each grade level
to accommodate the number of students who qualify. Instruction in the bilingual
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60
classes is in Spanish for 90 percent of the day in kindergarten and 80 percent of
the day in grades one through five. In addition, LEP students receive one-half
hour of formal English language instruction and one hour of “mixing” with
English-only students wherein the classroom instruction is done entirely in
English.
Beginning in second grade, two other types of bilingual classes are
added, Modified Bilingual and English Language Development Program
(ELDP). Grades two, three and four each have one Modified Bilingual class
and one ELDP class. Grade five has two Modified Bilingual classes and one
ELDP class. The Modified Bilingual class is made up of 50 percent English-
only students and 50 percent LEP students. The instruction in the Modified
Bilingual classes is primarily in English and LEP students receive primary
language support through the use of a Spanish-speaking aide. Students are
given the opportunity to maintain their Spanish language skills through reading
literature and completing some of their assignments in Spanish.
Several assessments given to all students at Elm show positive results
and underscore the effectiveness of the bilingual program. The results of the
Language Assessment Scale (LAS), given to students annually to determine
their oral English proficiency, indicate that 60 percent of the students in fifth
grade who have been at Elm since first grade are proficient English speakers.
These students are redesignated to Fluent English Speakers (FEP) and English
becomes their language of instruction. Other assessments include a
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61
standardized, norm-referenced test, the California Test of Basic Skills (CTBS)
for English speakers and APRENDA for Spanish speakers; a criterion-
referenced test (SCANTRON) given in English and Spanish; and rubric-based
performance standards given in the language of instruction. Table 3 (on page
62) summarizes the 1997 results of these three assessments for third-grade
students by language of instruction.
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TABLE 3
Comparison of English and Spanish Reading Test Scores
Of Third Grade Students at Elm
55
50 -
45 -
40 -
CTBS A P R E N D A
English Spanish
Norm-Referenced
English Spanish
SCANTRON
Criterion-Referenced
30
English Spanish
Performance-Based
Writing
0 5
ro
63
Other aspects are also relevant for the implementation of an effective
bilingual program. As Berman et al. (1995) have thoroughly demonstrated,
conditions such as innovation, the level of embeddedness, high expectations
for students, long time efforts in sustaining the program, and having a qualified
staff are extremely important in the development and maintenance of effective
bilingual programs. The following presents how these five attributes are
manifested in the bilingual program at Elm School.
Innovation
The school functions as a total system, producing a social climate that
promotes positive outcomes. The school alters traditional practices where
necessary to serve the needs of language-minority students. There is an
excitement about the school both inside and outside.
Curriculum and Instruction
The driving force behind the successful program at Elm Street School is
the shared belief that all students can learn and become literate and that this
learning is best accomplished in a supportive atmosphere through instruction
enriched with language development and thinking. This vision permeates
throughout the school. The following statement from the initial interview with the
principal illustrates his zeal in the belief that everyone needs to work together
towards a common goal:
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64
What we’ve been able to accomplish at Elm Street is that all
people, and I mean all, have shared ideas. Now it’s taken a length
of time. It takes anywhere between two and three years to really
hammer out, so to speak, what you want, what everybody wants,
and what comes into a collective understanding.
Classroom observations reveal this “collective understanding.” The instruction
by the teachers is a balance between behaviorism and constructivism and
students actively participate in their learning. Every classroom has the same
basic materials and the four process questions that drive all lessons are clearly
posted in each classroom. These questions are defined by the principal as
“confirmational,” “integrative,” “valuing,” and “ feeling,” respectively:
What materials did you use?
What did you do with the materials?
What have you observed?
How did you feel about what you did?
The needs of language minority students are met through three types of
bilingual programs:
• Bilingual classes in which primary language instruction for the whole
class 80% to 90% of the day, with 10% to 20% of the day spent “mixing”
with English-only students.
• Modified Bilingual wherein fifty percent of the students are Spanish
speaking and fifty percent are English-only speakers. Primary language
instruction is provided in small group instruction.
• English Language Development Program provides instruction in
English using “sheltered” English techniques.
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Students are carefully placed in a program based on their language
development needs.
The language arts program effectively responds to LEP students’ need to
participate in a language-rich environment at an appropriate level. Students’
language skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening are developed
through the use of whole language experiences. Writing in the children’s
primary language is a critical focus throughout the school. In the words of the
principal, “We hold writing to be the highest form of thinking .. . .” There is
evidence of this belief in every classroom. Many samples of students’ writing
are prominently displayed in a “print-rich” environment. Writing is part of every
lesson as students respond to the process questions mentioned above. Once a
month students assemble in the auditorium to share their writing with their peers
in a program entitled “Writing Wizards.”
The development of literacy in Spanish for Spanish-speaking students
facilitates their ability to add English literacy when they are ready. In order to
ensure a successful transition into an English-only environment, students
continue to receive primary language support as needed.
Governance
There is a shared decision-making council at Elm Street entitled the
Instructional Transformation Team. It is comprised of teachers, parents,
classified staff, and administrators. The purpose of this team as defined in the
handbook is to
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66
. . . work with the entire school community to analyze current
student performance and plan for the continued improvement of
student achievement. To do this, the ITT develops student learning
by creating performance standards, using authentic student
assessment and analyzing classroom teaching and learning
practices. The ITT also develops the school budget, plans for
resource allocation, professional growth and development, the
integration of health and social services, and community building
to support the continued growth and transformation of instructional
practices (p. A.1).
At each of its bimonthly meetings, the team revisits the goals, objectives,
and vision of the school as the framework for all the decisions that are made.
Assessment
Along with the district- and state-required norm-referenced testing, the
staff at Elm Street has developed performance-based assessments:
• Rubrics - A six-point rubric has been developed that attaches a
descriptor to the various levels of students’ writing. Students are taught
to assess their writing based on this rubric. Good writing is defined as a
four or above.
• Portfolios - Students, as well as teachers, participate in the selection of
work for the students’ portfolios. The portfolio follows each student from
grade level to grade level.
• Student-led conferences with parents - Traditional parent/teacher
conferences have been transformed into parent/teacher/student
conferences. At conference time, students and teachers play equal
roles in sharing the work with parents.
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Embedded
The practices for language-minority students are not isolated, but a part
of the entire school program and are articulated with the type of practices used
in earlier and later grades.
A visit to all the classrooms at Elm Street School reveals that the only
difference between the bilingual classes and the English-only classes is the
language of instruction. All teachers have the same materials and resources in
the language of instruction particular to their classrooms. The same “print-rich”
environment is observed throughout the bilingual classes and student work in
Spanish is prominently displayed.
A review of the documents collected at Elm Street, including the
“Schoolwide Plan for Consolidated Programs,” reveals that there is not a
separate plan for the bilingual program and that the goals and objectives for
instruction are included within the general plan. All materials necessary for the
implementation of the school-wide plan are equally provided in both Spanish
and English, including materials for science, math, and social studies. The use
of Spanish and English is referred to throughout the comprehensive description
of the school’s action plan reference is made to both Spanish and English. This
is illustrated in the following examples:
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Staff members plan and coordinate history/social science
programs in both Spanish and English, using effective teaching
practices, “hands on” materials, multi-media aids and artifacts
(p. c16).
AIMS, GALAXY, (“SNOOPS” and “FIXER-UPPERS”), ESS, STC,
FOSS, GEMS and OBIS, available in Spanish and English, are a
collection of materials/units available to all teachers and used by
most students (p. c13)
Visitors to Elm Street are greeted by a bilingual office staff and signs are
displayed in both Spanish and English. All communication that is sent home is
written in both languages. Spanish speaking parents as well as English-
speaking parents feel welcome and comfortable in the bilingual environment.
As one walks through the halls both languages are heard being spoken by
children and adults.
High Expectations for LEP Students
The school’s administrators and teachers have embraced and can
articulate the philosophy of the program. The staff demonstrates an
understanding of the societal context within which language minority students
live and learn.
There is one set of expectations for students at Elm Street School and all
students are expected to achieve them. The stated goal in the school’s action
plan is to “Improve achievement in all curricular areas based on the District
Standards, for all students . . . (p. A3).” Teacher-developed writing rubrics were
created with all students in mind; there are not separate rubrics for Spanish-
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69
speaking learners. Although they have been translated into Spanish, they
remain identical in content.
Assessment of students is another area that demonstrates high
expectations for all students. Each student at the school has a portfolio that is
used to monitor academic growth. For English learners this portfolio is in
English and for Spanish learners it is in Spanish. All students keep a self-
reflective journal and participate in the student-led conferences with parents.
Standardized tests are given in both languages: CTBS in English and
APRENDA in Spanish. Both tests have the same format and the same process
of administration.
Longevity
The school’s use of the identified practices is a serious long-term effort.
Bilingual education has been part of Elm Street School, in a variety of
forms, for twenty years. The Late Exit Model (earlier described in detail) that is
now in place was implemented eight years ago by the present principal. All
members of the school community, including teachers, students, parents, and
administration, firmly believe that instruction in the primary language of the
students is the most effective way for students to acquire literacy. This is
demonstrated, most profoundly, in the culture of the school that, in essence, is
bicultural.
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Qualified Staff
Staffing and training of staff are appropriate to practices being
implemented.
All teachers in the bilingual program have an appropriate bilingual
credential that certifies them to teach language-minority students in a sheltered
or bilingual classroom. The specific credentialing and language proficiency of
teachers is described in greater detail in Table 4. The following key is
necessary for interpretation of this table.
Acronyms for credentials:
BCC = Bilingual Certificate of Competence
BCLAD = Bilingual Cross-Cultural Language and Academic
Development
LDS = Language Development Specialist
CLAD = Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development
Levels of language proficiency:
NS = Native Speaker
FS = Fluent Speaker
MFS = Moderately Fluent Speaker
Program Type:
B L= Bilingual
M B = Modified Bilingual
ELDP = English Language Development Program
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TABLE 4
Qualification of Teachers in the Bilingual Program at Elm
Grade
Level
Number of
Students
% LEP Bilingual
Credentials
Language
Proficiency
Type of
Program
K
26 65% BCC FS MB
30 93% BCC MFS BL
26 16% LDS MFS ELDP
28 100% Working on MFS BL
1
20 95% BCC NS BL
21 47% BCC FS MB
20 100% BCC NS BL
19 100% BCC ES BL
19 21% None None ELDP
19 95% BCC NS BL
18 100% BCC MFS BL
19 89% BCC NS MB
2
19 100% BCC FS BL
19 21% None None ELDP
20 80% BCC NS BL
18 38% LDS None ELDP
19 100% BCLAD NS BL
3
20 20% None None ELDP
19 100% CLAD NS BL
19 21% None None ELDP
20 50% BCC FS MB
18 100% BCLAD NS BL
4
29 13% None None ELDP
29 89% None None ELD
22 100% BCC NS BL
29 13% LDS None MB
5
26 57 CLAD None MB
25
12 CLAD None ELDP
26 100 BCC NS BL
26 15 None None ELDP
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In order to maintain a high degree of competence, many staff
development opportunities are provided for all teachers.
• Four pupil-free days. During the 1997-1998 school year, topics for
these days include Science, ESL, Using Centers and Reading Groups,
and Multi-cultural Dancing in the Classroom.
• Twice a month teachers meet in grade-level teams for one hour during
the school day. This time is used to articulate, discuss, and plan what
they are doing in each of the curricular areas of instruction.
• Walkthroughs. According to a previously determined schedule,
teachers have the opportunity to walk through and observe other
teachers while they are teaching. Teachers choose what curricular
area they want to observe and whether they want to observe it at their
own particular grade level or at a different grade level.
• Peer-coaching. Teachers may choose a partner or they may form a
group of three or four for the purpose of observing each other and
giving feedback. After the teachers observe each other, the principal
joins their conference for the discussion of the lesson. Teachers have
the option of participating in this type of peer-coaching evaluation in lieu
of having the principal observe and critique their lessons.
• New Teacher Support Program. There is a New Teacher Committee
that meets monthly with the new teachers. This committee is comprised
of mentor teachers who are assigned to new teachers to provide lesson
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demonstrations and to give feedback after observing their lessons.
During the monthly meetings, new teachers ask questions and get
clarification on issues concerning management techniques, effective
lesson design, classroom environment, and the overall goals of the
school.
The Principal
Daniel Smith is a European-American male in his mid-fifties. His career
in education began as an elementary and middle school teacher. He served as
a Special Education teacher for two years followed by several positions as a
curriculum advisor at the district’s regional office. His first administrative
position was that of Director of Instruction for one of the regions in the district
where he was in charge of all instructional programs for seventy-three schools.
He has been an elementary school principal for eighteen years, and each of the
schools to which he has been assigned has included a Spanish bilingual
program. He has been the principal at Elm Street School for nine years.
While in graduate school, Daniel took advantage of an opportunity to
study abroad and spent one year in Nationalist China. He lived with a family
that spoke very little English and attended classes to learn Chinese. He
considers his ability to speak Chinese to be at “. . . about a four or five year-old
level,” and explains that by Chinese standards, he is considered bilingual.
Upon his return, he finished his credential and began his career in the Los
Angeles area. Other than China, he has not lived in any other country and his
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only experience with Spanish has been in the schools in which he has worked.
He does not speak, read, or write Spanish.
As we walked through the school, it was evident that Daniel is well-liked
and highly respected by everyone. The following are examples of teacher’s
perceptions of Daniel:
Our principal is really involved in almost everything, like an
octopus with tentacles in all directions, reaching to society, to our
responsibility, to the teachers and to the students. He’s really on
top of all these things.
. . . you can see that even the kids in pre-K will run up to Daniel
and give him a hug and he’ll acknowledge them. So the kids feel
that they are important. They know they are important.
Daniel’s philosophy on education centers around his belief that
language is at the core of all learning as the following statement illustrates.
The center goal and center purpose, what I see as education to be
is language. And I think that there’s an understanding of that in
varying degrees. But in the main, I think, that’s what people are
striving for. We believe that language is synonymous with thinking
and the relationship of those two and the content area is what we
are trying to do.
Section II: The Case of Franklin Elementary School
General Description of Franklin Elementary School
The attendance area of Franklin Elementary school is diverse both
culturally and socioeconomically. Franklin is located in a large suburban
district. When officials of the city designated an area for HUD housing, they
chose the area that surrounds Franklin Elementary School. This immediate
area consists mainly of modest single-family homes, with bars on windows and
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fences around yards. Low income families from nearby cities move into this
area as a means of improving their living situation. At the northern boundary of
the attendance area of Franklin, two-story homes with two and three car
garages are commonly found.
Franklin Elementary is a school-wide Title I school that enrolls 727
students from kindergarten through sixth grade. The student population is
diverse and reflects the population of the community at large. Forty-nine
percent are Spanish-speaking LEP students; the remainder of the students are
African-American, Asian, and White (non-Hispanic) students. Table 5 illustrates
the ethnic distribution of Franklin School. The vast majority of students (92
percent) qualify for free or reduced lunch and breakfast. Most of the LEP
students were born in the United States to first generation immigrant parents,
the balance being born outside of the U. S. The student population is unstable,
only a small percentage (30 percent) of the sixth-grade students have been at
Franklin since kindergarten. Relatively few of the students come from the
middle-class homes in the northern part of the attendance area. The majority of
the parents of the students are blue-collar workers and laborers.
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TABLE 5
Ethnic Distribution of Students at Franklin
Total
Students
Hispanic Afro-
American
Asian Filipino Pacific
Islander
Non-
Minority
728 58.1% 14.29% 10.9% 1.10% 4.26% 10.58%
The staff that services the students at Franklin consists of 32 classroom
teachers, two Special Education teachers and four support staff (Speech and
Language, Physical Education, Resource Specialist, and Nurse).
Franklin is a neighborhood school, meaning that all the students who
attend Franklin live within the attendance boundaries. Students are not bused
in from other parts of the district. The school grounds have been well-
maintained over the years and there are many grassy areas, plants, and trees.
The playground is large and there is ample space for children to play team
sports such as soccer or baseball. It also contains a number of playground
equipment items such as slides, crossbars, teeter-totters, and jungle-gyms.
Classrooms are housed in single-story buildings, each containing four
classrooms. There is grass and a covered walkway between each of the
buildings.
Besides the principal, there are two other bilingual staff members in the
front office in order to meet the needs of Spanish-speaking parents. Students
and parents are greeted by name and an amiable feeling is projected by
everyone.
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The Bilingual Program at Franklin Elementary School
Spanish language-minority students at Franklin are assigned to bilingual
classes based on the Home Language Survey (HLS), which determines the
child’s primary language. Adhering to the Late Exit Model, students receive
literacy instruction in Spanish beginning in kindergarten along with English
Language Development (ELD) for thirty minutes daily and integration with
English-only students for one hour per day. During integration, students receive
their instruction exclusively in English. By fourth grade, the amount of time of
English instruction increases based on students’ needs. All Spanish language-
minority students who need primary language instruction participate in the Late
Exit Model bilingual program. There are no other program options offered at
Franklin Elementary School.
The philosophy of viewing bilingualism as an asset drives the bilingual
program at Franklin School. Therefore, the goal of the program is two-fold: to
add English literacy by the fifth or sixth grades while maintaining and enhancing
literacy in Spanish.
The effectiveness of all instruction at Franklin School is assessed
annually using standardized tests (CTBS for English, APRENDA for Spanish),
and a performance-based writing test, given in the language of instruction. The
writing test is based on a prompt and scored by a rubric scale of one to six, six
being highest. Test data for the performance based writing test was not
available for this study. Table 6 reports results of the standarized test only.
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TABLE 6
Comparison of English and Spanish Reading Test Scores
Of Third Grade Students at Franklin
C J
< D 25
CTBS
English
A PR ENDA
Spanish
Norm-Referenced
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Since test scores are not the sole determiner of effectiveness, it is
necessary to include in this description other factors that contribute to the
success of the bilingual program at Franklin School. The following is a
description of the conditions at Franklin that are aligned with the criteria for
successful bilingual programs outlined by Berman et al. (1995). To ease reader
reference, the criteria are restated and precede the findings.
Innovation
The school functions as a total system, producing a social climate that
promotes positive outcomes. The school alters traditional practices where
necessary to serve the needs of language minority students. There is an
excitement about the school both inside and outside.
Curriculum and Instruction
The thread that unifies the literacy instruction throughout all grade levels
at Franklin School is a balanced literature-based approach. The word
“balanced” is used to emphasize that while most of the teaching strategies are
part of the Whole Language approach to teaching reading, the program also
includes phonics instruction, a component sometimes considered to be missing
in the Whole Language model. The Whole Language approach is designed to
create opportunities for students to use language in ways that reflect real-world
purposes and functions and are authentically related to their life experiences.
Whole Language strategies therefore rely on students using language rather
than learning about language. Examples of Whole Language strategies were
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evident throughout the school, as students maintained journals, wrote stories,
illustrated books, and published their work.
There are three bilingual Reading Recovery teachers that provide
scaffolding for first-grade students who are at risk of not learning how to read.
Reading Recovery is a program that was developed in New Zealand as an early
intervention program to help children at the beginning of literacy, before they
feel that they cannot learn. First grade teachers identify their four most
vulnerable students who are referred to the Reading Recovery teachers. After
extensive assessments, the students are ranked and each Reading Recovery
teacher works with one of the lowest children. Children receive individual
instruction for thirty minutes daily and at the end of fourteen weeks, they exit the
program reading at the same level as their grade-level peers. The Reading
Recovery teachers then move on to the next group of lowest readers from the
initial ranking.
Franklin School participates in a State-sponsored program for at risk
students entitled Project R.E.A.C.H. This program uses staff development, early
intervention, and parent involvement to promote the acquisition of literacy by the
third grade.
Governance
A Leadership Team, comprised of five teachers from different grade
levels elected by the staff at large, a Special Education teacher, the assistant
principal, and the principal, anchors the site based decision-making process at
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Franklin. The team meets each Monday afternoon to discuss items on an
agenda that previously has been reviewed by all staff members. Anyone on the
staff is welcome to attend the meetings, although only members are allowed to
vote. This same agenda serves as the agenda for the staff meetings held every
Wednesday afternoon.
Assessment
Besides the state- and district-mandated norm-referenced testing, the
staff at Franklin has developed a number of alternative assessments in order to
keep continually apprised of their students’ progress. These assessments
include:
• Portfolios - The selection of student work for the portfolio is designed to
show academic growth. Work in the portfolio reflects progress in writing
and math.
• Alternate Ranking - Teachers write numbers on a sheet of paper,
beginning with the number one, that represent the number of students
in their class. They then decide who their top child is and they write
his/her name by the number one. Next they decide who their lowest
child is and write his/her name by the last number. Going back and
forth from high to low in this manner, all the students names are ranked.
Lastly, they draw a line where grade-level achievement is perceived
and the students below that line are considered below grade level.
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Teachers then must develop a plan to bring those students above the
line. The goal is to have the line move down throughout the school year.
• “Did I Hit the High Marks?”- This is a form of teacher self-assessment.
Every teacher has a list of the best practices in the teaching of literacy
posted in his or her classroom. They use this list to monitor their
instruction daily and assess how many of these best practices they used
during the instructional day. Some of the items on the list include
Guided Reading, Shared Reading, flexible grouping and providing a
print-rich environment.
Embedded
The practices for language minority students are not isolated, but a part
of the entire school program and are articulated with the type of practices used
in earlier and later grades.
It is evident throughout Franklin School that a distinction is not made
between programs for language minority students and those for English-only
students. All classrooms have the same materials and the same curriculum is
being taught at each grade-level regardless of the language that is being used
for instruction. This is orchestrated through weekly grade-level planning
meetings wherein all teachers, bilingual and monolingual, at a particular grade
level decide what they will teach the following week.
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High Expectations for LEP Students
The school’s administrators and teachers have embraced and can
articulate the philosophy of the program. The staff demonstrates an
understanding of the societal context within which language minority students
live and learn.
All standards and expectations for students at Franklin are made public
in Spanish as well as English. The standards and expectations are not
changed; they are merely translated. All teachers, regardless of the language
in which they teach, are very knowledgeable about the bilingual program and
are willing to expound upon the value of primary language instruction.
At the weekly grade-level planning meetings lessons are designed for
the grade level without any differentiation for the bilingual classes. This can be
readily accomplished because all classrooms have the same materials in the
language of instruction particular to each class.
The parent handbook, which contains school rules and expectations for
students, is available in English and Spanish.
The following excerpt from one of the interviews with the principal at
Franklin serves to elucidate the school’s philosophy on expectations.
I think we have expectations that these children are going to learn
English, and that’s our job. But when curriculum comes out in this
district, it never says for English speakers only or for Spanish
speakers. The expectations are the expectations so it doesn’t
matter what language they speak. It is the delivery that’s going to
get them to those expectations.
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Longevity
The school’s use of the identified practices is a serious long-term effort.
Bilingual education was initiated at Franklin School more that twenty
years ago when the district implemented the program district-wide. Although
within that time span different bilingual strategies were implemented, the Late
Exit Model, which is in place at the present time, was not implemented until the
present principal’s tenure began six years ago. The community, the teachers,
and the administration are convinced that this method of instructing LEP
students is the most efficient way of bringing them to biliteracy.
Qualified Staff
Staffing and training of staff are appropriate to practices being
implemented.
All teachers in the bilingual program at Franklin School are appropriately
credentialed to teach in bilingual classrooms. Having a qualified staff is of
paramount importance to the principal as well as the teachers. Teachers who
participated in a focus interview stated that the only way they would improve the
role of the principal is by having the district give her more latitude in the hiring
process. Information regarding teacher credentials and language proficiency is
provided in Table 7. The same key applies as the one used for Table 4.
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TABLE 7
Qualifications of Teachers in the Bilingual Program at Franklin
Grade
Level
Number of
Students
% LEP Bilingual
Credentials
Language
Proficiency
Type of
Program
K 20 100% None FS BL
20 100% BCC FS BL
1 17 100% BCC NS BL
20 100% In training NS BL
2 20 100% BCC FS BL
20 100% BCC NS BL
3 20 100% BCC FS BL
19 100% BCC FS BL
4/5 31 100% BCC FS BL
6 28 100% In training NS BL
Besides ensuring that teachers possess appropriate credentials, an
ongoing staff development program at Franklin provides the staff with the
necessary skills to deliver instruction in the most efficacious manner. These
opportunities for continuing education include:
• Weekly grade-level planning meetings. At these meetings, teachers
share effective strategies, coordinate and align the curriculum within the
grade level, and plan common curricular themes. All teachers at the
grade level, both teachers of monolingual English students and
teachers of LEP students, participate in grade level meetings. The goal
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86
is to create a unified school where all children are challenged, held to
high standards, and are exposed to a common curriculum.
• Four pupil-free staff development days. Training is planned for these
days by the Leadership Team based on staff input and assessed needs.
During the 1997-1998, school year topics for these days include
English Language Development, Language Arts and Math.
• New Teacher Support Program. Effective veteran teachers are
assigned to new teachers as on-site mentors. Teachers meet on a
regular basis to discuss lesson design, classroom management, and
instruction. New teachers are also part of the grade-level planning
meetings and receive advice from all teachers at their grade level.
• All teachers are encouraged by the principal to attend conferences and
inservice classes outside of school time. Many teachers take advantage
of this opportunity and come back and share information with the rest of
the staff at staff meetings.
The Principal
Mary Gonzalez began her career in education twenty-one years ago as a
bilingual primary teacher. Shortly after she began teaching, the district
recruited bilingual teachers to enroll in a program to acquire a Special
Education credential in order to fill the need for bilingual Special Education
teachers. Mary enrolled in the program, and after two years, became one of the
district’s first bilingual Special Education teachers. She taught in the Resource
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Specialist Program for ten years at one elementary school. Mary taught for a
total of fifteen years before becoming a principal at Franklin Elementary School
and has been there for six years.
Mary grew up in a bilingual household. She is third generation born in
the United States, one of her grandparents emigrated from Mexico, but it was
her great-grandparents that originally immigrated to the United States. Mary
learned to speak Spanish and English at the same time while growing up. She
spoke Spanish to her grandparents, aunts, and uncles, but English was the
language used in her home. She learned to read and write Spanish while in
junior high school and continued to study the language through high school
and college. While at the university she spent three months at the University of
Michoacan, where she studied Spanish and Literature. She feels so strongly
about the benefits of being bilingual that she enrolled her son in a Spanish
dual-immersion program. He is now in middle school and is fully bilingual and
biliterate.
Mary is very well respected and highly thought of by everyone at Franklin
School. During visits to classrooms and while out on the playground, children
always come up to her to say hello and give her a hug. The following example
taken from an interview with teachers illustrates their respect:
She’s so knowledgeable and she provides the framework, and
when the framework is gone, it kind of wobbles off. She provides
the leadership.
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Parents coming into the office always made it a point to greet her even if it was
just a smile and a wave.
Mary’s philosophy on education addresses the students’ role in society
and the best method for them to achieve success:
We want our students to be successful. We want them to be readers and
writers and good thinkers. They need to be able to think and make
decisions. We work really hard on that.
Summary of the Chapter
This chapter reported on the analysis of the data collected about each
school in the study to determine if they met the criteria for successful bilingual
programs outlined in Table 1. The data suggests that both schools meet the
criteria and each component that qualified them as meeting the criteria was
described in detail. These criteria include innovation in programs,
embeddedness of the bilingual program within the total school, high
expectations for Limited English Proficient students, longevity of the bilingual
program, and a qualified staff.
Although Elm Street School and Franklin School are located in distinct
geographical areas, the demographics of the student body at each school is
very similar. Both schools have a predominantly Latino population, with
African-American and non-Hispanic White students making up the majority of
the remaining students.
The bilingual program at each school is a Late Exit Program, which
means that students are not transitioned into English instruction until the fourth
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89
or fifth grades. Spanish language instruction is maintained at both schools and
biliteracy is promoted. A summary of the Late Exit Program at both schools is
provided in Table 8.
TABLE 8
Summary of Bilingual Late Exit Program
At Elm and Franklin
CHARACTERISTIC ELM FRANKLIN
District/School support for
program
School staff and District
support primary language
instruction and promote
biliteracy
School staff and District
support primary language
instruction through 6^
Grade. Biliteracy is a goal
of the school but not of
the District
Assessment upon
enrollment and placement
Home language survey,
oral English proficiency.
Same
English language
development Instruction
Thirty minutes of ELD. Same
Integration One hour per day.
Teachers are encouraged
to teach Science as well
as Art, Music and PE.
One hour per day. Only
Art, Music and PE are
taught.
Use of Primary Language Eighty to ninety percent in
early grades, decreasing
to maintenance in grades
5.
Eighty to ninety percent in
early grades. Decreasing
to maintenance in grade 5
or 6.
Instructional Strategies
used for Literacy
• Writing across the
curriculum.
• Literature-based
balanced literacy
program.
• Phonics embedded in
reading instruction.
• Writer’s workshop.
• Literature-based
balanced literacy
program.
• “ Zoo Phonics”
program.
Criteria for Transition into
English Reading.
• Reading at grade level
in Spanish.
• Oral English fluency
as measured by CARE
Tests.
• Goal is to transition in
grades 3 or 4.
• Reading in grade level
in Spanish.
• Oral English fluency
as measured by LAS
Test.
• Goal is to transition by
grade 6.
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90
The principals of the schools are very distinct in their educational background,
their experience as a teacher, and the fact that one is Latina and bilingual and
the other is non-Latino, non-Spanish-bilingual. Although each one has his/her
own particular style of leadership, what they actually do to maintain a successful
program is very similar. The analysis of the data that reveals these similarities is
reported in the next chapter.
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CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS:
EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES OF PRINCIPALS WITH
SUCCESSFUL BILINGUAL LITERACY
Overview
This study examined the effective practices of principals in schools with a
successful Spanish bilingual literacy program. Specifically, the practices of a
principal who is Latino and bilingual and one who is not Latino and not
Spanish-bilingual. The intent of the study was to determine practices and
strategies that were similar and different and how these practices and strategies
are influenced by the language proficiency and cultural knowledge of each
principal. The study sets out to find: a) the practices and strategies used by a
non-Spanish-bilingual, non-Latino/a principal in a successful bilingual literacy
program, b) the practices and strategies used by a bilingual, Latino/a principal
in a successful bilingual literacy program, and c) how language proficiency and
cultural knowledge constrain and/or facilitate the practices and strategies used
by principals to create and support successful bilingual literacy programs.
The analysis of interviews, documents, and observations that reveal the
effective practices and strategies used by each principal, and also, how these
are influenced by language proficiency and cultural knowledge is presented in
the following sections: a) summary of interview protocols, b) organization of the
data, c) interview, document and observation analyses, and d) summary.
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Summary of Interview Protocols
The interview protocol used to obtain data about the schools and the
principals consisted of twenty-three questions with a subset of eight questions
specifically for the Latino, bilingual principal. Questions were used to determine
the general professional background of each principal, the goals and purpose
of the bilingual program, practices used to implement and maintain the
biliteracy program, and the significance of the language proficiency and culture
of the principals.
The intent of the interview protocol used with teachers was to examine
their perceptions of an effective principal and of how the language and culture
of the principal impacts the biliteracy program. Focus group interviews (Rubin &
Rubin, 1995) were used with a group of four teachers at each school.
Organization of the Data
The analysis of the data revealed that although the two principals are
very distinct in their language proficiency and cultural knowledge, the strategies
and practices that support and maintain a successful bilingual literacy program
at each of their schools are very similar. During the examination of the data, a
framework emerged that facilitates the conceptualization of the information that
was gathered relating to the effective practices of each principal. This
framework consists of common themes extracted from the data that appear to be
the key contributors for successful, effective biliteracy programs, and is aligned
with the literature on the characteristics and practices of effective principals.
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These themes are (a) leadership attributes, (b) attitudes and beliefs, (c) positive
school climate, and (d) a commitment to bilingual literacy. The analysis of these
data is presented within the context of this framework.
A separate section will report the findings of the analysis of the data in
relation to the impact of the principals’ language and cultural knowledge on the
biliteracy program.
Interview, Document and Observation Analysis
Theme I: Leadership Attributes
The leadership attributes that were most evident in both principals as
having a profound impact on the success of the programs at each of their
schools are: a) knowledge of effective literacy instruction and a commitment to
continuing their professional development as well as that of the teachers at their
schools, b) an understanding of the school as a system with synergistic
relationships among all members, c) a facilitative leadership, and d) the ability
to build capacity from within. Each of these attributes is examined in depth
below. To facilitate the reader’s understanding of each principal and to make
the comparison between the two more clear, the data are presented for one
principal at a time within the context of this framework.
Knowledge of Effective Literacy Instruction and Professional Development
Mary
The fact that after teaching in a regular classroom for a few years, Mary
went back to get a specialized credential to teach children with reading
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difficulties gives her unique insight into how children learn to read. Her
knowledge and experience is recognized and respected by her staff as the
following statements illustrate:
I think we’ve been very lucky because we have a principal who
has an excellent curriculum background. She has classroom
experience so she emphasizes the teaching and recognizes
problems that exist, and she has solutions that she has worked on
personally.
I think she has a lot to contribute and she has a lot of knowledge,
too, about teaching reading.
. . . she is a person who has taken many classes as she’s gone
along. She’s worked on her own credential. So she’s constantly
getting new ideas and keeping and maintaining her professional
growth as well, and that translates into a person who is willing to
share leadership goals.
Mary is aware that her background gives her much-needed credibility
with her teachers and that, oftentimes, they look to her for answers and
direction. This is expressed in the following quote:
I think, because of my special ed background, they see me as
more of an expert, because I worked with kids, Spanish-speaking
kids, who had learning disabilities and could get them to read. So
I think I’m used a little bit as an expert, not the expert, but they
respect what I know.
In order to maintain her credibility with her staff and to continue to have
the ability to recognize good teaching when she sees it, Mary sees her
participation in professional development activities as critical. She has taken
part in specialized leadership training and attends workshops by herself and
with her staff. The following quotations illustrate her commitment to be a life
long learner:
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One thing that I think is important, is that I keep up my own
education. I just completed CSLA [California School Leadership
Academy] last year through Orange County, which is probably the
best training I had to be a principal than anything else, I think, I
went through.
When there’s training for teachers that I think is real important, I’ll
go with them. I went to all of the [literacy] series, went to all of the
training, and I think it’s important for teachers to see you there and
that you are interested.
I try to sit on a lot of district committees for curriculum, because if I
don’t know it, how can I go in and watch a lesson and evaluate it if
I don’t know what teachers have been trained in.
Teachers at Franklin School have ample opportunities to continue their
learning and hone their instructional skills. It is important to Mary that the
teachers attend conferences and workshops and she finds ways to fund these
activities. She realizes that the real value of staff development is in the
increased achievement of the students. When asked to discuss the strengths of
her school’s biliteracy program she answered:
The teachers. They continue to be educated. They continue to go
to in-services. They continue to sharpen their skills. They are
teachers who participate on district committees. So they know
what’s happening and they as the questions.
The following statement further illustrates Mary’s commitment to staff
development from the teachers’ perspective:
She still encourages and asks you to attend conferences and get
involved. Whatever your interest is, she encourages that, and she
also encourages staff development, whether it’s paid or not.
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96
Daniel
A casual inspection of Daniel’s office underscores his commitment to
professional growth, his own as well as that of his teachers. The office is a
resource room for all curricular areas. There are guides and resource books for
the teaching of science and math, books on how the brain works and learning
theory, teachers guides that contain classroom lessons in Spanish and English,
plus the core literature in Spanish and English. He explains his plan for his
office in the following way:
It’s like a library. The teachers come in here and they check out
what they wish to check out and it’s a very basic and very simple
system.
A walk through Elm Street School reveals that his philosophy of making
his office a resource has been projected throughout the school and, in essence,
the entire school is a resource for teachers. There is a room that contains over
“300,000 dollars worth of materials” for science and math. Every classroom has
an Internet work system with a monitor that is hooked into a central server.
Teachers have the ability to obtain information from virtually anywhere in the
world. Daniel explains his rationale for the technological networking in the
following manner:
That’s why we have our own TV station so you can see each other
throughout the network, throughout the school if you want to.
Everything operates on one system. Every grade level has a fax
that’s hooked into our central system that they can [use]. Maybe
you’re only faxing it next door, but the idea is that the kid has
written [something] and they can pull that out and they can read it
to one another. . . .
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Daniel has acquired extensive knowledge about how children become
literate and biliterate mainly by reading professional books and observing
expert teachers. He has strong beliefs about the best ways to bring children to
literacy as the following statements illustrate:
I believe in literacy - early, middle, or beyond. Literacy, by
definition, to me goes far beyond words in print. I believe you can
be a literate speaker and a literate listener, and a literate thinker.
So, the definition of literacy to me is an active, interactive,
classroom. It’s rich. It’s not only the buzz word called “print rich,”
but it is rich with activity.
I expect teachers to ask themselves the following questions: Have
the children had a chance to talk? Have they written about what
they’ve spoken about? Have they read what they’ve written? And,
have they listened to themselves and one another? It’s a language
experience approach. Remember, I’m not after the content as
much as I am the process. I want children to be able to speak,
write, read and think science, and social studies and history; and
speak, write, read and look at, and think mathematics. So, at the
center is that language, and thinking is what satellites the content
areas.
He realizes his responsibility in sustaining quality instruction within the
classrooms and accepts his role as instructional leader. The following quote
illustrates this commitment:
I think the principal must play a very active role in instruction. If
they are not aware of the program that exists at the school and
they can’t demonstrate in an active manner in the classroom
teaching lessons, they would have a hard time, I think, fulfilling that
role. To speak of something and not yet to have done it is truly not
to know it and I don’t think the credibility is there unless the
principal is willing to actually step in front of children and teach
and show what they believe in.
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An Understanding of the School as a System
In order for a school to function as a total system, it is necessary for all
facets of the school community (students, staff, administration, parents, and
community) to work together towards a common goal, namely, that of ensuring
the success of all students. Besides working together, there must also be
mutual support. The thread of understanding the school as a system runs
through each one of the leadership attributes that is subsequently examined.
This part focuses primarily on parent involvement.
Mary
Mary finds that one of her biggest challenges as principal is to convince
parents that their role in their children’s education is crucial and that one way of
fulfilling that role is to come to school to participate as an equal partner. She
has a high regard for the parents of the students at her school, however she is
realistic and understands their limitations, as the following comment illustrates:
You’re, not going to find a parent who says, “I don’t want my child
to come and learn,” but they do it in different degrees sometimes
of what we deem acceptable. I think there’s still some
apprehension [on the part of the parents] about what’s going to be
expected of me? Am I [the parent] going to have to know
something I don’t know?
Mary and her staff have initiated a number of activities to alleviate
parents’ fears and encourage them to come to the school to participate in a
variety of ways. One of these ways is changing the configuration of Back To
School Night. Traditionally there is one night in the fall when parents are
invited to come to school to meet their child’s teacher. Mary recognized the fact
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that many of the families have more than one child at the school and that it was
difficult for the parents to get to every teacher. She and her teachers talked
about this problem and their solution was to have seven Back To School Nights,
one for each grade level. Teachers commented on this change in the following
manner:
We all brainstormed about.. . ways we can bring more parents
into . . . Back to School Night. So we tried many different
configurations between last year and this year. We went to seven
Back to School Nights. They [parents] didn’t mind coming three or
four or five times because now they got to go to each class and not
a drive by, not a run in and out. They could stay longer at Back to
School Night and really get the quality for their students.
One of the first things Mary did when she began her tenure at Franklin
was to allot money from the budget to begin a Parent Center at the school. This
Center has become the hallmark of parent activity at the school. A room was
designated for the center and furnished with office machines, a place to sit and
talk, and area to hold small classes. She hired a full-time parent coordinator
who is in charge of calling parents and coordinating how and when they will
volunteer at the school. The following quotation from the teachers illustrates the
impact this center has had on the school:
She’s certainly worked hard and turned this school around. In all
reality, within the first couple of years she was here, we got all of
these new things coming on, like the parents. We never saw a
parent, only at parent conference time. Now, parents walk here,
we know their faces. They’re almost a part of the staff.
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Parent Visitation Days is another of Mary’s brainchilds in her quest
to bring more parents to the school. There are three such days per year.
Mary explains this event in the following manner:
We invite parents to come in and watch a lesson. So three
times a year we’ll do language arts, math, and the last one,
the teachers can choose the curricular area they want. The
teacher can design it (the lesson) where the parents can
participate, if they want them to, or they can have them sit
and watch. Because education has changed so much
since parents have been in school or they weren’t educated
here, we really feel it’s important for them to come in and
watch.
The “system” would not be complete without the participation of the
community. Franklin School has a business partnership with the local Mervyn’s
department store and is partners with the middle school and high school in the
area. Mervyn’s provides gift certificates and food baskets. Mary uses the
certificates to give away as raffle prizes at parent meetings and the food baskets
for needy families at Christmastime. Mary is working on a plan to involve
Mervyn’s employees as volunteers in a tutoring program for Franklin students.
The middle school and high school provide bilingual students that come
to Franklin to tutor students in the after school homework program.
Daniel
Parent involvement at Daniel’s school takes the form of participation in
the PTA and in committees. Elm School has a “ very active" PTA and various
councils that have parent representatives. He explains that this representation
is mainly by a “core group” of parents, but the majority of parents are not
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involved at the school site. He would like to see more parents take part in the
day to day activities at the school but, like Mary, recognizes that, oftentimes,
economic and familial conditions preclude their involvement. The following
comments illustrates his feelings about parent participation and their limitations:
So the kind of parent involvement that I would like to see is where
parents were actively engaged in their child’s education. But,
generally what happens . . . is that parents work all over. . . and
what they’re most interested in is [the school] a safe place for my
child to be?
If you’ve got a number of children in your family . . . and you’ve
been working all day and you come home and a child needs help
.. . generally you send the child out. It’s “go ask your mother” or
“go ask your father.” It sounds like a pretty gloomy picture, but it’s
not. It’s (school) a very happy place to be. And to the involvement
that we have, I’d like to see more. Is there? To a degree, yes.
Daniel uses a variety of strategies to get parents involved. His efforts
begin yearly with an orientation for kindergarten parents, which he describes as
“. . . welcoming them in such a way that they need to know they have a part in
the education of their child.” Letters are sent home to parents inviting them to
visit their child’s classroom at any time to help. Assemblies are held every
Monday and Friday mornings. He describes these assemblies in the following
manner.
Every Monday and Friday, we have assemblies that begin at
approximately 8:05 and last for ten, fifteen minutes . . . where we
update and give information of what’s going on . . . Every child in
the school and all the parents that bring their children to school
[participate in the assemblies]. We will, at any one time have
approximately 600 children at these assemblies and I would say
probably about 200 to 300 parents. We have a speaker system
set up that is functioned through the library and we plug in our
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large microphone and we have speakers that are overhead that
broadcast probably three or four blocks deep in the community. It
serves several purposes, not only for determining if everyone’s
there and safe, but it’s also for communication.
This statement is indicative of Daniel’s commitment to keep parents informed
and involve them as much as possible, and also illustrates his caring nature
and concern for teachers and students.
Daniel’s involvement with the community includes partnerships with
Cabrillo Marine Museum, the Institute of Higher Learning, and California State
University at Dominguez Hills. Docents from the museum bring sea life to the
school and present lessons to the students. The Institute for Higher Learning
provides classes for adults on the Elm Street campus. These classes are
designed to provide parents with parenting skills and to increase their English
language through ESL classes. The university uses Elm Street school to train
their student teachers. Also, during the time of this study, a local pizza merchant
was sponsoring a poetry writing contest at the school and giving pizza
certificates as prizes.
Facilitative Leadership
Facilitative leadership functions under the assumption that “all of us are
better than one of us.” It means seeking the involvement of parents and
teachers in all aspects of the school, including the decision-making process, in
an active, meaningful way.
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Marv
Parents and teachers are have the opportunity to be involved in the
decision-making through three groups: the School Site Council, the Bilingual
Advisory Committee, and the Leadership Team. The School Site Council,
which meets once a month and is comprised of parents, teachers, and Mary, is
in charge of making decisions that involve the spending of the Title I federal
budget. The Bilingual Advisory Committee is made up of bilingual teachers and
parents of language-minority students and gives input into program decisions
and budgetary considerations as they pertain to LEP students. They also meet
once a month. The Leadership Team meets weekly and its members include
teacher representatives from all grade levels and Mary. The agenda for these
meetings is shared with all staff members and is also the same agenda that is
used for the weekly staff meetings. Everyone is invited to attend the Monday
afternoon Leadership Team meetings, but, generally only the members are
present.
Although these committees are the “ formal” decision-making bodies,
Mary involves the entire staff as much as possible through staff meetings and
grade level meetings. The following statement illustrate her efforts:
They’re [the teachers] involved in everything. I get information to
them and encourage them to be decision makers. I show them the
budget all the time, it’s not just giving them an update, and they’re
going to, among themselves, decide how they think the money
should be spent. I’m not going to make all the decisions.
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The teachers perceive her as:
. . . someone who delegates responsibility. She facilitates a lot
and problem solves and encourages other people to do their role.
Daniel
At the hub of Daniel’s facilitative leadership style is the Instructional
Transformation Team, or ITT, as it is referred to by everyone. This team brings
together representatives from all the other committees at the school, including
the School Site Council and Bilingual Advisory Committee. The following
quotation from one of the teachers explains more graphically how this team
works:
We have representatives from each grade level. We have
representatives from the community. We have representatives
from the parents. We have representatives from certified and non
certified [staff members]. We have representatives from the staff.
So there are representatives from every single aspect that relates
to our school program and these representatives get together,
discuss the program, discuss the problems, we bring it to staff, and
then the staff discusses it. And so basically, it’s a communication.
When the teachers were asked what was the principal’s role in the ITT,
they replied:
Facilitator. He also puts the agenda together for which everyone
has input.
This team meets twice a month on Thursday afternoons and the
information is disseminated to the rest of the staff on the following Friday
morning. In the following statement, Daniel explains what he believes to be the
main purpose of the ITT:
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. . . to revisit the goals, the objectives, the vision statement, and our
philosophy. Our ultimate goal is to improve student achievement
and the only way we can do this is by continually analyzing current
student performance.
These descriptions are examples of Daniel’s commitment to involve
parents and staff members in the decision making process in a significant way,
and his belief that it takes all members of the school community to achieve the
ultimate goal of increasing student achievement.
Building Capacity
The final leadership attribute that was evident in both principals was the
ability and the desire to empower the members of the school community.
Building capacity means to create situations in which parents, teachers, and
students are encouraged to attain the knowledge necessary to increase their
confidence to actively participate in the different activities at school.
Marv
For the parents of her students, Mary provides a variety of opportunities
for them to learn about the school. She sent three parents to a special training
that parallels a training for teachers. The parent training is entitled Parent
Expectations and Student Achievement (PESA), and the teachers’ training is
Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement (TESA). Mary explains her
rationale for this training:
We try different things to encourage our parents to feel good about
being involved. I sent parents to PESA training, and it’s in
Spanish. We sent three parents, and now, they’re going to come
back and train the other parents.
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Mary also has what she calls “Principal-Parent Coffee.” At these
meetings, Mary provides the opportunity for parents to talk about anything that is
on their minds about their children or the school. There are no agendas for
these get-togethers and there is an informal tone that is encouraged. Mary
explains that while she may have certain critical items for which she needs their
input, this does not come across at the meetings. This is illustrated in the
following quotation:
. . . it’s not a formalized meeting. I may have my whole School Site
Council agenda in front of me in my head, and I’ll ask questions,
what do you think about this or we’re thinking about that, but they
don’t have to vote, and they don’t have to worry about bylaws . . .
and they’ll just give me lots of input that they don’t even know
they’re giving me.
The Parent Center that Mary created is a valuable source of knowledge
for parents. Classes are held for parents during the school day and child care is
provided to encourage them to attend. Parents are surveyed to determine their
needs and classes are offered based on these needs. Mary laments that even
with all that is provided, the attendance is not what she would like it to be:
W e’ve tried to offer the classes during the day because in the
evenings, forget it, they don’t come out. They just don’t, even
though we provide the raffles and the child care and the
refreshments, and I can understand that.
Teachers at Mary’s school are provided two types of opportunities to
enhance their repertoire of teaching strategies and hone their skills. The first is
grade-level meetings. These meetings are held once a week and teachers are
given two hours, during the school day, to discuss strategies and student
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assessment and to plan lessons for the following week. The second is peer-
coaching. Teachers are allowed and encouraged to model lessons for each
other and, after observing a lesson, take time to talk about it and give each other
feedback. This is of special value to new teachers who are in most need of
support. Mary realized the value of these opportunities as is evident by the
following statement:
Every year they [the teachers] ask, “W e’re going to keep our
planning time, right?” It’s not something I think I could ever take
away from them. It’s too important. It’s important to me.
Daniel
At Elm Street School, the classes that are offered for parents cover a
variety of topics from effective parenting to English as a Second Language. The
classes are held at the Parent Center of the school and are taught by adult
school personnel. There are as many as two-hundred parents that participate
in the classes at any given time. In order to give parents the opportunity to
practice what they are learning and to reduce their anxiety about helping at
school, Daniel developed the plan he describes below:
One of the things that we do in order for the parents to participate
in these programs on campus, they must provide a number of
minutes, logged in daily, to work with our bilingual children and
also . . . with the English-speaking students and their own English
enhancement that they’re [the parents] going through in ESL
programs.
Teachers at Daniel’s school meet twice a month in grade-level teams to
articulate with each other what they are doing in each of the curricular areas
and to address any issues particular to their grade level. They plan lessons and
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share ideas about strategies that are especially effective or ineffective. These
meetings take place during the school day and last forty-five minutes.
Having teachers model lessons for each other is another strategy that is
encouraged by Daniel in order to build capacity among his teaching staff. At
Elm, this is called a “walk-through.” A teacher describes the process in the
following manner:
We have walk-through scheduled times when the lower grade
[teachers] have an opportunity to walk through the upper grade
classrooms, as they’re teaching. The upper-grade teachers also
get a chance to walk through the lower grade classrooms.
Daniel employs peer-coaching as a technique to enhance teacher
professionalism as well as a method for teacher evaluation. Teachers choose a
partner or they may form groups of three or four to observe each other while
doing a lesson. After the lesson, the teachers critique the lesson, discussing the
strengths, the weaknesses, and offering each other suggestions. Daniel sits in
on this conference, by teacher request, and this serves as their job performance
evaluation. Not all teachers choose to be evaluated in this manner, as the
following quotation from a teacher explains:
.. . But there’s always the option of him coming in and observing
[a lesson], always. But you, as a teacher, have a personal choice
to be observed by one of your peers, or by him. And it gives you a
lot of freedom to communicate.
The leadership attributes described in this section suggest a strong
similarity between both principals in how they view their role as instructional
leader at their elementary schools. Both firmly believe in the value of continuing
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to increase their own knowledge of the best educational practices, and the
importance of maintaining a qualified staff by providing ample staff
development. Both principals expressed their belief in the critical nature of
involving parents and other community members in the education of their
students and described a variety of methods used to elicit their participation. A
shared decision-making process is seen by both principals as the most effective
way to manage their schools. Staff members at one school, and parents and
staff members at the other school, participate in discussions about school
issues and arrive at solutions by consensus. Finally, in order for these different
facets of the school to come together in an effective manner, both principals
provide opportunities for parents and teachers to meet together with their peers
for the purpose of learning from each other and increasing their knowledge
base.
Theme II: Attitudes and Beliefs
The data revealed that both principals believe that all children can learn
despite any hardships that they might experience at home, and regardless of
the language they speak; share an attitude of trust in parents, teachers, and
students that they would all do whatever is necessary to achieve the goal of
increasing student learning; and communicate with the staff and parents in a
trusting, accepting manner. Each of these is explained in more detail below.
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110
All Children Can Learn
Marv
When Mary speaks about the students at her school, she speaks about
them as a collective group. She does not distinguish between English-
speaking learners or Spanish-speaking learners unless she is asked to give
specific information about one group or the other. When speaking about the
curriculum standards that students must achieve she commented:
We just apply the standards to our Spanish-speakers. It’s not any
different. We’re not going to change them, we’re just going to do it
in another language.
Classroom observations reveal that the instruction and curriculum is the
same in all grade levels, only the language of instruction is different.
Mary is concerned about how the environment that the children live in
affects their ability to learn, but is firm in her belief that the job of the school is to
do whatever is necessary to alleviate these constraints and ensure that the
students learn inspite of their environment. The following statements illustrate
her commitment:
These people [parents] are doing the best they can, and we just
have to take them at that, and we have to do the best we can and
make sure that their children move on. We cannot change the
neighborhood no matter how much we try or how much
intervention we might want to do. But, this is our community, our
school, and what we do with them will affect what happens when
they go outside of here, and we will protect them here and care for
them, nurture them here, and educate them here.
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111
Daniel
Daniel’s belief that . . the most important thing that we can deal with is
realizing that all human beings are capable of learning” resonates throughout
each classroom of his elementary school. Daniel recognizes that there are
students whose first language is not English as a matter of fact, and does not
view this as any kind of an “issue.” The following statement illustrates this
belief:
These are all children and regardless of the language they speak,
they still can become literate, thinking human beings and it really
doesn’t make any difference as to their sound system. There is no
difference in the program, I don’t care what classification you are.
There’s a constant experience.
In order to ensure that all students learn and have equal access to the
curriculum, Daniel and his staff have developed an assessment system that is
beyond what is required by the state or district. Daniel describes it as
“. . . different levels of assessment,” which includes norm-referenced testing,
criterion referenced testing, and “conative” testing. He defines “conative”
assessment as student portfolios and journals in which students write every
day. The information garnered from these assessments is used to plan the
instruction for students.
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Trust in Parents. Teachers and Students
112
Mary
Mary demonstrates trust in her teachers by allowing them to make
instructional decisions and by acknowledging that there is more than one
effective method to teach any concept. She works together with her staff to
determine the best teaching practices and supports them with whatever
resources they need. This is illustrated by the following quotations:
We spend a lot of time thinking about what we’re going to do for
kids, and as a staff make decisions on that.
It might mean going about it [teaching] a different way, but that’s
okay. I think sometimes they [teachers] just need permission to
make those changes because they feel like the teacher’s guide
does not meet the child’s needs.
When teachers have difficulty in implementing a new strategy she feels that she
can “... validate for them that its okay to be frustrated,” but then encourages
them to “... get past that” and bolsters their efforts.
Mary speaks very highly of the parents of her students and firmly believes
that all parents want what is best for their children.
They’re sending them to us with the expectation that we’re going
to do our job. You’re not going to find a parent, I don’t care what
color their skin is, what their ethnic background is, what their
socioeconomic level is, whose attitude is going to be, “I don’t want
my children to learn.”
Daniel
Teachers at Daniel’s school are given the freedom to make instructional
decisions within the framework developed by all grade levels. Daniel values
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their professionalism, as evidenced by their participation in the decision-making
process that governs the school and the teacher-evaluation process that he
implements (both discussed at length earlier in this report). The following
statement, made by a teacher, demonstrates the feeling of trust projected by
Daniel:
And there’s also the freedom, I found, to be able to expand
whenever I want to, to try something. And he never says, “Oh, no,
don’t try that because it’s never been done before,” or, “You can’t
try that because is doesn’t work.” I’ve never gotten that. And I’ve
done things and sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t
work. But at least I feel that I can try.
Daniel believes that the parents of the students at his school care about
their children’s education and want them to learn and succeed. He states that
even though in many cases the primary concern of the parents is to provide the
basic necessities of life, they do not discount the importance of their children’s
education. This is explained in the following statement:
In the main, I don’t thing there’s a parent that doesn’t want their
children to learn. However, depending upon the circumstances, in
most cases, this [the school] is perhaps the only place that any of
our children can come where they feel safe in a clean
environment. It doesn’t mean their parents aren’t caring. I see
them as extremely caring about their children.
At Daniel’s school, students are taught that they are responsible for their
learning and they are entrusted with the task of reporting their progress to their
parents through the use of a portfolio. This takes the form of student-led
conferences in which parents come to the school to meet with the child and the
teacher. Daniel explains the process,
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The children sit down and tell them what they’ve been doing, what
they’ve been learning, and why their selected works are in there
[the portfolio]. It’s in trusting the children, their skills.
Communication
Mary communicates with her staff through a weekly bulletin and through
personal contact. In the bulletin, she not only writes about the events at the
school for the week, but also publishes her schedule so the staff knows her
whereabouts. Her teachers perceive her as being very “visible” and always
available, “. . . if something happens, she’s right there.” They expressed that
she “. . . is constantly communicating with us,” and that this was something they
had not been used to with past principals.
The “Principal-Parent Coffee” that Mary has five times a year gives her
the opportunity to chat informally with parents about any issues or concerns that
they might have. As Mary explains, “... they just come and talk to me.” Mary
describes these meetings in the following manner:
Usually we meet in the cafeteria, and I have a time just for Spanish
speakers, and a time just for English. I get more Spanish speaking
parents than I do English speaking. We just come and we talk and
they bring their babies, and I have cookies and coffee or whatever
they like, and we just sit and talk, and I get a lot of information that
way.
Daniel
The process of communication takes a variety forms at Daniel’s school.
He explains that during one cabinet meeting, it was determined that there are
“... thirty-seven different ways that we communicate the same thing to
everybody.” Primarily, Daniel communicates with parents, teachers, and
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students via personal contact. Bulletins and newsletters are also used to reach
more of the community. Assemblies are held every Monday and Friday morning
on the playground before school. These assemblies (described in detail earlier
in this report) are held immediately before the children and teachers go into
their classroom and while parents are still on the playground, therefore, he is
able to speak with everyone at the same time.
The teachers talked about the importance of communication and how
resolved Daniel is to get all information out to everyone. The following
exemplifies the comments that were made:
W e have a component-oriented program and there is a whole big
component there with parent communication and every year we
review it. What can we do to make it better? And, as a matter of
fact, one of the things that we are doing with communication is
student conferences with parents. And that was one of the things
that Mr. Smith has been pushing so that the children feel more
responsible for their learning and they have to communicate it to
parents.
The preceding information indicates that both principals share common
beliefs and attitudes about how children learn and about the essential nature of
trusting all school community members to do their part to ensure student
learning.
Neither principal differentiates among the students at their schools with
respect to their ability to learn. They guarantee all students equal access to the
curriculum by differentiating the instruction that students receive based on their
needs.
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Both principals have a variety of ways to communicate with all members
of the school community and see the value of keeping everyone informed and
involved. Although they both prefer personal contact as a means of
communication, their repertoire of communication techniques includes
newsletters, bulletins, and assemblies.
Theme III: School Climate
The climate at both schools is one that imbues a positive learning
atmosphere in an environment that cares for and accepts all members. The
format for reporting the findings in this section is different from the rest of the
report due to the nature of these similarities.
Several visits to the schools revealed staffs that were welcoming,
friendly, and eager to talk about their schools. Formal interviews were not
conducted with parents. However, during each visit many parents were
observed at the schools and informal conversations were held in which they
expressed how much they love their school and how happy they are with the
principal. The following quotations serve to illustrate Mary’s and Daniel’s efforts
to create a welcoming climate for parents:
W e’ve labeled them the “buggy carriage brigade” because all of
these parents, they come in the morning and they’re out on the
playground standing there and they all have little buggies and
baby carriages, and they wait until their kids go in and they follow
them into the class. I haven’t discouraged that. (Mary)
What I do essentially is the first day of the child’s entrance in the
school I spend anywhere between a half an hour to an hour with
them [the parent and child]. . . . The welcome comes in the sense
of getting them to understand how important and what a
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marvelous gift that the child has called their language and to
support that in any way .... (Daniel)
Both principals foster a collegial atmosphere between themselves and
their staffs by providing opportunities for discussions and by participating in staff
development along with the teachers. They both readily admit their limitations
in certain curricular areas and have no qualms about participating in the
learning along with the teachers. When asked if he participated in staff
development along with the teachers, Daniel replied, “Absolutely!” Mary
commented that during one training “. . . I was a participant the whole day and
that was nice, but l think it was important for them to see I need to learn this.”
Collegiality is also fostered among teachers through the grade-level
planning meetings (described earlier in this report) that are conducted at both
schools. Mary commented that “... they become a family unit within that grade
level,” and this typifies the feeling at both of the schools.
Mary and Daniel play a pivotal role in creating the positive climate at their
respective schools. They are visible to everyone and they are everywhere
within the school. The following statements made by teachers at each school
illustrate this point:
She’s really approachable, and we feel we can go to her with
anything. She facilitates a lot and problem solves and
encourages other people to do their role, but she is the guiding
light. So throughout, her personality is stamped on the school and
throughout the program. . . . She knows the school population.
She knows just about every kid. She remembers the names.
So our principal is really involved, like an octopus with tentacles in
all directions, reaching to society, to our responsibility as teachers
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118
and to the students. He encourages teachers to bring out the best
in themselves and the best in their students. You can see that
even the kids in pre-K will run up to Daniel and give him a hug . . .
so the kids feel they are important. They know that they are
important.
Both principals have been central to creating a climate at each of their
schools that nurtures creativity and supports good teaching; in which parents
are welcome and are viewed as critical partners in the education of the
students; and in which students are valued, taken care of, and taught in a
trusting environment.
Theme IV: Commitment to Bilingual Literacy Program
Mary
Mary makes the point that there is no distinction at Franklin School
between the English literacy program and the Spanish literacy program. Each
program has the same resources, including qualified teachers, and appropriate
materials. The only difference is the language of instruction. The following
quotation illustrates her firm belief in “one” program:
Like I said before, everything we do is bilingual. It’s just a natural
thing that we do here. Every communication that goes out is
bilingual. All of the meetings are bilingual. So, it’s just part of life.
We don’t know how to do anything else.
Mary values the ability to speak two languages as a means to increase
her students’ ability to succeed in school as well as in life. Therefore, it is
important to her that the children maintain their native language literacy after
they add English literacy. However, she understands the importance of
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119
producing students who are also fluent English speakers. She explains this
dual goal in the following manner:
We still try to do a maintenance program, and the children can add
English reading, but we’re going to do Spanish maintenance
through social studies or science, we don’t want them to lose that.
But we do try to maintain both languages once they’ve been
added, and then we redesignate them later.
Daniel
It is evident throughout the classroom instruction at Elm Street School
that the philosophy that drives the bilingual literacy program is Daniel’s
philosophy that literacy is language-based and, therefore, in order to become
literate, children need to use whatever language it is that they speak. Daniel is
not only a proponent of the bilingual literacy program, but also makes it a point
to refer to literacy instruction at his school as one program and does not like to
make a distinction between the English and Spanish programs. During one
interview, after a lengthy discussion about the literacy program, he was asked
to change his focus and talk about the bilingual literacy program and replied, “I
have been, there is no difference.” Daniel made numerous comments to
express his commitment to bilingual literacy. The following quotations capture
the essence of his beliefs:
I have to say that the bilingual literacy program is no different from
the literacy program that we do for all children at this school.
Whether they speak Spanish or they speak English makes no
difference. The idea is that we provide a literacy-based
instructional program which develops language for children and
the transition that occurs happens on or around the third or fourth
grade to move into English.
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My role as principal is to make sure that all children are becoming
literate, irrespective of them speaking whatever language they
speak. My role is to make sure that a well-balanced literacy
program is in place.
For both principals, the results of this commitment is threefold: 1) a
bilingual literacy program that produces students who can speak, read, and
think in two languages, 2) Spanish-speaking parents who participate in the
school and the program to the extent that their life situations allow, and, 3)
teachers who share this commitment, thereby ensuring that they use the most
effective methodologies in their classrooms.
Besides determining effective strategies and practices of the principals,
the value of this study lies in defining how the cultural knowledge and language
of the principal constrain and/or facilitate the strategies and practices used by
them to create and support effective biliteracy programs. The following section
reports these findings.
Impact of the Language Proficiency and Cultural Knowledge of the Principal on
the Strategies and Practices Used in an Effective Biliteracy Program
Mary
When reflecting on her ability to speak Spanish and her Latin culture,
Mary feels that they are a benefit to her school and facilitate the implementation
of the bilingual literacy program. She states that she thinks “. . . it would be very
hard to be a non-bilingual principal at a bilingual school,” mainly because of the
personal connection that is lost with parents. Besides the personal contact with
parents, Mary states that being bilingual and bicultural assists her in her
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121
interactions with students and in the management of the program. The
following explains each of these in more detail.
Mary feels that because she is bilingual and bicultural, parents feel more
comfortable coming to the school because she can speak to them directly and
help them with their problems. Also, she feels that it is important that they see
her as a role model. In addition, she feels that she can empathize with the
mothers and their roles as Latinas. She sums this up in the following statement:
I think because we share the same culture, I know a little more of
what they might be going through, what their life might be like, and
what’s expected of a Latina woman. I can sympathize and
empathize a little bit. I just think we have a bond, and I can just
sort of talk to them and say, you know, this is how it needs to be.
And I think it’s good for them to also see me as a role model.
Maybe not for them, but for their children. You can succeed. You
know, we are successful people. W e’re out there. And it’s
important to be bilingual. It’s important for them to see that you
need to keep the two languages.
Being bilingual affords Mary the opportunity to interact with the students
at her school, including those who speak only Spanish. As she visits
classrooms, she can talk to the students in either language to discuss their
classroom work. She explains this in the following quote:
I do things like the Principal’s Reading Award. And kids will come
to read to me. They bring a book, and if they come to read in
Spanish, that’s fine, then I can read with them.
Being bilingual facilitates Mary’s ability to choose materials for the
biliteracy program. She also is able to serve on district committees that make
decisions about testing and curriculum for Spanish speaking students. She
feels that this gives her first-hand knowledge about materials and gives her the
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122
opportunity to advocate for the program. She explains how being bilingual
helps her with choosing Spanish materials:
There’s so many materials and I can read something and say, this
is not appropriate, or this not good language, or this is not a good
translation. And if I couldn’t do that, it would be very hard, I would
always be dependent on somebody else. I’d have to trust that
person, that they would be making the right decision as far as
choosing materials.
The teachers interviewed at Franklin School are in agreement that they
see Mary’s bilingualism and biculturalism as a positive aspect of their school.
They explain this in the following manner:
Since she is bilingual herself, that’s a great asset. All of our
assemblies for awards that we have she does this bilingually. She
always makes parents feel very welcome in both languages. She
has encouraged our bilingual parent volunteer coordinator to get
more parents who are bilingual to volunteer and she is able to
teach them things like family math.
Daniel
Daniel does not see his inability to speak Spanish or the fact that he is
not Latino as a constraint to the implementation of a successful bilingual literacy
program. He feels that there could be a relationship missing at some level but
that does not preclude the success of the program. The following statement
illustrates this belief:
My job as a principal, unfortunately, is not that closely related with
the students. It’s through the teachers that I get to them and when
I’m dealing with students certainly speaking the language would
be far better than speaking through a translator, but as far as their
academic growth in literacy, we have the teachers to do that. If our
goal is ultimately to have literate students, we do that through the
teachers, therefore my inability to speak Spanish does not hinder
me in any way.
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123
This point seemed to be substantiated by all the data sources that were
used. Test scores at Daniel’s school are comparable to the normed population
and the teachers expressed that they felt that it was not significant that Daniel
does not speak Spanish. A follow-up question to question number six in the
interview guide was “Does it matter that he doesn’t speak Spanish?” Their
reply was “No.” They elaborated by saying:
If a parent comes into his office who does not speak English he
immediately grabs whoever is available to help with the
translation. He does not make the parent wait or make an
appointment when someone can be available. There are people
in the office who speak Spanish and he always has the bilingual
coordinator translate during assemblies, word for word, what he
says.
Although it must be taken into consideration that these statements were
made by teachers who were hand picked by the principal, the observations that
were made plus the assessment data seemed to confirm his perception.
Daniel has developed the following specific strategies to compensate for
not speaking Spanish:
• He has a Bilingual Coordinator who is in charge of the bilingual
program. This person has her own office at the school and handles all
problems related to the bilingual program, always in consultation with
Daniel. She does all the translating at assemblies and meetings and
oversees the translation of any document that goes home to parents. If
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124
there is a problem with a student whose parents do not speak English,
she attends the conference with Daniel.
• There are personnel in the office that speak Spanish. They can handle
most day to day questions and concerns and they serve as a
clearinghouse for situations that require Daniel’s attention.
• With nineteen bilingual teachers on campus plus bilingual aides, there
is always someone available to help with translations, if necessary.
• One critical area that might appear problematic to a principal who does
not speak Spanish is the observation and evaluation of bilingual
teachers, since their lessons are conducted is Spanish. Daniel has
implemented the peer-coaching method of evaluation as a
compensatory measure to deal with this issue. This method is one in
which teachers team up in pairs or groups of three or four and observe
each other’s lessons. After the observation, Daniel sits with the
teachers, as an active participant, in the follow-up conference.
Summary of the Chapter
This chapter has presented the results of the analysis of observations,
documents, and interviews with two principals in order to determine their
effective practices and strategies in the implementation and maintenance of the
bilingual literacy program at each of their schools. Data were also presented
that examined how the cultural knowledge and language of each principal
impacts their effective practices and strategies.
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125
Analysis of these data disclosed several themes that were common
between both principals. These themes were (a) leadership attributes, (b)
attitudes and beliefs, (c) positive school climate, and (d) a commitment to
bilingual literacy. Each of these themes was explored and reported within the
context of each principal at his or her particular school.
It was found that both principals were knowledgeable about effective
literacy instruction and they both continued to increase their knowledge through
participation in staff development that is provided for the teachers at their
schools. They promote building relationships with parents, teachers, and
students, and also create situations in which these members of the school
community can build relationships among each other. Both principals have
developed site-based decision making particular to their schools. But, at both
schools, decisions are made by consensus only after all members have given
input. Teachers and parents at both schools are given opportunities to
participate in activities that increase their knowledge, thereby increasing their
confidence and effectiveness. This increases their ability to become full
partners in the goal of increasing student learning.
Attitudes and beliefs found most prominent in both principals were that all
children have the ability to learn, given the appropriate instruction; also, that
trusting parents and teachers to do their part in the education of students is
essential; and, finally that fostering positive communication between and
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126
among themselves, parents, and teachers is a critical component to maintaining
a successful program.
Both principals have developed a positive school climate where children
learn in a safe, caring environment. The climate that both have created at their
schools values parents as partners in the education of their children and values
teachers as professionals. Each of them has created a collegial working
environment by providing teachers time to plan together and develop common
goals. Both principals are seen as accessible by their staff and are visible
throughout the school.
Each of the principals expressed a belief and commitment to the bilingual
literacy program. They support the program by providing suitable materials,
supporting teachers’ efforts by allocating funds for staff development, and by
advocating for the program whenever necessary. Both principals expressed
that they perceive all literacy instruction as one program and do not have
separate standards, goals, or objectives for the Spanish program or the English
program. Both principals also support maintaining native language instruction
after students have transitioned into English reading. At both schools, most
children are transitioned between the third and fifth grades.
Finally, the data indicate that it is not necessary for the principal to share
the same language and culture of the Spanish language-minority students, in
order for these students to achieve biliteracy in an effective program, as long as
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certain components are in place and specific compensatory measures are
taken, as outlined and explained in this chapter.
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CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
After data for this study were collected, analyzed, and coded, themes and
categories were established. These themes and categories created the
framework upon which the results of the analysis were reported in Chapter 4
and Chapter 5. This chapter presents the conclusions of the findings and
discusses the effect of the language and cultural knowledge of the principal on
the strategies and practices used to maintain a successful bilingual literacy
program. It is organized by the themes presented in Chapter 5, namely: (a)
Leadership Attributes, (b) Attitudes and Beliefs, (c) Creating a Positive School
Climate, and (d) Strong Commitment to Bilingual Literacy. This chapter will
conclude with recommendations for practitioners as well as for further research.
Leadership Attributes
Throughout my twenty-years of experience in bilingual education, there
has been, and continues to be, a commonly held belief that an effective
principal of a school with a bilingual program needs to be, at the minimum,
bilingual and, at the optimum, bilingual and Latino. The findings of this study
raise the possibility that this is not the case, as they indicate that the
implementation of a successful biliteracy program may not be dependent upon
the language proficiency or cultural knowledge of the principal, but on
numerous professional and personal characteristics. One of these is
possessing effective leadership attributes. These effective characteristics have
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129
been identified in the literature by several studies (National Education
Association, Washington, D.C., Research Division, 1986; National Association
of Elementary School Principals, 1990; Rutherford, Hord, Hall, & Huling, 1983)
and summarized in a report published by the NAEP (1990). The characteristics
identified by the NAEP (1990) as inherent in principals of effective schools are
illustrated in Table 9, in which a comparison is made of both principals.
Table 9
Congruence With Characteristics of Principals of Effective Schools
Mary Daniel
The ability to create a warm ,
positive climate for learning Yes Yes
The ability to nurture a caring,
trusting and collegioal
enviroment
Yes Yes
Active involvement in all
aspects of the life of the school Yes Yes
The ability to effectively
implement innovations Yes Yes
The ability to establish a vision
for the school and to lead the
school community towards that
vision
Yes Yes
The desire to be a life-long
learners Yes Yes
Furthermore, the research on effective literacy programs indicates that
the principal plays a critical role in the success of the reading program (Barnard
& Hetzel, 1976; Binkley, 1989; Hillerich, 1983; Laffey, 1980; Radencich, 1995;
Erickson, 1995) and that this role includes monitoring the program to maintain
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130
quality, designating funds to support the program, and involving parents in the
program.
Both principals in this study are very much involved in the day to day
operations of the bilingual literacy program. They are knowledgeable about
effective instructional practices and keep current on issues related to reading
instruction. They are very visible throughout the school, especially in
classrooms, in order to observe and evaluate teachers. All of these
characteristics contribute to the success of their programs, and these
characteristics are not influenced by the ability or inability to speak Spanish.
Therefore, a conclusion can be made that in order to have a successful
bilingual literacy program, it is essential that principals not only possess
effective leadership skills, but also the knowledge of the instructional practices
that yields the most positive results.
Attitudes and Beliefs
The similar attitudes and beliefs of both principals in the study were
numerous and were not influenced by their language proficiency or cultural
knowledge. Both principals have a strong belief that all children can learn, and
they demonstrate this belief by having high expectations for all of their students,
regardless of the language in which they are learning.
It was demonstrated by both principals that they have worked very hard
at creating a trusting environment for teachers and parents through practices
that promote collaboration among all members of the school community. They
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both believe that communication is paramount in maintaining an effective
program and they each have multiple methods of communicating information to
all school members. While the non-bilingual principal has had to develop
different strategies for communication than the bilingual principal due to his
inability to speak Spanish, this has not precluded him from maintaining a high
quality of communication practices with both Spanish-speaking and English-
speaking members of the school community.
A conclusion can be drawn from this information that in order to support
the successful biliteracy program the non-bilingual principal has developed
strategies and practices to effectively communicate in a trusting atmosphere
with the Spanish-speaking parents at his school. These strategies include, but
are not limited to, having sufficient Spanish-speaking personnel in the front
office, as well as in administrative positions, to facilitate communication with all
parents and students.
Although both principals communicated in a variety of ways with parents
and teachers, it was evident that the bilingual principal included more strategies
that brought her face to face with parents, including Spanish-speaking parents,
in small group meetings. One such meeting, the “Principal-Parent Coffee” was
an open invitation to parents to come and talk. There was no prepared agenda
for this meeting and the principal was open to discuss any issues the parents
brought up. The non-bilingual principal had general, open assemblies on the
playground and formal meetings, such as PTA or Site Council that include a
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132
predetermined agenda. There were not meetings at his school where parents
were invited “ just to talk.” This may indicate that the non-bilingual principal is not
comfortable in these types of situations because he cannot speak directly to the
Spanish-speaking parents, or it may be a personal characteristic of the non
bilingual principal, unrelated to his inability to speak Spanish. The implications
of this lack of personal contact are unclear from this study, and require further
research.
Creating a Positive School Climate
The importance of establishing a positive school climate, and the fact that
the principal is critical in creating this climate have been verified by the results
of several research studies (Bird & Little, 1985; Dwyer et al., 1983; Hallinger &
Murphy, 1983; Rutherford et al., 1983). Both principals who were studied have
implemented strategies and practices that sustain collegial relationships among
teachers and between school staff members and parents. These practices
promote a climate that is not only inclusive of all members of the school
community, but encourages these members to come together in the common
goal of increasing student achievement.
Efforts to create a positive school climate seem to come naturally to both
principals in the study. This effective practice appears to be dependent upon the
value that is placed on the inclusion of parents and teachers in all aspects of the
school. Although the manner in which this is accomplished by both principals
varies due to language ability, the fact remains that the non-bilingual principal
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133
does not let his non-bilingualism get in the way. He has established strategies
and practices that yield a positive school climate.
Therefore, a conclusion can be made that establishing a positive school
climate is not dependent upon the principals’ sharing the language or culture of
the language-minority students at their schools, but their willingness and desire
to include all members of the school community via all necessary strategies.
A Strong Commitment to Bilingual Literacy
Often, in Spanish-bilingual schools with non-bilingual principals, the
responsibility of the bilingual literacy program is delegated to a bilingual
coordinator. Some non-bilingual principals feel that because they do not speak
Spanish anything related to the bilingual program is better left to someone who
does. Their involvement consists mainly of approving decisions made by the
bilingual coordinator or co-administrator. In contrast, bilingual principals are
usually very much involved in the bilingual literacy program at their schools
and do not have a bilingual coordinator.
The actions of the non-bilingual principal in this study are contrary to
what I have seen as the norm. Even though he has a bilingual coordinator, he
is the one who makes the decisions, which are informed based on his
knowledge and experience in the bilingual literacy program.
The principals in this study repeatedly commented that they did not view
the bilingual literacy program as separate from the English literacy program.
Both principals talked about literacy as literacy; they did not differentiate
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134
between English literacy and Spanish literacy, and were equally
knowledgeable about effective instructional practices that promote biliteracy.
Studies that have examined the principals role in bilingual literacy
programs indicate that the principal must not only support the bilingual literacy
program, but also serve as an advocate of the program (Gonzales, Schiller, &
Stell, 1997; Texas Education Agency, 1990). Both principals in this study used
the word “advocate” more than once to describe their roles. The non-bilingual
principal felt just as strongly about his commitment to bilingual literacy as did
the bilingual principal. An enthusiasm for promoting literacy in Spanish and
English was equally evident in both principals.
From my perspective, the support and commitment that both of the
principals have for the bilingual literacy program are the cornerstones of the
success of their programs. This is what drives all the other effective practices
and strategies that they demonstrated. Their excitement and passion for
ensuring that all students reach their highest potential through the use of their
native language, and their respect for the culture of all their students
reverberates throughout the entire school community.
Since the characteristics that demonstrate a commitment to bilingual
literacy were evident with both principals, a conclusion can be made that the
principal’s commitment to the bilingual literacy program is necessary for its
success and that this commitment does not require that the principal speak
Spanish.
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Implications for Practice
135
When looking at the ever-increasing number of students who come to
school speaking a language other than English and the high number of these
students who do not experience success in the present educational system, it
behooves us as educators to investigate the best practices in order to support
the needs of students in the process of acquiring English. It is also critical that
educational policymakers and practitioners go beyond the investigation of
effective practices and implement them. With this in mind, the following
recommendations are made.
It is recommended that when superintendents are staffing schools with a
bilingual literacy program, they look for candidates who have the qualities
outlined in this study. Superintendents need to go beyond the language
proficiency and ethnicity of the candidates or just looking at the job performance
of the candidates if their experience has been only at schools that do not have a
bilingual program. They need to ask questions that delve into the candidates’
experience, ability, and willingness to implement the effective practices and
strategies discussed in this study. Most important, they need to find a candidate
who has a firm commitment to biliteracy, which includes support for primary
language instruction.
It is recommended that training programs for principals include course
work on bilingual literacy instruction and that this course work include
instruction on the effective practices and strategies revealed in this study.
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136
It is recommended that current principals’ knowledge and understanding
of effective practices that result in successful bilingual literacy programs be
enhanced through staff development.
It is recommended that non-bilingual, non-bicultural principals of schools
with a bilingual literacy program develop specific strategies that allow him or
her to effectively communicate with Spanish-speaking parents and students.
Implications for Research
There is a need for further research to determine the effect of the
bilingual principal’s practice of making personal connections with parents
through her use of Spanish vs. the non-bilingual principals practice of not
employing these strategies. This research might determine if language is an
issue or if it is a personal characteristic of the principals. Furthermore, this
research could determine the impact, if any, that this personal touch has on
parental involvement and student achievement.
Since the two participants in this study represent different genders, it
might prove insightful to research if the gender of the principal influences his or
her willingness to make personal connections with parents, and conversely if
the gender of the principal influences the parents’ desire to make personal
connections with the principal.
It needs to be taken into consideration that Daniel had what appeared to
be a positive experience in China and learned to speak the language. This
cross-cultural influence could be a factor in increasing his sensitivity to his
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137
current dual-language environment. Therefore, the influence of cross-cultural
experiences would be a topic for further research.
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138
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APPENDICES
Interview Protocols
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147
APPENDIX A: PRINCIPAL INTERVIEW GUIDE
I. BACKGROUND
A. General
1. Tell me about yourself: How long have you been a principal? How long
have you been in the district? Were you a teacher in the district prior to
becoming a principal?
2. How would you describe this school—its overall goals, its students and
parents?
3. Recent research names the principal as the instructional leader of the
school. Tell me how you fill this role at your school.
II. SCHOOL BILINGUAL LITERACY PROGRAM
A. LEP Overview
1. Please describe in general terms the LEP students in your school who
participate in the bilingual literacy program.
2. Please describe the level of parent and community involvement in your
school. What parents are involved? How are they involved?
3. What activities at the school provide cultural support to LEP students?
4. Please describe how you make the home/school connection and other
communications with parents.
5. How do you welcome and encourage the Spanish-speaking parents to
participate in the school?
B. Bilingual Literacy Program
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148
1. Tell me about your experiences in implementing the bilingual literacy
program in the school.
2. What is your role in the bilingual literacy program at your school, and how
have you impacted the program?
3. What do you consider to be the strengths of you school’s bilingual literacy
program?
4. In the advent of mandated state and national Language Arts standards, how
do you see this influencing the biliteracy program?
III. PRINCIPAL’S LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
A. Personal
1. Have you ever lived in a household where English was not the language
spoken? If so, tell me about that experience.
2. In addition to English, which languages have you been taught to read, write,
and/or speak?
Have you ever lived in other countries? Which ones? For how long? Please
tell me about those experiences.
B. Professional
1. How long did you teach prior to becoming an administrator?
2. Have you ever taught in a school that had bilingual education
programs?
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149
3. Have you ever worked as a teacher in bilingual education or second
language acquisition program?
4. What research are you familiar with regarding Bilingual Education?
5. What prompted you to be a principal in a bilingual school?
6. What have you done to enhance bilingual literacy education at your
school?
7. What abilities, knowledge, or skills do you have which you feel
have especially helped you to administer an elementary school with a
bilingual literacy program?
8. How are culture and language incorporated into the school’s literacy
program?
C. Subset of Questions for Spanish-bilingual and
bicultural principal.
1. When do you find it useful to be bilingual?
2. When do you find it useful to be Latino?
3. Does it help you to be bilingual as you support the school’s literacy
program?
4. If so, can you give some example of how you use Spanish to help
teachers implement the school’s bilingual literacy program?
5. In what ways do you use Spanish to involve parents in the school’s
bilingual program?
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6. In what ways do you use Spanish to help students acquire literacy
skills?
7. What have you done to enhance bilingual education at your school?
8. Do you consider yourself bicultural? Do you maintain your native
culture? If so how?
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151
APPENDIX B: TEACHER INTERVIEW GUIDE
1. Describe the effective principal?
2. What do you consider is the principal’s major task?
3. If you could, how would you improve the role of the principal in the bilingual
literacy program in this school?
4. Does the principal at this school include the language and culture of the
students? If so, how? If not, what do you attribute this to?
5. If the principal were not here tomorrow, would it make any difference? Why?
Are you satisfied with the degree of communication between the faculty and
the principal? Between parents and the principal?
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Creator Rojas, Hazel (author)

Core Title Effective practices of a Spanish -bilingual and -bicultural principal vs. a non -Spanish -bilingual and -bicultural principal and the effects of their language proficiency and cultural knowledge ...

School School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Education, administration,education, bilingual and multicultural,education, curriculum and instruction,OAI-PMH Harvest

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Advisor Yaden, David B. (committee chair), Gothold, Stuart (committee member), Rueda, Robert (committee member)

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