High expectations, challenging instruction improve ELL achievement in Summit School District

The Challenge

Summit School District (SSD) in Colorado serves about 3,000 students who live in Summit County, home to numerous resort areas and ski towns. Geographically, the district is rural and spread out; demographically, it has experienced a dramatic increase in English-language learning students (ELLs), due to an influx of seasonal workers. As part of a three-year state initiative, SSD turned to McREL to help narrow the achievement gap between ELLs and their English-speaking peers—but in a systemic way that didn’t focus solely on state assessment performance.

Strategic Solution

The SSD curriculum was solid, but the way it was being taught varied widely from classroom to classroom—and teachers were unsure how ELLs would relate to it. McREL Lead Consultant Candy Hyatt helped teachers take a step back and look at instruction through an ELL lens, which included language development, high-quality instructional strategies, and equal opportunity for higher-level thinking. They began to identify how to teach the curriculum in a culturally relevant way, and how they could learn more about their new students and their families.

The instructional strategies from McREL’s Classroom Instruction That Works (CITW) provided the foundation for change, as teachers learned how to implement them with consistency and fidelity, how to adapt them for ELLs, how to communicate and articulate learning goals to students, and how to work together—with other mainstream and ESL teachers—to meet the needs of all students.

Over time, said Hyatt, “I watched the shift in teachers’ thinking about who was sitting in front of them. They began to understand that they could deliver instruction at a very high level (to ELLs), as long as they provided the necessary scaffolds and supports.”

Results

After a year of comprehensive professional development, SSD Superintendent Millie Hamner said the district “is focusing on keeping best instructional practices and student learning first on our minds, in our agendas, and in our hearts.” Teachers have taken responsibility for ensuring high-quality instruction for all students, advocating for more ELLs in higher-level classes and holding themselves accountable for implementing strategies. A culture of high expectations has taken hold throughout the district.

State assessment data from 2007–2009 indicated the gap between white and minority students, as well as students living in poverty, is narrowing at all levels in both reading (by 6%) and mathematics (by 3%). At the high school level, reading scores have increased by an impressive 16 percent.

Next Steps

The district continues quarterly CITW trainings in each school and monitors implementation through regular classroom observations conducted by principals and central office administrators. With McREL’s assistance, Hamner said, the district has made student learning its number-one priority and is on its way to becoming the kind of school system they have “always aspired to be.”