Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Student Advocacy Plan Sarah Ellen Davis The University of North Carolina at Chapel

Hill

1. Briefly, describe the individual or group that is/are the focus of your advocacy and the plan you have developed for the advocacy effort. At Cary High School, students with questionable English language proficiency take the CIE test to determine the students status as a limited English proficiency student or as an English-speaking student. The students designated status determines the classes that they take during the school year. When the students test results demonstrate limited English proficiency (LEP), the student is put into the program known as ESL Academy, where students take two ESL classes, one ESL resource tutoring class, and one class for non-ESL students (often Healthful Living). When ESL Academy teachers decide to move the students up a level (often the following school year or semester), the ESL Academy students take one ESL resource tutoring class and three non-ESL classes. The ESL Academy teachers guidelines for promotion from the ESL heavy schedule to the ESL light schedule have not been provided to administration. This transition appears to be problematic for many students; grades drop dramatically as students shift from three ESL classes to one. Grades often drop so dramatically that students fail the majority of their classes and are unable to be promoted. As the number of limited English proficiency students at Cary High School grows significantly every year, and these students fail to be promoted, the graduation rates are repressed. In order to advocate for these students, there should be clear guidelines for promoting students from a three ESL class schedule to a one ESL class schedule to avoid promoting students that are not yet ready for the course load. In addition, students that are promoted from three ESL classes to one should be adequately supported through this transition. The ESL resource tutoring class that accompanies the students other three non-ESL classes should include lessons pertaining to their adaptation to a new culture in education. It should also incorporate the students families, hosting a family night at the beginning of the semester with as many Spanish-speaking faculty as possible to teach parents about the education culture in the United States and at Cary High School. 2. There are two related justifications for engaging in advocacy. These are moral and/or legal (e.g., IDEA, FERPA, etc.). What issue or issues underpin your advocacy plan? The issues underpinning the LEP Student advocacy plan are ethically based; students have a right to education and because of the language barrier, policies, and classes at Cary High, these students are falling between the cracks. The lack of clear guidelines provided to administration for LEP student promotion is a clear ethical breach; students may not be prepared to move on to a schedule of three non-ESL classes, and clear regulations should be in place to assist in these decisions and avoid subjective judgments. 3. What do you hope to accomplish as a result of your advocacy efforts? What are your objectives? This advocacy plan seeks to lessen the number of failures for LEP students transitioning from 3 ESL classes to one. It also seeks to lessen the LEP student retainment rate, which would in turn assist in advancing the graduation rate.

4. What are the barriers that must be overcome if advocacy is to be successful? Because Cary High School has the ESL program, many students are sent to Cary High to acquire the programs services. As the number of LEP students grows, and the loss of an ESL teacher this year continues to plague the current ESL teachers, the more difficulties the program seems to face. These barriers could be challenging to overcome, but the collaboration between administrators, counselors, and families should help the plan become successful. 5. Identify potential collaborators in your advocacy plan. What expertise will they bring to the effort? Collaboration between ESL teachers, administration, parents, and school counselors will be necessary for effective intervention. ESL teachers would be implementing these changes along with school counselors and administrators as they work towards creating clear guidelines for promotion. Parents and families are also very important to include; this is an opportunity to let parents in on the information so that the knowledge regarding U.S. culture and education can be implemented at home (thereby supporting what they will hear in the ESL resource tutoring class). 6. What risks are associated with the advocacy effort to you personally and the counseling program? What are the potential rewards? Working with the ESL teachers could be risky; because its their territory they may feel that the counseling program is telling them how to do their job. This could risk the relationship between the counseling department and the ESL department, but with the help of administration and a sensitive approach to the changes that could be made, it could also strengthen the relationship between departments. 7. What evaluation method(s) could be used to determine the effectiveness of your advocacy effort? The best evaluation method to determine the plans effectiveness will be the collection of data and information after a full semester of advocacy intervention. Looking at the retainment rates from the prior semesters and the number LEP students that failed 2/3 of their non-ESL classes will help us evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Additionally, the graduation rate for LEP students could also indicate changes.