ANSWER:

In response to concerns regarding staffing levels raised by ESOL teachers through the ESOL Labor Management Collaboration Committee, a work group was charged to address the issue related to the allocation of ESOL staffing.  Eight meetings were held with a broad range of key stakeholders to accomplish the deliverables on the project charter.  An interest-based problem-solving approach was employed to make a recommendation to the Associations/Deputy Superintendents/Chief Operating Officer Committee. 

Feedback from Work Group

The work group met eight times, from December 2012 through December 2013, and accomplished the following:

• Reviewed ESOL instructional expectations at the elementary, middle, and high school levels,
• Benchmarked the staffing ratios used in neighboring districts,
• Reviewed and discussed the role of the ESOL teacher,
• Developed, presented, and discussed various ESOL staffing models based on the proficiency levels of ESOL students, as opposed to the current ratio driven model, and
• Met face-to-face and online simultaneously to facilitate the participation of all work group members

Recommendation of the Work Group:

Proficiency-based Staffing:  To maximize academic growth opportunities for ESOL students, the work group proposed a proficiency-based staffing model.  Using a proficiency-based staffing model, schools will be allocated ESOL teaching positions based on the English language proficiency (ELP) levels of students enrolled in the ESOL program.  For example, it is expected that students who are identified as needing Level 1 ESOL services will be provided more time and teacher assistance to acquire academic English in order to successfully access content subjects.  Therefore, more staffing would be allocated to support the students in the lower ESOL levels than in the higher levels.  Students are identified as ESOL levels 1–5 based on their ELP skills as determined by the state mandated ELP assessment, Accessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State for ELLs.