The highly successful Kindergarten Language Development Model (KLDM), an instructional model designed to provide emergent ELL students with intensive language support through literacy instruction, was developed over eight years ago.  Since then, an increasing number of Saint Paul Public Schools have instituted all-day kindergarten programs.  Kindergarten instruction has also moved to a workshop model for reading, writing, and math with the Project for Academic Excellence.  All these changes prompted ELL Department staff to conduct an informal study of KLDM as well as other ELL service models for kindergarten students across the district, during the 2006-2007 school year.  We found the following:

• KLDM implementation has evolved differently at each site reflecting its changing student needs and particular staffing so that there is no longer a clear and consistent model across the district
• The institution of all-day kindergarten programs across the district no longer supports the original intent of KLDM as an additional half-day of support for emergent ELL students
• The most consistent factor in successful ELL service models across the district is a significant amount of time dedicated to kindergarten by an ELL teacher with additional support from bilingual Educational Assistants.
  

Knowing that early intervention in kindergarten can make a tremendous impact on language and academic development, we developed the following kindergarten ELL service guidelines with three goals in mind:

Goal 1:  Encourage school teams to invest in early intervention by providing substantial support for kindergarten ELL students

Goal 2:  Align the kindergarten ELL service model with the first through sixth grade ELL service model of inclusion and collaboration

Goal 3:  Share the many essential practices we observed in our study, particularly for literacy instruction within the workshop model

These guidelines are a tool for school teams (administrators and teachers) to use in articulating their ELL instruction. The ELL Handbook (available at http://ell.spps.org) elaborates on our philosophy of promoting English language proficiency through content instruction. It also describes how ELL and general education staff can effectively collaborate. We suggest that school teams use both documents as resources

Guidelines for Kindergarten ELL Service

School teams should consider structural and instructional factors when redefining their kindergarten programs to provide a cohesive school-wide model of providing ELL service. Teachers and administrators should take the following structural elements into consideration when planning for kindergarten ELL service:

• The number of ELL students
• The placement of students (how students may be strategically clustered)
• The most effective allocation of ELL staffing
• Curriculum materials and teaching tools
• Instructional space
• Time for collaboration (planning, co-teaching, assessment, and reflection)

Providing ELL service during literacy instruction should be a priority. Math should be a second priority with other content areas following. Generally however, the students who are determined to have the greatest need should receive the most ELL staff support in their area of need.

The following chart describes essential practices for ELLs. They are based on both language acquisition research and what we observed in our study.  The chart is meant to help school teams highlight many essential instructional practices already in place, and to identify those that may need refining, as we transition to a more inclusive model in the 2007-2008 school year. The chart has four components:

• Minnesota state English Language Proficiency standards (ELPS)
• The ELPS developed by the national organization Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
• Instructional Periods typical of kindergarten (e.g. Writer’s Workshop, Reader’s Workshop, Math Workshop, etc.)
• ELL Essential Practices

These essential practices are aligned with the instructional period that may be most appropriate, but are not limited to that period. The chart was developed with the understanding that all kindergarten ELL students are full members of the learning community receiving instruction in reading and writing through the workshop model in accordance with SPPS’ 2006-2011 Strategic Plan for Continued Excellence.  It is designed to offer some basic ideas for providing linguistic, visual, kinesthetic, graphic and emotional support that will facilitate ELL students’ attainment of academic proficiency in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Kindergarten ELL Service

ELL and Kindergarten teachers should be planning, assessing, and reflecting together to implement these essential practices.  Co-teaching between a kindergarten and ELL teacher reduces class size, enabling teachers to have more individual instruction with students and allows for more adult modeling and observation.  ELL teachers may also provide input on how to scaffold for instruction in the content areas they are unable to co-teach. 

Professional Learning and Support

ELL Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSAs) are available to help schools develop their ELL program.  They can provide all staff, grade-level teams, or individual teachers professional learning as determined by school teams or individuals.   Kindergarten Cadre meetings will also be available for Kindergarten and ELL teacher teams that wish to deepen their collaboration as we transition to this more inclusive model.

Additional Resources

Cappellini, Mary. 2005.  Balancing Reading and Language Learning: A Resource for Teaching English Language Learners, K-5. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.
 
Cunningham, Andie & Ruth Shagoury.  2005.  Starting with Comprehension: Reading Strategies for the Youngest Learners.  Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

Fay, Kathleen & Suzanne Whaley. 2004.  Becoming One Community: Reading and Writing with English Language Learners.  Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

International Reading Association (IRA) and NAEYC. 1998.  Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children.  Joint position statement.

Kendall, Juli & Outey Khuon.  2005. Making Sense: Small-Group Comprehension Lessons for English Language Learners.  Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

Neuman, Susan B. & Kathleen Roskos. 2005. “Whatever Happened to Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Literacy?” Young Children on the Web.

------. 2006. PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards. Alexandria, Virginia: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.