	May/June 2005
Arizona Districts Applaud High Standards, Criticize Low Funding By Michelle Adam, ELL Outlook Staff Writer When Erminda Garcia returned to Arizona after 20 years of teaching English language learners (ELLs) in four other states, she witnessed firsthand the tremendous increase of ELLs in Arizona classrooms. So much so, that today almost all teachers at her K-8 school have at least a handful of ELL students in their classrooms. "When I came back here I saw a lot more new faces, a lot more ELLs represented in our district," said Garcia at the Morris K. Udall School, where she teaches first-grade students. The challenge that comes with this growing limited-English proficient population is a need for instruction and resources to match these changes--something Garcia is afraid Arizona schools are far from providing. "The kids look different, but if the instruction looks the same then we are in trouble. And our instruction is very much the same," she said. "What we need is funding for professional development, curriculum, and assessment. There isn't enough and teachers are saying, 'What now? What can we do?'" Arizona ranks 49th in educational spending per child, according to Education Week's Quality Counts 2004, while still maintaining high standards for its students--a dilemma in the eyes of some educators and administrators on the district level. "Ten years ago we didn't have standards. Now we have them. The state just put out ELL standards in February," said Garcia, who also works as a language arts coach for other teachers. "But there's an issue that comes up with how to support teachers. I don't see the money there, but I want my teachers to be qualified." Morris K. Udall is part of the Isaac Elementary School District (IESD), which has a total of 9,000 students, 50 percent of them ELLs, and 93 percent on free or reduced lunch. In addition, IESD is among some 60 feeder elementary and middle schools that move students into the Phoenix Union High School District. According to Arizona's recently released ELL Cost Study (a result of the Flores v. Arizona court case, filed in 1992), state and federal funds have been inadequate in dealing with the growing and changing needs of ELLs. Kent Scribner, IESD superintendent, agrees. He pointed out that federal monies make up 10 percent of ELL funding, the state 34 percent, and funds from additional local taxes--intended to merely alleviate underfunding--make up 56 percent. "When we have a court saying we have been out of compliance in funding ELL education since 1992, it is high time ELLs receive the funding to educate them. We are in a position of having to rob Peter to pay Paul," said Scribner. "The pressure is on to meet high standards, yet there is no additional funding." For Garcia, a lack of funding on the ground level shows up in various forms: in limited professional development, in a lack of time and resources to learn from testing, and in few curriculum resources to assist teachers in the classroom. "We need a lot more professional development in terms of teaching language. This whole year, we haven't done any district-wide professional development specific to ELLs. This requires time and money," said Garcia. "And if we are testing kids while they are here, we need to look at materials, scoring resources, and figure out how the tests inform our teaching." With two master's degrees and 27 years under her belt, Garcia is more prepared than most teachers. But she sees many other teachers, those who are not used to having ELLs in their classrooms and have never been given a course on how language works in the classroom, being burned out because of limited resources and support. She also fears that Arizona's new requirement that all teachers receive 15 hours in ELL professional development (actual hours, not credit hours) is not nearly enough. "My teachers feel strained to find an answer when I ask them what they are teaching in language," said Garcia. "We don't have any language curriculum." While having more funds for professional development and curriculum is key at the lower grades, the Phoenix Union High School District faces another challenge. According to Mary Muir, ELL teacher and department chair at the district's Camelback High School, more students than ever enter school poorly prepared in academics, even in their own language. As a result, Camelback--the second-largest ELL program in the district, with 25 percent ELLs--has many additional, specialized programs that are extremely costly. "Most of the students we get do not have grade-level skills in Spanish and are not well educated in math, science, and social studies. They struggle with content in their own language. Almost half of our students are under grade level in their native language," said Muir. "That's why our programs are so expensive." The list of Muir's ELL programs is impressive: Spanish for Native Students, a series of elective classes that boost reading and writing skills in Spanish (two teachers); Targeted English Instruction (two-hour blocks), with 15 ESL teachers providing instruction in reading, writing, and listening to 16 students (versus the regular 1:32); content classes, using basic English in math, science, social studies, business, and health (16 teachers); bilingual classes, with three bilingual teachers instructing in algebra, science, and social studies; and special literacy classes and Newcomer Math for African refugees with no literacy skills in their own languages. And as Muir said, "We need to have trainers train teachers in this, and the training is expensive." In addition to these programs, which require double the teaching force and hours than an average class does, the school has 12 instructional assistants; special summer programs (a Bridge program, special literacy classes, and ESL content classes); and a district-wide Welcome Center, a large assessment center that tests about 1,000 potential ELL newcomers every year and recently reassessed 4,600 current ELLs. The tally of ELL costs on the district level adds up to about $1,700 in additional ELL funds beyond the average per-student cost, according to Joan Mason, Phoenix district director of Programs for English Language Learners. "Our students have some of the greatest needs and we have to pay for that," she said. When asked who helps pay for the additional $1,700 per ELL student, Mason explained that about $350 comes from the state (which originates from the local tax base), approximately $96 from Title III federal funds, and about $700 from additional local taxes. The remaining costs are covered by a compensatory instruction fund and by pulling resources from other departments, she said. While the district has found ways to address ELL needs, Mason is concerned that over time they won't be able to rely on additional local taxes as much as they have thus far. During the past years, districts such as Phoenix, with desegregation orders from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, have been authorized to levy additional taxes on local property to pay for desegregation and ELL needs. However, according to Mason, the state recently placed a cap on how much can be taxed. "There is concern because the budget has been frozen, and the needs keep getting greater in terms of the students we are getting," said Mason. "We haven't been asked to reduce the budget, but that can happen. For things like textbooks, we already know we are going to be in a crunch. We are running out of carry-over money, and the $65 allotment per student from the state isn't going to cover it." (As a short-term, three-year response to the Flores vs. Arizona court case, the state gave schools supplemental funds for ELL textbooks and bonuses to teachers who reclassified ELL students, according to Mason.) As local schools face the rising costs of educating ELLs--without clear signs that Arizona's legislature intends to increase support-these limited-English proficient students will soon be required to take the state high school graduation test (AIMS) along with all other students. "Now we are teaching to the test. We are teaching them persuasive essays when they should be learning narrative writing. The challenge is to prepare students for the test while teaching them what they need to in order to survive and do well in society," said Muir. "While the money we spend is not wasted--the kids are moving up--with the AIMS test we are afraid a lot of the students will drop out." With growing numbers of students entering Phoenix high schools with little academic preparation even in their own language, educating and graduating ELLs comes at an extremely high price tag. Arizona's legislature is under pressure from the courts to spend about $1,200 more on ELLs, but according to Tim Hogan, plaintiff's counsel for the Flores vs. Arizona lawsuit, "it doesn't feel promising." Hogan spoke to us from the legislative floor as politicians hammered out the details of the upcoming school budget. "It seems they calculate if they appropriate some money, no matter how insubstantial, that this will buy them time," he said. As districts wait to hear from the state on appropriations for ELLs, the number of ELLs, their needs, and their graduation requirements increase. In the meantime, teachers like Garcia and Mason work "in the trenches" to provide ELLs with the best education they know how-hoping that the growing needs of ELLs will ultimately be matched by growing dollars. Editor's Note: Articles on federal and state funding for ELLs appeared in the March/April 2005 issue of The ELL Outlook (http://www.coursecrafters.com/ELL-Outlook/2005/mar_apr/index.html). If you have any comments about this article or questions for for the author, please send them to: alex@coursecrafters.com.
Copyright © 2005 Course Crafters, Inc.® All rights reserved.

May/June 2005

Arizona Districts Applaud High Standards, Criticize Low Funding

By Michelle Adam, ELL Outlook Staff Writer

When Erminda Garcia returned to Arizona after 20 years of teaching English language learners (ELLs) in four other states, she witnessed firsthand the tremendous increase of ELLs in Arizona classrooms. So much so, that today almost all teachers at her K-8 school have at least a handful of ELL students in their classrooms.

"When I came back here I saw a lot more new faces, a lot more ELLs represented in our district," said Garcia at the Morris K. Udall School, where she teaches first-grade students.

The challenge that comes with this growing limited-English proficient population is a need for instruction and resources to match these changes--something Garcia is afraid Arizona schools are far from providing.

"The kids look different, but if the instruction looks the same then we are in trouble. And our instruction is very much the same," she said. "What we need is funding for professional development, curriculum, and assessment. There isn't enough and teachers are saying, 'What now? What can we do?'"

Arizona ranks 49th in educational spending per child, according to Education Week's Quality Counts 2004, while still maintaining high standards for its students--a dilemma in the eyes of some educators and administrators on the district level.

"Ten years ago we didn't have standards. Now we have them. The state just put out ELL standards in February," said Garcia, who also works as a language arts coach for other teachers. "But there's an issue that comes up with how to support teachers. I don't see the money there, but I want my teachers to be qualified."

Morris K. Udall is part of the Isaac Elementary School District (IESD), which has a total of 9,000 students, 50 percent of them ELLs, and 93 percent on free or reduced lunch. In addition, IESD is among some 60 feeder elementary and middle schools that move students into the Phoenix Union High School District.

According to Arizona's recently released ELL Cost Study (a result of the Flores v. Arizona court case, filed in 1992), state and federal funds have been inadequate in dealing with the growing and changing needs of ELLs. Kent Scribner, IESD superintendent, agrees. He pointed out that federal monies make up 10 percent of ELL funding, the state 34 percent, and funds from additional local taxes--intended to merely alleviate underfunding--make up 56 percent.

"When we have a court saying we have been out of compliance in funding ELL education since 1992, it is high time ELLs receive the funding to educate them. We are in a position of having to rob Peter to pay Paul," said Scribner. "The pressure is on to meet high standards, yet there is no additional funding."

For Garcia, a lack of funding on the ground level shows up in various forms: in limited professional development, in a lack of time and resources to learn from testing, and in few curriculum resources to assist teachers in the classroom.

"We need a lot more professional development in terms of teaching language. This whole year, we haven't done any district-wide professional development specific to ELLs. This requires time and money," said Garcia. "And if we are testing kids while they are here, we need to look at materials, scoring resources, and figure out how the tests inform our teaching."

With two master's degrees and 27 years under her belt, Garcia is more prepared than most teachers. But she sees many other teachers, those who are not used to having ELLs in their classrooms and have never been given a course on how language works in the classroom, being burned out because of limited resources and support. She also fears that Arizona's new requirement that all teachers receive 15 hours in ELL professional development (actual hours, not credit hours) is not nearly enough.

"My teachers feel strained to find an answer when I ask them what they are teaching in language," said Garcia. "We don't have any language curriculum."

While having more funds for professional development and curriculum is key at the lower grades, the Phoenix Union High School District faces another challenge. According to Mary Muir, ELL teacher and department chair at the district's Camelback High School, more students than ever enter school poorly prepared in academics, even in their own language. As a result, Camelback--the second-largest ELL program in the district, with 25 percent ELLs--has many additional, specialized programs that are extremely costly.

"Most of the students we get do not have grade-level skills in Spanish and are not well educated in math, science, and social studies. They struggle with content in their own language. Almost half of our students are under grade level in their native language," said Muir. "That's why our programs are so expensive."

The list of Muir's ELL programs is impressive: Spanish for Native Students, a series of elective classes that boost reading and writing skills in Spanish (two teachers); Targeted English Instruction (two-hour blocks), with 15 ESL teachers providing instruction in reading, writing, and listening to 16 students (versus the regular 1:32); content classes, using basic English in math, science, social studies, business, and health (16 teachers); bilingual classes, with three bilingual teachers instructing in algebra, science, and social studies; and special literacy classes and Newcomer Math for African refugees with no literacy skills in their own languages. And as Muir said, "We need to have trainers train teachers in this, and the training is expensive."

In addition to these programs, which require double the teaching force and hours than an average class does, the school has 12 instructional assistants; special summer programs (a Bridge program, special literacy classes, and ESL content classes); and a district-wide Welcome Center, a large assessment center that tests about 1,000 potential ELL newcomers every year and recently reassessed 4,600 current ELLs.

The tally of ELL costs on the district level adds up to about $1,700 in additional ELL funds beyond the average per-student cost, according to Joan Mason, Phoenix district director of Programs for English Language Learners. "Our students have some of the greatest needs and we have to pay for that," she said.

When asked who helps pay for the additional $1,700 per ELL student, Mason explained that about $350 comes from the state (which originates from the local tax base), approximately $96 from Title III federal funds, and about $700 from additional local taxes. The remaining costs are covered by a compensatory instruction fund and by pulling resources from other departments, she said.

While the district has found ways to address ELL needs, Mason is concerned that over time they won't be able to rely on additional local taxes as much as they have thus far. During the past years, districts such as Phoenix, with desegregation orders from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, have been authorized to levy additional taxes on local property to pay for desegregation and ELL needs. However, according to Mason, the state recently placed a cap on how much can be taxed.

"There is concern because the budget has been frozen, and the needs keep getting greater in terms of the students we are getting," said Mason. "We haven't been asked to reduce the budget, but that can happen. For things like textbooks, we already know we are going to be in a crunch. We are running out of carry-over money, and the $65 allotment per student from the state isn't going to cover it." (As a short-term, three-year response to the Flores vs. Arizona court case, the state gave schools supplemental funds for ELL textbooks and bonuses to teachers who reclassified ELL students, according to Mason.)

As local schools face the rising costs of educating ELLs--without clear signs that Arizona's legislature intends to increase support-these limited-English proficient students will soon be required to take the state high school graduation test (AIMS) along with all other students.

"Now we are teaching to the test. We are teaching them persuasive essays when they should be learning narrative writing. The challenge is to prepare students for the test while teaching them what they need to in order to survive and do well in society," said Muir. "While the money we spend is not wasted--the kids are moving up--with the AIMS test we are afraid a lot of the students will drop out."

With growing numbers of students entering Phoenix high schools with little academic preparation even in their own language, educating and graduating ELLs comes at an extremely high price tag. Arizona's legislature is under pressure from the courts to spend about $1,200 more on ELLs, but according to Tim Hogan, plaintiff's counsel for the Flores vs. Arizona lawsuit, "it doesn't feel promising."

Hogan spoke to us from the legislative floor as politicians hammered out the details of the upcoming school budget. "It seems they calculate if they appropriate some money, no matter how insubstantial, that this will buy them time," he said.

As districts wait to hear from the state on appropriations for ELLs, the number of ELLs, their needs, and their graduation requirements increase. In the meantime, teachers like Garcia and Mason work "in the trenches" to provide ELLs with the best education they know how-hoping that the growing needs of ELLs will ultimately be matched by growing dollars.

Editor's Note: Articles on federal and state funding for ELLs appeared in the March/April 2005 issue of The ELL Outlook (http://www.coursecrafters.com/ELL-Outlook/2005/mar_apr/index.html).

If you have any comments about this article or questions for for the author, please send them to: alex@coursecrafters.com.