This research brief presents a case study of an English Learner Improvement Network (ELIN), a group of educators focused on a shared problem of practice in English Learner education and supported through extensive collaboration between researchers and practitioners in English Learner education and Improvement Science. The case study involves an urban school district and a charter organization each serving between 50-80% of students who have ever been English Learners. The research brief identifies five key themes that contribute to knowledge of the English Learner Improvement Networks’ ability to support English Learner improvement: (1) Expert Partnerships Support Improvement; (2) Context Impacts Improvement; (3) Smaller Steps Lead to Larger Changes; (4) Collaborative Coaching Counts; and (5) Teacher Leaders Support Implementation. This ELIN is highlighted as a model of a systemic and coherent approach to educational improvement for ELs through the extensive collaboration provided in English Learner content and Improvement Science process.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ceel_education_policybriefs/1012/thumbnail.jp

Armas, Elvira G., , Ed.D.

Kaminski, Linda R. G., , Ed.D.

Lavadenz, Magaly, , Ph.D.

López, Grecya V., , M.S.

English

Loyola Marymount University

Education and Policy Briefs Center for Equity for English Learners 11-2022 No. 11, November 2022: Insights from Co-Designed English Learner Improvement Networks Linda R. G. Kaminski , Ed.D. Magaly Lavadenz , Ph.D. Elvira G. Armas , Ed.D. Grecya V. López , M.S. Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ceel_education_policybriefs  Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, and the Curriculum and Instruction Commons This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Equity for English Learners at Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Education and Policy Briefs by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@lmu.edu. No. 11 | November 2022EDUCATION AND POLICY BRIEFINSIGHTS FROM CO-DESIGNED ENGLISH LEARNERIMPROVEMENT NETWORKSLinda Kaminski, Ed.D. Director of Research and Policy, Affiliate FacultyMagaly Lavadenz, Ph.D. Leavey Presidential Chair of Ethics and Moral Leadership, Executive DirectorElvira Armas, Ed.D. Director of CEEL, Affiliate FacultyGrecya V. López, M.S. Research Associate1A NEW SENSE OF URGENCYLow expectations and performance among English Learners1 are often interpreted as an inevitable outcome  for students still learning English. Yet the participating local educational agencies (LEAs) in this case study were  committed to addressing inequities that existed  pre-pandemic and were exacerbated because of it. The LEAs engaged in the work and innovated to respond to the heightened sense of urgency to implement promising  practices that improve English Learners’ education,  language acquisition, and achievement.This research brief presents a case study of an English Learner Improvement Network (ELIN), a group of educators focused on a shared problem of practice in EL education and supported through collaboration between researchers and practitioners in English Learner education and Improvement Science. The case study involves an urban school district and a charter organization with between approximately 50% to 80% of students who have ever been English Learners2.Although each success story is unique, they share a remarkable sense of urgency and commitment and  demonstrate the value of English Learner Improvement Networks.Why EL Improvement Networks?Preparing English Learners (ELs) with the 21st-century skills needed for competitiveness in a global world  challenges educational organizations large and small.  Bryk et al. (2010) argue that solving educational problems 2takes a networked approach in which scholars and  educators with a diverse mix of skills are brought   together in the pursuit of a science of improvement. Yet,  despite widespread improvement networks, few focus on support for ELs. Two recent studies of improvement networks focused on ELs support the role of horizontal partnerships between teachers and coaches (Thompson et al., 2018) and between university teacher educators and program developers to increase teacher expertise  (Heineke et al., 2020). Co-Designing an ELINIn 2018–19 the California Community Foundation (CCF) funded the Loyola Marymount University Center for Equity  for English Learners  (CEEL) and the Improvement  Collective (IC) to co-lead and facilitate an English Learner Improvement Network in an urban school district and a charter organization serving large numbers or percentages of ELs. Emerging from CCF’s Consortium for English Learner Success Initiative, ELIN grantees were required to define current needs and capacities, the improvement science approach, and EL goals.This ELIN is unique in the extensive collaboration  between CEEL and IC from initial design through  implementation of network meetings, participant coaching, and technical assistance over three years. (See Figure 1.  Project Overview and Timeline.) Our analysis of interviews conducted with ELIN leads, the two grantees and their  artifacts yielded five key themes.The collaborative leadership between experts from CEEL and the IC provided an essential value-added  contribution to the ELIN. The partnership began with CCF’s program officer “arranging” a partnership between CEEL and the IC.  The partners discussed “how we can merge an EL focus with improvement science processes” in designing the ELIN learning and coaching sessions to expand  knowledge and ability to implement effective education for ELs using Improvement Science. The partnership between CEEL and the IC extended to the collaborative “design of each of the sessions, the delivery of the sessions, [and] the design of the materials that were used, particularly around the EL Roadmap.” As noted by the lead partners, the  purpose of the merger of an EL focus and Improvement EDUCATION AND POLICY BRIEF No. 11 | November 2022The Urban School Districtserves 84,000 Expanded TK – 12 students, approximately 50% ever English Learners. The District applied for this grant with the goal ofdoubling its dual language programs from 5 schools to 10. The Urban School District was under the leadership of an Improvement Science champion who introduced the theoretical foundation and initial use of ImprovementScience, although not with an EL focus.Figure 1. Project Overview and Timeline – CCF English Learner Improvement NetworkExpert Partnerships            Support ImprovementTheme      1Science was to avoid knowledge silos and to present  “improvement around a particular focus area in a more  integrated fashion” to “accelerate some of the outcomes that these networks participate in.”Grantees were well-positioned to succeed in the ELIN based on prior knowledge and experience in either EL  education or Improvement Science. As a lead IC partner noted, “What was helpful is that they [charter organization] already had an existing relationship with CEEL, and we  were able to leverage that.” The charter organization was familiar with  Observation Protocol for Academic Literacies© (Lavadenz & Armas, 2012) and incorporated it to document needs and to drive improvement. (See Figure 2. Design Drivers - Charter Organization.)  The urban district team had implemented Improvement Science and  recognized the need to engage teachers with broad, open-ended questions such as “Let’s talk about English Learners.” The IC lead recognized the importance of this background knowledge, EDUCATION AND POLICY BRIEF3No. 11 | November 2022Context ImpactsImprovementTheme      2Figure 2. Design Drivers – Charter Organizationnoting “It is really hard if you’re trying to learn the content and the improvement [simultaneously]; the cognitive load can be really overwhelming.”Leadership context also impacted the participants. Each relied on their organizational leaders’ support (Santos & Hopkins, 2020) to join the ELIN, while later facing  challenges due to leadership changes. An IC lead observed the impact of change at the project level “It’s just hard any time you have turnover like that to get momentum,” and also, “Anytime there’s a change in senior leadership, there’s often a change in priorities.”COVID and shift to distance and hybrid learning  impacted all participants. A CEEL lead explained, “Together with the funder, we conceptualized how we could be  responsive and what we could do to affirm the great work that each one of them was able to carry on in spite of the pandemic.” Another CEEL lead observed, “One thing  I would consider a success is that they shared how they maintained the EL focus throughout the pandemic.” And as schools reopened, “The work that they restarted was very centered on ELs.” CEEL and the IC recognized the importance of  collaborative coaching, identified consistent members from their teams who would coach each participant group, and then met before and after coaching sessions. A CEEL lead EDUCATION AND POLICY BRIEF No. 11 | November 20224Smaller Steps Lead ToLarger ChangesCollaborative  Coaching CountsTheme      3Theme     4Both the urban district and the charter organization began with major goals to redesign or expand their EL  program and services but quickly altered the goals into smaller, actionable steps (See Figure 3. Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycles – Urban District.) with the collaborative  guidance of CEEL and the IC. As a CEEL lead noted, “We met consistently with the Improvement Collective to be able to chart out a course to identify the PDSA cycles that the  networks would participate in with that English Learner  focus.” An Improvement Collective lead observed, “What’s always challenging is identifying that starting point and understanding how to scope down.” Participants agreed; “I think the ability for teachers to think small and make small changes consistently is powerful because sometimes we get really overwhelmed when we think ‘I need to make big changes in my classroom.’” From the IC perspective,  “Teachers were really surprised by how looking with more specificity...made a difference in how they thought about their practice.” Their success with smaller changes  supported later expansions of biliteracy for ELs to other grades and content areas.Figure 3. Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycles – Urban DistrictThe Charter Organization  had been active members of The Consortium for English Learners Success prior to becoming one of the LEAs in this case study. They had  consulted with CEEL for technical assistance in biliteracy program design for over 10 years. The entire charter consists of six schools serving approximately 3,400 TK–12 students; five of the six schools participated in this project. They applied with the intent to uncover the root cause(s) of low academic outcomes for ELs. In 2018-19, when they became an ELIN, they were composed of 79% ELs.Sept.2019Need for DIBELScalibration& IDELOct. 2019DIBELS TrainingHeggertyLessons @ least10 min. Daily inELAProgress monitor3 students @least once and bring progress graphLDNE IDELTraining 10/29Nov. 2019Share outcome  of progress  monitoring and  implementation  of Heggerty  lessonsDiscuss  DIBELS 8  BOY  baseline dataJan. 2020ContinueHeggerty  mini lessons  during ELADevelop  student  language  acquisitionFeb. 2020Review DIBELSdataContinueto developstudent language Acq.commented, “That was important because we wanted...to have consistency in and more knowledge of the collabora-tion, so we were constantly talking about the advice that was given from the Improvement Science perspective and...from the EL perspectives.” A charter organization member noted, “The combination of EL research and pedagogical knowledge integrated with Improvement Science  coaching is something that made this project really unique and impactful for improving our work.”Both the urban district and the charter organization learned to rely on teacher leaders. After one year, the  charter organization implemented a teacher leader model to provide direct access to teachers to meet their goal of changing classroom practice for ELs. For the urban district, “Those teachers that participated were validated by the work…they were then empowered to support teachers.” As one urban district leader noted, “We currently have three [teacher] coaches strategically placed in schools with high [numbers or percentages of] ELs that engage in this work  at their school site...in these cycles of learning.”  Teacher leaders were so valuable that a CEEL lead opined, “The [site] team needs to be comprised of minimally someone with the expertise.EDUCATION AND POLICY BRIEF No. 11 | November 20225ConclusionOur ELIN case study contributes to knowledge of  networks’ ability to support education for English  Learners and clarifies the factors that contribute to  success. It demonstrates the benefit of intense collaboration between experts in EL education and experts in  Improvement Science. Their collaboration from initiation to implementation formed a solid foundation and ongoing support for participants. Similarly, the collaboration between administrators and teacher leaders strengthened shared  understanding and support for classroom teachers. In  essence, this ELIN serves as a model of a systemic and  coherent approach to improving education by engaging content and process experts and educators across  organizational levels in a targeted focus on improving  education for ELs using Improvement Science. Teacher LeadersSupport ImplementationTheme      5EDUCATION AND POLICY BRIEF No. 11 | November 2022RecommendationsEmerging themes in this case study are in line with findings from previous research on Improvement Science focused on English Learners (Bugler, 2021; Heineke et al., 2020; Santos & Hopkins, 2020; Thompson et al., 2018). These findings suggest the following recommendations:1. Acknowledge the necessity of deep content and process knowledge and expertise to implement  effective change.  The CEEL and IC collaborative partnership, from inception to implementation, was essential for implementing key EL program changes through Improvement Science.2. Ensure that coaching from the content and process experts as well as site teacher leaders is frequent and on-going.  Learning and implementation cycles include multiple unanticipated aspects that required the  support from those with greater expertise and  experience.3. Expect the unexpected (and adapt to stay the course).  Prior experiences, local politics, leadership changes, and the pandemic all impacted the pace and focus of the participants’ change efforts.  These unexpected changes required flexibility, support, and adaptability.4. Time and funding are essential. Learning and  applying new approaches demanded long-term  investments. ELIN participants had the opportunity  to learn from experts, coaches, and each other,  yet they still felt they needed more time to facilitate their ability to share their learning at their sites. 6REFERENCESBugler, D. (2021). School district collaboration: Lessons from districts participating in California education partners’ California Language & Learning Initiative (CALLI). WestEd. Bryk A. S., Gomez L. M., Grunow A. (2010). Getting ideas  into action: Building networked improvement  communities in education. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.Heineke, A. J., Roudebush, A., Papola-Ellis, A., Davin, K. J., Cohen, S., & Wright-Costello, B. (2020). Apprenticing educators of emergent bilingual learners:  Partnerships to promote linguistically responsive practice in classrooms, schools, and communities. Professional Educator, 43(1), 70-80.Lavadenz, M. & Armas, E. (2012). The Observation Protocol for Academic Literacies: Conceptual framework and validation report. doi: https://doi.org/10.15365/ceel.opal2012Santos, M. & Hopkins, M. (2020). Creating schools and  systems that support asset-based, high-quality  instruction for Multilingual Learners. In California  Department of Education (Ed.), Improving education for multilingual and English learner students:  Research to practice (pp. 413–504). California  Department of Education. https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/documents/mleleducationch7.pdfThompson, J., Von Esch, K. S., Richards, J., Van Windekens,  A., Sanders, E., Lohwasser, K., Chew, C., Abe, N.,  Varghese, M. Kemp, A., & Sjoberg, B. (2018).  Dismantling silos: Toward the improvement of  hybridized emergent bilingual-science teaching  practices with a research-practice partnership.  University of Washington, Seattle University.ENDNOTES1 English Learners are K-12 students who speak a language other than English at home and are still developing the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in English needed for success in a school’s regular instructional pro-grams. (See “Glossary of Terms for English Learner Reports,” California Department of Education, https:// dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/longtermel/Glossary.aspx). English Learners are increasingly referred to as “emergent bilingual” students in recognition of both languages they are learning, rather than just progress towards English proficiency. (See “Improving Education for Multilingual and English Learner Students,” California Department of Education, https://www. cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/documents/mleleducation.pdf).2 Ever-EL students are a combination of current English Learners and students who were previously designated as EL and were later reclassified upon developing full English proficiency. Understanding this group holistically provides a more complete picture of how well schools are serving EL students across their educational trajectory, from entering school not yet fully proficient in English to achieving full English proficiency and beyond.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis project was made possible by the generous funding and support, in part, from the California Community  Foundation and the Sobrato Family Foundation. Special recognition and appreciation are expressed to the  inspirational district and charter organization leaders  who innovate to achieve equity and excellence for  English Learner and Multilingual education!Center for Equity for English Learnersceel@lmu.edu   |   310.568.6117soe.lmu.edu/centers/ceel/1 LMU Drive Suite 1300 Los Angeles, CA 900457EDUCATION AND POLICY BRIEF No. 11 | November 2022

No. 11, November 2022: Insights from Co-Designed English Learner Improvement Networks

https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=ceel_education_policybriefs

No. 11, November 2022: Insights from Co-Designed English Learner Improvement Networks

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