What Research Tells Us

Major areas include:

LEP/ELL students are those who:

Come from a home where a language other than English is spoken.
Speak a language other than English as their primary means of communicating.
Are learning English but are not proficient in understanding, speaking, reading, or writing English.
Score below the 40th percentile on a standardized English reading test.

Ethnicity, SES, Primary Language
In the United States
- African American, Latino American, Native American.
- From low income families.
- Speak a home language other than standard American English.

More significant in high school - Students lose 4 year of learning.
Historical research on rising standards of literacy (Stedman & Kaesthe, 1991).
Globalization as the impetus for higher standards.
- American workers need to out-think workers in other parts of the world.

In comparison to mainstream students, students with diverse backgrounds tend to receive:
- A great deal of instruction in lower-level skills.
- Little instruction in higher-level thinking about text.

Learn about the historical background of each ethnic group
- Why they are here - There are many reasons why these groups came to the United States: Political, Economic, Etc.
- Culture & Learning Styles
- Language & Identity Crisis - Is there?
Bridging the Academic Gap
- Content Based
- Collaborative approach
- Native language support
- Identity validation / sense of belonging
Parental Involvement in School
- Building trust
- Home visits
- Parent meeting, using translator or liaison to help with communication
- Validate and give parents a sense of purpose and how valuable they are to the school / community
- Have parents come in to be guest speakers to share their experience, knowledge and background.