A successful program shrinks at BISD

Administrators and teachers of the Project SOL dual language program call it one of the Brownsville Independent School District’s most invigorating, rewarding offerings to local students.

But despite their enthusiasm, the program has shrunk in size during its 11 years of existence, from six elementary schools to three.

Project SOL, which stands for Symbiosis of Language, teaches students English and Spanish beginning in kindergarten and ending in fifth grade. Many school districts have dual language programs, but Project SOL was created by BISD specifically to address the needs of gifted and talented Spanish language speakers, of which there are many in the district. These students are often left out of traditional English-based gifted and talented programs, because they are still playing catch-up to learn a second language.

Project SOL follows the gifted curriculum but with a 50-50 model, meaning one day lessons are taught in English, the next day in Spanish. Both English speaking and Spanish speaking students participate in the program, with the goal of making all students academically literate in both languages by the end of fifth grade.

The benefits of the program are extensive. Students become academically proficient in both English and Spanish. That means they are able to read, write and speak both languages at a sophisticated level. Bilingual ability is a key tool in the global marketplace, where employers are looking to serve the largest cross-section of consumers.

Researchers also say that when properly implemented, dual language programs do a better job of teaching students English than the more common transition bilingual programs that leave out academic Spanish.

"English does not equal more English," said UTB-TSC professor Yvonne Freeman, explaining that teaching students in English without teaching them Spanish ultimately results in less proficiency in English. Freeman has studied bilingual education for decades and has written 14 books with her husband, David, many of which examine the benefits of dual language programs. "Unless students develop the academic language of school, they can’t transfer conversational language into academic English," Freeman said.

In practice, this means that Spanish-speaking students will have a hard time learning about English grammar and academics if they never understand how to apply the same concepts to their own language. In dual language classes, however, Freeman says students are able to learn the concepts in both languages and therefore have an easier time learning both the English language and topics, like math and science, that are being taught in school.

Freeman also says students who learn both languages academically place a higher value on their own language and culture.

"It raises the status of the language and ultimately raises the status of the culture," Freeman said.

SHARP CHANGE

Sharp Elementary provides a unique insight into the potential benefits and concerns surrounding Project SOL.

When principal Karin Treviño came to the school at the start of the 2008-2009 school year she saw a deep divide among the school’s students, both on academic and economic lines. Sharp sits at the corner of Ringgold Street and Palm Boulevard, between the Buena Vida neighborhood, one of the poorest areas of Brownsville, and the picturesque homes surrounding the St. Joseph’s Academy campus. Treviño says she saw the area’s economic differences echoed in the school’s social groups and academics.

The Project SOL classes were scoring high on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS tests, but the other classes were struggling. Treviño said the division troubled her.

"There was a huge disparity," Treviño said. "Students were not wanting to mingle. We wanted to work on getting them to get along with all kinds of people and cultures."

Treviño says she knew that gifted and talented, or GT students, were more likely to score high on the TAKS test, but she also believed the other classes could be doing better.

"The students didn’t have anyone to look up to, to model themselves after," Treviño said of the non-Project SOL students. "Students will rise to the expectations you set for them."

Treviño then made a controversial decision: She nearly doubled the Project SOL program, from 10 to 19 classes across grade levels, and mixed GT and non-GT students together.

A TEACHER’S CONCERN

First-grade teacher Bertha Elizondo openly admits she was apprehensive about Treviño’s new approach.

"I was worried the smarter kids would be pulled back," Elizondo said. "But that is just not the case. I’m so excited to see that every child from every walk of life and socio-economic opportunity is doing so well in this program."

Elizondo said that mixing the group has resulted in benefits for all students. On English days, English-speaking students help the Spanish-speaking students. On Spanish days, the tables are turned.

"The Spanish speaking kids get to shine one day, the English speaking students the next," Elizondo said. "It really humbles both groups of kids; they excel in some things and struggle in others."

One of Elizondo’s students, once a little tough guy, has been a classic success story. Last year he perpetually had a screwed-up expression on his face, like he was looking to start a fight. But once in Project SOL, the boy’s whole demeanor has changed. He started walking around with his head held high and Elizondo said she’s has changed her expectations of him.

"When we’d go outside to line up for the bus last year he’d start running around and acting wild. So this year we were heading out to line up and I didn’t see him, anywhere. I started screaming for him! Then I hear him say, real quiet, ‘I’m right here Mrs. Elizondo,’ " she said. He had been standing quietly by her side the whole time. "I realized I had been thinking of the boy he was last year, but he’s changed so much."

Critical parents have also been impressed by improvements in the program.

"I was really concerned about the changes to the program," said Jennifer Kahn, whose daughter Natalie is a second-grader at Sharp. "But even within the first two or three weeks, I saw an improvement in my daughter’s Spanish homework. Her teacher told me her Spanish has improved dramatically and that she thinks it’s because she has the kids grouped together, with more Spanish speakers partnered with English speakers. I’m seeing a positive effect."

SHRINKING SUCCESS STORY

But Sharp’s story — a campus expanding its dedication to dual language courses — is the exception to the rule in BISD. While teachers and principals at Sharp, Skinner and Russell Elementary are proud proponents of the program, Project SOL is shrinking, not growing.

When principals and teachers were asked why they thought the Project SOL program was shrinking, they offered a few hypotheses.

First, they said, the program is a lot of work. It’s more work for teachers, who must prepare lesson plans in two different languages, and it’s more work for administrators, who are tasked with buying Spanish-language materials for the classes and organizing the classes around parents’ preferences.

Second, the expansion of TAKS testing to additional grade levels has put added pressure on elementary schools.

"A principal has teachers coming to them and saying, ‘Hey — do you want these kids to pass the TAKS, or do you want them to speak Spanish?’ " said Kim Moore, the principal of Skinner Elementary. "But one of the best gifts we can give kids is the ability to speak Spanish. Being proficient in both languages can make them more successful in learning other languages and getting a better career."

The third reason more schools don’t implement the program might be more philosophical, according to Mary Flores, a lead resource teacher for BISD’s Department of Advanced Academics.

"It depends who is in power and what grade level they came from," Flores said. "If a principal comes from high school and transitioning into an elementary school, they may not see the benefit of a program like this one."

DEDICATED ADMINISTRATORS

Flores may be onto something. All three of the remaining principals with Project Sol programs have had career-long commitments to bilingual or GT education. Moore, the principal at Skinner, spent years fine-tuning GT programs, and deeply believes in the importance of adding "extra" stimulation to these students’ regular academic diet.

"These kids will always do well on the tests," Moore said. "So why not teach them other languages? Help them learn violin or put on a play?"

Moore’s own sister, he said, graduated at the top of her class and never earned less than an ‘A’ throughout her entire academic career, including college. Moore says his sister could have benefited had there been more advanced programs available for gifted students.

"They would tell her to go read a book," Moore said.

Treviño, the principal at Sharp, spent her teaching career as a bilingual educator.

"I love this program," Treviño said of Project SOL.

At Russell Elementary, principal Bill Gutierrez is currently writing his dissertation on the effects of high stakes testing on English Language Learners, another term for students for whom English is a second language.

"I grew up speaking Spanish and I had to use both languages," Gutierrez said. "I saw how important it was that I spoke both languages when I was trying to get a job. I had more opportunities. Being on the border, Brownsville should lead the way with dual language education."

Freeman says such administrative support is essential.

"There needs to be administrative support and understanding about the program," Freeman said. "There’s a lot of misunderstanding among those who have never studied bilingual education. Once you see how dual language programs work and see the light in the eyes of the kids, it’s phenomenal. Kids want to learn and they’re not lazy. They’re just lost sometimes."