SANTILLANA USA - CAL Practitioner Brief

- 6 Moreover, dual language educators must ac- tively work to establish a climate that is truly in- clusive of all community members. Special care must be taken to recruit candidates for leadership committees and parent–teacher associations from among all parents, so that parents from both lan- guage groups are appropriately represented in all activities and events. A welcoming front office staff and cadre of teachers is correlated with increased parent willingness to become an integral part of the school culture (Acosta-Hathaway, 2008). Pro- gram leaders should take specific action to provide learning opportunities to parents in their native language that focus on how best to support their children’s participation in the dual language pro- gram (Unkenholz, 2007). Potential topics include dual language research, language acquisition, cross- cultural competence, curriculum, instructional strategies, assessments in the dual language class- room, and content–language integration method- ologies used in the classroom. It is imperative that dual language educators embrace their role not only as instructional leaders but also as advocates for each child, the child’s fam- ily, and the community they live in. This requires that every dual language educator be willing to go into the community and interact with family and community members. Dual language program ed- ucators strive to strengthen bonds with families by engaging in a variety of activities that may include meeting with parents in neighborhood centers rath- er than at school, conducting neighborhood walks throughout the school year, serving as a liaison to social service programs, and offering English and partner language classes for parents (includ- ing both parent groups in two-way dual language programs) as well as citizenship classes for those working to gain full U.S. citizenship. Through this work, dual language programs can ensure that all stakeholders are active participants in the program and, more importantly, that they know how to ac- cess information and leverage resources to better advocate for themselves and their families. What is the role of program leaders as dual language advocates and what is their impact on effective implementation of dual language programs? Educational leaders rarely receive guidance, pro- fessional development, or mentoring that prepares them specifically for the role of dual language pro- sure that international candidates are familiar with the curriculum, instruction, and assessment practic- es of U.S. schools; and cognizance of the likelihood that short-term visa holders will leave and need to be replaced at regular intervals, necessitating devel- opment of a long-term plan for orienting and train- ing a revolving pool of international teachers. De- spite these considerable challenges, many programs rely on international recruiting as a viable strategy for staffing their dual language schools with a lin- guistically and culturally diverse pool of teachers who enrich and strengthen their programs. How do successful dual language programs promote family and community engagement? Successful dual language program implementation must include a responsive infrastructure that en- courages families and the community to be actively engaged in school processes and that strengthens the school–family relationship (Howard et al., in press). Parents, including those whose children are English learners, must feel comfortable in the school set- ting and be willing to participate in every aspect of the dual language program. Effective leaders make parent education a priority and systematically plan and implement activities that promote family and community engagement. Guerrero (2015), specifi- cally addressing the need for Latino parents to be given an opportunity to fully participate in the dual language education of their children, suggests that program leaders do the following: • Recognize that families from different cultural backgrounds have varied perceptions of what school involvement entails • Focus on creating a non-threatening and non-judgmental environment so that parents participate more comfortably in the education- al process • Host events such as family learning workshops that focus on dual language activities modeled and explored in both program languages, and multicultural events that serve to increase in- clusivity and cross-cultural competence for all stakeholders • Disseminate information in both program lan- guages through facilitation of meetings, fly- ers sent home, family learning workshops, and grade reporting to ensure that all parents are able to fully understand school expectations and norms