SANTILLANA USA - Guiding Principles Sampler

10 6 GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR DUAL LANGUAGE EDUCATION The progress indicators, then, are intended to provide a path that programs can follow toward mastery of the principle and beyond, as well as a metric on which current practice can be appraised. It may be helpful to think about the progress indicators as the gas gauge on a car. Minimal alignment means that you have a quarter of a tank of gas or less, possibly so little that the gas light has come on, or maybe you have even had to pull over to the side of the road and call for help because the gas tank is completely empty. Putting this back into the language of the principles, minimal alignment indicates that this key point needs serious attention because it is not currently being addressed at all or very well, and this will negatively impact attempts to move forward with the program. Partial alignment means that you have about half of a tank of gas in your car, enough to get a considerable distance, but not enough to make it to your destination. In the language of the principles, this means that some but not all features of the key point are being addressed, or they are not being addressed sufficiently to fully meet the needs of all groups of students or to be effective for both languages of instruction. Full alignment corresponds to at least three quarters of a tank of gas, which is enough to get you to your destination. Thus, in the language of the principles, full alignment indicates high-quality implementation at the program level. Exemplary practice means that you have a full tank of gas, and you are also always in proximity to a gas station so that you can continue to refuel as needed. From the standpoint of the principles, to achieve exemplary practice, there must be evidence that systems or proc- esses are in place to ensure continued full alignment, or evidence that there is some type of activity beyond the program in the form of dissemination, advocacy, or leadership, frequently in conjunction with district efforts. As was the case with the second edition of Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education , there is a fair amount of intentional repetition across the strands. The goal is for each strand to be A Practitioner’s Perspective For over 40 years, dual language education has worked well for languages like Spanish, English, French, and other colonizing languages, but programs for Indigenous language communities require special consideration. For example, the status of Indigenous languages as threatened languages needs to be taken into account. Other considerations from a Native perspective or lens include looking at how the Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education align with the Indigenous nations’ or communities’ own language goals, and how the Indigenous language could be used in an academic school context with meaningful connections to the larger community. A primary goal for many Indigenous language communities is to maintain or revitalize the heritage languages by creating a new generation of language speakers who will sustain and perpetuate the collective cultural identity and life ways of the communities. The current sociocultural, historical, and political contexts of these language communities must be seriously considered, including issues related to tribal sovereignty, the purpose of the language in the contemporary context, and the role and responsibility of schools in this process. Therefore, it is imperative that Indigenous communities turn to the voices and participation of their tribal leaders, elders, parents, and other community members when developing and implementing dual language programs. Vincent Werito, University of New Mexico GDP INSIDE OK-Nov1.indd 6 12/03/18 1:17 p.m.