Adding up in any language

NEA Today, Oct 1998 by Karsten, Amanda

A math and science magnet school helps English-as-a-secondlanguage students strut their stuff.

Second grade teacher Lisa Voisen points to a bright spot in her classroom, an Englishas-a-second-language student who had always been pegged as a slow learner and a poor reader.

"She really gets science," says Voisen, who teaches at the Casita Center, a K-5 math, science, and technology magnet school in Vista, California. "She did poorly on her standardized tests-which were in English-but if you could see what she produces, you'd see that she's really smart."

This child and many other ESL students throughout the school now "produce" with a curriculum developed by the staff and the community that incorporates math, science, and technology in the teaching of all subject areas.

In the xeriscape (drought-resistant) demonstration garden, for example, staff teach a water conservation curriculum that encompasses many subjects.

The school, which serves many lowincome families, boasts a 10,000-squarefoot botanical garden, a technology center, a video studio, a hands-on science lab, and a Starlab for studying the skies.

Though the Casita curriculum centers around math and science, it reaches more students than ever by targeting a wider spectrum of intelligences and abilities.

"Students are taught visually, audially, and kinesthetically, through Howard Gardner's seven intelligences, to achieve the same goals as other kids who've had more advantages at home," says Voisen.

The Casita approach has overcome gender as well as income divides. Voisen notes that girls, who are more typically math-phobic, have become comfortable with math when they use it more regularly, across all subject areas.

Likewise, boys have developed stronger language skills when nonfiction science books are used to teach reading.

To document student achievement that may not be reflected in grades and test scores, educators at the Casita Center use portfolios to supplement report cards.

But even by traditional measures, Casita students are making strides. Ten years ago, students were functioning one or two years below grade level. Now, test scores are up. The school has a waiting list.

And on the first day of enrollment last year, notes Voisen, "People were lined up all the way outside." -Amanda Karsten