System wide reform: The San Francisco Unified School District case

Bilingual Research Journal, Winter 1999 by Fern, Veronica D

Abstract

The Language Academy initiative enabled the district to redesign remedial, compliance-based programs for EngIish Language Learners and transform them into standards-based language learning programs for all students in the district. Administrators relied on stakeholder involvement, coherent policy, and quality program design to achieve their goal of fluency in English and another language for all students.

The Language Academy concept is an innovative initiative that remolded San Francisco's programs for English Language Learners (ELLS), moving them from a language deficit model for limited English proficient (LEP) students to a language enrichment model for all students in the district (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998; Apodaca & Rojas, 1997; Willig, 1985). The initiative was spearheaded by both the assistant superintendent and superintendent of schools who were determined to elevate the achievement of minority students in the district.

Approximately two years after commencing the initiative, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) regained compliant status with the State Department of Education after being out of compliance for six years. In 1997-98, San Francisco ELLs were redesignated at a rate of 16%, as opposed to the statewide rate of 6% (San Francisco Unified School District: The Language Academy, 1999; Apodaca, 1998). An analysis of achievement test data also revealed that LEP students who were enrolled in Language Academy programs, and were subsequently redesignated as Fully English Proficient (FEP), were actually outscoring English Only (E0) students.

The success of the Language Academy programs can be attributed to quality program design, collaborative leadership, and a coherent policy of learner and family centered values focused on achievement. This article elaborates on these characteristics of the Language Academy in order to discover its roots and explore its future possibilities for further benefiting the educational development of children from all backgrounds.

Historical Background

As a result of a class action lawsuit brought against the officials of the school district by non-English-speaking Chinese students (Lau vs. Nichols,1974) the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Jan. 21,1974, that the SFUSD must provide a program of "bilingual, bicultural education" for LEP students. The lawsuit sought redress against unequal educational opportunities offered to language minority students, which were alleged to violate the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The unanimous decision initiated a new era in civil rights and mandated San Francisco to accommodate its language minority population and abandon sink-or-swim English immersion programs.

The San Francisco Board of Education formed a coalition of Asian, Latino, Black, and White parents, along with administrators and community stakeholders. In conjunction with the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), the coalition struggled to ensure that San Francisco schools settled for more than minimal compliance (ARC Associates,1996; Center for Applied Linguistics and Citizens' Task Force on Bilingual Education,1975). The result was a stateof the-art bilingual education plan, the Lau Consent Decree, which stressed the maintenance of students' Chinese or Spanish skills after they learned English. The Lau Consent Decree specifically states, "It is adjudged, decreed, and ordered that the San Francisco Unified School District implement a program of bilingual, bicultural education" (San Francisco Unified School District, 1999).

After much debate, the Lau Consent Decree was accepted and the plan was implemented. While the Lau Consent Decree plan submitted to the Court was ahead of its time, it still only addressed language minority students. Furthermore, California passed legislation prescribing a transitional model for bilingual education that was, in actuality, a formula for remedial education. The most common response to this prescription was the implementation of English Language Development (ELD), California's version of English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction. Early-exit bilingual programs were also implemented in an uneven fashion. However, two-way bilingual programs were eventually established in the district to help language majority students become bilingual. These programs would become the prototype for the many changes that the district would soon see.

The Vision and the Mission

In 1992, the SFUSD was concerned about low achievement of African American and language minority students and began to take steps to change the status quo. With assistance from the superintendent of schools, the goal became for all students, regardless of background, to reach the 50th Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) on the California Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) by the year 2000. Although not all San Francisco students have achieved this goal, they have achieved higher reading and math scores for seven consecutive years. In addition, various strategies were employed in an attempt to break the cycle of lower minority achievement, such as decreased class sizes and amplified high school graduation requirements in order to prepare students for college. A longer secondary school day and greater access to art, music, language, and technology were also provided for students. As a result of these tactics, the message was made explicit to the SFUSD community and educators around the state and nation that all children, particularly African American and Latino children, would achieve excellence.