Staff Selection and Development Successful programs have teachers who feel at ease with the students' first language and English. They are literate in both languages. The school provides classes in the first language for teachers who want to become proficient in specific content areas. For example, the social studies themes addressed in their classrooms are used as the content for language development class. Teachers are given the opportunity to develop vocabulary related to the theme and are provided opportunities to facilitate a discussion on the topic with other peers.
Effective teachers feel that expanding their vocabulary is essential.
In successful schools teachers receive staff development that values their knowledge and experience, uses the collective knowledge of the teachers to develop solutions, provides new knowledge and skills that support the instructional programs they are implementing, supports teachers with on-site technical assistance such as classroom modeling and mentoring, celebrates successes teachers experience with other teachers, and pairs teachers with presenters in planning workshops and other training activities. It is important to have a teaching staff that is knowledgeable on effective content teaching and language development practices. In effective schools, the parents of LEP students are well informed about the bilingual program as well as the general curricula and other activities in which the students participate. The correspondence sent home to parents is always in the home language, as is the information they receive in the school. In successful schools, parents of LEP students always feel welcome and encouraged to interact with the school, even by parents of English-dominant children.