Staff members hold each other accountable through peer coaching, peer evaluation, and teacher portfolio presentations. More than half of the student population is classified as limited English proficient. Partnering with researchers from the Regional Laboratory at Brown University, ESL, bilingual, and content teachers explored the problem of standards implementation in classrooms that include English language learners by drawing upon knowledge and experience of standards and education reform, second language development, and effective educational practices for English language learners. These strategies hold promise for ongoing reform at the school level, because with practice they can be used independently. The goal is for teachers to adapt these strategies for use in school-based study groups.
Education reform requires that educators provide quality schooling for all of their students.
Clearly, professional development must equip teachers for this challenge. There is growing evidence that professional development approaches that are guided by teacher input and that view teacher learning as continual and transformative makes schools a better place for students and staff. Professional development for implementing standards in culturally diverse schools. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. Mainstream teachers and ESL students.