Vintage's English Learners Celebrate Success

Test scores improve against the odds due to new program

By NATALIE HOFFMAN
Register Staff Writer

The quad outside Vintage High School’s west wing portable classrooms isn’t usually a place for festivities, but this week students and school officials were celebrating the success of the school’s English learner students and their teachers.

Vintage English learners’ Academic Performance Index score — which reflects standardized test results — jumped 27 points, from 620 out of 1000 in 2007 to 647 out of 1000 in 2008, according to the California Department of Education. The gains in the index go against the grain for English learners, students who don’t speak English at home and who usually struggle in the standardized academic tests given to all California students.

More than 100 students, teachers and district administrators rallied to recognize the accomplishment Thursday afternoon. A lively crowd of Crushers noshed on burritos and cake at tables clustered with burgundy and gold balloons, in a display of Vintage’s school colors. Midway through the celebration, teachers awarded iPods and Target gift cards to English learners who made exceptional academic progress throughout the school year.

Among the throngs of students were Crystal and Rosa Arriaga, sisters who moved from their native Mexico to Napa three years ago.

“When I came here to Vintage, I already knew a little English,” said Rosa, who added that she has since left behind an English Language Development English class for one in the school’s standard curriculum. “(Joe Estrada) is a really good teacher. He tries to help and makes you feel comfortable with reading and writing.”

For her part, Crystal said one of the most effective tools available for English learners at Vintage is its practice essay sessions, designed to prepare students for the California High School Exit Exam.

Damian Arevalo, a 17-year-old junior at Vintage, said his outlook has changed considerably since he first came to the school, and he also credited Mr. Estrada, a math teacher.

“My freshman year, I had a bad English grade,” he said. “I was scared to come to a bigger school, but then he really helped me with my math and English homework.”

Estrada said because of his students’ success this year, next year will likely mark the first time in the Napa Valley that Advanced Placement classes will be made available to English learners.

“At the schools where I’ve worked, that doesn’t happen. ... One of the main reasons these kids are doing well is they’re in challenging classes,” he said. “They’re willing to accept the challenge because they know there’s a support system for them.”

The score of 647 is still a ways from the possible 1,000 theoretically achievable in the API, but school officials say the improvement is the result of several strategies that may pay off even more in coming years.

Elena Toscano, Napa Valley Unified School District assistant superintendent of instruction, said one of the several keys to Vintage English learners’ success is back-to-back English periods, a practice called blocking. Middle schools and high schools throughout the district started creating two-period blocks of English and math lessons about three years ago, she said. The practice doesn’t demand more class time from students, but instead provides them with more intensive English and math instruction during school hours.

“Many of these students go to work after school, so we have to capture them during the regular school day. ... This is a tough age to come to a new country, learn a new language and graduate from high school in four years,” she said.

Laura Ryan, NVUSD’s administrator of assessment and intervention, said another contributing factor to the students’ success is a teaching strategy geared towards individuals instead of groups.

“English learners ... are in very targeted programs. The kids who need intensive additional instruction are receiving it based on what their needs are,” she said.

English learners represent 13 percent of Vintage’s total population of about 2,300 students, said Eric Schneider, the school’s principal.

Jen Kohl, Vintage’s assistant principal, said Thursday’s celebration was a way for Vintage’s teachers and administrators to demonstrate their appreciation for the students’ efforts and achievements.

“We want to let them know how important they are to us ... and make sure that they keep on doing what they’re doing,” she said. “They’re a part of who we are here.”

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