Sunset Ridge D29

World Languages

Parent Forums

February 28, 2024

Introductions

• What is your connection to this topic - why is it important to you?
• Do you have any other time commitments or constraints for today’s meeting?

Agenda

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• Welcome and overview
• Review of committee work and process to date
• Dialogue to explore relative importance of the potential benefits and costs of structural changes to the World Languages program
• Summaries and next steps

Purpose & Working Agreements

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• Develop understanding of different perspectives and priorities
• Employ skillful and respectful listening
• Balance participation
• Advocate in the positive

World Languages Program Review: Progress to date

• Established the World Languages Committee, consisting of 5 teachers and one administrator in August 2024
• Created, administered, and summarized the World Languages Parent/Caregiver survey to inform the scope and focus of ongoing work
• Attendance at recent ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language) National Convention in Chicago
• Created a summary of priorities for the ongoing World Languages Review based on parent, teacher, and administrator feedback and aligned logic model
• Ongoing collaboration with the New Trier Modern and Classical Languages Department
• Articulation meetings with Elementary and Middle School Spanish teachers
• Reviewed options for potential structural changes to the program and explored the potential impacts of those changes

Consider Structural Changes

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Comprehensive

Curricular Review

Exposure to diverse cultures

Implement, Monitor and Refine

Another language 6-8?

More time K-3?

Enhanced cross-curricular integration

Language proficiency across modes of communication

Aligned assessments

Cultural competence / skills for global citizenship

Confidence and engagement in language learning

Increased rigor

Review and align scope and sequence

Ongoing family engagement

Articulation with New Trier and other Township K-8 districts

Highly engaging learning experiences

Increased language exposure

Review and refine instructional practices

Priorities for the World Languages Program Review

• Address common myths and misunderstandings about the typical/expected trajectory of language development in students
• Continuous improvement in the existing Spanish program aligned to parent feedback and best practices across all areas of focus/outcomes of a well-rounded curriculum
• Alignment of the scope and sequence of the Spanish curriculum across grade levels
• Review and refinement of instructional and assessment practices within the Spanish program
• Improvements to the existing Spanish program to increase Spanish language proficiency
• Immersion/more use of Spanish in class
• More language exposure in early grades
• Increased rigor and pace of the curriculum
• Higher placement in/readiness for New Trier Spanish program
• Improvements to the existing World Languages program to continue to address/support cultural competence, skills and knowledge for global citizenship, and exposure to multiple languages and cultures
• Explore and embed ways to build student confidence, courage, interest, and engagement in language learning
• Clarify and communicate desired outcomes of the language program and plans for evaluating these over time to guide continuous improvement
• Consider offering another language to provide choice for students and a potential path to higher proficiency/HS placement in a language other than Spanish

PD Outcomes

Implementation Outcomes

Student Outcomes

World Languages

PD Outcomes

Implementation Outcomes

Student Outcomes

World Languages

World Languages Programming Options:

Option A:

Add more K-3rd Spanish time

Option C:

Add another language in 6-8th grade

Option D:

Maintain current program structure and focus exclusively on continuous improvement of the existing Spanish program

Option B:

Add more K-3rd Spanish time

AND

Add another language in 6-8th grade

All options would include simultaneous focus on continuous improvement of the existing Spanish program in addition to planning for any changes or additions to the existing program

Key Questions for Today’s Dialogue

• What might be the relative weight or importance of the potential benefits and downsides of:

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• Intensifying the K-3rd grade program at Middlefork to include more days/time spent in Spanish instruction?

- and/or -

• Offering multiple languages as part of the 6th-8th grade program at Sunset Ridge?

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Anticipated Impact

• Increased Spanish language proficiency
• Increased cultural competence, global citizenship, and/or exposure to multiple languages / cultures
• Increased confidence, courage, interest, and engagement in language learning
• Increased student choice

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• Increased opportunities and success at High School

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Potential benefits of shifting and/or supplementing the K-3 program

Anticipated Impact

• Impacts to the student schedule - would require taking time away from recess and/or other specials and/or core content
• Impacts to classroom use/space - Spanish classes would be in grade level classrooms
• Staffing changes/increases - would potentially require an additional part-time teacher

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Potential costs of shifting and/or supplementing the K-3 program

Key Questions for Today’s Dialogue

• What might be the relative weight or importance of the potential benefits and downsides of:

​

• Intensifying the K-3rd grade program at Middlefork to include more days/time spent in Spanish instruction?

- and/or -

• Offering multiple languages as part of the 6th-8th grade program at Sunset Ridge?

​

​

Anticipated Impact

• Increased Spanish language proficiency
• Increased cultural competence, global citizenship, and/or exposure to multiple languages / cultures
• Increased confidence, courage, interest, and engagement in language learning
• Increased student choice

​

• Increased opportunities and success at High School

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Potential benefits of adding another language at 6-8th grades

Anticipated Impact

• Impacts to the student schedule - would result in extremely small and large language classes and/or changes to ensemble schedule
• Impacts to classroom use/space - The additional language classes would have to be held in core classrooms
• Staffing changes/increases - would require shifts to staffing assignments and allocation, including potentially needing an additional part-time teacher

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Low - Medium - High

Potential costs of adding another language at 6-8th grades

Table Group Dialogue

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• Identify a facilitator and recorder
• As you consider the relative weight or importance of each factor we are considering as well as the overall profile of potential benefits and costs, what perspectives might you share?
• Remember to advocate in the positive and balance participation
• Prepare to share a summary of themes/perspectives with the larger group

Next Steps

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• We will incorporate today’s feedback into the information shared with the Education Committee of the Board of Education on March 12
• The Education Committee/Board will make a final determination about these potential structural changes
• The World Languages Committee will continue working towards the desired outcomes including ongoing parent engagement

Thank You!!

Key Questions for Today’s Dialogue

• What might be the relative weight or importance of the potential benefits and impacts of:

​

• Offering multiple languages as part of the 6th-8th grade program at Sunset Ridge?

- and/or -

​

• Intensifying the K-3rd grade program at Middlefork to include more days/time spent in Spanish instruction?

​

• What are some potential ideas or strategies for effectively partnering with parents/caregivers to support the desired outcomes of the World Languages program over time?

PD Outcomes

Implementation Outcomes

Student Outcomes

World Languages

What ideas do you have for ways we might continue to foster ongoing parent/caregiver collaboration to:

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• Continue to build shared understandings of the intended and expected outcomes of the World Languages program, and
• Establish home-school partnerships in support of those outcomes?

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Summary Friday News

We held two World Language Parent Forums this week that focused on building understanding of the perspectives of parents and families as the District weighs the potential benefits and costs of potentially adding more days or time in Spanish instruction at Middlefork and/or potentially adding a second language (in addition to Spanish) at 6-8th grade. We deeply appreciate the thoughtful engagement by all who attended the forums and we left the dialogue inspired and energized by the ideas and perspectives that were shared.

The general consensus from the parent forums is that the costs, especially the impacts to student schedules and other learning experiences, are significant for either of these potential changes to the World Language Program. Specifically, in order to add days and/or time to the Spanish classes at Middlefork, time would have to be taken from recess and/or another specials area (art, music, drama, computer science, etc.) and/or from a core content area (reading, writing, math, etc.) each week. Similarly, there are significant student schedule impacts of potentially adding another language in the upper grades. In order to add a second language (in addition to Spanish) at 6-8th grades, there would likely need to be changes to the ensemble schedules (band, orchestra, and vocal), likely moving some or all of the ensembles to before or after school.

As the forum groups weighed these potential costs with the anticipated benefits, they generated some additional, creative solutions that might offer some of the intended benefits while having significantly less impact on student schedules at both schools.

Feedback from the parent forums will be used to inform the presentation to the Board of Education during the Education Committee meeting at 5:30pm on March 12. During this meeting, the Board will discuss which option(s), including potentially one or more of the new ideas that emerged from the parent forums, might best align to the values and desired outcomes of the World Language Program, while balancing the cost or impact on other aspects of the curriculum.