Innovation in Language Learning

Access to alternate programs for English Language Learners may depend upon one important and often overlooked item: the parental waiver which allows access to alternative teaching methods.  Parents completed a questionnaire relating to their knowledge of the dual language program and parental waivers.  Two sets of eight schools were studied: dual language immersion elementary schools and neighboring schools without such a program.  Comparisons were made to determine whether parental waivers have an impact on the teaching method provided to English Language Learners (ELLs).  R30 Language Census Reports helped associate access to primary academic instruction in the student’s L1 related to the number of parental waivers signed.  ELL performance was reviewed between schools that met the parent waiver requirement and those that did not.  Academic Performance Index (API) scores for ELLs and California English Language Development Test (CELDT) scores were compared. Also, four years’ CELDT scores were tracked to help determine if schools with primary academic instruction were more effective for ELLs learning English.   Although the results from the API scores were inconclusive, statistically significant findings from the CELDT scores made a positive correlation between schools with the minimum 20 parental waivers and ELL’s success learning