Improving Academic Achievement for English Language Learners: Opportunities for Increased Performance

Abstract

English language learners must both acquire academic proficiency in English and master rigorous content in English to succeed. Such students are legally guaranteed equal access to education. However, school systems have historically failed to educate English language learners to comparable levels of achievement as their peers. In Denver Public Schools, a large urban school district, more than a third of students are English language learners. Increasing their academic achievement is a core priority. In this capstone, I catalog my experience designing and leading a multi-departmental initiative to provide support to twenty-five schools preparing to implement new instructional programs for English language learners. What follows is detailed analysis focused on how the opportunities and barriers to improvement discovered during the project can inform the district‘s long-term strategy regarding English language learners, follows. Specifically, I apply the lenses of effective instruction for English language learners, organizational coherence, adaptive leadership, and innovation to generate implication for me, the site, and the sector. This report is intended to benefit the Denver Public Schools in its ongoing efforts to improve academic achievement of English language learners as well as fellow practitioners engaged in similar work across the country.