In an attempt to get more students to learn in English, the Denver Public Schools district is using federal stimulus money for a four-week summer-school academy for 3,500 first- to eighth-grade pupils.
The English Language Acquisition Academy also is educating teachers.
About 90 teachers hired this spring are working alongside master teachers to learn how to reach the students who have some of the biggest academic challenges in the district.
“These are our top two priorities — working on teacher coaching and effectiveness and developing strategies to better serve our English learners,” said DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg.
The academy is in its second year, and district officials say it produces results.
Last year, students were tested in literacy and math before and after the four-week session. Each grade showed improvement. First- and second-graders logged 23-point increases in math scores.
In a stuffy, sweltering room on the second floor of Cole Arts and Science Academy last week, a group of soon-to-be first-graders who speak mostly Spanish sat on the floor listening to teacher Jana Perry read a sentence posted on the wall.
“I helped my mom clean the house,” Perry said, using her hands to convey its meaning.
Perry queried them on the words.
“We talked about this being a hard word,” Perry said, pointing to the word, “clean.”
“Can you say it,” she asked the students, who responded in unison.
“What else do you do when you clean?”
Hands shot up.
Students offered examples: “picking up clothes,” “wiping off the kitchen table,” “vacuuming.”
Peppering the students with questions gets them talking and begins to imprint the meanings of the words in their brains.
The program, funded with $500,000 in federal stimulus funds and an equal amount in private donations through the Denver Public Schools Foundation, is being offered in 16 schools through this week.
About 40 percent of the district’s 79,000 students come from homes where a language other than English is spoken. More than 24,000 DPS students — or about 30 percent — are classified as English-language learners.
A majority of those students struggle academically. In 2009, only 20 percent of students with limited English proficiency scored proficient or advanced on the reading portion of CSAP.
Boasberg said the district is carrying on the reforms put in place by former chief academic officer Jaime Aquino.
“We need a greater emphasis and focus on English-language learners,” he said. “We are addressing that through increasing professional development of teachers and principals, looking at best practices and creating new programs like this one.”
Teachers used hand motions to describe what they were talking about, blanketed their classrooms with labeled pictures and asked plenty of questions aimed at expanding students’ use of English.
“But it’s more than just that,” said Susana Cordova, director of teaching and learning for the district.
For example, a teacher will read the text, modeling fluent English, and have students read along to mimic the sounds.
“Reading with expression helps you develop understanding,” she said.
The district will study both the teachers and the students as they progress through the year.
“Our sense from last summer is that it is making a difference for kids,” Cordova said. “We think it is a model we can expand, and it would be beneficial for many students in our district.”
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
