Many of Idaho's schools are in rural, high-poverty districts. In 2001, over 13 percent of children statewide lived in poverty. More than a third of the student population is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Of the 14 percent of minority students enrolled, the overwhelming majority—11 percent—are of Hispanic origin. Many Hispanic students and their families are migrant.

Idaho's education system has a large and growing population of English language learners. Since the 1991–1992 school year, enrollment of ELL students has increased by a startling 276.4 percent. Among students learning English, Spanish is the most commonly spoken language. Districts throughout Idaho report that recruiting and retaining more Hispanic, ELL, and bilingual Spanish teachers is a particular need and challenge.

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Teacher Training and Support Are Key to Helping Struggling Students Achieve

Improving educational achievement for diverse learners is a statewide priority for Idaho schools. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) data indicate that certain groups—particularly Hispanic, ELL, and migrant students —are struggling to meet standards. Many Idaho schools identified for Title I school improvement have significant populations of these students. "We've been trying to raise awareness of these issues," says Irene Chavolla, Migrant Education Coordinator at the Idaho Department of Education. "Now we have the data to back it up."

The DOE has implemented several programs to address this challenge. Chavolla's department, the Bureau of Special Population Services, was restructured into interdisciplinary teams made up of special education, migrant, and LEP specialists. Six different teams were created to address key topical areas, such as assessment/accountability and instructional strategies.

"The vision is that when we go out to provide professional development training to districts, experts will be sharing information across disciplines," says Chavolla. If a district hosted a Reading Academy, for example, the teams would be able to provide teachers with strategies for how to help each specific population group improve reading skills.

The state board of education began developing state-level English language proficiency standards in October 2003, and is currently in the process of training teachers how to implement the standards. The state is also rolling out new language assessments to use as a framework for curriculum development.

Chavolla cites a lack of certified ELL teachers as a significant problem. Though Boise State University is producing more, many new teachers gravitate toward larger districts or other states in search of greater economic and cultural opportunity. To build capacity within the state, Idaho implemented a "grow your own" program, offering grants for bilingual and ELL teaching assistants to go back to school and obtain their teaching certificates.

The DOE is also helping school districts train mainstream classroom teachers in the SIOP model, and conducting "data academies" to help staff understand what the research says about working with diverse learners. Teachers come out of these trainings feeling empowered, says Chavolla. "Teachers have told me, 'I don't have to be bilingual in Spanish to be able to help these kids. There are simple techniques I can be using in my classroom—clearer explanations, hands-on instruction, vocabulary building—to improve learning.'"

Chavolla acknowledges that when so many failing students come from one population, there is a tendency for teachers to feel anger and frustration toward that particular group. The key to preventing this reaction is to provide staff with the resources, training, and support to help those students succeed. Increasingly, superintendents from around the state are contacting Chavolla's office and asking for assistance. "We can't provide them with another staff member or a bigger budget," she says. "But we can bring in someone to conduct a staffwide training, and work on building capacity."

As difficult as NCLB is to implement, says Chavolla, it is forcing everyone to pay attention to the learning needs of all students. "We can no longer afford to leave behind a whole group or groups of students."

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Innovative Program Proves Language Differences Are No Barrier to Parent Involvement

In contrast to many districts in Idaho with large populations of Spanish-speaking students and families, Boise's students reflect a broad range of cultural and linguistic diversity—approximately 84 countries and 94 language groups are represented. "We knew from the beginning that we needed to reach far beyond a Cinco de Mayo celebration and a piñata to connect with students and families," relates Molly Jo de Fuentealba, one of the district's Federal Programs consultants.

One strategy the district has used to strengthen connections between schools and families of diverse learners is to launch an innovative parent involvement program, Boise Parents of English Learners (BPEL). At the beginning of each school year, the English language learner (ELL) staff identifies community members from different language groups who can serve as interpreters and translators. Using a variety of resources, translators are then given training in protocol and cultural sensitivity.

The district invited families of ELL students to a district-wide BPEL meeting. The goal was for staff to find out what parents knew about the district, what they wanted to know, and what challenges they were facing in connecting with their schools. Invitations were sent in families' home languages and interpreters followed up with personal phone calls. Because transportation was an issue for many families, district staff collaborated with refugee organizations and community agencies to help bring people into the meeting.

"That first meeting fell on one of the worst winter nights of the year," recalls de Fuentealba. As snow and sleet poured down outside, ELL staff wondered if many families would be able to make it. Their team had prepared a contingency plan in case turnout was low. But the response exceeded expectations—in all, nearly 300 family and community members attended.

The meeting was held at a neighborhood elementary school. Refreshments and child care were provided, with activities set up for children in several classrooms. Parents were seated at tables by language groups, allowing interpreters to circulate while district staff made presentations. For the four largest language groups, parents were given headsets so they could listen to simultaneously transmitted translation from anywhere in the room. "The headsets were a big hit," de Fuentealba laughs. "Even after they weren't using them anymore, people were still wearing them just walking around."

After the large-group presentation, participants divided into focus groups with an interpreter and scribe at each table for group discussion. Although staff had planned to have participants come back together as one large group at the end, the small-group discussions were going so well that they opted to leave things as they were.

The gathering provided an opportunity for district staff and diverse families to gain more information about each other and ways to support student learning. "What we found out was that overall, parents were pleased with their schools," says de Fuentealba. She adds that parents also discussed challenges such as homework assistance, communication, childcare, and transportation.

The district has followed up by identifying and distributing supplemental resources for parents, and offering mini-workshops and family learning activities. The next steps for the BPEL program are to have individual schools in the district hold at least three more meetings for parents throughout the year to discuss information and concerns specific to their schools, and to host a final districtwide BPEL meeting and awards ceremony in the spring.

To track the success of the new program, the district will use a variety of measures, including parent participation levels, changes in students' attendance patterns, and examples of parents taking initiative on projects. After one orientation meeting for families of ELLs, for example, de Fuentealba describes a group of parents who approached the district and said, "We can give this orientation ourselves to other parents, and they won't be so intimidated to come in because they already know us."

One key to implementing culturally responsive practices is solid administrative leadership and support. De Fuentealba notes that she is fortunate to have a supervisor, Dr. Ann Farris, who is a strong advocate of cultural responsiveness, and who encourages staff to take innovative ideas, work together on action plans, and follow through with implementation.

Dr. Farris also offers a stipend to an ELL teacher to take on the role of BPEL coordinator. This coordinator plays a critical role in ELL parent participation by assisting each school site with planning and facilitation of building-based parent meetings. "Facilitating multilingual parent meetings is new or uncomfortable for many of our ELL staff," explains Megan Jones, BPEL coordinator. "Staff support is a key element for successful parent involvement."

Increasing parent involvement is just one strategy among many the district is using to respond to its increasingly diverse student population. Not all schools in the district are at the same level of awareness. As ELL enrollment increases and demographics continue to shift, de Fuentealba stresses the importance of being prepared with practices that meet the needs of all learners. "We're trying to get people to understand that this is our population," she says. "We need to learn the tools to be able to serve the clientele we have, and to do it well."