Transforming Schools for English Learners: A Comprehensive Framework for School Leaders, Jun/2011

Position your school to successfully teach English learners

Whether you are just beginning to work with or trying to improve the outcomes of English learners, this book provides a comprehensive framework for educating a growing population of public school English learners. Each chapter focuses on a key element of EL education programming as it relates to the entire school. The author uses research-based principles and practices to address such critical topics as:

1. Selecting the appropriate program model for your school
2. Managing time appropriately for English language development and content learning
3. Making data-driven decisions using effective measures of student performance
4. Effectively using Response to Intervention (RTI)

The author summarizes the key Supreme Court cases that led to the federal regulations for educating ELs. Also included is a framework for designing and delivering high quality instruction, enhancing parental engagement, and creating a learning environment and whole-school community where ELs flourish.

About The Author:
Debbie Zacarian, Ed.D. is the director of the Center for English Language Education and Center for Advancing Student Achievement at the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton, MA. The two centers provide professional development, licensure programming, and consulting for educators of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. She has written policies regarding English language learners for many urban, suburban and rural districts and been a consultant at the state level. She is the co-author of Teaching English Language Learners Across Content Areas, a 2010 ASCD publication. Zacarian was a columnist for TESOL's Essential Teacher publication throughout its tenure where she wrote about issues related to secondary education. Zacarian holds a doctorate degree in educational policy and research from the University of Massachusetts. She was a clinical faculty lecturer at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for over a decade, where she taught courses in language policy, theories of language acquisition, assessment and evaluation, research on language acquisition, curriculum development for language and content learning, and educational administration. Zacarian also created and was the director of the Amherst Public Schools' English Language Learners Program for over 20 years—a program that was noted as a state and national model. Debbie was commended by the Massachusetts Department of Education for her work in multicultural education and named Administrator of the Year by the Massachusetts Association of Bilingual Educators. Zacarian has been an educational consultant at the local, state, and national levels in English language education, closing the achievement gap and special education as it relates to students from diverse populations, and educational leadership. Recognized as a leading authority, Zacarian served as an ESL certification reviewer and member of the Commissioner's Bilingual Advisory Committee for the Massachusetts Department of Education. She has delivered many paper, research, and keynote presentations at the state and national levels, including the American Educational Research Association and Teachers of English to Speakers of Others Languages (TESOL).