RETELL For All: How Histories of Educational Reform Help to Clarify Current Best Practices

for Enhancing Educational Access for English Language Learners

Camille Jones
ELL Specialist



RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM


Introduction
This paper analyzes and evaluates research findings related to the Rethinking Equity and
Teaching of English Language Learners (RETELL) Initiative in Massachusetts in order to
propose new steps for enhancing access to instructional best practices for more ELLs attending
U.S. public schools. Part 1 defines and describes RETELL, and compares and contrasts
RETELL measures with current and prior ELL initiatives as they affect parents, teachers and
administrators. Part 2 draws on Massachusetts primary sources and on local district resources to
more closely classify the two types of ELLs impacted either implicitly or explicitly by RETELL
legislation. Part 3 then examines how RETELL initiatives may serve efficiency initiatives with
Title III funding and monitoring. Part 4 examines how RETELL implementation can further
ELL mastery of rhetoric, writing and Common Core English Language Arts Initiatives. Part 5
then uses case methods to hypothesize as to likely outcomes and effects of future RETELL
implementation upon success of ELL learners in three hypothetical venues: 1) Bean Public
Schools; 2) Gotham Department of Education, and 3) Huge ISD.
This paper concludes that a nationwide RETELL Initiativeonce systematically
implemented-- has the potential to reciprocally benefit a variety of stakeholders because it aims
to enhance ELL equity and teaching and in doing so, maximize both human capacity and
institutional efficiencyin ways that seemingly transcend local variables. As such, one
argument is that the RETELL Initiative could serve as model for improving ELL Program
efficiencies and ELL student outcomes nationwide.
Historical efforts at American educational reform have long placed diversified immigrant
populations at the forefront of measures that tested the parameters of the early urban public
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

school. (Tehie, 2007) Historian L. Germin remarked that in such cities, teachers were
unfamiliar with the languages and culture of large classes of immigrant students in the schools,
and struggled to meet the needs of these non-English speaking students. (Tehie, 2007, p. 194)
This historical pattern continued until the year 2010 found the Boston Public Schools
(BPS) to be declared by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) as in violation of Title III
requirements as to English language learners (ELL) school placements, parent notification,
testing and monitoring. (Massachusetts DOE, 2012) BPS entered a stage of corrective action
with the United States Department of Justice. (Massachusetts DOE, 2012) Progress was
piecemeal. Better compliance was urged, leading the DoJ (with DOE consent) to push for
passage of a new systematic, statewide ELL initiative known as Rethinking Equity and Teaching
of English Language Learners, or RETELL. (Massachusetts DOE, 2012)
In its preamble to 2012 RETELL legislation, the Massachusetts Department of Education
(DOE) explains that: ELLs are the state's fastest growing group of students, and, as a group,
experience the largest proficiency gap when compared to their native English speaking peers. In
order to strengthen instruction and better support the academic achievement of ELLs, the state
Board of Elementary and Secondary adopted new regulations in June 2012. (Massachusetts
DOE, 2012)
Early onward, Massachusetts used data from its districts to inform many of the bases for
the RETELL Initiative. (Massachusetts DOE, 2012) Recommendations made from special
reports were incorporated into the tenets for the 2012 legislation. (Uriarte, 2011) Some
recommendations focused on middle school ELL needs and how ELL transfers in and out of
placements affected their success. (Uriarte, 2011). Another 2011 recommendation noted the
fact that LEP students are more heavily concentrated in high-poverty schools and in schools that
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

did not meet AYPand that the most vulnerable LEP students are exposed to a teaching corps
with less qualifications than is average for the district, suggests that the district needs to pay
more attention to the assignment of LEP students, assuring that they have access to seats in
schools with more favorable characteristics. (Uriarte, 2011, Executive Summary).
Part I. RETELL: Definitions and Descriptions RETELL For Teachers and
Administrators
RETELL Helps Build Teacher Capacity: RETELL regulations include systemic professional
development in Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) methods for any core academic teacher in
order to enable him or her to make rigorous content accessible to English learners.
(Massachusetts DOE, 2012). According to DOE regulations, if a core academic teacher has
even one ELL student, s/he is required to complete SEI training, followed by a special state
exam. (Massachusetts DOE, 2012) Massachusetts RETELL regulations also require that SEI
teachers demonstrate their proficiency in English. (Massachusetts DOE, 2012) To better gauge
teacher needs, DOE and WestEd completed beforehand SEI Needs Assessments with teachers
statewide. (Montana, 2011).
RETELL Helps Build Administrator Capacity: RETELL regulations also state that building
leaders in schools where even one (1) ELL is in attendance must be SEI-trained. (Massachusetts
DOE, 2012) RETELL requires that principals, assistant principals, and the supervisors/directors
who supervise or evaluate these teachers must complete updated SEI professional development
or its equivalentthereby adhering to the same rigorous professional development requirements
as core academic teachers. (Massachusetts DOE, 2012)
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

RETELL Helps Build Parent-School Involvement: RETELL regulations also set forth stringent
rules of accountability to ELL parents concerning meeting expectations for ELL instruction.
(Massachusetts DOE, 2012) Teachers and administrators could be subject to formal complaint
by parents if they are found to not be teaching and/or implementing the SEI methods expected
under the RETELL initiative. (Massachusetts DOE, 2012).
Part II. RETELL and Special ELLs
Two particular categories of ELLs who may be particularly served by RETELL Initiatives are
ELLs that could also be labelled as Special Needs and/or as SIFE.
RETELL SEI Practices Could More Consistently Support SIFEs: The term SIFE (Student
with Interrupted Formal Education) refers to an English language learner or newcomer between
age 8 and 21 who experiences an interrupted education or lack some formal schooling
experience. Interruptions may be caused by school unavailability, civil unrest, immigration,
transience, trauma, or other factors that would limit the students ability to perform and achieve
in a classroom with students of a comparable age group. (Massachusetts DOE, 2012)

Moreover, SIFEs may have experienced limited schooling, due to a non-rigorous quality of
education in the home country, a shorter school day and/or year, and/or a weak curriculum.
SIFEs may have been educated by teachers who were not high school or college graduates.
(Massachusetts DOE, 2012)
Under RETELL, evaluation of a SIFEs language levels would be based on World Class
Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) descriptors, evaluations and assessments.
(Massachusetts DOE, 2012) With its methods adopted in many states, WIDAs detailed
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

academic and social language progressions can more readily scaffold SIFEs with below grade
level in literacy and numeracy.
Campus-wide interaction of all teachers as SEI-trained can work to make an entire faculty aware
of a given ELL or SIFEs needs and goalsparticularly where the principal shares that vision.
(Massachusetts DOE, 2012) In short, under RETELL, all teachers consider themselves
responsible for ELL success. (Massachusetts DOE, 2012) Students with Interrupted Formal
Education could enjoy a more seamless transition between grades and classrooms when all
teachers are trained in ELL best practices.
Part 2. RETELL SEI Practices as Interventions Can More Consistently Support ELLs Needing
RTI (and/or unmet 504, ADHD, or ASD needs):
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is defined as a group of neurodevelopment syndromes
characterized by defective social interactions, communication and stereotyped behaviors and
interests. (Heward, 2013). Autism can be diagnosed when an ELL is not reaching certain
milestones for speech and social behavior in either language. In the 1960s, DSM-III classified
Autism under Pervasive Developmental Disorders. (Heward, 2013) With Aspergers, however,
an ELL may have a normal development of speech but may display autistic behavior in
struggling with communication. (Heward, 2013)
DSM-V Changes and ASD Referrals What impact on ELLs with Special Needs?
New DSM-V definitions may in fact produce results that disqualify some for referral.
(Heward, 2013) One concern about proposed revisions to DSM-VI is whether some children
who met DSM-IV criteria will no longer meet DSM-5 criteria. (Heward, 2013)
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

The DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder) published in May 2013
made significant changes to the content from the DSM-IV previous manualby removing
certain neurodevelopmental conditions except autistic spectrum disorder. (Heward, 2013) DSM
V changes may reduce the number of ELLs that qualify for various Special Education
diagnostics related to the Spectrum. The new DSM-V requirement that both social-
communication and repetitive behavior symptoms be present in order for a diagnosis to be made
has raised concern about changes in the ability of a student to be referred for some form of ASD
testing. (Ozonoff, 2012).
RETELL for pre-referral ELLs: With DSM-V definitional changes, local changes to
Response to Intervention, varied use of Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) and\or
other pre-referral processes, the services afforded to ELLs with all kinds of minds increasingly
may rely more on the quality of general education classroom teaching received than on the
likelihood of receiving special best practices and/or services. RETELL-- through SEI training
for all teachers and administrators--offers systematized best practices that align with certain best
practices for ASD and special needs. (Massachusetts DOE, 2012). For ELLs unlikely to qualify
for Special Ed services yet likely to participate in the RTI process, RETELL type initiatives may
offer the better chance at receiving the types of instruction that more successfully impact student
outcomes.
Part 3. RETELL Can Improve Title III Efficiencies - By Curbing AMAO Deficit Costs:
Even though Massachusetts did not fully meet AYP in all categories, 2013 data reveals
significant gains in Massachusetts ELLs data. (Massachusetts DOE, 2014). An examination of
2013 NYSED data by comparison sees larger disparities over longer periods of time. (NYSED,
2014) Appendix B and C earmark The Number of NYSED Title III Sub-grantees that Did not
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

Make AMAO--along with the Number of Consecutive Years in that category. (NYSED, 2014)
Notably, 9 NYCDOE districts did not meet AMAO for its ELLs subpopulations for 4 or more
years. (NYSED, 2014) Three (3) NYCDOE sub-districts failed to meet AMAO for 9 or more
years. (NYSED, 2014) These districts technically are by law required to write Corrective Action
Plans. (NYSED, 2014Appendix B and C).
While Massachusetts 2013 data sources confirm that the state also missed AMAO in its
lowest category by approximately 16 points, Massachusetts data also shows a trend of missing
AMAO by fewer and fewer points each year (Massachusetts, 2014). Moreover, disaggregated
data shows Massachusetts ELL scores are improving in all categories. In ELA in 2013, 75 % of
ELLs met the ELA standard, more than 70 % met it in Mathematics, and more than 70 % met
standard in Social Studies, with the challenge arising in Science with less than 50 %).
(Massachusetts, 2014) Notwithstanding, 75% of all ELLs statewide met the graduation
requirement. (Massachusetts, 2014)
These data suggest improvement ratios for ELLs in Massachusetts that significantly
outscore those of comparable large urban districts. Notwithstanding some local union and/or
teacher complaints, RETELL requirements: 1) making all teachers and building leaders
recognize themselves as teachers and teacher-leaders of ELLs, 2) making all school officials
receive SEI training, 3) making all teachers meet minimum English proficiency standards as ELL
teachers and 4) making all be mindful of minimum standards for ELL instruction due both to
students and parentsseem to be supporting improved student outcomes. (Massachusetts, 2014)
Part 4. Common Core Writing as a Revival of Rhetoric How RETELL Opens ELLS
Exposure to English Language Arts
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

Through more consistent exposure to best ELL instructional practices that unpack
English more fully in all four domains, ELLS can build a fuller sense of the art and science of
rhetoric as well as greater confidence in their command of oral and written English. (Tehie,
2007)
Along with grammar and logic, rhetoric stands as one of three ancient arts of discourse.
Rhetoric is an art that helps writers and/or speakers to inform, persuade, or motivate an audience
in specific situation. Aristotle called it the faculty of observing the available means of
persuasion. (Kennedy, 2007) Rhetoric is attributed five canons that trace the traditional tasks in
creating persuasive speech (as codified in classical Rome): 1) invention; 2) arrangement, 3)
style, 4) memory, and 5) deliverythese canons also influenced our Western educational and
expository traditions. (Kennedy, 2007)
Modern educational authors continue to support earlier claims of rhetoric as an art capable of
influencing civic life. In Political Style, Robert Hariman argues that questions of freedom,
equality, and justice often are addressed through performances---from debates to demonstrations
without loss of moral content. (Hariman, 1995) Moreover, in When Words Lose Their Meaning,
James Boyd White argues that words produce the methods by which culture is maintained,
criticized, and transformed. (White, 1984) If language influences people, then people influence
language. (White, 1984) White sees rhetoric as a broader domain of social experience, arguing
that culture is "reconstituted" through language and that rhetoric is capable influencing culture as
a whole. (White, 1984) If language is socially constructed, and dependent on the meanings
people attach to it, then the very usage of language is rhetorical. (White, 1984) This becomes a
nuanced yet critical concept to understand for English language learners.
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

Strengthening ELLs Rhetorical Speaking and Writing Capacity through RETELL
Methods
From Aristotles Art of Rhetoric to Augustines Confessions, from Cicero to Quintilian, the study
of rhetoric has been thought to train students to speak and/or write effectively, as well as
critically understand and analyze discourse. (Tehie, 2007) It has had a profound influence on
Western educational values, as evidenced by the writing requirements seen today in the common
core state standards. (Tehie, 2007) In both verbal and non-verbal forms, rhetoric continues to be
used as a tool to influence communities at both local and national levelseven in the Common
Core Standards for English Language Arts. (CCSO, 2011).
Part 5. Three Current Cases for RETELL
1) Bean Public Schools: As the approach of school beckons, newspapers in Bean are
focusing on the immigrant question. (Associated Press, 2014 here): One citizen interviewed
responded in a way that may have echoed voices from the 1890s: This country was built on
immigrants, but those immigrants who came from Europe and all over the world did not demand
the things they are demanding now There may not be enough money RETELL Initiatives
in Bean Public Schools may be amongst the best ways to minimize additional budgetary
expenses with teachers already trained in sheltered immersion techniques that will help make
input comprehensible. (Associated Press, 2014).
2) Gotham DOE: In Gotham DOE: As a similar cohort of newcomers hits Gotham-area
temporary shelters and public schools, one administrative question becomes how to intake them
into the Gotham DOE and account for them onsite so that they may be linked to your Title III
funding. A Gotham mainframe built in 1988 is charged with this task. Automate The
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

Source (ATS) is the school-based administrative system used by all Gotham DOE schools since
1988. ATS can creatively function: it records biographical data for all students, handled
admissions, discharges, its transfers to other schools, records other student-specific data. It also
provides aggregate student and human resources data to school administratorsallowing them
access to taxpayer ID and other confidential staff information. Gotham Administrator B at a
non-RETELL campus decides to allocate dozens of newcomers to his campus and to his 1 ESL-
certified teacher by backdating their arrival to align with the beginning of the federal funding
year-even though the newcomers never received any services.
Administrator C at a RETELL implementing campus need not run that risk; EVERY teacher on
his staff is SEI-certified and ELL- trained and thus neither backdating nor complicated creative
schemes are needed to link new ELLs to Title III services. Segal (2005) evaluated the situation
clearly: First the consequences of fraud and waste for learning can be devastatingThe most
academically beleaguered school systems tend to be the one with the longest, most systemic
investigative records. (Segal, 2005, Introduction, xxii). Implementation of RETELL initiatives
could help Gotham DOE curb inefficiency by saving millions of dollars in cost overruns - by
making the accounting for Title III funding more transparent and efficient--since all RETELL
teachers qualify at any time to teach ELLs. (Segal, 2005)
3) Huge ISD: Finally, a similar group of ELLs is en route to a shelter near a mid-sized middle
school in Huge ISD. The ELLs have gone through a lot of tumult for their journey emotionally
and cognitively. How could RETELL make the intake process more meaningful? First, a needs
assessments can be conducted for each learner in ways that evaluate and differentiate both their
socio-cognitive strengths and needs.
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

RETELL requires that all administrators, Gen Ed teachers, Special Ed teachers and bilingual
teachers with even one newcomer in their class would complete SEI training and do so by
evidencing English language mastery. Were RETELL PD implemented fully by all, Huge ISD
might more systematically accelerate its efforts to help these middle school ELLs proficiently
embark on the next stages of their English educational journey.
Conclusion
A nationwide RETELL Initiativeonce systematically implementedcould reciprocally benefit
a variety of stakeholders because it aims to enhance ELL equity and teaching and, in doing so,
maximize both human capacity and institutional efficiencyin ways that seemingly transcend
local variables. Within the current ELL context, Massachusetts RETELL Initiative could serve
as a model for more efficiently improving ELL services and ELL student outcomes nationwide.

RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM


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APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/dart/userguideDARTELL.pdf
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

APPENDIX B
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/NEWTIII.html
APPENDIX C
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/docs/AMAO_Memotoallschools_LAfinal_1.pdf
APPENDIX D
Autism in Educational History
Historical references to autism vary; few seem to refer to ELLs with autism. Examples of
autistic symptoms were described before Autism was named. The Table Talk of Martin Luther
contained the story of a 12-year-old boy who may have been severely autistic. Utah Friths
analyzed the legal case of Hugo Blair of Borgue in the 1740s which produced 29 witnesses.
Blair went to court over a decision as to his mental capacity for marriage. According to Frith,
Blair evidenced stereotyped behaviors and clinical features of echolalia-type language
abnormality by replying with the question and then with answers. (Frith, 2000).

A feral child
found in 1798 known as the Wild Boy of Aveyron showed signs of autism; he was treated with a
behavioral program to help him form social attachments and imitate speech. In his writings,
Professor Michael Fitzgerald named several great figures that showed exceptional talents in arts
and literature as being possible Asperger suffers. In his book, Asperger syndrome: a Gift or
Curse? Prof. Fitzgerald hypothesized that Charles Darwin displayed eccentric behaviors making
him likely to have been on the Spectrum. (Frith, 2000)
Treatments
RETELL FOR ALL: HISTORIES OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM

Most autism treatments aim to control the symptoms since its specific causes remain unknown.
Applied Behavioral Analysis is often used in classroom settings: communication, social,
cognitive and academic skills are broken down to small tasks and the child has their behavior
reinforced with rewards. Speech and Language therapy is used to improve listening, attention,
the ability to understand the tone and context of language and nonverbal communication skills.
AP Poll Retrieved August 2
nd
, 2014 from
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/us_politics/2014/07/poll_americans_cool_to_border_cros
sing_children