WHAT'S NEW?
Our latest developments in models for instruction.
By Julie Esparza Brown & Sylvia Linan-Thompson
Bridging the Gap Introduction: Reading is a precursor to students’ overall academic achievement and is essential to post-school success, yet longstanding gaps highlight differences in reading outcomes between English-only (EO) students and English learners, identified here as multilingual learners (MLs). The latest data from the National Association of Educational Progress in the United States show MLs performing 32 points below EO peers in fourth grade and 39 points below EO peers in eighth grade when assessed in English. Data for students learning to read in their home language (L1) is not available. Given these gaps, it is essential that reading instruction be tailored to the unique backgrounds of MLs.
This brief highlights how to use culturally and linguistically aligned (CLA) strategies to support multilingual learners within an multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework including how to use a CLA lens to inform instructional adaptations for multilingual learners who require intensive intervention. The brief reviews the use of the CLA lens when considering the instruction and intervention provide through a multi-level prevention system, data-based decision making, screening, and progress monitoring. A case study is included showing MTSS implementation through a CLA lens for a school with a large Spanish-speaking student population.