Education Commons^™

Identifying Success In Schools And Programs For English Language Learners In Boston Public Schools, Miren Uriarte, Michael Berardino, Jie Chen, Virginia Diez, Faye Karp, Sarah Rustan, Rosann Tung, Laurie Gagnon, Pamela Stazesky, Eileen De Los Reyes, Antonieta Bolomey, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Gastón Institute collaborates with government agencies, community organizations and foundations in applied research aimed at evaluating the impact of policies, programs and practices. This poster describes a three-way collaboration among researchers and practitioners from Boston Public Schools (BPS), the Gastón Institute and the Center for Collaborative Education (CCE) which yielded two comprehensive studies: 1. The enrollment and outcomes of English language learners in BPS; 2. Best ELL practices in four schools that were consistently high performing or steadily improving with respect to ELL student outcomes.

Veterans Upward Bound: A Federally Funded Trio Program, "Preparing Veterans For College At Umass, Boston Since 1973", Linda Mitchell

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Veterans Upward Bound Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston provides a unique opportunity for men and women veterans of all ages to acquire the academic skills required for entry into higher education and/or to acquire the equivalent of a high school diploma. This is federally funded TRIO program.

Data Note: Setting Higher Employment Expectations For Youth With Intellectual Disabilities, Alberto Migliore, Daria Domin

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Integrated employment is a critical goal because it leads to greater economic self-sufficiency, social inclusion, and personal satisfaction. Unfortunately, high schools do not always include integrated employment as a primary goal in the transition plans of students with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Moreover, in some cases sheltered employment is listed as the primary goal.

Data Note: Students With Autism: Setting Higher Expectations For Postsecondary Education, Alberto Migliore, Jaime Lugas

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Setting expectations and goals in high school is key for a successful transition into adulthood. Postsecondary education is a particularly important goal because higher levels of educational attainment are associated with increased quality of life, including better employment outcomes. Unfortunately, the transition plans of students with autism do not often include postsecondary education as a goal.

Facing Up: Managing Diversity In Challenging Times, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Paige Ransford

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Since its launch in 2008, Commonwealth Compact has grown steadily, employing several strategies to promote diversity statewide. The Benchmarks initiative has collected data, analyzed in this report, on a significant portion of the state workforce. Guided by Stephen Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston, Commonwealth Compact has conducted newsmaking surveys of public opinion and of boards of directors statewide. In addition, it has convened ongoing coalitions with its higher education partners, and established a collaborative of local business schools aimed specifically at increasing faculty diversity. The Compact has sponsored or co-sponsored …

Halting The Race To The Bottom: Urgent Interventions For The Improvement Of The Education Of English Language Learners In Massachusetts And Selected Districts, English Language Learners Sub-Committee, Massachusetts Board Of Elementary And Secondary Education

Gastón Institute Publications

Massachusetts students of limited English proficiency do better academically than students of limited English proficiency in other states. But relative to other students in the state, students of limited English proficiency in Massachusetts face a disadvantage greater than that faced by their peers in most states. This suggests that while the overall higher levels of education in the state benefit LEPs in Massachusetts relative to LEPs who attend schools in states where the quality of education is lower, current policy and practice leads to significantly greater inequality in this state. As the state takes steps to improve performance for all …

Institute Brief: Advancing Parent-Professional Leadership: Effective Strategies For Building The Capacity Of Parent Advisory Councils In Special Education, Heike Boeltzig, Matthew Kusminsky, Susan M. Foley, Richard Robison, Barbara Popper, Marilyn Gutierrez-Wilson

The Institute Brief Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, last amended in 2004 (IDEA 2004), encourages parents and educators to work collaboratively, emphasizing that as a team they are uniquely suited to make decisions that help improve the educational experiences and outcomes of children with disabilities. The Advancing Parent-Professional Leadership in Education (APPLE) Project was funded to develop the leadership skills of parents individually and within their communities. The project took place in Massachusetts, where school districts are required to have a special education parent advisory council (SEPAC).

English Learners In Boston Public Schools: Enrollment, Engagement And Academic Outcomes Of Native Speakers Of Cape Verdean Creole, Chinese Dialects, Haitian Creole, Spanish, And Vietnamese, Miren Uriarte, Nicole Lavan, Nicole Agusti, Mandira Kala, Faye Karp, Peter Nien-Chu Kiang, Lusa Lo, Rosann Tung, Cassandra Villari

Gastón Institute Publications

This study focuses on the academic experience of English Learners (ELs) in Boston’s public schools in the year before and in the three years following the implementation of Referendum Question 2. In 2002, this referendum spelled an end to Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) as the primary program available for children requiring language support in Massachusetts public schools, replacing it with Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). Specifically, this report focuses on the enrollment and academic outcomes of the five largest groups of native speakers of languages other than English in the Boston Public Schools: speakers of Spanish, Chinese dialects, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, …

English Learners In Boston Public Schools: Enrollment, Engagement And Academic Outcomes, Ay2003-Ay2006 Final Report, Rosann Tung, Miren Uriarte, Virginia Diez, Nicole Lavan, Nicole Agusti, Faye Karp, Tatjana Meschede

Gastón Institute Publications

In 2002, Massachusetts voters approved a referendum against the continuance of Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) as a method of instruction for English language learners. The study undertaken by the Mauricio Gaston Institute at UMass Boston in collaboration with the Center for Collaborative Education in Boston finds that, in the three years following the implementation of Question 2 in the Boston Public Schools, the identification of students of limited English proficiency declined as did the enrollment in programs for English; the enrollment of English Learners in substantially separate Special Education programs more than doubled; and service options for English Learners narrowed. …

English Learners In Boston Public Schools: Enrollment And Educational Outcomes Of Native Spanish Speakers, Miren Uriarte, Nicole Lavan, Nicole Agusti, Faye Karp

Gastón Institute Publications

In November 2002, the voters of Massachusetts approved Referendum Question 2. This referendum spelled an end to Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) as the primary program available for children requiring language support in Massachusetts. In its place came a radically different policy called Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). Unlike TBE, which relies on the English learners’ own language to facilitate the learning of academic subjects as they master English, SEI programs rely on the use of simple English in the classroom to impart academic content; teachers use students’ native language only to assist them in completing tasks or to answer a question. …

Where We Go To School: Latino Students And The Public Schools Of Boston, Miren Uriarte, Jie Chen, Mandira Kala

Gastón Institute Publications

Where we go to School: Latino Students and the Public Schools of Boston focuses on the experience of Latino children in the Boston Public Schools (BPS). Using available public data that had not previously been compiled, it aims at the fullest view possible of the Latino school population.

Boston Public Schools is the largest school district in the state, enrolling 56,765 students in AY 2006, the school year that is the focus of this study. School enrollments in Boston have been both shrinking and diversifying. In 2000-2001, for example, enrollments numbered 63,024; just five years later, enrollment was 9.6% lower. …

Institute Brief: Effective Career Development Strategies For Young Artists With Disabilities, Heike Boeltzig, Rooshey Hasnain, Jennifer Sullivan Sulewski

The Institute Brief Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

One potential arena of employment for young people with disabilities is the arts. This brief reports on effective strategies that 47 young artists with disabilities used to gain access to arts-related experiences in order to further their educational and career pathways. Across program years 2002–2005, these young artists, all aged 16 to 25, were finalists in the VSA arts/ Volkswagen of America, Inc. Program, an arts competition that was intended to showcase their talents and accomplishments. As part of the overall evaluation, we were able to identify career development strategies based on a review of finalists’ program applications. This brief …

Status Of Latino Education In Massachusetts: A Report, Nicole Lavan, Miren Uriarte

Gastón Institute Publications

Educational reform has brought great improvements in educational outcomes for Massachusetts students. In the past decade, achievement scores have risen for all students in Massachusetts; today the Commonwealth ranks first among all states in the overall National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores. However, it also ranks among the five states with the widest “gap” in achievement between white and Latino students in both NAEP Math and Reading. These gaps in achievement show that the benefits are not reaching all children. Latinos especially, but also African American children, are often left behind in a state with excellent academic institutions. Examining …

Schoolyard Improvements And Standardized Test Scores: An Ecological Analysis, Russ Lopez, Richard Campbell, James Jennings

Gastón Institute Publications

Boston MA’s schoolyards had seriously deteriorated since the middle of the 20th century resulting in dangerous and unusable outdoor spaces. Beginning in the mid 1990s, a program to renovate these schoolyards has resulted in approximately half of the schools now having outdoor recreational, learning and garden spaces. This study compared the 4th grade test score results in renovated vs. unrenovated schools. Controlling for school demographics, schools that had a renovated schoolyard had more of their students passed the state mandated math test (1.06, 95% confidence interval = .00012, .12). Effects on the state mandated English language arts test were not …

Brief 19: The Dean’S Role In Faculty Evaluation, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

Faculty work continues to change in response to the increased emphases on diversity requirements in undergraduate education, partnerships between academic and student affairs, and computer technology (O’Meara, et al, 2003). As even more is learned about strategies for the educational success of their students, faculty will be counted on to tailor their skills and pedagogies to new populations of students. At the same time, colleges and universities must keep pace with these changes by ensuring that expectations about faculty work are clearly defined and are reflected in evaluation and reward structures—and that faculty are supported in their efforts. The quality …

Recovery With Results, Not Rhetoric, Joseph Marrone, Heike Boeltzig

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This report was undertaken by staff from the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston pursuant to a task order from the Office of Disability and Employment Policy within the U.S. Department of Labor. While the great majority of the funding was provided by ODEP with an additional small amount allocated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the intent of this report was to provide guidance to both ODEP and the Employment Training Administration. This focus is meant to assist them in their respective roles …

Institute Brief: Making Experiential Education Accessible For Students With Disabilities, Cynthia Zafft, Sara Sezun, Melanie Jordan

The Institute Brief Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

College students with disabilities enter with less work experience and have a harder time finding jobs than their nondisabled peers. Experiential education-- mentoring, internships, job shadowing, and so on-- can create a bridge to graduation and employment. However, that requires college professionals to consider access issues for all students. A new Institute Brief provides basic disability awareness information, suggests ways to create welcoming career offices, and offers ideas to increase access to experiential education.

Access To Training For Mature Workers Through One-Stop Career Centers In Massachusetts, Francis G. Caro, Kelly Fitzgerald

Gerontology Institute Publications

The major purpose of this research is to determine the extent to which career centers in Massachusetts are providing mature workers with access to federally funded training. The research is based on two large administrative data sources: The MOSES database made available by the Massachusetts Department of Employment and Training (now Division of Career Services and Division of Unemployment) and a customer service database maintained by The Career Place, a career center in Woburn, MA. The MOSES data file provided for this research includes data on user characteristics and service transactions for all career centers in Massachusetts from July 1, …

The Vote On Bilingual Education And Latino Identity In Massachusetts, Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

Gastón Institute Publications

In November 2002, the Massachusetts electorate voted overwhelmingly to pass Referendum Ballot Question 2 (Q. 2), sponsored by California millionaire Ron Unz. The passage of this initiative by close to 70% of the voters effectively ended bilingual education in the state as it had been known for thirty years. Exit polling done at selected cities in Massachusetts by the Mauricio Gaston Institute and UMass Poll revealed, however, that out of a total 1,491 Latinos polled, a vast majority of them, around 93%, had voted in favor of rejecting Q. 2 and keeping bilingual education in place.

Indeed, Q. 2 became …

Brief 16: In Search Of Equity: An Institutional Response, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

The United States Supreme Judicial Court is currently deliberating the University of Michigan Affirmative Action lawsuits involving three white students who claim they were discriminated against because of race-conscious admissions policies. Organizations, such as the Center for Individual Rights, which sponsored the Michigan plaintiffs, and the Center for Equal Opportunity, have spearheaded drives to evaluate affirmative action programs in light of equal protection under the law. Viewed in this light, these policies appear to be unfair to white candidates. Examined more closely, concerns about equitability are missing from arguments about fairness. NERCHE’s Multicultural Affairs Think Tank members discussed the changed …

Retirement And High Level Human Capital, Irving Gershenberg

Gerontology Institute Publications

Given that demographic trends in economically advanced industrial countries such as our own continue to shift toward increasingly older, formally retired populations, we need to find ways to keep more of this older retired population productive. Economists and others differ in their estimation regarding the ability and/or willingness on part of the retired to retain, let alone utilize the know-how, the human capital accumulated prior to retirement. This is as true for those who have spent their work life engaged in producing and communicating new ideas and synthesizing and diffusing what is known, those who have accumulated what I term …

Brief 14: Risk Management, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

The development office accepts a gift of a house from a prestigious donor. The faculty has developed and approved a new core curriculum. The institution recently constructed a new campus center. While these circumstances sound no alarms, all involve elements of risk. The welcome gift of the house, later discovered to be contaminated with mold, will involve a costly clean up. A revised curriculum cannot guarantee that the changes will yield the expected results. The construction of a new building has significant implications for maintenance of the physical plant. In a recent meeting NERCHE’s Chief Financial Officers Think Tank discussed …

Brief 12: Global Citizenship: A Role For Higher Education, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

Immediately after the events of September 11, the US was stunned by horror and disbelief, angry at the perpetrators of such awful violence, puzzled by the country’s inability to recognize itself in the eyes of the world, and eager to learn more about other cultures from which it felt so alien. Our college campuses reflected this range of responses. At their first meetings of the academic year, members of NERCHE’s Think Tanks, who represent faculty and administrators in New England, and SAGES (Senior Academics Guiding Educational Strategies), retired presidents and provosts, described their reactions and the range of responses campus.

Research To Practice: Postsecondary Education As A Critical Step Toward Meaningful Employment: Vocational Rehabilitation's Role, Dana Scott Gilmore, Jennifer Bose, Debra Hart

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Research shows that access to postsecondary education makes an enormous difference in the employability of people with disabilities. This brief focuses on the rehabilitation outcomes of people who received education supports from Vocational Rehabilitation agencies.

Brief 6: The Merit Aid Question: How Can We Attract Promising Students While Preserving Educational Opportunity For All?, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

NERCHE’s think tank members recently participated in a discussion of the competitive forces driving change in higher education. The discussion, facilitated by The Futures Project: Policy for Higher Education in a Changing World (www.futuresproject.org), revealed tremendous concern among faculty and administrators in New England about safeguarding the principles of equal access and equal educational opportunity during a time of accelerating competition for students. This is a crucial time for a reevaluation of barriers to full educational opportunity in this country. We need policies both at the institutional level and the state and federal levels to reverse the widening educational and …

Research To Practice: Building A Future: Working With The Post-High School Expectations Of Students & Parents, Jennifer Schuster, Steven Graham, Mairead Moloney

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief examined the circumstances that accompany high expectations for the future for Massachusetts high school students who receive special education services and their parents. Includes recommendations on how to build and fulfill students' goals for adulthood.

Latino Students And The Massachusetts Public Schools, Miren Uriarte, Lisa Chavez

Gastón Institute Publications

This report presents basic information about Latino students in the public schools of Massachusetts. First, recent population data on Latino youth and public school enrollment are presented, highlighting those areas of the Commonwealth where Latinos are densely concentrated. The report then proceeds to the achievement of Latino students in the schools, highlighting recently published cohort dropout data and MCAS test results for Latinos. Finally, the report examines the after-high-school plans of Latino graduates.

Brief 1: The Technology Challenge On Campus From The Perspective Of Chief Academic Officers, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

The wonders of the information technology (IT) revolution have landed hard and fast on college campuses bringing with them a myriad of challenges for academic leaders. A group of Chief Academic Officers met to discuss the challenges of technology on their campuses. They identified three categories that have implications for organization and planning: 1) Finances and Economic Capacity, 2) Priority Setting and Assessment of Value and 3) The Role of the Faculty.

Institute Brief: Recreation In The Community, Maria Paiewonsky, Susan Tufts

The Institute Brief Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Recommendations from community recreation providers on how to include youth with disabilities in recreation programs.

The Mission Of Metropolitan Universities In The Utilization Of Knowledge: A Policy Analysis, Ernest Lynton

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

In the ecology of knowledge in modern society, efforts to enhance the utilization of knowledge are every bit as essential and as challenging as activities toward the creation of knowledge. An emphasis on the utilization of knowledge provides the defining mission of comprehensive or metropolitan universities. It demands a broadened conception of scholarship, and a high degree of interaction. In order to fulfill their mission, these institutions must develop appropriate internal and external bridging mechanisms, and make appropriate adaptations in the preparation, evaluation, and rewards of their faculty.