• by Laura Chris Green, Ph.D. • IDRA Newsletter • January 2003

The new Title III is part of the No Child Left Behind Act, the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and replaces the previous Title VII and Aid to Immigrant Students legislation. It requires schools to demonstrate that: (1) their LEP students are making adequate yearly progress, (2) their parent involvement activities are effective, and (3) their professional development is of high quality and is based on scientifically-based research. (See the box below for a look at the new Title III).

The Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) has highly qualified, experienced staff who can assist you in ways that no other organization can. We offer professional development packages that will engage your teachers in long-term, in-depth training coupled with innovative ways of providing follow-up technical assistance.

We ground ourselves in the latest scientifically-based research and align all our efforts with state and local standards. We use cutting-edge technologies and have special expertise in working with bilingual populations. We are committed to the IDRA valuing philosophy, respecting the knowledge and skills of the teachers we work with and modeling continually how educators can identify assets and build on the strengths of the students and parents in their schools. Further details on our capabilities follow.

IDRA offers assistance to schools in meeting these Title III requirements through its evaluation, parent involvement, and professional development services.

Our Division of Evaluation Research can help with the accountability requirements of Title III. You will be required to report annually to your state education agency on:

  • the progress LEP students make in acquiring oral and written English,
  • the number and percentage of LEP students who meet exit criteria annually, and
  • the progress they make on meeting state content standards (e.g., TAKS or other state-mandated assessments) for two years after they exit bilingual/ESL programs.

We can help you design your evaluation; select or create measurement instruments; collect, analyze, and interpret data; and write your final report.

Our Division of Community and Public Engagement can help you have an effective parent involvement program that:

  • is designed to “improve student academic achievement and school performance;”
  • provides parents with a “description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet;” and
  • provides opportunities for parents “to participate… in decisions relating to the education of their children” (as required by the No Child Left Behind Act, 2002).

IDRA can provide you with bilingual parent training sessions designed to affirm the fact that all parents have something valuable to contribute to their children’s education.

Our Division of Professional Development can help you provide your teachers with high quality professional development that is of “sufficient intensity and duration… to have a positive and lasting impact on the teachers’ performance in the classroom.” We offer comprehensive training packages, not just “one-shots” like the “one-day or short-term workshops and conferences” that Title III specifies as not being allowed. Title III also stresses that professional development be based on scientifically-based research. In the area of reading research, IDRA training is based on the seminal report by the National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read. We also draw on research done in the areas of comprehensive school reform, effective math instruction, and second language acquisition when designing our innovative professional development.

The box below shows some sample IDRA professional development packages.

A Look At the New Title III

Title III is part of the No Child Left Behind Act, the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It replaces the old Title VII and Aid to Immigrant Students acts and requires schools to demonstrate that your:

  • LEP students are making adequate yearly progress,
  • parent involvement activities are effective, and
  • professional development is of high quality and is based on scientifically based research.

The new accountability requirements require schools to report annually to their state education agency on:

  • The progress limited-English-proficient (LEP) students make in acquiring oral and written English,
  • The number and percentage of LEP students who meet exit criteria annually, and
  • The progress LEP students make on meeting state content standards (e.g., TAAS) for two years after they exit bilingual and English as a second language (ESL) programs.

The act states that an effective parent involvement program:

  • is designed to “improve student academic achievement and school performance;
  • offers a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening;
  • [provides parents with a] description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet; and
  • [provides] opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate … in decisions relating to the education of their children.”

High quality professional development should be of “sufficient intensity and duration… to have a positive and lasting impact on the teachers’ performance in the classroom.” The law specifically discourages “one-shot” workshops stating that professional development “shall not include activities such as one-day or short-term workshops and conferences.”

The law stresses scientifically-based research, which is defined as research that

  • “Applies rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge…;
  • Employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment;
  • Involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
  • Relies on measurements or observational methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and observations; and
  • Has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific review.”

In the area of reading research, the conclusions formulated by the National Reading Panel in its seminal report, Teaching Children to Read, describe what we know about teaching beginning readers about phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary development and reading comprehension. We have other research evidence for the areas of comprehensive school reform, mathematics instruction, and second language learners that we use for the design and implementation of exemplary programs.

Sample IDRA Professional Development Packages

Title

Early Literacy Development for Spanish Speakers

Target Audience

Regular and bilingual classroom teachers, grades PK-3

Making the Transition to English Regular and bilingual classroom teachers, grades 2-5
Sheltered Instruction for Secondary Students Regular content area and ESL teachers, grades 6-12
Mastering the Language of Mathematics Math teachers, grades 6-12
Parent Involvement and Leadership Development Spanish-speaking parents of school-age children
Evaluation Research Services Schools and school districts implementing Title III programs
For more information see the fliers online (www.idra.org) or feel free to contact us at 210-444-1710 or e-mail us at feedback@idra.org for further information on our services.

For more information on our services see the fliers online (www.idra.org), contact us at 210-444-1710, or e-mail us at feedback@idra.org.


Laura Chris Green, Ph.D., is a senior education associate in the IDRA Division of Professional Development. Comments and questions may be directed to her via e-mail at feedback@idra.org.


[©2003, IDRA. This article originally appeared in the January 2003 IDRA Newsletter by the Intercultural Development Research Association. Permission to reproduce this article is granted provided the article is reprinted in its entirety and proper credit is given to IDRA and the author.]

Share