Please comment on how we can address at Esperanza the following school factors that affect achievement, especially for our Hispanic learners.
Factor #8: Reciprocal relationships/"family ethos": Research has shown this is even more important for Hispanic learners and their families. A great resource on the importance of and how to create a caring school environment is Nel Noddings.
Factor #9: High expectations: All students need to receive a gifted/talented curriculum and instruction. Ron Clark, a nationally known excellent teacher, suggests that we teach to the highest level students and scaffold the others.
Factor #10: Summer loss: We can address this not only with finding ways to get our Esperanza scholars to read during the summer but also through enticing after school programs, longer days, and Saturday classes.
Factor #11: Content is presented in a thematic manner
Factor #12: Whole language literacy approach and explicit vocabulary development
Factor #13: Identifiable learning priorities: Some great resources for this are the books Focus, Results Now, Champion Teachers, and Molasses Classes.
Factor #14: Peer tutoring: Latinos in Action is a great program to involve with Esperanza.
