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Portrait of Two Classrooms
The second grade Spanish component class was working on a lesson about fables. The teacher always spoke in Spanish. The students were free to respond to questions in either language, but were always encouraged to speak in Spanish. For example, one student was absent the previous day and asked, "What is fábulas (fables)?" The teacher used this as an opportunity to review the previous day's lesson. They had learned that fables have certain characteristics. When asked about these characteristics, one student responded that they are "not true." The teacher said, "¿Cómo se dice "not true" en español?" Another student responded with the answer in Spanish. Whenever the students responded in English, the teacher accepted their answer as a correct answer, but then she elicited how the answer could be said in Spanish.
Following the review of the characteristics of fables, the students read "El león y el ratón" from a big book. The teacher asked questions as she read. At the end, she asked the students what the moral (one of the characteristics of fables) was.
The atmosphere of the third grade English component classroom was very relaxed. A soothing nature sounds tape played in the background while the students worked on a writing assignment. The students were given a five minute notice to finish their work on writing. When the five minutes passed, the students stood up and the teacher led them in stretching exercises. They moved over to the floor and sat in a circle to complete their stretching. According to the teacher, this time together "creates community, reinforces the gym teacher, and increases vocabulary." She also uses this opportunity to work on math. The students are working on moving from 100 to 200. They do a set amount of shoulder rolls each day. Before beginning the shoulder rolls, the teacher announced that they were at 197. She asked the students, "Where are we going to stop?" They stopped at 204, and then proceeded to do shoulder rolls counting backward from 204 to 197. The teacher also took advantage of this time to talk about important events going on that day, namely the Chinese premier's visit to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. She described for students the decorations put up to welcome the premier that she saw on her way to school that morning. She talked about the protests that were being planned as well.
A long-term project that the third grade Amigos are working on is writing and illustrating their own books. As a class, they read When I was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant. In order to connect the curriculum to the students' real lives, the teacher is having each student write his or her own When I was Young. . . book. Some of the titles include When I was Young in El Salvador, When I was Young in Kindergarten, and When I was Young in Maine. The students illustrate the books and they also write a section "About the Author." The teachers then assemble the books. This year the students' books are going to be barcoded and included in the school's library.
The science curriculum for the third grade offers opportunities for the Amigos to come together with third graders from the standard program. The groups are integrated to watch The Voyage of the Mimi, a 26-week oceanography video series. One episode presents an adventure, and the following one presents the scientific principles. The series also provides an opportunity for writing. Students write about what occurred in each episode; the Amigos students can write their summaries in either English or Spanish, depending on preference. The standard program and Amigos third graders also form science research groups that are integrated with students from both programs.
The third grade English component teacher tapes the science discussions called "Science Talks." Students learn to take turns speaking and listening and to build on ideas presented by previous speakers. The teacher then sends the tapes home to the parents. This allows them to see what their child is learning in the classroom.
Instructional Materials
The AMIGOS bilingual reading program is literature-based. Each teacher creates his/her own language arts program using trade books that interface with the themes presented in Science and Social Studies as weel as "good literature." The Spanish reading curriculum uses authentic Spanish literature, rather than translations, as much as possible. Examples of specific materials used by the program include multiple copies of trade books by authors such as Alma Flora Ada and Nicholasa Mohr and anthologies developed by the different publishing companies, such as HBJ's Estrellas de la Literature (Grade 5), Houghton Mifflin's Celebremos la Literature (Grades 3-5), and Holt, Rinehart & Winston's Encuentros (Grades 6-8). They have recently adopted Santillana's Seris Puente Escritura y Comunicacion (Grades 3-8) as a supplement to their language arts curriculum.
Special Programs
The school has several special programs for AMIGOS students. These programs vary from year to year. Students in grades 6-7 also participate in the Algebra Project, which connects math to the real world (See MABE Newsletter, 20(2), 1999, p.7).
Students in the AMIGOS program have various extracurricular activities that they can join. Homework help is offered in Spanish and English; students meet 3 times a week for 2 hours each time to receive extra assistance with their homework. Grade 4 Amigos also take advantage of a Math Club that meets for 2 hours a week. There is a Drama Club in Spanish for Grades 3-4 this year; last year (1997-98), students in grades 1-2 also participated in Drama Club. The AMIGOS Outing Club sponsors camping trips for grades 5 and 6 Amigos. Grades 7 and 8 have a Yearbook Club, Student Council, Boys Group, and Girls Group which are all bilingual. Students in grades 6, 7, and 8 can participate in the Web Research Club, which aims at teaching students how to use the world wide web.
Last year (1997-98), other activities were offered, including an Amigos Video/Media Club for grades 5-8, Amigos Weaving Classes for Grade 5, and Community Service in Spanish "Amigos de la Communidad" for grades 7 and 8. Last year, a visiting artists' program called "¡Tenemos que Tener Arte! We Gotta Have Art!" was proposed and organized by a kindergarten parent. The program was renewed for this year. It is open to all K-1 students in the standard and AMIGOS programs. The standard and AMIGOS kindergarten and grade 1 students have no art specialist. These "artists in residence" provide an art experience in both English and Spanish.
Student Attitudes
One of the goals of the AMIGOS program is "To provide students and staff with an environment that develops cross-cultural understanding." Wallace E. Lambert and Mary Cazabon investigated students' reactions to the program, including their progress and their cultural sensitivity. The study indicates that students are forming close friendships with members of the different cultural groups represented in the program as well as with members of their own cultural group (Lambert & Cazabon, 1994).
Staff
The staff that serves the students in the AMIGOS program is almost all bilingual. Mary Cazabon, Director of Cambridge Bilingual Programs, and Marla Perez-Selles, Assistant Director of Cambridge Bilingual Programs, are both bilingual in Spanish and English. The AMIGOS lead teacher is bilingual in Spanish and English. Each grade has at least one teacher who is bilingual. Both Spanish and English component teachers are bilingual in grades K, 1, 3, and 6. Grades 2, 4, and 5 are served by one bilingual teacher and one monolingual English teacher. In the middle school there are three bilingual teachers and two monolingual English teachers.
In addition to the bilingual program staff, many members of the support staff are bilingual. There is a bilingual Family Liaison, a bilingual AMIGOS Learning Disabilities Specialist, a bilingual Math Curriculum Developer, a Middle School Team Developer who is bilingual, a bilingual Early Childhood Resource Specialist, and a bilingual Curriculum/Staff Developer. Lydia Torres, the principal of the Kennedy School is also bilingual. Furthermore, the school attempts to hire bilinguals to fill available positions whenever possible.
Staff Development
Staff development is sponsored by the Cambridge Bilingual Education Reform Project (CBERP) and offers many opportunities for the staff to come together and discuss issues around curriculum and teaching and learning.
There are a number of study groups. Some are for AMIGOS teachers in particular. There is a K-4 Study Group for AMIGOS teachers that meets for one hour per week, for 6 weeks to discuss issues specific to the program. Since January, a 5-8 Study Group for AMIGOS teachers has been meeting weekly to discuss issues relevant to the program and to plan language arts curriculum. There is also a Math Study Group that includes bilingual teachers from the Kennedy and Longfellow schools. This group meets bimonthly for 2 hours each session. Teachers explore the math curriculum across grade levels. Spanish component teachers in the AMIGOS program meet for the Spanish Study Group. During this time, they develop thematic units and plan lessons in language arts, reading and writing. Furthermore, the AMIGOS program holds monthly meetings for its staff in addition to one to two monthly whole school meetings.
In addition to the program specific study groups, there are also study groups that bring together the AMIGOS teachers and the standard program teachers. The seventh and eighth grade students in the Kennedy School are currently studying world religions; consequently, there is a 7th grade World Religions Study Group that involves teachers from the AMIGOS and standard programs in developing the curriculum. Teachers in both the AMIGOS and standard programs gather for four 6-week sessions in the K-3 Kennedy Study Group, where topics such as "developing higher order thinking in reading and writing" are discussedDuring the summer, AMIGOS and standard program teachers can attend the Summer Institutes. The Summer Institutes are workshops with teacher-driven agendas. The workshops also concentrate on the development of curriculum and assessment tools. Three times a year, teachers attend an all day workshop either by grade level or with multiple grades. The workshops cover topics such as curriculum planning, team planning for Spanish and English component teachers, and cross grade level planning.
Parental Participation
The Family Liaison of the AMIGOS program serves as a connection between the parents and the school. This individual helps the parents register their children for school, does translations of material, and teaches a computer literacy class for parents. ESL and Spanish classes are offered for the AMIGOS and standard program parents in the school at night. The English speaking AMIGOS parents initiated Spanish classes.
Although the Kennedy School itself does not have a parent council, the AMIGOS program does have a parent council that meets monthly. The parent council sponsors events such as potluck dinners for the AMIGOS families. The AMIGOS Parents' Council and the Bilingual Education Department are sponsoring a concert given by Tish Hinojosa, a critically acclaimed singer. The AMIGOS Parents' Council is also organizing a conference on the future of bilingual education.
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